MG 4 XPower: 429bhp electric hot hatch a steal at £36,495

Published: 23 June 2023

► Twin-motor, AWD with 330kW of power
► Targets a 4.0sec 0-62mph time
► Here in 2023, priced around £35,000

Official details of the MG 4 XPower high-performance electric car have been published online, and they are almost exactly as we suggested they would be when we first broke the news about this electric hot hatch in November 2022.

Which is also when we published this artists’ impression of what the hot EV could look like.

What’s more, we’ll be reviewing this fastest-ever MG in July, shortly before it makes its public ‘dynamic debut’ at thge 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Available for anyone to view on a couple of MG dealer websites, the headline specs for the MG 4 XPower are 320kW of power from twin motors and a 239-mile WLTP driving range from a 64kWh battery pack.

That’s equivalent to a stonking 429bhp in a car the size of a VW Golf – or perhaps more pertinently, it’s roughly double the maximum power available from an VW ID.3 (201bhp) or Cupra Born (228bhp) at this time.

Another MG retailer has revealed that this is enough oomph for 0-62mph in 3.8sec, while top speed is limited to 124mph.

Just in case all of the above didn’t shake up the EV establishment enough, the published pricing for the MG 4 XPower is £36,495.

That’s slightly less than an entry-level Cupra Born costs at the moment. And nearly £1,000 less than a basic ID.3.

Over to you, VW Group…

The performance variant will offer more than double the power output of the standard MG 4 Long Range model.

By adding a second motor on the front axle, power rises from 150kW (201bhp) to around 320kW (429bhp), bringing all-wheel drive into the bargain.

The XPower is, by some margin, the most powerful MG ever sold. Even the short-lived MG XPower SV supercar didn’t make that much in its rortiest SV-R guise.

We’ve seen plenty of high-performance EVs so far, from the deeply impressive Porsche Taycan and Tesla Model S Plaid right up to true supercars like the Pininfarina Battista or the Rimac C_Two. But the electric hot hatchback has evaded us so far. The regular MG 4 (below) should make a promising starting point.

The closest competitor would be the Cupra Born e-Boost, which offers 228bhp and rear-wheel drive with a current price tag of £39,205. Not only does the MG 4 XPower beat this on price, it obliterates it in the performance stakes with 90% more power.

Exciting times for MG, which is also about to launch the Cyberster convertible in its bid to regain some of its sporting reputation.

By Tom Wiltshire

Bauer Automotive staff writer; enjoys Peugeots, naturally-aspirated diesels, column shifts and steel wheels