At some point, we’ll get used to ordinary looking saloons and hatchbacks with performance figures that would make a supercar blush, but for now it remains a novelty. The MG4 XPower, which reprises a name from the MG Rover era, looks barely any different to its bog-standard sibling yet it packs a 434PS (319kW) punch and takes less than four seconds to reach 62mph from rest. This tall-bodied five-door could therefore scalp fleets of much more exotic and expensive machinery. Forget X, it’s a next generation Q car.
[Video] New MG4 XPower launches at the 2023 Festival of Speed
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The MG4 XPower is subtle in its appearance, with little to distinguish the quick one from the cooking model. There are gloss black accents here, 18-inch wheels there and different upholstery for the seats, but that’s it. It’s a far cry from the MG saloons and hatchbacks of the early 2000s that made their performance aims obvious to even the most casual onlooker with mesh grilles, distinctive alloys and bodykits.
That’s until you get behind the wheel and unleash the whole potential of the dual-motor underpinnings. The motor driving the rear wheels delivers 231PS (170kW) while the front receive 203PS (149kW), the latter only called upon when the systems detect that the rear axle needs some help. The result? 0-62mph in 3.8 seconds and top speed of an adequate 124mph. Containing the sledgehammer power and 1,800kg mass are stiffer springs, retuned steering and torque vectoring.
MG has democratised what was once supercar levels of acceleration with a list price of £36,495. While that’s £10k more than the entry level MG 4, it’s still cheaper than a regular Volkswagen ID.3. The MG4 XPower made its public debut at the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard, where it put its torque vectoring all-wheel-drive performance to good use on the Hill.
Photography by Toby Whales.
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