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By Jonathan Crouch

MG dips down into the more affordable section of the electric car market with this model, the MG4 EV Urban. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 33

MG has decided to super-size its proposition for customers of B-segment small EVs with this car, the MG 4 EV Urban. Do you really need more from a compact electric car than this?

Backgroundword count: 237

MG has a history in budget EVs. Here's another, the MG 4 EV Urban. By now, you've probably got a good idea of how the budget end of the EV market is structured these days. A sub £15,000-£18,000 segment for tiny really cheap city car-shaped models like the Dacia Spring and the Leapmotor T03. Then the more popular £22,000-£25,000 segment for more mature EV smaller superminis like the Renault 5 and the Citroen e-C3. And then finally the £27,000-£30,000 bracket for larger EV superminis like the Vauxhall Corsa Electric and the ordinary MG 4 EV. Ah yes, the ordinary MG 4 EV. The demise of MG's original cheap electric car, the ZS EV in late 2024, saw the brand's strong-selling '4' model temporarily positioned as the entry point to the company's electric line-up. Quite a highly-priced entry point as it turned out, following that model's subtle push up-market as part of a mid-term update in early 2026. So a more accessible model was required to slot beneath it at the £22,000-£25,000 price point - and the MG 4 EV Urban is it. Contrary to what the name suggests, the Urban shares almost nothing with the ordinary MG 4 EV - in terms of platform, drivetrain and design. Confusingly, the Urban is even slightly bigger than its pricier stablemate, though as you would expect given the lower price point, its battery is smaller. Let's take a closer look.

Driving Experienceword count: 270

The engineering here could hardly be more different from that of the ordinary MG 4 EV. The 4 EV Urban rides on its own bespoke EV platform and for better packaging drives from the front rather than the back. Via significantly smaller lithium-iron-phosphate batteries of either 42.8kWh or 53.9kWh in size, giving driving range figures of 201 or 258 miles respectively. For reference, a normal MG4 EV uses 64kWh and 77kWh batteries with respective range figures of 280 miles or 329 miles. With the Urban, the batteries are also engineered into the chassis differently. Rather than being simply bolted to the monocoque as with the standard '4', a 'cell-to-body' structure is used whereby the casing of the pack is a structural element and part of the floor. That's a major reason why the Urban's 1,520kg kerb weight is a substantial 245kg lighter than its stablemate. More changes are found with the suspension, which sees the sophisticated independent set-up of the ordinary 4 EV replaced by simpler cost-saving torsion beam arrangement. What about power? Well the smaller 42.8kWh 'Comfort Standard Range' battery pack is mated to a 147bhp front synchronous motor which accelerates the car to 62mph in 9.6s. Most will opt for the 'Comfort Long Range' version, which mates the largest 50.4kWh battery with a punchier 158bhp motor that takes an insignificant tenth of a second off that sprint time and offers a little more grip thanks to a larger tyre size. Expect the usual quite engaging MG driving dynamics (sharp steering etc). But you'll probably pay a little for that simpler suspension arrangement over city potholes and speed humps.

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