MG Motor UK IM5 review

You’ll be able to test drive one of these yourself from September, but MG has already confirmed pricing. The Standard Range kicks things off from £39,450, then the Long Range with the bigger battery is £44,950. Both are rear-wheel drive.

Up top is the Performance which adds a motor for all-wheel drive: the price you pay for that turn of speed is range. And money, obviously. It’s £48,495 for that.

The entry point is on par with the Tesla Model 3, while the Hyundai Ioniq 6, Polestar 2 and BYD Seal are all at least five grand more expensive. The BMW i4 is a full £10k+ dearer.

Only the Hyundai gets close on range and peak charging speed, though obviously if you find a charger capable of maxing out the MG’s 396kW then please send us that week’s lottery numbers in advance. We don’t think the IM5 is good value compared to those well-rounded rivals, but it could be one day if the suspension gets sorted and the handling improved.

There’s not much in the way of options. You can have the grey interior seen above or a white alternative, and there’s four colours to choose from: Arctic White, Nevis Blue, Rembrandt Grey, Black Pearl. One for any Pirates of the Caribbean fans, that last one.

What do I get on each of those?

Powertrain aside? Exactly the same stuff, with the exception of wheels which grow from 19in aero jobs shod in Hankook rubber to 20in ‘sport’ Pirellis on the Performance. We can only hope the 19s ride better than the 20s…

As we’ve come to expect from cars from China, the kit list is the IM5’s fortress. It comes with a 20-speaker audio system (they act like surround sound for the parking sensors, so the info they give you is useful) as well as the enormo-screens and multitude of cameras to help avoid prangs.

As discussed the windows are double-glazed for excellent sound insulation (backed up by road noise cancellation tech), and inside the front seats are heated and ventilated, there’s a 50W wireless phone charger, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a trio of USB-C ports, two 12V sockets, 256-colour ambient lighting, plus keyless entry and a heat pump that should help with efficiency in the winter months.

A Euro NCAP rating is pending. The UK warranty is seven years or 80,000 miles.