Chery has been the largest exporter of cars from China for the past 21 years – yet the 2024 Omoda E5 five-seat SUV is the brand’s first electric car in Australian showrooms since it returned in early 2023.

The Omoda E5 – ‘E’ for ‘electric’ of course – uses the same ‘T1X’ underpinnings as the car maker’s best-selling model in Australia, the Omoda 5 SUV, but adds electric power, retuned chassis and unique styling inside and out. That means you won’t mistake the electric Omoda for its petrol sibling in the car park, with 50mm additional length (4424mm) – although it has an identical wheelbase, tracks, overall width and height.

JUMP AHEAD

• What you get
• Interior
• On-road performance
• Verdict

What you get

The Omoda E5 starts at $42,990 plus on-roads – where the petrol Omoda 5 kicks off at $27,990 driveaway – making it more than the similarly sized MG ZS EV but undercutting the entry-level BYD Atto 3 electric SUV’s $44,449.

That gets the entry-level BX – the first of two trim levels – including 18-inch alloy wheels, dual 12.3-inch screens and wireless smartphone connectivity as standard. There’s also seven airbags – including a front centre airbag – as standard, and while an ANCAP test is yet to take place, AEB, Adaptive Cruise Control with Traffic Jam Assist, Lane Departure Prevention and Rear Cross Traffic Braking are fitted across the line-up.

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The higher spec Omoda E5 EX adds a gloss-black exterior beltline, synthetic leather trim, a 360-degree camera, upgraded audio, powered tailgate and sunroof for $45,990.

Both use the same 150kW/340Nm single electric motor sending drive to the front wheels with a 61.1kWh lithium-iron phosphate battery and WLTP range of 430km – 10km more than the Atto 3 Standard Range – and 155kWh/km consumption.

We didn’t get near testing those broader capabilities on our brief introductory drive around the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) mainly on highway roads.

Interior

In the driver’s seat, the dual 12.3-inch screens – larger than the petrol version’s 10.25-inch displays – dominate the cabin, which has been given a premium push as the Omoda 5 line-up’s new flagship, with no physical knobs or switches beyond the steering wheel-mounted controls.

Only the steering wheel and seats carry over from the petrol Omoda 5 and the overall fit and finish is good with little separating BX and EX trim levels, with the same centre console gloss ‘woodgrain’ and piano black inserts on both.

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The base model’s horrible plastic steering wheel is ditched from a much nicer synthetic leather wheel on the higher spec, which also covers the seats instead of the base car’s black cloth. Those seats are quite supportive and the driving position good – although there could be more seat adjustment, especially on the base car which has manual levers against the BX’s electric front row.

Once set, there’s a decent sized side centre mirror which you’ll need as the view out of the rear windscreen is narrow – interrupted by the three rear head restraints – with the smaller side mirrors adequate but seemingly tuned more towards extending range rather than vision.

The cabin is spacious up front while at the rear there’s 60/40 split-fold seats, slightly more cargo space – 1079L – than the petrol model and includes a full-size spare wheel. There’s also additional 19L cargo space under the bonnet in the E5’s front trunk.

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On-road performance

There’s no ‘Start’ button – instead a ‘Ready’ status once the proximity key is detected and a driver behind the wheel – with Eco, Normal and Sport drive modes to choose from.

Acceleration is strong – the 6.7-second 0-100km/h claim entirely believable – but there’s a lot of nose lift and torquesteer as the unwieldy front-end and vague steering combine to have you working to keep the vehicle in a straight line under heavy throttle.

Being gentle is the key, but even in the Normal drive mode and the lowest of three brake regeneration settings, seemingly minor accelerator pedal lift brings over-zealous recoil, demanding constant footwork.

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The suspension tune developed by Chery Europe has undergone further local testing, but perhaps only underlines how bad Australian roads are as the 18-inch alloys fitted on all models managed to bring small bumps and ruts into the cabin we didn’t even see coming.

Yet the E5 was slow to settle over high-speed corrugations, with the softness also serving up a large amount of body roll – not overly well controlled – around roundabouts and longer corners for the 1776kg SUV, while in a straight line there was plenty of road noise.

Our sample drive was not enough to reveal a significant difference between the three drive modes, which alter steering and throttle behaviour. It was enough to be interrupted by the highly-strung fatigue warning after only a short distance – while some test cars in our group had an insufferably loud indicator chime which thankfully can be turned off.

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VERDICT

With a seven-year unlimited warranty – eight on the battery – the Omoda E5 is a strong on-paper contender, but its lack of polish behind the wheel makes it less convincing in the metal.

However, for many buyers, its value alone will be more than enough to overcome its shortcomings.

THE product planners at Honda Australia have sharpened their pricing pencils, with the 2025 update for the company’s HR-V compact SUV seeing the introduction of a more affordable hybrid variant as well as pricing tweaks that enhance the value proposition.

Set to go on sale from October 1 this year, the 2025 Honda HR-V range will be bulked up with the arrival of the HR-V e:HEV X, a petrol-electric hybrid that will bridge the gap between the existing petrol-only HR-V Vi X and the range-topping HR-V e:HEV L.

Priced at $39,900 on-the-road the e:HEV X gives HR-V shoppers a sub-$40K hybrid option for the first time, allowing Honda to take the fight to more budget-friendly rivals like the Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid, Hyundai Kona HEV and Haval Jolion Hybrid.

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The existing e:HEV L hybrid also gets a boost in showroom appeal, dropping $1000 from its on-the-road pricing to sit at a new sticker of $42,900. The entry-grade HR-V Vi X, meanwhile, stays at its old $34,900 price point. It’s worth noting that all of these prices are a national drive-away price, with Honda’s agency distribution model working off fixed, non-negotiable pricing for all of its vehicles.

Externally, the 2025 HR-V range gets a revised front grille and restyled tail lamps, while both of the hybrid variants feature adaptive headlamps as standard. Two new colours also join the palette, with Slate Gray and Botanical Green (the latter a hybrid-exclusive colour) available for the 2025 model year, bringing the total number of exterior colours to five.

On the inside a subtle rework simplifies the centre console, with a larger upper tray to better accommodate modern smartphones, and improved access to the lower tray from the passenger side. A USB-C port has also been grafted into the dash, joining the existing USB-A port.

There are under-the-skin changes for 2025, too. The electric power steering tune has been fiddled to improve high-speed stability and impart a more “predictable steering feel”, and sound deadening material has been improved to help quell engine and road noise.

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Hybrid variants also gain new damper tuning for better body control and compliance over bumps, plus revised control software for the hybrid powertrain to smooth the transition between petrol and electric drive, as well as more direct throttle response in EV mode.

For both powertrains, the active safety suite gets a tech tweak. The autonomous emergency braking system is now able to detect pedestrians and cyclists in a cross-traffic (travelling perpendicular to the car) scenario, as well now being able to sense motorcyclists approaching head-on. Road departure mitigation has also been added to the suite, as has traffic jam assist, while the active cruise control software has been adjusted to improve braking control and how it follows traffic in congested conditions.

There are no changes to the powertrains, with the base Vi X being powered by a 1.5-litre naturally-aspirated petrol four-cylinder with 89kW/145Nm, with the hybrids making use of an Atkinson-cycle 1.5-litre petrol with twin electric motors, producing a combined output of 96kW and 253Nm

PRICING

• 2025 Honda HR-V Vi X -$34,900
• 2025 Honda HR-V e:HEV X hybrid (new model) – $39,200
• 2025 Honda HR-V e:HEV L hybrid – $42,900 (down $1000)

JEEP Australia is bargaining extra hard with its first-ever all-electric SUV, with the company cleaving thousands off the sticker price of the Jeep Avenger before it’s even landed in showrooms.

It’s certainly good news for EV buyers, with the Avenger’s new opening price of $49,990 (down by $4000) for the Longitude grade allowing Jeep’s new arrival to sneak under the $50K barrier and clinch a pricing advantage against key EV SUV competitors like the new Mini Aceman, Renault Megane E-Tech, Kia Niro Electric and Hyundai Kona Electric. It’s even within striking distance of high-spec variants of popular Chinese EVs such as the BYD Atto 3 and MG ZS EV, with the latter’s flagship ZS Long Range retailing for the same amount of coin as the Avenger Longitude.

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Offered in a three-grade lineup, the Avenger can also be had in mid-spec Limited ($54,990 RRP) and top-shelf Summit ($60,990 RRP) grades, though all variants are mechanically identical with power supplied by a 54kWh battery and drive provided by as single 115kW/260Nm 400-volt motor on the front axle. Prices are down by $3000 for both of those variants versus the original pricing that was announced back in March.

All variants receive a 10.25-inch infotainment display, wireless smartphone mirroring via Android Auto and Apple Carplay, alloy wheels (18”s for the Longitude and Limited, 19”s for the Summit), a 10.25-inch electronic instrument panel, adaptive cruise control, rear parking sensors, a reversing camera, and auto high-beam.

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Moving into the Longitude also nets you a wireless phone charge pad, a powered tailgate, adjustable height boot floor, USB ports for the second row, keyless entry, front and rear parking sensors, lane keep assist, blind spot assist, keyless entry and heated wing mirrors.

For the Summit, unique equipment includes leather upholstery, LED headlamps and tail lamps, a sunroof, privacy glass, a power-adjustable driver’s seat with massage function and lumbar support, heated front seats and a heated windshield.

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Built on the same e-CMP2 platform as the Peugeot e-2008 and incoming Alfa Romeo Junior, the Avenger bucks the trend of corpulent EVs, with a relatively svelte 1520kg kerb weight. That low mass (and a compact frontal cross-section) allows it to deliver a WLTP efficiency number of 15.6kWh/100km, which translates to a maximum range of 396km on its 54kWh battery.

Unusually for a Jeep, there’s no AWD selector in sight inside the cabin. The Avenger is strictly a front-driver, however its 200mm ground clearance and the provision of Selec-Terrain and hill descent control means it shouldn’t struggle on mild dirt trails. More relevant to most buyers, though, is the Avenger’s turning circle, which measures at an ultra-tight 10.5 metres.

On a regular household outlet, the Avenger’s battery takes 26 hours to charge from zero to full. That drops to just under eight hours on a 7.4kW AC wall box, 5.5 hours on an 11kW AC charger, and just 24 minutes on a 100kW DC fast charger.

The 2025 Jeep Avenger range is available now with deliveries commencing this month.

Mitsubishi Australia currently has a stack of offers running to help clear out stock in its showrooms across Australia. With the help of The Beep we’ve dissected the data to outline the best current offers across the Mitsi range ?

Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross

Mitsubishi Australia currently has a few deals on offer until the end of September 2024 for its compact SUV.

Customers who sign on the dotted line for an Eclipse Cross ES (starting at $34,690 driveaway); LS ($37,690 driveaway); Black Edition ($40,120 driveaway); LS AWD ($41,410 driveaway); Aspire ($41,150 driveaway); Exceed ($45,270 driveaway); or Exceed AWD at ($47,850 driveaway) will also receive a $1000 bonus cash card (prepaid Mastercard) and three years of free servicing.*

Opting for an Eclipse Cross plug-in hybrid EV ES (from $51,790 driveaway); EV Aspire (from $56,480 driveaway); or EV Exceed (from $61,470 driveaway) will still get buyers a $1000 bonus cash card, but Mitsubishi is not offering three years of free servicing with its Exceed Cross EVs.*

Mitsubishi Outlander

Leave a Mitsubishi showroom behind the wheel of a new Outlander and you’ll also have a $1500 bonus cash card (prepaid Mastercard) in your pocket. Plus you’ll also get three years of free servicing. However, the offer doesn’t apply to PHEV variants. This deal will end on September 30, 2024.*

Mitsubishi Pajero Sport

The same deal applies to Mitsubishi’s family SUV, with new owners receiving a $2000 cash card and three years of free servicing when they secure a GLX 4WD (from $54,340 driveaway); GLS 4WD ($59,240 driveaway); Exceed ($65,640 driveaway); or top-spec GSR (from $67,890 driveaway). Again, this offer expires on September 30, 2024.*

Mitsubishi Triton

A loyalty bonus is currently on offer if current Mitsubishi owners stick with the brand and buy a new Triton. Buy a lower-spec GLX or GLX+ and you’ll get a $1000 bonus, or sign for a top-spec GLS or GSR and you’ll receive a $2000 bonus. Of course, this offer only applies if you already own a Mitsi. Three years of free servicing is also on offer, with the deal expiring on September 30, 2024.*

NBL offer

As a major sponsor of the NBL, Mitsubishi Australia is currently offering a bunch of bonuses to NBL and NBL1 club members. This extended offer is running until March 31, 2025.*

• Members will receive a $1000 prepaid Mastercard, $2000 fuel card and $2000 bonus towing package when purchasing a Triton or Pajero Sport.
• Members will receive a $500 prepaid Mastercard and $1000 fuel card when purchasing MY23 Eclipse Cross and Outlander petrol models.
• Members will receive a $500 prepaid Mastercard for the purchase of any other model.

Find more deals at The Beep!

IT’S somewhat unusual that the only model in Subaru’s modern lineup to wear the vaunted STI badge, a symbol of the brand’s rallying prowess and a mark of motorsport pedigree, is now the Forester.

With the arrival of a new special-edition Forester variant, Subaru’s high-riding family hauler is the sole bearer of the STI badge – at least until Subaru’s local operation sees fit to retire the fairly anonymous ‘tS’ branding of hotter BRZ and WRX variants in favour of the STI Sport labels they already use in the Japanese market.

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Curiously, the Subaru Forester STI Sport that’s just landed in Australia as a value-enhanced limited-edition actually carries the same branding as its Japanese-market equivalent, possibly indicating that Subaru Australia may be pondering adopting STI branding for its true performance cars as well. It’s also not a mere ploy to sex up the Forester by slapping a saucy STI badge on its tailgate, for behind the badges lies some STI-specific engineering.

The Forester STI Sport brings a unique suspension tune, which Subaru says was concocted by its STI engineers to “enhance control, stability and balance”, and should translate into slightly sharper dynamics. Springrates are untouched, however, with all of the STI magic concentrated in the front and rear damper valving.

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On top of the suspension gear, the Forester STI Sport receives a unique design and dark grey colouring for its 18-inch alloy wheels, as well as black-painted exterior elements like its grille, roof rails, mirror caps and foglamp surrounds. Interior features include a black and Bordeaux colour scheme with red contrast stitching for its Nappa leather upholstery, while STI branding appears on the instrument cluster and tailgate.

However, while the Forester STI Sport in Japan is available with a 1.8-litre direct-injection turbo flat-four engine with 130kW and 300Nm, Australia-bound examples, which are due to arrive in late September, will instead use the same powerplant as the regular Forester range, a 2.5-litre naturally-aspirated boxer four with 136kW and 239Nm. There won’t be a hybrid option for the STI Sport either.

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Priced at $48,640 before on-road costs, the Forester STI Sport sits at the top of the non-hybrid Forester range, slipping between the 2.5i-S grade and the range-topping Forester Hybrid S.

Next year, Subaru is expected to bring its next-generation Forester to Australia. The sixth-gen Forester was revealed in late 2023 and went on on sale in the USA earlier this year, with the all-new SUV coming to our shores in 2025 with a familiar naturally-aspirated petrol and petrol-electric hybrid powertrain lineup. Later on, a turbo petrol engines and a rugged outdoorsy Forester Wilderness variant may join the range, with the former potentially seeing the return of the powerful ‘XT’ grade – or perhaps another iteration of the Forester STI Sport.

Chery Australia has officially confirmed pricing for its Omoda E5, with the entry-level BX starting at $42,990 and the top-spec EX starting at $45,990.

Despite its entry-level status, the BX is highly equipped with premium kit including dual 12.3-inch screens, 18-inch alloy wheels, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a wireless phone charger, and a full-size spare. For an extra $3000 the EX adds two extra speakers, synthetic leather pews (heated), a powered sunroof, and a 360-degree camera.

Both E5 models are powered by a front-wheel-driven single electric motor that generates 150kW and 340Nm. Chery quotes power consumption of 155Wh/km and states the EV has a range limit of up to 430km. It can be charged from 30 to 80 per cent in less than 30 minutes when using a DC fast charger

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Features: BX

EX adds or replaces:

“We’re thrilled to introduce our first electric vehicle, a testament to our commitment to innovation and sustainability,” said Lewis Lu, CEO of Chery Australia.

“We’re proud to offer a vehicle that not only delivers outstanding performance and range but also helps reduce our carbon footprint. This launch is a significant milestone in our journey towards a greener and more sustainable future.”

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The E5 features a total of seven airbags (driver, passenger, centre, front side and side curtain), and a long list of driver assist functions including adaptive cruise control (ACC), autonomous emergency braking (AEB) and lane keeping assistance (LKA).

The all-electric crossover is covered by Chery’s comprehensive seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, seven-year capped price servicing and up to seven years of roadside assistance. Battery warranty is 8 years. It will be in local showrooms this month.

Pricing

Extras

WERE you wondering whether Volvo was turning its back on the humble sedan?

We wouldn’t blame you, the XC and EX prefixes that are Volvo-speak for ‘SUV’ now dominate the Volvo lineup, with the S60, V60 and C40 the only exceptions (and let’s face it, the C40 is really just an SUV cosplaying as a hatchback).

But we’ve got good news: a three-box Volvo is back on the menu, with Volvo letting slip its first teaser of the ES90 large sedan this week – a spiritual successor for the S90.

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Due to make its global debut next March in Sweden, Volvo’s Australian arm has already confirmed the ES90 will arrive in showrooms in late 2025. As for what to expect, no details have been revealed besides the general outline of the new car’s profile – and the fact it will be electric.

Under Volvo’s new nomenclature, the ES90 stands for Electric Sedan, with the numerics indicating it will sit alongside the newly-released EX90 large SUV in terms of size. The ES90 will use the EX90’s SPA2 platform, and will also follow its high-riding sibling as the second Volvo vehicle to make use of the company’s newly-developed Volvo Cars Superset modular architecture.

It may also be the last Volvo to use SPA2 underpinnings, with the next model in Volvo’s product plan, the EX60, to debut the company’s all-new SPA3 scalable architecture.

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Comparing the silhouette presented by Volvo’s teaser with images of the outgoing S90, we can see that Volvo’s flagship sedan will retain its distinctive C-pillar with its generous quarterglass, though the transition from the rear windscreen to the bootlid is substantially softer than before.

The rear doors also appear to have grown markedly to become as long – perhaps even longer – than the front doors, while flush-fit door handles blend smoothly with the sheetmetal. At the front, there appears to still be a good distance between the front axle line and the front door, however it looks like frontal overhang has undergone a sizable chop.

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Tech specs are still far from being officially announced for the ES90 but expect a similar fit-out to the EX90, which offers a massive 111kWh battery pack and a dual-motor powertrain producing 380kW and a massive 910Nm. Performance stats include an impressive 4.9-second zero-to-hundred blast, and a maximum range of 590km on the WLTP cycle for the EX90, and with less frontal area and potentially less weight, we’d expect the ES90 to improve on those metrics.

In other markets the EX90 will be offered with a less powerful 300kW/770Nm twin-motor configuration with a 600km max range, which would also be a likely candidate for the ES90.

However, though Volvo has just recently walked back on its goal to go all-electric by 2030 and will instead continue offering plug-in hybrids for the forseeable, don’t expect the ES90 to arrive with a petrol-electric powertrain option: the SPA2 platform it’s built on is EV-specific, with no provision for combustion engines.

VOLVO’S plan to only sell fully-electric vehicles globally by 2030 was always an ambitious one, but the Swedish automaker has now, just three years after revealing that plan, walked back on its target.

Instead, Volvo has adjusted its electrification goal to something a little less rigid. Between now and the end of the decade, the brand will aim to make 90 to 100 percent of its global sales ‘electrified’ rather than purely electric vehicles (EVs), meaning not just EVs but also plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) will count towards its eco-car target. In Volvo’s own words, “all cars with a cord”.

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The remaining zero to 10 percent will be mild hybrid models, which are expected to remain relevant in parts of the world where electrical infrastructure and/or the cost of liquid fuels are impacting uptake of EVs and PHEVs.

However, the company remains committed to a long-term aim of going all-electric, even though it no longer has a hard timeline for when such a transition will be completed. That said, Volvo is still gunning for a net-zero CO2 timeline that should see all of its carbon dioxide emissions from manufacturing become neutral by 2040.

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“We are resolute in our belief that our future is electric,” said Jim Rowan, chief executive of Volvo Cars.

“However, it is clear that the transition to electrification will not be linear, and customers and markets are moving at different speeds of adoption. We are pragmatic and flexible, while retaining an industry-leading position on electrification and sustainability.”

The softening of demand for EVs is one that’s been seen in Australia as well as overseas, as the latent demand for EVs that drove strong sales of battery-electrics in recent years tapered off and was replaced by more gradual growth as the early-adopter crowd took delivery of their first EVs.

Volvo pointed to slow roll-outs of charging infrastructure and the removal or reduction of government incentives as other factors in its decision to move away from its all-EV-by-2030 promise, with protectionist tariffs being highlighted by the company as another barrier. Volvo produces a large number of its EVs in China, a country that has been targeted with high import tariffs by a number of countries, including the commercially-critical US and European markets.

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Volvo currently has five all-electric models in its global product portfolio (including the just-launched EX30 small SUV and EX90 large SUV), with another five currently in development – the ES90 luxury sedan being the next off the rank.

In Australia, the local range was slated to switch over to a pure EV lineup from 2026 onward – Wheels has contacted Volvo for comment on what implications the global strategy change will have for the Australian product plan.

For the rest of the world, Volvo is expecting the percentage of EV and PHEV sales to fall somewhere between 50 and 60 percent of its global total by the start of 2025, giving it five years to convert an additional 30-40 percent of sales to cord-having models. For the second quarter of 2024 the total percentage of electrified sales for Volvo was 48 percent, while pure EVs only accounted for 26 percent of the global total in the same period.

New electric platform to be key

The day after it announced it would no longer pursue an EV-only target for 2030, Volvo also announced that its future electric vehicles would be derived from a single “technology stack”. The new architecture, which combines both the physical and electronic architectures of the car, will provide the basis for all of its EVs going forward, beginning with the EX90 and the incoming ES90 luxury sedan.

Dubbed the “Volvo Cars Superset”, the tech stack allows Volvo’s engineers to combine modules together much like that other Scandinavian innovation: Lego. The end result is trimmed development times, lower development costs and increased production line flexibility. The SPA2 platform of the EX90 is the first Volvo architecture to use the tech stack approach, and will be followed by the ES90. The next all-electric model in the pipeline will be the EX60 – the successor to the popular XC60 midsize SUV, which will be the first model to use Volvo’s next-generation SPA3 architecture.

JUMP AHEAD

• Part 1: Introduction
• Part 2: Chief urban
• Part 3: Intercity hauling
• Part 4: Softly tweaked
• Part 5: Eastern feastin’
• Past 6: Parting thinking

There’s something quite grounding about doing a long-term deep dive on an electric car that the average Aussie might be able to afford.

In this case, it’s arguably the sweet spot in the MG4 EV line-up (a base Excite with 64kWh battery) – and a stand-out in MG’s entire range. Pricing was already good before MG introduced a national drive-away approach, which popped the entry Excite 51 below $40,000 and reduced this Excite 64 from about $48K drive-away to $44,990 drive-away.

Indeed, the chasm between the dynamics of the rear-drive MG4 and its similarly priced MG ZS EV sibling is so vast that you could lose an ocean liner in it … which seems appropriate given that driving a ZS EV on a bumpy road conjures sensations relating to being deep at sea.

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The ZS represents the (recent) past for MG, though, rather than its future – which is why we are spending several months in the all-new MG4, to investigate what this booming brand is truly capable of.

What makes the MG4 such a game-changer for MG Motor Australia is that it debuts the brand’s first dedicated EV platform, as opposed to simply stuffing electric bits into an existing vehicle.

Developed by parent company SAIC, this Modular Scalable Platform (MSP) features sophisticated fully independent suspension – engineered and tuned by SAIC in conjunction with Spanish firm IDIADA – as well as 50:50 weight distribution and rear-wheel drive (on all variants bar the X-Power performance flagship that has all-wheel drive) to achieve handling and steering precision that feels distinctly British in its flavour, rather than depressingly lacking in, well, everything.

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Building on the base Excite 51 (which brings a $5K cost saving with its reduced 51kWh battery size and 350km WLTP range), the Excite 64 is all about its additional mileage (450km WLTP), extra power (25kW), and slightly faster 0-100km/h time (7.2sec versus 7.7). Almost everything else is identical.

Maximum charging rate also increases from 88kW to 140kW, meaning it can go from 10-80 per cent (using a 150kW CCS public charger) in a claimed 28 minutes (rather than 37).

And given the $3K-dearer Essence 64 doesn’t introduce anything that’s a must-have – plus slightly less range (435km) and a marginally firmer ride on 18-inch wheels – the Excite 64 seems to be the definitive MG4.

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First impressions are, for the most part, positive. Power delivery is crisp and urgent, the steering delightfully brisk and accurate, its turning circle is brilliant (10.6m), forward vision over a very low cowl is tremendous, and its climate control (in Sydney’s oppressive recent weather) is instant and excellent … until it annoyingly starts to fog up every window and requires winter-style demisting to clear it.

Despite basic manual adjustment, the driving position is really good, with a terrific (and stylish) two-spoke steering wheel and supple black cloth upholstery (which absorbs a surprising amount of heat when parked in the sun).

MG’s welcome advance in screen technology means the MG 4 offers improved processing speed, respectable functionality, and clear, classy graphics.

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Even the basic four-speaker stereo sounds okay, though some of the switchgear (such as the mostly unmarked cruise control set-up on the left-hand steering wheel spoke) requires trial and error to get your head around how to operate it.

Then there are the few faults that have already jarred with the MG4’s generally sound design. If you stop and put the hazard lights on – for example, when swapping drivers so I can perform the challenging reverse park in my narrow one-way street – the rotary-dial gear selector will only select Neutral, not Drive or Reverse, until you switch the hazards off and depress the brake for several seconds.

Sometimes, the wired Apple CarPlay requires multiple attempts to connect, the cup holders buried beneath the beaky transmission shelf are better suited to regular coffees rather than tall drinks with a straw, and the USB ports situated above are impossible to access without bending over.

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The MG4 doesn’t have a start/stop button – it senses when a driver is seated and turns itself on when you depress the brake, then switches off when you lock the car.

It occasionally lost charge when parked overnight – sometimes up to five per cent – which I wasn’t expecting. We’ll scrutinise this further in the coming weeks.

As for efficiency, it has so far averaged 17.9kWh/100km (including a Sydney-Newcastle return journey) and took a suggested six hours and 48 minutes to go from 28 per cent to fully charged when using a friend’s Tesla charger in their garage.

Given the Excite 64’s useable battery capacity of 62.1kWh, that translates to 347km per full charge, which seems decent given the hideous temperatures, serious air-conditioning demands, and mostly freeway running the MG4 has copped so far.

⬆️ Back to top

Part 2, Feb 2024: Chief urban

A month in the city keeps MG4 mostly sitting pretty

• Price as tested: $48,786
• February 2024: 378km @ 18.4kWh/100km
• Overall: 813km @ 18.2kWh/100km

Bit by bit, its handy size (just 4287mm long) and handsome colour combo (metallic silver with gloss-black mirrors, window frames and tailgate garnish, black-accented 17-inch wheels and matte-black lower sections) adds a touch of egalitarian flair to Sydney’s enviro-conscious Inner West.

The refined silkiness of its drivetrain constantly impresses – particularly the satisfying surge in urgency when a burst of acceleration is required – and now that I’ve switched to MG’s version of one-pedal motoring (which isn’t as extreme as the ‘i-pedal’ operation in a Hyundai–Kia EV), there’s a seamless rhythm to the way the MG4 drives that makes punting it briskly around town effortlessly rewarding.

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It clearly favours handling precision over comfort, though, so as long as you’re attuned to its excellent chassis balance, crisp steering and keenness to alter direction, you can (mostly) forgive its somewhat jiggly ride and tendency to fall into road depressions.

I’ve also noticed that its 205/50R17 Continental Premium Contact C tyres prioritise reduced rolling resistance, so eagerly exploring its dynamic envelope often results in turned heads. Even running recommended pressures, they squeal. Yet as a testament to its 50:50 weight distribution, they do so as a quartet.

Speaking of four-ways, having only four stereo speakers for the front passengers (door speakers, plus tweeters) isn’t that much of an issue – I often miss the simplicity of the ’80s – but for anyone sitting in the back, it’s tough luck if you want to catch the crispness of every hi-hat.

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Same goes for lighting. The roof-mounted cabin light sits above the front console, so retrieving anything from the rear seat or floor in darkness often requires a double-check with a smartphone torch. It’s pitch-black back there, like the rest of the interior colouring.

Perhaps the $3K-dearer MG4 Essence does have a point after all, seeing it offers rear-seat speakers as well as electrically folding mirrors (I have to nudge ours in manually) and four one-touch windows (the Excite’s front passenger window only gets one-touch for opening), though the Essence doesn’t appear to offer rear-seat ‘courtesy lighting’, either, and its part-vinyl seats are a retrograde step.

I can forgive the plastic upholstery in my 1969 Peugeot 404 because it’s beautifully supple and aromatic – if equally sweaty – but in a modern, enviro-conscious car, vinyl isn’t ideal. In which case, perhaps the cloth-upholstered Excite is the go-to MG4 spec after all.

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Having delayed my Christmas holidays until February, our running around this month had been a cost-conscious ‘staycation’ – meaning a lot of driving but not a whole lot of mileage.

The first charge I fed into the MG4 was at a new charging station at Tempe BP, and while it didn’t cost much ($12.58 for 22.9kWh), it took 40 minutes to go from 18 to 54 percent. Don’t think I’ll be using its 36kW of inadequate energy ‘boost’ again.

Next attempt was at an ultra-fast NRMA/ChargeFox charger in the East Village carpark in Zetland – the only one in our immediate vicinity – which added 33.1kWh in 21 minutes (for $21.49), meaning we could duck upstairs for a coffee and return with 80 percent battery showing.

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But we had to wait for a Tesla to finish charging first, and when we returned another Model Y was already poised to take our place.

So, for now, adopting EV ownership in a population-dense, garage-poor urban location requires a degree of patience and/or planning.

As for the MG4’s loss of charge overnight, it hasn’t happened again (any more than maybe one percent) so we can only put that down to the extreme temperature one January evening. And as for the rest of the ‘ownership’ experience, there’s still a few niggling faults that grate slightly.

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Two normal-sized ‘large’ Aussie coffees cannot comfortably coexist in the front cupholders, the Apple CarPlay regularly doesn’t connect properly (which hasn’t been an issue in other MG4 test cars we’ve had), and sometimes you need to depress the brake several times for the MG4 to display ‘ready’ in its instrument pack.

The doors won’t take larger-sized water bottles (though my preferred coconut water fits comfortably!) and the driver-centric switchgear – both on the steering wheel and the column stalks – needs a rethink. The wheel switches are mostly unmarked and it’s too easy to accidentally flick the LED headlights to ‘off’ or ‘parkers’, rather than ‘auto’.

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Part 3, March 2024: Intercity hauling

Plenty of mileage and improved efficiency

• Price as tested: $48,786
• March 2024: 1433km @ 16.6kWh/100km
• Overall: 2246km @ 17.2kWh/100km

Making plans is a mug’s game – best to decide on the spur of the moment and keep some spontaneity in your life.

That’s what I’ve been telling myself as plans to take a delayed Christmas holiday in February evaporated faster than a rain shower in Oodnadatta. So I gifted the MG4 to John Law for a return trip to Canberra. And then followed up Johnny’s ACT adventure with several visits to Newcastle.

With the MG4’s overall energy consumption sitting at 18.2kWh/100km last month (after travelling 813km), it gave a stellar performance in month three, ripping that number down to 17.2kWh/100km, despite much of that mileage being accrued on NSW freeways.

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Johnny’s Sydney-to-Canberra leg, purely on the Hume, netted 17.3kWh/100km, while his return journey via some entertaining back roads and a final (post-charge) sprint from Goulburn to Sydney back on the Hume delivered 16.0kWh/100km. For a relatively cheap EV, that’s impressive.

Mr Law had similar grievances to us when it came to the MG 4’s unlabelled steering-wheel controls, and he found the sometimes-recalcitrant gearshift dial and start-up procedure “awkward and annoying”.

But the rest of his notes were filled with nothing but praise for the MG4’s seat comfort, steering and handling, and chilly climate control.

“It was really good at scything through traffic on the busy M5 Motorway, if with a noticeable increase in consumption at speeds beyond 110km/h.

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I found 25 degrees the perfect temperature for me on the climate control [we never go higher than 21, so maybe that’s due to Johnny’s lithe frame…], which is very rare for an EV – meaning the AC is ice-cold, unlike in a BYD Atto 3.

The four-speaker stereo is decent enough, the seats are comfy, and the driving is sporty.

“I like the MG4’s low centre-of-gravity and keen steering, and I found the ride quality really quite good – though it can be loud on coarse-chip surfaces, and the [multi-link] rear suspension is a little noisy and boomy. But what I liked most is the handling. We had to make an emergency right turn and the MG4 was bloody awesome!

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“Trailing the brake in allowed it to develop a good amount of attitude and it scrubbed off speed with a little four-wheel drift – effortlessly making the corner.

It achieves properly good small-car dynamics without trying to be sporty. The Excite 64 is definitely the sweet spot compared to overdone X-Power,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, back at home base, the MG4 has been serving its time well. Driving more than a dozen of the EVs in Wheels’ various comparison tests has simply confirmed how much of a rip-roaring bargain the MG4 Excite 64 is when you take into account its strong driver appeal, really comfortable seating, and fantastic size and vision.

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As a small ICE hatchback alternative, it’s borderline brilliant … providing you can accept that some of its electronic quirks (and patchy Apple CarPlay) will probably require a software update to be smoothed over.

As an all-round driving experience, it’s better than any of the four contenders featured in our 2024 Wheels Best Small Electric SUVs (e-2008, Atto 3, Kona EV and Megane E-Tech), and the Excite 64’s narrower footprint compared to the next-up Essence 64 (wearing grippier 235/45R18s instead of 215/50R17s) allows it to find its balance better in a corner, nudging its tail out slightly on corner exits for a more fluid, more rewarding handling – plus a more absorbent ride.

If the MG4 is any guide, the next generation of SAIC-funded products could well earn the popularity the MG brand is already enjoying (albeit based on their fire-sale pricing, because Aussies have always loved a bargain).

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Part 4: Softly tweaked

Electronic updates, plus a substantial price drop

• Price as tested: $45,690 drive-away
• This month: 711km @ 17.2kWh/100km
• Overall: 2957km @ 17.2kWh/100km

Just like the hand-held devices that have become the bane of our existence when there’s a pedestrian glued to them, the electric MG 4 requires software updates. Perhaps ‘requires’ is being a bit dramatic because if everything was perfect, it wouldn’t need them.

But having that capability allows the factory to upgrade and finesse this EV’s multitude of electronic systems for “a more optimal driving experience for all owners” (the company’s words).

The MG 4’s software update covered its forward collision warning and AEB performance – particularly for when the car is turning across traffic from the centre of the road while another car is doing the same in the opposite direction. Apparently, customers found the AEB overly eager to activate in situations where it wasn’t warranted, so the sensitivity of the system has been finessed. I’ve personally barely experienced this, though I did cop a major AEB moment on the motorway as I was pulling out to overtake a truck. Perhaps my margin-of-error tolerance is more nuanced than simply ‘computer says no’.

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After driving an MG 4 Essence 64 hard for our recent EV testing, I’ve been playing with the Excite’s various driving modes. There’s plenty of stuff in there – easily accessed by pressing the touchscreen’s car icon, then selecting various tabs. I’ve simply left the long-termer in Normal mode, because every time you ‘start’ the car, that’s what it reverts to. So any experimentation with Custom mode, which can blend altered steering weighting and throttle response with proper ‘one-pedal’ regenerative braking, all gets thrown in the bin next time the MG 4 boots up. You need to configure it from scratch every time.

Thing is, none of it is necessary – certainly not the drive-mode stuff. I just leave the MG the way it is and select ‘one-pedal’, because its regenerative braking works well and will bring the car to a full stop.

Based on EYM-06Q’s patchy Apple CarPlay connectivity, I asked MG’s software engineer whether a future update might address the multimedia system, and he replied “it’s coming.” Whether that will happen before this car goes back is unlikely, however my partner and I did get brand new Apple phones … which only connect via USB-C. Once I’ve sourced a piggyback USB-A plug, we’ll know for certain whether the MG’s frustrating wired smartphone mirroring is all its fault, or due to our ageing phones.

Thanks to a pricing sweetener at the end of March, the MG 4 could now be considered a genuinely cheap EV. The Excite 64’s previous manufacturer list price ($44,990) is now its national drive-away price, saving well over three grand in NSW. Ditto the base car at $39,990 driveaway. Moving up the range, the new drive-away price for the Essence 64 and Essence 77 is actually cheaper than their previous list prices (by $3K for the 77), though that doesn’t change my opinion that the smaller wheeled Excite 64 is clearly the MG 4 sweet spot.

Unlike Andy and his now-departed Mach-E, no one has confronted me about the MG. It so easily blends into the landscape, it may as well be invisible. Sure, I’ve had pedestrians walking down the middle of our road, oblivious to the fact there’s an EV almost wedged up their date, who’ve then thrown me a startled ‘WTF?’ after I’ve given them a friendly toot, but that’s about it.

No blues at EV chargers yet either, though I suspect some degree of commotion is imminent. After many, many decades of service-station queueing etiquette – a process so effective in its lane-filtering ease that it’s been deployed across the globe – having nowhere to properly queue for an EV charger appears to be an argument waiting to happen. So far, the honesty system has been upheld. But its effectiveness seems tenuous.

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There’s also the aspect of plugging into the same charging tower as someone else – thereby halving their charging speed. It happened to me recently at IKEA in Tempe, where there were two charging plugs free on one unit (for the full 150kW boost), but old mate decided he’d feel more comfortable sidled up next to the MG (which can handle up to 140kW DC charge), instantly plunging our charge speed to 75kW.

Perhaps the silence and refinement of a decent EV acts as a subliminal counterbalance to the potential anxiety and impatience in having to charge it. I keep a sharp eye on the apps, seeing when the chargers are free … but even if you’re only a few minutes’ drive away, that means nothing. Patience is a virtue when it comes to navigating Australia’s inconsistent charging infrastructure, as is strategy. But if you’re lucky enough to have a garage at home, with a decently powerful wallbox just for you, then great. I want your life.

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Part 5: Eastern Feastin’

Two massive trips, many hours waiting to charge

• Price as tested: $45,690 drive-away
• This month: 4613km @ 17.5kWh/100km
• Overall: 7570km @ 17.4kWh/100km

The MG 4, as a car, performed well – comfortably accommodating us in its cloth-upholstered buckets, despite their rudimentary manual adjustment (including no height-adjust for the front passenger). Its deep cowl and vast windscreen framed the pink sunsets on the picturesque Pacific Highway beautifully, and even its 350km real-world range at 110km/h didn’t seem too horrendous given that this is essentially a city car (with a WLTP claim of 450km).

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The first insect in this EV’s ointment turned out to be its solitary USB-C charging port – it doesn’t work. So balancing the available phone charge on our new iPhone 15s with music duties, navigation to the next EV station, and having enough phone power left to access the apps to charge the MG 4 became quite a challenge heading north. Thankfully, a wall outlet inside the servo at Taree South became our saviour.

Like the Evie chargers at Taree and Macksville, the pair at Shell in Tyndale, just south of Maclean in northern NSW, also provide 350kW ultra-fast charging speeds, but two of the four outlets were broken … and now several weeks later, remain ‘unavailable’. It’s this aspect of EV motoring, even more than their relatively short distance potential, that constantly frustrates.

Speaking of which, spending so much time in the MG 4 has crystallised what we like and don’t like about MG’s brand-enhancing EV. At its core, this is an excellent car. Handsome, roomy, keen, sweetly balanced, reasonably quiet, brisk (and cheap) to charge (when the chargers are working!), and great value for money, its fun-to-drive and easy-to park vibe makes it a terrific antidote to the stress of city living.

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But its supplementary electronic systems such as its multimedia system and its active-safety aids require a considerable amount of redevelopment. Its Apple CarPlay hasn’t worked properly in months, its USB-C port appears to be completely dead, and its central touchscreen is so tardy to boot up that you’re often almost rear-ending whatever is behind you before there’s any camera vision. The start-up procedure is also hit and miss – depressing the brake once you’re seated prompts a green ‘READY’ light in the instrument pack – seeing it sometimes requires several stabs of the brake pedal, mostly after the car has already been running and has then switched itself off, to get it operational again.

The main glitches with its safety electronics concern its lane-keep assistance (which automatically engages every time cruise control is activated, including when you hit ‘resume’) and its auto high-beam. The MG 4’s lane-keep performance is the definition of snatch-and-grab – lacking any form of subtlety or awareness of the road ahead – while its auto high-beam also seems unaware of what it should be looking out for, including the tail-lights of vehicles less than 200m in front. It’s both laughably amateur in its dimwittedness and anxiety-inducing.

Finally, to its in-cabin storage. The front doors will house a narrow one litre bottle but nothing more, while locating the cramped centre-console cup holders below the console’s transmission ‘awning’ means you’re restricted for height as well. Why not put them where the large tray is between the front seats? The angled pad for where the wireless phone charging is in higher-spec models is also annoyingly slippery – your phone slides off at the first hint of lateral g-force – and having no rear-seat courtesy lighting smacks of 1970s penny-pinching.

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As a motoring journalist, I can see past the flaws of this kind of ‘tinsel’ to truly appreciate what the MG 4 is good at. Apart from its slightly jiggly ride – especially around town – and the lack of true steering feel at higher speeds, the MG 4 is a genuinely likeable driver’s car. I love its seat comfort, its crisp accelerative urge, and its steering sharpness via a terrific two-spoke wheel. I even like its styling and could easily live with the audio quality from just four front seat speakers. But my partner has struggled to acclimatise to its niggling quirks, and while he enjoys driving it, the MG’s storage issues, electronic foibles and invisible Apple CarPlay have become deal-breakers.

At some point during its lifecycle, the MG 4 will surely hit its peak. With more range, plenty of software updating and some intelligent reworking of its interior packaging, it’ll be an absolute cracker for the money. For the time being, though, it remains a really impressive small electric hatch, best left in the city.

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Part 6: Parting thinking

Back to base for some post-test analysis

• Price as tested: $45,690 drive-away
• Overall: 7570km @ 17.4kWh/100km

Firstly, EYM-06Q’s labour-averse USB-C port in the dashboard’s centre stack. Yep, it was dead. Bereft of life. Pushing up the daisies in an alternate UX universe somewhere, with ‘EX-USB-C’ marking its criminal record. MG assures us it’s a relatively painless fix and would’ve required a day at a dealership, but when you’re on a road-trip holiday, hanging out in a service department waiting area for eight hours equals an extra day’s accom in said locale, and that unscheduled inconvenience may lead one to drink.

MG flagged the possibility of providing a loaner vehicle to “mirror the customer experience we strive for” had we returned our MG 4 for rectification, but when you’re already balls-deep on a trip north, faffing about for non-essential car repairs would’ve been utterly pointless.

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Then there’s the Apple CarPlay. MG’s technical wizard said it worked perfectly for him on two separate road tests using two different phones. We hadn’t used it properly for months, and when it did work, sometimes it required plugging in and unplugging more than a dozen times to get it to connect … which happened in no other test car using the same cords and phones. Anyhoo, MG said it “carried out a factory reset, reprogrammed and recalibrated the FICM anyway” and we’ve already reported there’s a factory software update coming for the MG 4’s smartphone mirroring.

Having now sampled the newer, quicker, clearer multimedia setup (with the same-size screen and general architecture as MG 4’s) in the new-generation MG 3, better things are coming in this department. Yet, to be honest, of the multitude of Chinese brands now wielding tech-heavy control screens in their products in Australia, the most user-friendly (ie. the least infuriating) is this set-up in the MG 3 and 4.

The final thing we noticed (after last month’s report) was the left-rear tail-light had taken in water during some serious rain. But after being parked in north-facing sun for five days, it all evaporated. MG says it’s a simple fix and will replace the taillight (covered under the seven-year warranty for a regular punter) before the car is sold. As with the other issues, it’ll be logged on a database that gets sent directly to Shanghai.

Having had time to reflect on the MG 4 Excite 64 for several weeks now, what do I miss and what would I change? Firstly, its general driving ease – thanks to light, quick steering, compact sizing, a tight turning circle, great handling and brilliant forward vision – makes it an excellent city car. And even when it needs charging, being able to swallow up to 140kW DC makes it happen reasonably quickly. I loved its seats, its five-door ease, its useful 363-litre boot, and its swift acceleration (7.2sec 0-100km/h). And I even liked the fonts in its dinky instrument pack.

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There’s plenty I’d change though. A less reactive ride (without hampering the steering and handling) and much more reactive general electronics would make a huge difference. The inconsistent tardiness of its drivetrain and multimedia start-up procedures can test your patience, and they seem to work the least well just when you need them most! Non-folding electric mirrors and no rear-seat lighting both seem odd in 2024. And if the new MG 3 is any guide, it’s only a matter of time before the MG 4 gets better control markings on its steering wheel and all-new, simpler column stalks.

There’s always gonna be haters who wouldn’t buy Chinese, full stop. Admittedly, there’s a whole heap I wouldn’t go near but that’s car-dependent, not anything to do with the brand or country of origin. Given how fast the Chinese are learning and their keenness to overcome any faults, perhaps we’ll one day laugh about the ropey original Haval H6 or the MG GS. We’re already most of the way there, and the MG 4 is even closer again. But it’ll need a bit more finesse, focus and real-world electric range to truly realise its undoubted all-round potential.

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The Cupra Tavascan will arrive in Australia in December as the brand’s first fully-electric SUV and second pure EV, joining the Born electric hatch that arrived in 2023.

Pitching into the increasingly competitive small all-electric SUV space, the Tavascan enter local showrooms in a two-model lineup, with the 210kW rear-wheel drive single motor Tavascan Endurance as the entrypoint and the 250kW dual-motor AWD Tavascan VZ as the flagship.

As a soon-to-be member of the near-premium EV SUV segment, the Tavascan won’t be short of rivals when it lands. Already present in Australia are battery-electric sporty SUVs like the dominant Tesla Model Y, Volvo EX30, Smart #3 and EV variants of the Mini Countryman, while the Hyundai Kona Electric, Lexus UX 300e and – to a lesser extent – the Renault Megane E-Tech, will also compete with the Cupra.

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Pricing will help shape its fortunes in Australia, and though Cupra has yet to confirm Australian pricetags for the Tavascan Endurance and VZ (expect to find out closer to its December launch timing), local Cupra chief Ben Wilks says “we expect all variants to fall below the LCT threshold and to therefore qualify for FBT exemptions”. With the FBT threshold for fuel-efficient or zero-emission vehicles currently set at $91,387, we do at least know there’s a hard ceiling for the Tavascan VZ. As for the Tavascan Endurance, Wilks hinted that the entry model will be priced “slightly above” the RRP of Cupra’s Formentor VZx, which is currently retailing at $65,790.

Full Australian specifications haven’t been outlined yet, but key features will include a massive 15-inch infotainment touchscreen, 19-inch alloys for the Endurance (21-inchers for the sportier VZ), LED headlamps, keyless entry and ‘sit to start’ functionality, a powered tailgate with kick sensor and tri-zone climate control. The Endurance can also be optioned up with the ‘Interior Package’, which adds 20-inch alloys, a 360-degree parking camera, powered/heated front seats, a Sennheiser audio system, ambient cabin lighting and microfibre upholstery to replace the standard black cloth.

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The VZ adds to the above by bringing ‘cascading Matrix LED’ headlamps, adaptive suspension and a glass roof with retractable sunblind. From early 2025 onward, an optional ‘Extreme Package’ for the VZ will replace the standard front seats with leather-clad racing buckets, as well as grippier tyres to help generate more cornering G.

Both variants will be powered by a 77kWh battery pack, delivering enough energy to the Endurance’s single 210kW/545Nm motor to go from 0-100km/h in 6.8 seconds and travel a maximum distance of 568km (WLTP). The Tavascan VZ adds an 80kW/145Nm motor to the front wheels to produce a combined total output of 250kW and 545Nm, enough to zip to 100km/h in 5.5 seconds, though it comes at the expense of range, dipping to 499km on a single charge. If equipped with the Extreme Package, the Tavascan VZ trims its range even further to 463km.

Expect full specifications and pricing for the 2025 Cupra Tavascan to be announced as we draw closer to its December launch date.