The 429bhp MG4 XPower wants to usher in a new era for hot hatches

MG has unveiled a new version of its very sensible electric hatchback, the MG4. Except, this iteration might not actually be all that sensible, because it’s called the XPower and it uses a twin-motor powertrain with 429bhp. Good grief.

Set to go on sale later this month, the XPower will be MG’s most powerful production car yet, and the company says it’ll offer “hyper hatch-rivalling performance”. 

They’re not wrong. There’s all-wheel drive thanks to the twin motors and the 0-62mph sprint can be dispatched in just 3.8 seconds thanks to a new launch control system. The rear motor is able to produce slightly more power than the front, and the XPower should be able to corner thanks to a new ‘Dynamic Cornering Control System’.

We’re told that it combines an electronic locking differential and a control unit that allows torque vectoring between all four wheels. 

There’s a new suspension setup for the XPower too with recalibrated springs and dampers that are 25 per cent stiffer than the standard 4’s. There are new anti-roll bars too, plus ‘sharper steering’ and uprated brake discs with a new calibration for the regenerative braking.

Despite all that though, prices for the XPower will apparently start from just £36,495. That means it’s only £4,000 more expensive than the previous top-spec Trophy Long Range. Impressive.

The exterior design changes are slightly more subtle than you might imagine given the headline power figure. You get orange brake calipers, a black roof, new 18-inch alloys and the option of a new ‘Racing Green’ paint colour. That should please the MG fans of old.

The MG of today reckons that this new XPower will “fly under the radar in comparison to the usual high-powered hatchback offerings”.

What do we think, folks? Sold on the all-electric hot hatch yet?