Affordable electric car shootout! Is the MG4 or the Kia Niro EV the one to choose? / Electrifying

now there are two cars that whenever we talk about on our website YouTube social channels you guys go into complete meltdown about yeah it sends absolutely everything bonkers it's the mg4 and the new Kia Nero EV now before we go into a discussion of would you rather remember to subscribe to our Channel because if you love electric cars there is only one place to be and that's right here now this is a bit of a head scratcher and I'm not going to tell you the ending because otherwise there'll be no point in watching this video but these two cars are really similar and that has to be a good thing I think this is a bit of a battle royale because the electric Kia Nero was the second best-selling electric car last year seconds to the Tesla Model 3 however this year mg says this mg4 and then I surpass those kind of sales figures so I think think it might have met his match now that is quite bold it isn't it I mean that's Punchy coming from mg but I have to say that out of these two I would actually be quite happy with either of them right yeah agreed but there are once you start digging into the details a couple of things that might just happen to be deal breakers price price um that might sway you one way or the other so um let us know in the comments immediately which one would you prefer we'll leave rookie to remove the frog from his throat and get talking about this car because we are here talking about the Kia Nero EV now this is actually a modern cleaner fresher looking of an old electrifying favorite the Kia e Nero and I cannot wait to compare it to the mg4 yeah and this is the brand new mg4 it's a new model from mg this time showcasing a lot of style in that it actually has some this time and value for money a load of new tech I know that you actually really like this one don't you I do but stop trying to guess the ending don't give anything away right let's start with first things first and this the mg4 now I have always quite liked electric MGS but they were never really super stylish now were they but this car actually has changed the game for mg in my opinion I looked at it and I'm not stunned I don't think it's the best looking car in the world in fact I think it looks a little bit like a Nissan Leaf's weird cousin with a bit of ev6 that had an affair somewhere along its sort of timeline but it is distinctive and I do like the way it looks I think this is Worlds Apart from what we've seen from mg in the past I mean the Zs review that I did a couple of months back look I got absolutely slated for for being farty honest about the way it looks she did get quite a few good comments when she last reviewed an mgz I will say that yes I was a bit too honest I think but come on it was not a stylish cup whereas this they've completely with it I think it's absolutely wow that we praise indeed and the other thing it's like we were talking about it earlier weren't we this is just a normal sort of five-seat hatchback it's quite a normal size yeah not massively raised up and it's not called an SUV it's quite nice no which I do think is a phrase that is overused quite a lot for some cars that are not of SUV size I guess this is just like a traditional five-seater hatchback also worth noting though it's quite modest in terms of size this is basically the same size as an ID3 does that mean you don't like the way that the Kia Niro EV looks because I happen to think that this looks so super modern it makes the mg4 look slightly old-fashioned already uh well actually no it's not because I like it because it's more like a proper SUV so it's a bit bigger it's also packed full of kind of Kia's latest and greatest Innovations in technology so yeah I think it is super stylish and I do think it's a big step up from the last version and so you know again massive credit to Kia for the sort of the design and the styling of this car one thing bit of a fun fact for you do you want to know I do live for fun fact is that this in the long range even though is a smaller car yeah is heavier okay so that is a fun fact and it means that the mg4 is extremely dense but there is more to talk about let's go for interiors nice I quite like the mg4s interior it's practical rather than sexy but actually everything you need is here it's got this rectangular information screen in front of the driver which does look a little bit plonked in there but then the normal sort of touch screen big rectangle in the middle underneath are some commonly used buttons but they look kind of play schooly they're a bit big and blocky so they're a bit odd and the steering wheel is not round and you think that'd feel weird but actually it's quite nice when you're driving then it's got this kind of weird jutting out shelf which I thought of bang my knees on but I actually don't that contains the rotary Drive selector and the electric handbrake now in this top spec model this is a trophy this bit here this little shelf is a wireless charging pad for your mobile phone in the other cars the lower spec cars that's just a shelf which is quite shallow so when you go around the corner your phone might drop off but if you are charging stuff it's got these holes for the cables which go through the top of the shelf and then plug in down here where the actual charge ports are now once you've got things on it it looks okay but when there's nothing there you get a load of cables it's it's slightly odd and then down here you do get where the actual USB ports are a couple of cup holders again much more space down here because this is an electric car big shelf that you can cover up and then there's another deep door bin here a couple of things that I don't like again I've mentioned the buttons they're a little bit cheap looking the seats don't feel like they've got enough lumber support and because I'm a little bit heavier than people like Nikki and Ginny I feel like I'm sat through the seat so the seats feel a little bit cheap but you do get half leather on this trophy um generally though it feels nicely practical the materials are all right this is all pretty good there's good enough space in the back and the boot is big enough but again not exactly a cave at 363 liters a tiny bit smaller than an average hatch well I think the neuro really stands up here because it has a much bigger boot 475 liters not to be sniffed that plus it's much bigger in the back as well let's take a look at the interior inside the Kia I think first of all you can see that this is overall a nicer place to meet than the mg4 I love the steering wheel plenty of information at your fingertips while driving the one thing you will notice immediately though is this is the entry level the 2.0 and the display screen is the smallest one so you have a massive Gap with nothing going on here in the middle which isn't ideal you also have these buttons that do nothing these obviously Just placeholders For What should go there if you get the higher spec model which is just an annoying reminder that you're a bit of a cheapskate and didn't pay for the extras so I think that's a bit frustrating they're down here in the center console and also around here at the side you've got the haptic buttons along the bar in the middle here which is actually really nice oh bit of smooth radio on there I didn't tune the radio station I promise this isn't a bespoke electric car so what does that mean it means you still have the space for the transmission tunnel so there is no empty Gap here for your handbag which again it's just a little niggle it's not a game changer it's not going to make a decision on whether you buy it or not but it's just something that's missing from this car also worth noting on the 2.0 you only get fabric seats so you have to upgrade to get the vegan leather no heated steering wheel of course and unfortunately the seats are manual only no power assisted seats in this trim it is worth noting though that you only get all of the spec when you move to the more expensive trophy version so if you want powered seats you've got to have the trophy if you want a heated steering wheel or heated seat you've got to have the trophy version if you want the double rear spoiler that's only on the trophy if you want rear privacy glass again only on the trophy the SE and the lower spec cars aren't badly equipped but it is the top spec trophy that gets all the toys the new hotels too but you are right there's less stand kit on the Kia if we are being picky but for all the actual specs please do have a look at electrifying.com and you can check them out for yourself no standard heated seats though until you get to the more expensive trophy version of the mg4 I notice that's got to be a note from me well it would be until you realize that a full house mg full trophy is still less money than a base Nero EV but more on that later first we must drive now this really is quite a pleasant surprise because this mg4 really does feel quite nippy it's got just over 200 brake horsepower and 184 pounds feet of torque and it feels nicely quick without being stupidly ballistic zero to 62 miles an hour takes just under eight seconds and I think it's actually quite well judged because it gets down the road really nicely without smashing your head back off the headrests plus it's actually rear wheel drive and it's got a very very quick steering rack now that makes the car feel like it reacts really nicely when you put your inputs in I was surprised that they made it this positive because sometimes that can put people off it makes a car feel slightly nervous if you do it wrong but in the mg4 it just makes it feel reactive and actually quite good fun to drive the weird thing is it always feels just that little bit sporty even if it's not supposed to it's not intrusive but it makes the car feel like it reacts from newly quickly really pleasantly especially when you're in town actually I noticed it quite a lot it feels uh it feels like you can get into a gap especially with electric power the steering's quick the car feels quite small this isn't like most of those big electric SUVs that feel quite heavy and big and ponderous this feels like a little nippy City car that's pretty good there are five driving modes um I you have to access them through the screen which is a little bit annoying I would have preferred the button but you get snow Eco normal Sport and custom which allows you to sort of aggregate all your own personal settings as ever you will probably only use two which are normal and Eco worth tend to be what I use anyway and they all work very well things that I don't like well actually this is a niggly thing but the soundproofing for the suspension is a little bit weak so you can hear the suspension sort of booming and moving around a little bit it's not hugely um intrusive but you do notice it and it rides really well sort of 85 of the time you hit the odd bump and you really hear it thumping and over rough surfaces you do get again a bit of a booming from the wheel arches so it can be something you notice one thing against the Nero I keep thinking is that it feels really small look I'm going to do a three-point turn here really good turning Circle and everything just feels that little bit smaller it feels like a nippy car and it also feels a lot lower than the neuro I realize that it's a different body style but this car feels more like a conventionally engine car than an electric one albeit very fast and very put together and really quite quiet as I am with the Nero EV if I'm honest I think this car just feels right in pretty much every area and just like the mg it has just over 200 brake horsepower with a similar 188 pounds per foot of torque there was just a single digit difference in power and torque between these two so it's really close also this gets from North to 62 miles per hour in just under eight seconds so it's fast it's nippy it's plenty it's exactly what you need it's quite interesting I think all manufacturers seem to have concluded what the sort of Ideal amount of power is and then just stuck with it because so many cars that are coming out at the moment seem to all be pitched at around the 200 brake horsepower Mark now in terms of your driving position you do sit slightly higher slightly higher on the road which again I like um this is also front wheel drive I would say that the steering is a little bit slower um it's not quite as direct as the mg4 so I think it's just naturally calmer which is no bad thing I quite like the idea of when you're driving it's a time for chilling out and not being some sort of like Speedy aggressive driver rookie um so yeah I like that in terms of the driving cell but I think it's very much a personal preference the md4 is probably a bit more Dynamic a bit more direct that's going to suit someone like my brother who likes a sporty Drive however my mum who likes a slightly calmer more relaxing drive this would suit her so I think you know it's not a bad thing that this is a calmer and less responsive drive so I think it's all about personal preference isn't it you know what suits your driving style you know also saying all of that this doesn't hang around at around about you know this is a very well balanced car and the final Seeker weapon that this car has is regen paddles simple things in life I do get a lot of pleasure from changing my retail mode using paddles behind the steering wheel I really do it just makes it so simple so easy you know what you're doing it's there whereas I know for a fact that the mg doesn't have them nope but the mg does have brake regen and you can just program a spare button on the steering wheel to cycle through the modes I knew you'd bring that up oh yes true but Wiki you have the time the inclination to program that button to be regen whereas which is actually something that my brother would do back to the point I was saying earlier whereas something that is not something that my mum is going to do is she she is going to get in the car and once it's set up ready to rock without having to faff around programming regen into a button this is the mg4 long range so that means we get a 61.7 kilowatt-hour battery with a possible 270 miles of range on the standard wltp cycle which is pretty damn usable for most people there's 125 kilowatt DC charging meaning you'll add about 155 miles 10 to 80 in 34 minutes on a big enough public charger and it'll take about 68 minutes on a smaller 50 kilowatt oh and you're looking at a 10 hour charge flat to full on a usual home charger and 7.4 kilowatt AC charging so nothing Bonkers but absolutely on point for this kind of car it's nicely competitive the Nero on the other hand has a slightly bigger battery at 64.8 kilowatt hours and ever so slightly more range with 285 miles on the standard tests which is good but it's only got 80 kilowatt DC charging so it's going to take 45 minutes to get from 10 to 80 percent on a public charger that's 11 minutes slower than the mg4 for not a lot more distance it's roughly the same bit quicker to charge on a 50 kilowatt and also gets 11 kilowatt AC charging so there's a bit of give and take here 10 and a half hours on a home wall box so again fairly similar but to be honest the mg looks to be on the front foot when it comes to juicing up okay so I think we better address the elephant in the room here price because that's where I think it all comes crashing down for the Nero EV unfortunately oh yeah you're probably right this car is excellent It's practical it's spacious it's got all the bits that you need in a car you know there's some decent technology in here um however yeah price is a bit of a killer point isn't it yep because the longer range mg4 starts at 28 495 pounds for the Essie and tops out at 31 495 for the fully spec trophy version like this one there's also a smaller battery car that's even cheaper and that is outstanding value uh yeah especially when the Kia Niro EV starts at 36 245 pounds and goes over 42 grand for the heavily equipped ball model over ten thousand pounds difference between the top models it's the same story if you're buying on finance now that's got a lot to do with residual value the mg4 has been predicted residual values which are getting to be nearly as good in percentage terms as the Porsche Titan which means that it's worth more when it comes time to sell which in turn means it will be very reasonable on a lease deal even from mg itself at the moment you're looking at 350 pounds a month with foreground deposit yep that's proper and mg actually says it's got cars for sale while there is still a waiting list for the Nero EV which is not a small thing and you know we always talk about Kia's seven year warranty being brilliant and you can pass it on to the next owner and all that kind of stuff well mg's warranty now matches oh that's impressive um so basically what we're saying is unless Space is really important to you or perhaps you've fallen in love with the Nero's styling then actually your best bet at the moment is going to be the mg4 okay there is slightly less space but it has the same range and even better charging yeah I mean what we're seeing here is a big Chinese company because mg is actually owned by a massive Chinese megacorp called saic they've come into this Market they've decided to price a car really aggressively with loads of equipment with a decent warranty in order to get that foothold in the UK Market they are pricing this car to win yeah nice and from what we've seen so far they've actually they're doing it yeah exactly they are definitely on that road to winning okay so I guess it comes down to it I think I know the answer but what's it going to be Mr Tom Ford I would go because because I'm cheap I would go for an mg4 fine I am finding this decision really really difficult because I started off this review thinking it's got to be the mg4 right I mean it's just such good value for that amount of car but if it's going to be my one family car right space to me is actually really important uh two kids lots of stuff uh so I think you know this gets an extra 25 in terms of boot capacity which is quite a lot also with the charging uh I don't really use superchargers that much but therefore it's not really a sort of a benefit to me so in this occasion because I've got my money than you anyway Tom well that's not untrue is it I'm gonna go with the Kia Nero BV for me proper consumer advice there it'll never catch on if you do want to know more about either of the two cars featured in this video the competitors or any of the specs then please do visit electrifine.com and we'll help you with the details foreign [Music] [Music]

Channel: Electrifying

Views: 344,311

Keywords: New car, new cars, car review, car reviews, electric, electric cars, electric car, ev, electric car reviews, electrifying, electrifying.com, drivingelectric, Carbuyer, Carwow, top gear, Ginny Buckley, Nicki shields, tom ford, Carbuyer Ginny Buckley, formula e, tog gear tom ford, mg, Mg4, Mg4 ev, Mg4 review, New electric mg, First drive, Mg4 test drive, Mg4 driven, Mg 4, Kia, Kia niro, Niro electric, Niro ev, Mg vs Kia, Group test, Mg4 vs Kia niro, Best electric car

Id: -zpQPSSyg6A

Length: 19min 15sec (1155 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 09 2022