New MG4 revealed in China with radically different styling

• New MG4 electric family car unveiled in China
• Completely new exterior design
• Front-wheel drive with 161bhp

Fans of affordable electric cars, drop what you’re doing – the new MG4 has been unveiled in China, and there are some big changes. The family EV has been completely redesigned for its second generation, losing its sharp styling and trading its rear-wheel drive layout for a front-wheel drive setup.

Technical details are still thin on the ground, but initial specs suggest that the MG4 has been stretched in all dimensions, although it looks to be significantly lighter than before. That could pay dividends when it comes to range, but we’ll know for sure when UK details are confirmed at a later date.

What does the new MG4 look like?

For now, it’s the exterior styling that will most likely have grabbed your attention. The new MG4 has undergone a fairly significant transformation, with a much softer design overall. You’ll notice a few of the styling elements have been inspired by MG’s halo car, the Cyberster. It sports a similar front bumper, while the tail-lights are vaguely reminiscent of the two seater sports car’s arrow-shaped items.

The new MG4’s headlights are smaller than before and far less angular – a theme that’s repeated throughout the rest of the exterior design. Soft curves replace hard edges, and some of the current car’s unique features – such as the twin roof spoiler, protruding rear light bar and faux diffuser – have been dropped for a more conventional look.

It may be hard to tell from the photos, but the new MG4 has grown in size over the current car according to Chinese patent filings. Its length of 4,395mm is over 100mm longer than before, with an extra 45mm found between the front and rear wheels – something that could translate to more interior space. It’s also wider and taller than before, resulting in similar dimensions to cars like the Mazda CX-30 and Citroen C3 Aircross.

What technical details do we know about the new MG4?

Those patent filings also reveal a few clues about the new MG4’s specs. So far, the only model mentioned uses a single, front-mounted electric motor with 161bhp. That’s a major switch from the current MG4, which uses an electric motor to power the rear wheels instead (aside from the all-wheel drive XPower).

That’s also less marginally less power that the current entry-level MG4. We expect UK customers will have a few motor options to choose from, but the front-wheel drive layout falls in line with what we’ve seen from most other EVs at the affordable end of the market.

Range and battery sizes still remain a mystery, but we’d hope for an improvement over the current car’s range of between 218 miles and 323 miles. What we do know is that the new MG4 weighs considerably less than the current car, at 1,415kg according to the patent documents. The current MG4 is 240kg heavier than that, so the new car’s major diet could translate to better efficiency, range and other benefits.

There’s little else we know about the new MG4 at this point, but interior pictures, performance and range details and UK pricing should be revealed later this year. Speaking of, the current MG4 starts from around £27,000 – a price tag that the new model will have to stick fairly close to if it’s to compete with the latest affordable EV entrants, like the Renault 5, Vauxhall Frontera and BYD Atto 2.

New MG4 exterior pictures

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