I'm a busy mum with two boisterous boys!

Here's what I thought of the MG4 and switching from petrol to electric

By Sarah Walker

When it comes to cars, I’m the first to admit, I’m no Jeremy Clarkson.

Driving for me has always been a “need to have” for work, rather than something I choose to do for pleasure and leisure.

I only did my driving test, at the age of 27 because my employer, a local newspaper, insisted that as one of their roving reporters, I needed to be able to drive.

And it took me five tests until I passed, thanks to the crippling nerves I experienced each time, which meant my shaky left leg led me to stall repeatedly.

Fast forward 17 years and my confidence has grown, as has my love of motoring.

I’m a mum of two boisterous (and messy!) boys who needs a reliable five door car for a reasonable price that I can use for both my job as a PR professional and writer and ferrying the kids to and from football practice.

Therefore I need something that is practical, while also looking the part when out meeting clients. The MG4 delivers on both fronts, especially in the sporty white!

Time for a new car?

My nifty Ford Fiesta Zetec is a 14 reg and I had to spend over ￡1,000 on it last year getting the wet belt replaced.

It’s been a great car, but I’m all too aware that due to the age of it, things are due to start going wrong - even though it’s got just over 55,000 miles on it.

For that reason, I’m starting to consider my options for my next vehicle – and the question of whether to join the EV revolution has arisen.

My work as a writer and PR specialist for Croxdale Group in Durham has opened my eyes to the high quality of brand new cars available - at very affordable prices.

Testing the MG4 Electric

I was a little nervous when I first got behind the wheel of the MG4.

I’ve driven newer cars before as a reporter, when we had several pool cars that we would go out on jobs in, but never a car as new and shiny as this!

It was my first time trying an automatic and I also had rows of other brand new cars either side of me!

“It couldn’t be easier to drive,” sales manager Graham Elliott told me and demonstrated how the car was ready to go at the touch of a button.

Then he got out and left me to it.

At first, I couldn’t get my head around my left foot being redundant.

I kept braking with my left and looking for the gear stick.

In my Fiesta, you have to put the clutch down and turn the key to start and then put it in gear.

With these steps not being part of the equation, my brain could not compute!

It felt as if the car must have a mind of its own and I wasn’t as in control – and that scared me!

“Put your left foot on the rest at the left hand side and only use your right foot,” Graham said.

Now, with my left foot planted firmly on the rest and out of action, I was able to get going!

The smoothness and quietness of the drive was amazing!

I think that was another thing I couldn’t get my head around at first – no engine noise to confirm the car was revved up and ready to go and no biting point, just a straightforward, foot on the accelerator and you’re off!

However, once I got used to the quietness and the knowledge that as soon as I put my foot on the accelerator I was away, this lack of noise made for an extremely pleasant and comfortable driving experience.

Looking at home on my driveway!

Once home, I took a pleasing picture of the car on my driveway and then I embarked on a familiar drive up to Redcar by the sea to show off the wheels to my parents.

On taking her for a drive around the block, my Mam was very impressed with the quietness of the car, how easy it seemed to be for me to drive and the comfortable interior - as well as the large screen of the intuitive infotainment system.

Later, I decided to take the car to a local supermarket with an EV charging point, to see how quick and easy it was to charge up.

I connected the car’s charging lead to the charging point – something else I’d never done before, but was easy to work out – and went shopping for about half an hour.

When I returned, it had only charged up 4%, so I was a little disappointed.

I decided I would try a rapid charging point later and this would also enable me to work out the cost of fast charging compared to petrol.

On the plus side, there was ample room in the boot for my four bags of shopping – and I could have easily got another five or six bags in there.

Driving with the husband as a passenger!

As I said, I’m no Jeremy Clarkson and when my husband was in the front passenger seat, he urged me to “put my foot down” to open up the car and show him what it could do!

However, I’m too cautious for that, but even I could feel how nippy the car is and how quickly it moves off at junctions!

A family car?

The next challenge was to test the MG4’s credentials as a family car!

I got my two boys, Alexander, 10, and William, 7, strapped into their back seats and took them to William’s football practice – much is the familiar family routine for us on a Saturday!

The spacious interior was more than enough for them to enjoy a comfortable short journey and later, a longer journey which involved a stop at the rapid charging point I was aware of at the A689 services.

With the help of an attendant, I got the car connected to the right attachment and took the boys to the neighbouring McDonald’s for lunch to test the amount of charging that could be done in the time it took them to eat a burger and fries.

After half an hour, the battery charge had increased by 52% at a cost of ￡29.

My Ford Fiesta currently costs around ￡60 to fill up with unleaded, and I can get about 350 miles on this, so I reckoned that the MG4 was considerable more expensive, taking into account the MG4’s standard mileage range of 218.

For that reason, should I decide to join the EV revolution, I’d definitely need to have a charging point installed at home on my drive.

As I’m with Utility Warehouse for my energy, you can get five hours of cheap overnight charging for as little as 7p per kWh between midnight and 5am, which would make an EV much more economical to run than my petrol car.

Other suppliers also have comparable offers for overnight charging.

Thankfully, if I do decide to go down the EV route, I know Croxdale can take care of everything involved with getting a charger installed at home.

Features and benefits

Overall, I was really impressed with the MG4 Electric, which is currently available at Croxdale Group on 0% finance, at a low price of just ￡169 per month. This also includes a seven year warranty, as with all MG cars.

The Long Range version, which gives you 289 miles on a full charge, is available for ￡199 per month.

Known for its quiet power, driving the car is a comfortable experience, with its spacious interior.

The MG4 EV Trophy Long Range and the Extended Range models benefit from heated seats and electric six-way adjustable driver’s seat.

All models also benefit from high quality infotainment systems, featuring Apple Car Play and Android Auto and parking cameras.

A 360-degree parking camera and a wireless phone charger features in the Trophy Long Range and Extended Range models.

From a safety perspective, the car benefits from active emergency braking with pedestrian and bicycle detection, lane keep assist, with lane departure warning system, traffic jam assist, intelligent speed limit assist with traffic sign recognition and intelligent high beam assist.

It also benefits from adaptive cruise control and a driver attention alert.

In short, this is a practical and comfortable family car with a sleek, eyecatching design and several useful and reassuring safety features.

With MG, you also have the added peace of mind of a seven year warranty, so you can make the switch to electric with confidence.

While it’s true electric might not be a practical option for people who don’t have a driveway where a charging point could be installed – much investment is still needed in the UK’s affordable charging point infrastructure – if you do benefit from having your own driveway, it’s definitely an option worth considering.

It’s of little surprise to me that the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in the UK has seen significant growth because electric cars are great and can be more economical to run if you have your own charging point.

Last year, fully electric cars accounted for 19.6% of all new car registrations, with 381,970 units sold—a 21% increase from 2023 according to zap-map.com.

An article in The Times suggested this upward trend continued into January 2025, where EVs comprised 21.3% of the market share, reflecting a 41% year-on-year increase.

So, am I ready to join the EV revolution? Trying out this nifty, practical and stylish motor has certainly given me food for thought!