IF you thought MG would never make a ‘fun' car again - let alone an electric one - you've not tried out the multi-award-winning MG4.

The EV is the brand's first fully-electric hatchback car and it's a right little cracker - especially if you want to stand out from the crowd by choosing Volcano Orange as the colour.

There's a variety of models available, including a bonkers MG4 XPower version which comes with all-wheel drive and a stonking of 429bhp, 600Nm of torque and the ability to go from 0-62mph in 3.8 seconds.

Back in the real world, there's the very excellent Trophy Long Range - there's also an Extended Range - which has a claimed range of 281 miles and is a little more serene, though still rewarding to drive thanks to 50:50 weight distribution and rear wheel drive.

It's underpinned by MG's new Modular Scalable Platform (MSP) that will be used by the brand's next generation of EVs.

Designed to offer customers affordable, zero-emissions motoring without compromise, the MG in this guise comes as standard with a 10.25-inch colour touchscreen with Apple CarPIayand Android Auto, sat nav, 360-degree parking camera, a configurable seven-inch driver's display, heated front seats and steering wheel as well as MG iSMART app connectivity, and the MG Pilot suite of driver assistance systems.

Behind the rotary gear selector, conveniently located on the floating console, sits a wireless charging pad. There's also Bluetooth, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror and a six-way electrically adjustable driver's seat.

Okay, the interior materials reflect the cheaper price point of the MG4 EV, but the cabin is smart, modern and easy to live with.

The model sits on 17-inch wheels but comes with a twin aero rear spoiler and an active grille system which regulate airflow according to the vehicle's needs and increases EV efficiency, particularly at motorway speeds.

Despite its compact dimension, and relatively low roof line, it still feels spacious inside. There's a decent amount of rear legroom and kneeroom and, unless you're well over 6ft, headroom too. The EV powertrain means that the central hump in the floor is quite low, which helps accommodate three passengers across the rear seats.

MG Pilot features active emergency braking with pedestrian and bicycle detection, adaptive cruise control with traffic jam assist, lane keep assist with lane departure warning system, driver attention alert, intelligent high beam assist.

To this, Trophy Long Range models add a door open warning, rear cross traffic alert, blind spot detection and lane change assist. This all helped it achieve the maximum five-star safety rating from Euro NCAP.

Boot capacity is 363 litres, which increases to 1,177 litres if you fold down the rear seats, which have a 60:40 split. The Trophy edition also comes with a height-adjustable boot floor that's ideal for your charging cables or to hideaway valuables.

There's five driving modes - eco, sport, snow, custom, and standard - or you can use the car's one-pedal regenerative braking system which is easy to use and strong enough to bring the car to a halt when you lift off the accelerator. This also helps replenish the battery when slowing down.

It's a relaxed ride with light, accurate steering to make parking less of a hassle, and glides around town effortlessly. It settles nicely on the motorway but you will have to live with intrusive wind noise.

However, as hinted at earlier, it's equally accomplished - ‘fun' - on twisty B-roads because of the new chassis and rear-wheel layout. The electric horses will suffer though!

It's probably also worth pointing out the MG4 is bum started. I don't mean there's some sort of wino valet. There's no key or starter button: you just get in, take a seat, press the brake and the car comes to life. It's not the first, and it probably won't be the last.

Plug the Trophy Long Range model into an ultra-rapid charger capable of 150kW speeds or faster - becoming more common these days - and a 10 to 80 per cent top-up will take just over half an hour. A standard 7.4kW home wallbox will take just over10 hours.

If that's not enough, MG offers a reassuring seven-year/80,000-mile warranty for all of its models which includes the battery pack.

£32,495

200bhp, 64kWh battery electric engine driving the rear wheels via an automatic gearbox

100mph

7.7 seconds

270 miles

28

0g/km

2%

7yrs/80,000 miles

4