MG4 EV Urban Battery Preheating Test: Does It Really Charge Faster?

In part one of my test, the MG4 EV Urban impressed me with remarkably low energy use, but at the fast charger it pulled less power than the spec sheet promises, because the battery wasn't prepared. This time I wanted to see what happens when you do everything by the book: I switched on smart battery heating, drove to a DC fast charger and watched how the power climbed. Along the way I tracked efficiency, and at the end I parked the top trim next to the cheapest one to see what the extra money actually buys.

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The test: a preheated LFP battery on a 28°C day

It was 28°C (82°F) outside and the car had been sitting in the sun. The MG4 EV Urban uses an LFP (lithium iron phosphate) battery, the same chemistry as the Tesla Model Y Standard. My experience with the Model Y Standard was very good: with a warm battery, even at a high state of charge, it started charging at high power and tapered gradually instead of dropping off a cliff. That makes a huge difference on road trips, when you stop for a few minutes and just want to add energy quickly. I wanted to know if the MG behaves the same way.

The feature lives in the battery menu and is called smart battery heating. The product sheet from Romanian importer "Quantum Auto" confirms that battery preconditioning before charging is standard on every trim. The only catch: the car doesn't tell you what it's doing. I never saw an indicator showing whether the battery was actually warming up, so I let the charger give me the answer.

At the charger: the power climbed and stayed there

I pulled into a 150 kW Voltreli charger. Surprise: other MGs were already charging next to me, a sign that the model is catching on. With two cars plugged into the same unit, I expected the power to be split, roughly 75 kW per side. I plugged in at 61–62%, a level where many EVs have already started to slow down.

Within seconds the power jumped to 67 kW and settled at around 67–68 kW. The curve stayed almost flat for as long as I filmed, and the estimate to 100% was 37 minutes. For comparison, in part one, with a cold battery and starting at 56%, the car pulled about 58 kW. That's roughly 10 kW more, at a higher state of charge. Officially, according to "MG Motor Europe", the 54 kWh version accepts up to 87 kW DC and charges from 10 to 80% in about 30 minutes on a 150 kW charger.

For a compact car with a small battery and such low consumption, I think that's decent charging performance. The peak number matters less than how many miles you add per minute. The range shown on screen climbed visibly fast, because the car calculates it from my own driving, which was very efficient. The math is simple: put about 10 kWh into the battery at around 9.5 kWh/100 km (about 6.5 mi/kWh) and you've gained almost 100 km (62 miles) of range. Ultra-fast charging doesn't help much if the car burns through that energy right away.

Efficiency: under 10 kWh/100 km again

I reset the trip computer at the start. Over the first few kilometers it showed 10.4 kWh/100 km. On the two-lane national road from the town of Podu Iloaiei into the city, about 22 km (14 miles), it reached 9.6 kWh/100 km. When I dropped off the car, the trip computer read 30.8 km (19.1 miles) in 57 minutes (charging stop included), about 20 km on the national road and 10 km in town, at an average of 9.7 kWh/100 km (roughly 15.6 kWh/100 miles). At 28°C with the A/C running, that's a very good result, even better than in part one.

I also tried the navigation. The map shows traffic in yellow and red, and tapping a spot lets you add it straight away as a waypoint. You can also pick a charging station from the list and the car routes you there. The MG4 EV Urban has a built-in internet connection and can share a hotspot with your phone.

Top trim vs. the cheapest version

In my first video I mentioned the starting price, and many viewers assumed the black car I was driving cost that much. It doesn't: that's the best-equipped trim. The MG4 EV Urban isn't sold in the US, but according to the "Quantum Auto" product sheet, Romanian launch prices including VAT were €19,990 for the Excite 43 kWh, €22,180 for the Excite 54 kWh and €24,982 for the Exclusive 54 kWh. The base version has 41.9 kWh of usable capacity and DC charging up to 82 kW, while the 54 kWh versions (52.8 kWh usable) charge at up to 87 kW. Prices can change, so check the current offer before buying.

At the dealership I found a base car waiting for delivery and compared it with the top trim from the outside. The front end is identical. The visible differences:

• wheels: 16-inch with 195/60 R16 tires, versus 17-inch (205/50 R17) on the top trim. Smaller wheels are usually more efficient too;
• steering wheel: plastic on the base car, eco-leather only on the Exclusive;
• the wireless phone charger and the 360° camera with a "transparent" body view are top-trim only; Excite versions get a rear-view camera;
• push-button door handles and roof rails come on both.

What matters most to me: on safety, the base version matches the top trim. It has automatic climate control, a heat pump, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping and V2L, and "MG Motor Europe" lists a five-star Euro NCAP rating. Personally, I really liked the white base car with the smaller wheels.

What it means for drivers

If you own an MG4 EV Urban or are thinking about buying one, switch on battery heating before a fast-charging stop, even though the car doesn't clearly confirm it's working. In my test it was worth about 10 kW, at a higher state of charge. Efficiency remains the big strength: under 10 kWh/100 km on a hot day in real traffic means a very low cost per mile and quick range recovery at every stop. And if you don't need the 360° camera, the wireless charger or the bigger wheels, the base version offers the same safety and the same key technology for a lot less money. The MG4 EV Urban isn't trying to be a Tesla; it has a different price and a different job. For what it was built to be, an efficient, roomy everyday car, it's excellent.