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In the latest chapter of our electric vehicle video series, we get behind the wheel of the newest model of the performance roadster from MG.
"Remember the MGSV that I reviewed just a couple of weeks ago? It was pretty scathing. I said that I don't think MG is quite ready for the EV world of today, and I still think that, but that opinion is now surrounded by weird context, because look at what I have here. This is the MG Cyberster."
"It is, unless you count stuff like the Porsche Taycan and the Audi e-tron GT, the first EV roadster-like vehicle, the first sports car that EVs can muster, and as you can probably tell from just this quick walk around, it is bonkers to look at. It is bonkers inside, and it shows us an MG that is much more willing to take creative risks to offer the market something very different."
"So it is completely counterbalanced to the S5, and I'm so happy to be able to tell you that this is just a much better and more exciting car, not just for the reasons that you might think, but for others as well. Let's go for a drive.
All right, it's really important to do specs properly this time around."
"This is a two-seater sports roadster with a 77 kWh battery. It can do up to 510 horsepower from all-wheel drive, which happens to be optional, and it will also drive 200 kilometers an hour and produce a crazy range of 450 to 500 kilometers, which really isn't bad considering its small size.
The cabin of the MG Cybersure is a truly next-gen place to be, which is why we can't go through it all in one video. We're going to have to revisit at some point because there are many things that are just special to this car. For one, I've already demonstrated the scissor doors, which are operated by these switches down here, one and two, alongside the roof, which we'll also show you separately. So one click here will automatically raise the door. There are also buttons on the doors that will do it for you, and another click will close it. So very responsive, works very well all of the time, and I haven't experienced any particular faults. Then you have this lovely little material here around the cup holders, great. A one screen here for car settings and AC settings."
"The gear here, truly futuristic, which works well. Then some shortcuts here, which I'll show you then some shortcuts here for the window tints, the AC, the 360 degree camera, and then I have this truly staggering trio of screens here. One over here, one in the middle right there, and then a third one over here on the right. This gives me all of the information that I need while I'm driving."
"Now through buttons here on the steering wheel, I can scroll through things that are specific to one screen. So if you can see over here, if I press this button, it is now my music or whatever it is I'm playing, Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, and my phone settings right here up until with the GPS system that's built into the car. Here I have important stats like how fast I'm driving, my range, that kind of stuff. And over here, miscellaneous information. So right now it's the weather. It is also where there is an MG store or service point near me, my personal profile, some car settings and charging and range estimates. Now all of this is great. It actually works rather well. There are a few deficiencies, I will say. There's no wireless Apple CarPlay or Android Auto in this car that costs like one and a half times what the S5 that I just tested has. So that's weird. I also found this particular thing, which I will not cheat you out of. If you go to one of the music settings here, right now I have it to Bluetooth. If I want to press online music here, it takes me straight to Amazon music, meaning that probably there is no built-in Spotify or something like that, which is truly weird if that is the case, but I don't know for sure."
"But still, I think what's great about this is that it all works. I found it to be incredibly functional and unlike the S5, it just seems more like there is a refined vision behind what the cabin feel of the car was supposed to be when they designed it. Nothing here is superfluous. There is really the correct amount of physical buttons to digital services available to you and I know this is more in-depth than we usually do, but really to sit here, these seats are fantastic. While I don't have enough cubby holes around, I do have this lovely shelf back here for my camera equipment and honestly, it feels good. It feels good to be here. This is by far one of the better parts of the overall experience is being in this cabin and I didn't expect to say that."
"So, that's really good. I'm sure you're as mesmerized as I am by this car. It's bonkers to look at and thanks to scissor doors, it's bonkers in practice as well. Every curve seems to be designed with car fans in mind. It's a car that somehow shouldn't exist and yet it does and to me, it's even crazier that MG, of all manufacturers, made this."
"I have a limited experience with these types of vehicles and honestly, there really aren't that many around and in some cases, the Cyberster is the only game in town, but from where I'm sitting with all of this sky above me and with this fun ruched sort of leather interior, it harkens back to a feel of old roadsters and sports cars I used to drive with my dad in Italy when I was a kid. The Fiat Barchetta, for instance. He owned one and I'm kind of struck by the fun of it all, more so than anything else and sure, this steering wheel is very responsive. This little super sport button here does liven up everything and I love the throttle response and the brake. I think they work much better than I had anticipated given MG's lack of experience in making these kinds of cars. So honestly, driving this, it's been a hoot. I would be lying if I were to tell you that I had more fun with any other EV this year. I mean, just look at this thing, particularly with the roof off. This is just such a cool thing. It's such a cool car."
"So obviously, it's a lot of fun because no other EV on the market really is like this, at least not the approachable ones that don't cost six, seven figures here. So naturally, I've had a lot of fun testing it. But furthermore, I actually also think that this is quite a good car. It is actually a car that is a lot better than I think it has any right to be because beyond just being fun, good looking and pretty unique in the current market, it is also well built. It has strong multimedia presence as well. It's reliable and it just it has worked like a charm throughout the week that I've been testing it. I will try to see if I can get to test this again because there's a few things that I just didn't really get around to. But truly, I do recommend it. And if you're looking for something fun, more so than anything else, and you want an EV as well, this is a really good, really, really good offer. See you on the next one."
