MG IM5 vs MG4 EV

The MG IM5 costs £9,455 more than the MG MG4 EV. For that premium it adds 69 litres more boot space and 77 kW more power. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the MG MG4 EV comes out ahead overall.

The MG MG4 EV is £9,455 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £192 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the MG MG4 EV comes out roughly £9,455 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 217 miles for the MG IM5 and 181 miles for the MG MG4 EV - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The MG IM5 goes roughly 36 miles further between charging stops. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 65 minutes in the MG IM5 and 25 in the MG MG4 EV, so the MG MG4 EV loses less time at each stop. So the MG IM5 stops less often while the MG MG4 EV stops for less time - pick on which you would rather do.

The MG MG4 EV is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 124 mm narrower than the MG IM5. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 564 mm of total clearance for the MG MG4 EV and about 440 mm of total clearance for the MG IM5. The MG IM5 also turns in a 0.5 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 90% battery health for the MG IM5 and 90% for the MG MG4 EV. That is close enough that capacity loss should not decide between them. Both use LFP-type cells, which are happy charged to 100% every day. Both batteries carry a 8-year manufacturer warranty.