MG Cyberster: British tester is positively surprised

June 29, 2024
12:18 am
News

(Motorsport-Total.com/Motor1) – The MG Cyberster is already configurable in the UK, it costs £54,995 for the rear-wheel drive Trophy version and £59,995 for the all-wheel drive GT version. According to the MG website, the car will be delivered in the UK from August. Our British colleagues at Autocar are among the first to test the electric roadster. We were curious and took a look at their insights.

“What a wonderful surprise the Cyberster is,” writes Kris Culmer in his summary. The car may not be a classic roadster, but it shows that the electric future can also be fun.

MG Cyberster Trophy
Drive: RWD, 250 kW, 475 Nm
0-100 km/h / Top speed: 5.2 sec. / approx. 200 km/h
WLTP power consumption: kA
Net battery / WLTP range: 74 kWh / 507 km
Max. DC charging power: 150 kW
Min. DC charging time (10-80%): 38 min
Price in UK: 54,995 GBP
Price converted into Euro: approx. 65,000 Euro

MG Mk2
Drive: AWD, 400 kW, 725 Nm
0-100 km/h / Top speed: 3.2 sec. / approx. 200 km/h
WLTP power consumption: kA
Net battery / WLTP range: 74 kWh / 443 km
Max. DC charging power: 150 kW
Min. DC charging time (10-80%): 38 min
Price in UK: 59,995 GBP
Price converted into Euro: approx. 71,000 Euro

The Cyberster is the first MG roadster since the TF from 2002 (Wikipedia)The British brand, which is now part of the Chinese SAIC group, is launching the car to mark its 100th anniversary – MG was founded in 1924. The idea dates back to 2017, when a group of designers independently designed a modern version of the legendary MG B from 1962. A study was shown at the 2021 Shanghai Motor Show and the feedback was very positive. So it became a production car.

The drive is provided by one or two permanent magnet synchronous motors, which draw their power from the well-known 77 kWh battery (which, according to the article, only offers 74.4 kWh net). At 4.53 meters, the Cyberster is over half a meter longer than the Mazda MX-5 (3.92 m), but a BMW Z4 (4.32 m) or Porsche Boxster (also 4.32 m) are shorter, and the Mercedes CLE Cabrio is even larger at 4.85 meters.

The height of just 1.33 meters was only possible thanks to a very thin battery of 11 cm. Nevertheless, the car does not look like a modern MG B, but more like a modern super sports car, writes Kris. This impression is reinforced by the scissor doors. Overall, the design is successful.

The classification as a super sports car is also justified by the sprint time of just 3.2 seconds. However, the platform comes from the MG 4 Electric, as do the permanent magnet synchronous motors.

For the British market, the seating position was lowered a little, a one-pedal driving mode was added and the trunk was slightly enlarged so that golf clubs could fit in. The displays were also “Europeanized” and the driving noise was adjusted. The latter is only noticeable at full throttle; then it sounds like a mixture of a distant four-cylinder engine and a futuristic laser beam sound.

However, digitalization has also struck the Cyberster. There is a display in the center console for the many vehicle settings and the climate, as well as an instrument display and two small touchscreens to the left and right of it. The steering wheel covers large parts of these screens, no matter how high or low you set it.

The bucket seats with synthetic leather upholstery are comfortable, however; tester Kris had no complaints even after four hours of driving on bumpy roads. However, he would have liked to sit a little lower. And colleagues over 1.80 meters tall had to crane their necks to avoid the wind.

Photo gallery: MG Cyberster: British tester is positively surprised

The Cyberster Trophy, with its 250 kW rear-wheel drive, costs just under £55,000 and competes against the 220 kW Porsche 718 Boxster, which costs around £56,000 in the UK and sprints just as fast. The Cyberster GT, which costs £5,000 more and has 400 kW all-wheel drive, has to compete with the Boxster GTS, which only has around 300 kW and has a worse sprint time (4.0 seconds).

Before you put the Cyberster GT to full throttle, you should warn your passenger, writes the Autocar tester. Thankfully, however, the full power is not available in comfort mode, nor in sport mode, but only in supersport mode. The modes are selected using the right steering wheel paddle, and one of the three recuperation modes is activated using the left paddle.

In terms of handling, the Cyberster GT feels much better than you might think for a car that weighs over two tonnes, says Kris. The suspension never feels too harsh, although the car barely rolls even when cornering sharply. Bumps in the middle of corners at high speed are no problem, and even potholes are absorbed well. The car remained composed throughout the test routes through the British Highlands. In this respect, it feels more like a Gran Turismo than a sports car.

The electric steering gives little feel for the road, but its precision inspires confidence, especially in Sport mode. That’s why Kris prefers this, along with Comfort mode for the drive. In other drive modes, the wildness of the Cyberster is simply too much for the tester’s brain. The Track mode, which is activated with the red button on the steering wheel, is probably only used with great caution on the road.

Kris says the efficiency during the test drive was around 2.5 miles per kWh, which corresponds to a consumption of around 25 kWh/100 km. That’s quite a lot, Kris admits, but it still gives a range of around 320 km. In the standard cycle, however, the car should manage around 480 km.

All in all, the Cyberster is not as light-footed as an MX-5 and not as sophisticated as a Boxster, writes Kris. The infotainment system is also distracting. The assistance systems don’t perform well either. Kris quickly turned them off after he felt a considerable jolt in the steering wheel on a mountain slope. But the car proves that electric cars can be fun and offers safe handling and travel comfort like a GT. The tester was also impressed by the breathtaking power of the all-wheel drive model. The lighter rear-wheel drive model is even better, you can even make the rear wheels squeak when cornering.

All things Considered

The MG Cyberster seems to have turned out well. As you would expect, you sit higher than in a classic roadster and the car doesn’t feel as agile as a Mazda MX-5. But the superior performance means the car is a lot of fun to drive, and at a price that is no higher than equivalent combustion engines.

Source: Carurlvgd#title:MG UK