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The MG IM6 is an SUV with some pretty impressive statistics: 751 hp of power, 802 Nm of torque, a 0-62 mph time of 3.5 seconds, and it has one of the fastest ultra-rapid charging rates of any EV at 396 kW.
MG has introduced the IM sub-brand to take on the likes of Tesla head-on. There’s the IM5 saloon, and if you want more space, there’s the IM6 SUV. The aim is to offer performance and technology at a lower price than rivals. So is the IM6 worthy of your consideration?
It’s almost impossible to look at the MG IM6 and not see the shape of the Tesla Model Y. But it’s not just the body style, the influence of the Model Y is evident in the whole car, including the interior.
This also means an EV platform that offers lots of space – within the car’s 4,904mm length, there’s a huge 665-litre boot (646 litres in the Launch Edition as tested), which increases to 1,640 litres (1,621 litres in the Launch Edition) with the rear seats folded down. There’s also 32 litres of storage in the front trunk.
Like the outside of the car, the cabin is more curvy than a Tesla, and our test car featured heated and ventilated front seats, and heated rear seats with adjustable backrests.
Under the skin there’s a 100 kWh (96.5 kWh usable capacity) NCM (Nickel Cobalt Manganese) battery. Our MG IM6 100 Launch Edition test car had electric motors at the front and rear, giving all-wheel drive.
As well as a visual resemblance, the MG IM6 has a driving experience with similarities to the Tesla Model Y – and for the MG IM6 100 Launch Edition, the comparison is with the Model Y Performance. This is because the IM6 has 751 hp of power, 802 Nm of torque and a 0-62 mph of 3.5 seconds. So it’s very rapid, but that’s not the whole story. Despite its 2,410 kg kerb weight, the IM6 has a slight edge in terms of a feeling of agility compared to the Model Y.
And one feature that the IM6 has, that the Model Y doesn’t, is a standard Four-Wheel Steering System, which you can feel giving assistance when turning. The IM6 also has an Active Damping Control System with Advance Air Suspension, resulting in the ride quality being very comfortable. This results in the IM6 being an effortless companion on long motorway journeys, helped by its vast reserves of performance, and refinement is aided by Road Noise Cancellation (RNC). Thanks to all-wheel drive, grip levels are impressive.
The IM6 also has Intelligent Comfort Stop (ICS), which translates to smoother braking. Even the steering has some feel, and most control weights are well judged. Another item of technology is Hydroplaning Stability Control, which MG says reduces the chance of losing control in extreme weather conditions by 80% compared to traditional vehicles. Other features include One Touch Parking Assist, and IM Advanced Driver Assist and Rainy Night Mode utilising cameras, sensors, and radars to identify potential road hazards.
The IM6 has five main drive modes – Eco, Comfort, Sport, Snow, and Custom. It also has two Regenerative Braking Modes (Standard and Low). To change these settings, and for other car controls, you need to access the touchscreen.
The IM6 has a 26.3-inch driver’s instrument display combined with a central touchscreen, and a second, lower 10.5-inch touchscreen – similar to that in a Porsche Taycan. The lower touchscreen features a huge number of menus and sub-menus. This screen is easier to reach than the top screen, but you have to look down to the bottom screen, in other words you need to take your eyes away from the road, which can be challenging and dangerous when driving.
Which is why the most important thing that you need to know about the IM6 is that there are five customisable shortcut buttons on the lower touchscreen which can be assigned for functions such as to select Sport drive mode, brake regen level, climate, and driver assistance settings such as lane departure warning, speed warning, and driver attention and fatigue. There are also multifunction dials on the steering wheel (which have no markings).
MG supplied a guide about how to use the infotainment system with the press car. If a guide is needed, it usually means that the system isn’t particularly self-explanatory; in any event, the car benefits from a lot of setting up before you drive it. If you don’t do this, and don’t assign the shortcut buttons to the car controls that you regularly use, there will be a lot of searching on the touchscreen and a lot of button-pressing when you’re driving.
Even with the shortcut buttons, there are still a number of car controls that would benefit from being more user-friendly. Many manufacturers, including MG with its other models, say they are reverting to physical buttons for features such as climate controls in response to customer feedback, but not in the IM6; you need to press the temperature read-out on the screen to bring up the climate menu, although there is a secret way to swipe two fingers on the central screen to change temperature and fan speed.
There’s more over-complexity due to having to use the touchscreen to initiate adjustment of the door mirrors; the controls for the heated seats seem more complicated than needed; and there are no media volume controls accessible, other than one of the two multifunction dials on the steering wheel, and a hidden sub-menu in the touchscreen.
Be aware that the steering wheel-mounted paddles, which are hidden behind the very thick steering wheel spokes (which are so thick that you can’t wrap your hands around them), are, unusually, for the cruise control, not for regen braking.
And then there’s the issue of trying to get out of the car – there’s no traditional handle on the inside of the door, just a ridiculously small button that needs to be found and pressed.
The MG IM6 100 Launch Edition has an official WLTP electric driving range of 313 miles. After a week on test in winter – in ice, snow and sun – the real-world driving range averaged 280 miles. The MG IM6 100 Long Range model is capable of up to 388 miles of combined WLTP range.
All that performance takes its toll on the car’s efficiency, which is just 2.6 miles/kWh – or around 2.3 miles/kWh in real-world driving.
Thanks to its 800V electrical architecture, the MG IM6 has a highly impressive maximum ultra-rapid charging rate of 396 kW, which is one of the fastest DC charging rates of any EV on sale. At a 350kW DC public rapid charger this allows a 10% to 80% charge in just 17 minutes.
The MG IM6 has a heat pump and Vehicle to Load charging.
The MG IM6 100 Long Range is priced at £47,995, the 100 Performance is £50,995, and the 100 Launch Edition, as tested, is £52,995. For comparison the Tesla Model Y Performance costs £61,990, so the MG IM6 100 Launch Edition is almost £9,000 cheaper.
The MG IM6 100 Launch Edition is a very impressive first attempt by MG to enter a more premium market segment. The IM6 appears to be unashamedly based on the concept of the Tesla Model Y, and overall it’s a very successful interpretation, as well as having a lower price. It looks stylish on the outside and on the inside, there’s lots of performance, and the driving experience is excellent. In addition to all-wheel drive, you even get more features with the IM6 such as all-wheel steering, and one of the fastest ultra-rapid charging rates of any EV on sale (396 kW). There are also a huge amount of features which can be accessed via the touchscreen, but doing this can be over-complex, for example it’s just too difficult to change drive modes on the go because to do this you need to look down at a screen to select menus and sub-menus. The customisable shortcut buttons help, but some physical buttons for key controls might be more user-friendly. The MG IM6 is awarded a Green Car Guide rating of 9 out of 10.
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Paul Clarke, GreenCarGuide Editor
