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Remember when MG’s first convertible sports car came out? I don’t, I’m 30. But I remember when the most recent one came out.
It’s got a weird name and it’s very hard to avoid drawing attention to yourself when you get out of it at the shops… but should you buy one?
I’ve been getting about in the new MG Cyberster to answer exactly that question.
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MG Cyberster 2024: 77KWH AWD
| Engine Type | 0.0L |
|---|---|
| Fuel Type | Electric |
| Fuel Efficiency | 0.0L/100km (combined) |
| Seating | 2 |
| Price From | $115,000 |
Price and features – Does it represent good value for the price? What features does it come with? 7/10
7 / 10
The MG Cyberster finds itself here as the only electric convertible sports car on offer, which means it’s hard to compare its $115,000 price tag to any direct rivals.
The Kia EV6 GT and Hyundai Ioniq 5 N are the wrong shape, the Porsche Cayman has the wrong running gear and most other things with doors like this are a lot more expensive.
So what does $115,000, before on-road costs, get you?
It’s only available in one variant, with pretty much the only cost-option being paint colours.
Aside from the scissor doors, there’s the electric folding roof, triple-screen cockpit with another centre panel, an eight-speaker Bose sound system, heated electric seats and steering wheel, and ambient lighting.
The exterior lights are all automatic intelligent LEDs, and you can open the doors with the key fob.
It is, however, missing a couple of things.
No phone charger might be down to space, but no wireless phone mirroring is a bit annoying, and the manual steering wheel adjustment feels a little cheap in a six-figure EV.
Design – Is there anything interesting about its design? 8/10
8 / 10
MG reckons the Cyberster draws on the proportions of classic roadsters like its MG A and B from the ‘50s and ‘60s.
And I reckon that’s about where the comparison ends, really.
But don’t get me wrong, I think it’s got some pretty angles and nice elements.
It’s got the long bonnet, but its cabin isn't set so far back and its aerodynamic lines and curves probably weren't a priority back then either.
This is the standard colour, English White, which is more like off-white or cream or beige.
You can have a red roof on the lighter colours, white, silver, and grey, but red and yellow Cybersters have black ones.
The tail-lights at the back were inspired by the union jack, but they’re probably one of the elements on this car I'd put in the ‘tacky’ column.
Practicality – How practical is its space and tech inside? 6/10
6 / 10
A three-screen dash sounds a little daunting at first, but it’s not that far from the giant screens in some new cars now.
The central 10.25-inch screen is info only, while the flanking 7.0-inch screens are touchscreens, as is the climate control screen in the console.
As much as I’m a fan of physical buttons where possible, this car shows that multiple screens means you don’t need many sub-menus.
Basically, this feels like a lot, but you get used to it relatively quickly.
And while it also seems like MG’s software has become more intuitive and less laggy, the placements of the screens is a little annoying - the side screens on the dash are blocked by the steering wheel, and the central touchscreen is a bit fiddly.
Like I mentioned, no wireless phone mirroring is a let-down and there’s not really an obvious place to put a phone, but the ability to level out the cup holders is kind of interesting and the central storage where the USB-A and C ports are is big enough.
There’s a narrow bit of storage behind the seats, but the boot is actually 249 litres and seems much more usable than you might expect.
It's also worth noting the Cyberster comes with an AC slow charging cable as standard, but not a DC fast-charging cable for plugging in at some charging stations.
Under the bonnet – What are the key stats for its motor? 9/10
9 / 10
Okay, here’s where the Cyberster gets impressive.
Its dual-motor set-up combines a 150kW front motor and a 250kW rear motor for a total of 375kW.
Peak torque is a hefty 725Nm.
All that is enough to get you and two tonnes of MG from zero to 100km/h in 3.2 seconds.
Sure it tops out at 208km/h, but the rush of hitting highway speeds is already enough to put your licence at risk.
Efficiency – What is its driving range? What is its charging time? 8/10
8 / 10
The MG Cyberster has a 77kWh battery and a claimed efficiency of 19.1kWh/100km.
While that means its claimed driving range of 443km relies on a bit of energy to be recuperated from braking, something you don’t really get on the highway, it actually works in the car’s favour during dynamic driving.
After 264km of driving on a test loop that included some urban but mostly highway and rural driving, the Cyberster’s trip computer displayed a 19.4kWh/100km average consumption.
The battery sat at 27 per cent, with 108km estimated range remaining.
While 443km of total range seems optimistic for a car that’s likely to be driven relatively quickly a lot of the time, the efficiency of the Cyberster held up better than you might have expected.
Driving – What's it like to drive? 7/10
7 / 10
There’s good news and bad news about the Cyberster from behind the wheel.
The good news is it’s quite easy to drive this thing very fast.
The bad news is it feels like it would be quite easy to get sick of as a day-to-day car, depending on your situation.
The first thing I noticed is the seat feels a bit high, even at its lowest setting. That's likely due to the placement of the battery pack under the floor of of the car.
Following that, if you’re taller than me (I'm five foot 11), it feels like the wrong road surface will have you nudging your head into the roof liner.
That mechanical roof should take about 15 seconds to lower or raise, and that can be done at speeds up to 50km/h.
It could be a symptom of trying to keep 1985kg tied down, but some of Melbourne's highways and arterial roads between 70 and 100km/h had the Cyberster bobbing quite a bit.
But the suspension doesn't let individual bumps intrude too much into the cabin, so it’s not all bad.
Similarly, there’s good and bad when it comes to the steering and braking.
The first being that the steering seems pretty accurate, even though the feedback is a bit numb.
The braking on the other hand is handled by some pretty capable Brembos up front that pull the heavy roadster up quickly, but don’t always clamp as hard as you might expect when approaching a traffic light at 60km/h.
But stopping’s one thing, and going’s another.
There are three main drive modes, Comfort, Sport, and Super Sport, which mainly alter the acceleration intensity. And they feel well calibrated.
Comfort keeps things calm and cruisy, Sport is plenty for the road, and Super Sport has the potential to draw the attention of the authorities.
There’s good adjustability when it comes to regen braking, and even a decent single-pedal driving mode.
Aside from a couple of particularly heinous roads, the Cyberster held mostly flat when cornering at high speeds, but the potential for its suspension to let its wheels lose their footing might - or should - stop you from pushing the MG too hard.
At high speeds, there’s a bit of wind noise that you really can’t complain about if you’ve just purchased a drop-top, but the noise, vibration and harshness is decent, all things considered.
My only gripe with the interior fit out is that the passenger seat wobbles a little, and rattles on the surface behind it before moving it forward.
It’s impressive what this car can do in terms of performance, it’s just a shame it’s not more playful.
Warranty & Safety Rating
Safety – What safety equipment is fitted? What is its safety rating? 7/10
7 / 10
The Cyberster hasn’t been tested by ANCAP but as a niche sports car, it may never get tested.
The good news is it rides on the same platform as the MG4, which has five stars.
It’s got frontal and side airbags, plus all the usual new-car tech like adaptive cruise, lane-keep assist, blind spot warnings, collision warnings and avoidance, and speed limit warnings.
The Cyberster’s active safety is actually mercifully restrained, giving a couple of relatively quiet dings when exceeding the limit before you turn it off, letting you do the steering even when lane-keep is on, and in my case, only giving me a driver attention alert when I yawned while at a red light.
Ownership – What warranty is offered? What are its service intervals? What are its running costs? 8/10
8 / 10
MG has a 10-year/250,000km warranty that’s pretty impressive by industry standards, and the warranty also covers its EVs.
It’s important to note that the convertible roof is one of a few items (including 12-volt batteries and light bulbs) that MG covers for less than 10 years. In the case of the roof it’s only five.
It’s worth closely reading the fine print before you crack into buying a car, regardless.
There are also ten capped-price services which occur every 12 months or 25,000km, ranging from $246 to $785. The average price per service is $503.40.
MG also offers free roadside assist for the period of the warranty.
Verdict
The Cyberster is certainly an impressive thing in a lot of ways, but if you were expecting a perfect sports car from MG, you'll be a bit disappointed.
It's quite expensive if you're looking for a nice EV, but on the flip side it's quite cheap if being fast is your main concern.
If anything, the Cyberster is an exciting look at what the brand is capable of, even if it's a bit rough around the edges.
Pricing Guides
Range and Specs
| Vehicle | Specs | Price* |
|---|---|---|
| 77KWH AWD | Electric, 1 SPEED AUTOMATIC | $115,000 |
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