What's the difference?
Some of my favourite television shows or movies are flawed. When I talk to people about those films and about those flaws, there's a pattern - they don't know what they are and are therefore a bit confused. I don't know why that appeals to me, it just does.
Cars can be like that. There are some cars that aren't sure what they are. One of the exemplars of this is the Toyota C-HR - a small SUV aimed at young get-up-and-go types but bought almost exclusively by baby boomers, attracted to the badge. Young folks want more performance, lower cost and Apple CarPlay.
Hindsight suggests that the less-than-stellar sales performance of the much-heralded Mercedes ute, the X-Class, might be down to confusion. Mercedes thought it would be one thing and it turns out the market thinks it's another.
MG needs a win, and the MG4 Urban may be the right car at the right time to give the Chinese brand a major boost.
It has been a rough few years for MG, with sales in decline for the past two years, which has seen it tumble from Australia’s favourite Chinese car maker to a distant fourth place behind BYD, GWM and Chery.
Part of that could be because of its rapid expansion, both in terms of its total number of models but also the size of the vehicles it’s offering. The larger QS SUV and U9 ute have both received underwhelming responses from the car-buying public.
So, MG has returned to its roots - small, affordable cars. The MG4 Urban, not to be confused with the MG4 Hatch, is its new price-leading electric car and the company’s new management hopes it leads a sales revival.
The X was an opportunistic shot at a market segment new to Benz. With even apprentices able to afford to buy a well-specced Hilux, it's become harder to separate the foreman from the kids. I, like Mercedes, thought this would be the boss's car. Mercedes saw the gap and went for it, thinking it could grab sales from top end utes from VW, Toyota and Ford, while maybe saving a few folks from buying a RAM or an F150.
The problem is, the target market knows its utes. And in a rough-and-tumble workplace, the perception is that if you've spent up big on this Merc, you've actually just paid too much for a Nissan Navara. Still, like those flawed movies I enjoy, the X-Class is a fine thing - and I don't blame Mercedes for trying. It just costs too much, and yet isn't Mercedes enough to justify that price.
The MG4 Urban is not only the right car at the right time, perfectly catering to buyers looking to avoid rising petrol prices, it’s also a welcome return-to-form for MG as a brand.
MG is seemingly at its best when it sticks to small cars. It has traditionally excelled with the MG3 and ZS, smaller, more affordable products that keep expectations in check and can win over customers looking for the best bang-for-their-buck rather than simply the best car.
That’s not to say the MG4 Urban isn’t a good car. It offers tremendous value for money, excellent interior space and drives nicely, so anyone who has been considering making the switch to an EV should seriously consider this new arrival.
Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with meals provided.