MG Im5 vs Jaguar XJ

What's the difference?

The MG IM5 Performance is fast, comfortable, quiet and super refined. Putting some minor spec and active safety niggles to one side, it offers the features, tech and price to match it with its well-credentialled and already popular mid-size EV sedan competitors. Is there room for one more? We think there should be.

It might be old and facing German competition bursting with advanced technology, but the XJR is still a car you can buy with heart and head. But mostly your heart. It goes like stink, has a much better interior than the Quattroporte and is more interesting than just about anything this big or this grand.

It's also a better car than the Maserati Quattroporte if you want to get on with the driving yourself and is far prettier than the Porsche Panamera. It's a wonderful thing and even more wonderful that Jaguar continues to build it. Long live that supercharged V8 and the XJ is a great home for it.

Playing spot the straight line on the outside of the MG IM5 is like an automotive design version of Where’s Wally? There aren’t many, in the midst of an unrelentingly curvaceous exterior treatment.

At close to five metres long and two metres wide the IM5 is appreciably longer (+211mm), a little wider (+27mm) and a bit taller (+33mm) than a Tesla Model 3. Think BMW 5 Series in terms of overall size.

And the soft-form shape is functional; the swoopy liftback boasting an ultra-slick 0.24 drag coefficient.

That said, I’m not convinced by the ‘Periscopic’ cameras informing the driver assistance systems from the front guards. They scream tacked-on afterthought. But a touch-only initial opening function for the flush door handles is cool and makes life easier.

The curves continue inside with soft-padded surfaces around the dash and doors, but the straight edge obviously came out for the 10.5-inch central media screen and vast 26.3-inch upper display. There are next to no buttons; even exterior mirror adjustment is directed from the screen to a multi-function steering wheel control.

System software (powered by a Qualcomm ‘Snapdragon’ chip) is lightning fast with a two-finger up and down swipe shortcut function on the central screen for ventilation and other functions.

The interior is light and bright thanks to the enormous panoramic sunroof. It’s been fine in cooler winter conditions during this test but it could be interesting to revisit in the heat of an Aussie summer

There are two interior colour schemes available - the ‘Highland Grey’ of our test car or ‘Dover Beige’ for those brave enough to live life with the threat of scuff marks on your shiny new car’s glamorous but vulnerably light interior.

The XJ has a marvellously exaggerated length, with a rear overhang redolent of Jag's sporting coupe and roadster pair of the time of its launch, the XK. There's nothing else in the segment like it, with the three Germans - Mercedes' S-Class, Audi's A8 and BMW's 7 Series - having gone all Hugo Boss and and in the latter two's case, almost shrinking violet. The only credible Japanese alternative, the Lexus LS, looks like a Lexused 7 Series. The XJR is a more emotional car, like Maserati's Quattroporte.

The R adds an aggro grille, 20-inch wheels with low-ish profile tyres, a bootlid spoiler, red brake calipers and vents in the bonnet. Bits and pieces get the black gloss treatment and there are V8 and R badges, as well as a rather large leaper on the bootlid. Capping it all off are four exhausts poking out from the bumper and distinctive vertical taillights.

Inside remains largely unchanged. The cabin is big and luxurious, leather-lined and very, very comfortable. The front air vents have to be modelled on the de Havilland Comet's integrated jet engine intakes and, again, the dash design stays away from the horizontal lines of its obvious competition.

There is probably a bit much chrome for my liking, particularly on the centre console and around the rotary dial shifter, which reflects sunlight into your face during the day.

The lovely 'Riva Hoop' - a band that sweeps from door to door across the top of the dash - is a great touch and remains a defining feature in the cabin. The last update brought an Audi-like digital dashboard, including maps, but it's not nearly as slick as the German. The graphics for the dials are good (and quick) but the maps are a bit so-so.

There’s plenty of breathing room up front and in terms of storage one of the first things worth calling out are the long but relatively narrow door bins. No good for anything above unusually slender bottles, even if they’re lying down.

No conventional glove box in the dash, but there is a large lidded box (cooled and heated) between the seats that doubles as a centre armrest. It’s supplemented by a big stowage area underneath the flying buttress style centre console.  

There are two cupholders in the centre console as well as a wireless device charging pad in front of them with a vaguely phone-shaped oddments bin alongside it.  

Move to the rear and the IM5’s 75mm wheelbase advantage over the Tesla Model 3 is clear. Heaps of knee and headroom for me at 183cm sitting behind the driver’s seat set to my position. 

But… the seat sits low which pushes your knees up into the air to the point where my thighs are not contacting the seat cushion. Even though the rear seat reclines to a certain degree it’s a problem compounded by a chronic lack of room for your toes under the front seat. Awkward.

There are map pockets in the front seatbacks, modest bins in the doors and a fold-down centre armrest with two cupholders. Adjustable ventilation in the rear of the front centre console always makes life in the rear seat more pleasant.

The car also houses ‘Strong Magnets’ at various points around the cabin and boot, with a configurable adapter able to lock a phone or tablet into place for the entertainment of, in our case, back seaters. 

Speaking of devices for entertainment, there are two USB-C sockets and a 12-volt outlet in the front and another USB-C and 12V in the back, so charging isn’t an issue. 

The IM5 is a liftback so the boot aperture is generous and a capacity of 457 litres with the rear seats up is decent for a car of this size, although that’s less than the Tesla Model 3 (594L) which has an additional well under the floor. 

Still, enough room for the largest (124L) and smallest (36L) suitcases from the CarsGuide three-piece luggage set with some room to spare.

The power tailgate can be operated hands-free via the key or an always welcome under bumper kick function.

Volume expands to 1290 litres with the rear seats folded and there’s a modest 18-litre ‘frunk’ under the bonnet.

The bad news is a repair-inflator kit rather than a physical spare wheel, but the better news is the IM5 Performance can tow a 1500kg braked trailer (750kg unbraked).

The IM range also features the ‘MG iSmart’ app allowing remote control of various functions including charging, checking vehicle location and route planning. 

It might be over five metres long, but the Jag's cabin isn't as gigantic as that might suggest - luckily, if you want space, the XJ L has it. The SWB version is roomy enough, though, just not palatial. You can fit five people, but the big transmission tunnel will limit the size of that fifth.

Front and rear passengers have a pair of cupholders each, with rubber bubbles to help hold smaller cups in tight. The front and rear doors have pockets but aren't really for bottles.

Boot space is a reasonable 520 litres, with a space saver spare under the floor.

As is expected at this level, Jaguar was not mucking about with price or specification - the XJR starts at a mildly terrifying $299,995, which is very close to the rather more tranquil Autobiography long-wheelbase relax-o-mobile.

Standard are 20-inch alloys, a 20-speaker stereo, power everything with three memory positions, four-zone climate control, keyless entry and start, front and rear parking sensors, heated and cooled front and rear seats, sat nav, LED headlights and DRLs, leather everywhere, auto wipers and (LED) headlights, electric boot lid, heated steering wheel and a space saver spare.

The Meridian-branded stereo is an absolute cracker, powered by the improved but still laggy 'InControl Pro' system. Oddly, it's all crammed into an 8.0-inch touchscreen when there is seemingly room for the larger (and better-performing) 10.0-inch screen. The software is far superior than the version that preceded the last update, but the screen is hard to use, as targets are placed right in the corners and are hard to hit.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are also absent, and the sat nav is still fairly dopey.

A long list of options are available, some of which should probably be included in the big sticker price - DAB+ ($620), premium paint is a splutter-worthy $2060 (although, to be fair, the vast majority of the 19 colours are free), adaptive cruise with queue assist ($2200), adaptive headlights a further $2620 and 'Parking Assist', which adds side sensors and a front camera, a further $2780. Reverse cross traffic alert, blind spot monitoring and forward collision warning cost yet another $1460. Ouch.

The MG IM5 Performance is powered by an electric motor on each axle - the rear (372kW/500Nm) more powerful than the front (200kW/300Nm), for overall outputs of 572kW (that’s close to 770hp) and 802Nm of pulling power.

The official term for that amount of grunt is… a lot. And we’ll get to what it means on the road in the Driving section shortly.

Jaguar's lovely 5.0-litre V8 with supercharger continues under the XJ's long and shapely bonnet, delivering a walloping 404kW and a tyre-shredding 680Nm. The sprint to 100km/h for all 1875kg of XJR is completed in an impressive 4.6 seconds, which was very competitive at the car's launch in 2009.

Power reaches the rear wheels via ZF's eight-speed automatic and you can control it with the tacky plastic paddles on the steering wheel. Oh, and it has stop-start.

The MG IM5 Performance features an 800-volt electrical architecture which means the 100kWh NCM battery can accept a DC peak charge of close to 400kW.

Only snag is the highest you’ll currently find in Australia is 350kW. But even at that rate you’ll still be looking at a 30-80 per cent charge in just over 15 minutes. Maximum AC charge rate is 11kW.

Claimed range is 575km (WLTP) which is less than the Tesla Model 3 Dual Motor AWD at 629km.

Over a week of city, suburban and some freeway running we saw average energy use of 20.6kWh/100km which is on the high side for an EV of this size but maybe not for one with this kind of performance potential. 

The combined cycle figure for the V8 is listed at 11.1L/100km but fully expect to see the 16.1L/100km we got, especially as you try and fail to tyre of the monstrous power delivery and lovely (if muted) V8 roar.

Luckily, even if you're belting it, the 82 litre tank is a generous size and you'll cover a fair amount of ground.

First things first, the IM5 Performance is supercar fast. This 2.3-tonne five-seater blazes from 0-100km/h 3.2 seconds and with its dual motors combining to produce 572kW/802Nm, eye-widening performance always resides underneath your right foot.

But it’s not all about straight line speed. Ride comfort is excellent. Underpinned by an all-new platform, the IM5’s suspension is by double wishbones at the front and multi-links at the rear. But the key to its bump and rut smoothing ability is air suspension and ‘continuous control’ active damping.

Fold in double-glazing on the full-length glass roof and side windows, as well as active noise cancellation and you have a serene interior environment at any speed. Also worth noting the front seats are great; as grippy as they are comfortable.

Not only that, despite its relative heft, this mid-sizer steers well, too. Not the last word in road feel but it points accurately and the standard rear steering helps with prompt (but never jerky) cornering turn-in. Flick to ‘Sport’ mode and the IM5 is up for some enthusiastic running.

The rear wheels can turn up to 12 degrees in the opposite direction to the fronts at slow speed, which makes for a usefully tight 10-metre turning circle. But above that, at lesser angles, it adds extra stability and decisiveness in the way the car steers through even tight, twisty sections.

Rubber is top-shelf Pirelli P Zeros on 20-inch alloys (245/40 fr - 275/35 rr) and it grips hard, especially in the wet weather over much of the test period. Braking is solid, as it needs to be, with ventilated discs all around and four-piston callipers at the front. 

No adjustable regen braking but you can feel the ‘Cooperative Regenerative Brake System’ (CRBS) doing its thing when you lift off the accelerator. 

The physical rear view is modest thanks to the slope of the back window reducing its functional area for the driver to that of a 1950s VW Beetle. Even the interior rear-view mirror is tiny and folds up into a recess in the headliner if you’d prefer life without it.

But that’s where a rear camera view popping up on the upper screen display (accessed via the right-hand steering wheel click control) comes in handy. Side camera views are also available as is a 360-degree overhead view, which makes parking straightforward.

If you need more parking help there are various self-parking modes including a nifty ‘Curbside’ function that will realign the car hands-free if you’re parallel parked too far out from the kerb.

In a similar vein, a ‘Rainy Night’ mode projects left and right rear views onto the main screen using AI to enhance clarity and highlight pedestrians and cars.

Overall the ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) are relatively unobtrusive but we found ourselves switching off the incessant overspeed chime that sounds for 10 seconds if you creep over the indicated speed limit, even when the system has misfired on the correct speed. For example, 40km/h school zones on a Sunday.

The over-zealous driver distraction warning also occasionally issued a visual and audible slap on the wrist when I was looking straight ahead. Tellingly, there’s a specific quick screen for turning both these functions off, but it kinda defeats the purpose of having them in the first place.

We also found the adaptive cruise control to be hesitant in multi-lane environments, reducing speed occasionally because the system seemingly believed a car was set to merge, when it wasn’t.

Indecently quick, surprisingly agile and heaps of fun. While the first descriptor applies purely because of its size, the next two shouldn't when you're in command of 5.13 metres of motor vehicle. As with the Audi and now the 7, the Jag has a lot of aluminium to help keep the kilos off and good gracious, it has worked.

The R is based around the short wheelbase version of the XJ for perhaps obvious reasons. Even so, it appears to be the shorter-again XF's because this thing turns in like a demon. No, it won't stay with the dearly-departed XF-R but it does a mighty fine impression of one, just with a better ride quality.

Rear seat passengers should be prepared to feel a lot of wheelslip, especially when in Dynamic mode, as even the fat Pirelli P-Zero's struggle for purchase when the right foot hits the carpet. The V8 rumbles rather than bellows, but the rears cheerfully spin up until the computers and active differential rein things in. Traction control off and you've got a proper tyre-smoker if you're not playing by the rules. Jag's engineers are clearly hooligans at heart.

As always, ZF's eight-speed transmission does an incredible job of marshalling the horses in a rearward direction and when you're not after a bit of sound and light, have achieved a tremendous amount with the damping. When in normal mode, the car glides along, so much so that the lady of the house wasn't so sure it was a sporting sedan.

Once she was apprised of dynamic mode (you have to cycle the button through winter mode first, for some reason), her only complaint was that it was too long and the steering wheel too big for this type of car. I was persuaded of the latter, especially after stepping out of an Audi S3 which has a tiny wheel. Long story short, the XJR is now 'her' car (to be more accurate, the XFR is, but that hasn't arrived yet, so...), as it felt smaller than it was when not parking and she's a sucker for a torquey V8.

The whole XJ range has six airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, emergency brake assist, reversing camera, three top tethers and two ISOFIX points. The XJ doesn't have an ANCAP safety rating.

The MG IM5 Performance is covered by a seven-year/unlimited km warranty, which is a plus, but the catch is it’s conditional on authorised dealer servicing. Go elsewhere and the term drops to a more common five years/unlimited km. The drive battery is covered for eight years/160,000km, which is the norm in the Aussie market

Servicing is required every 12 months or 20,000km with charges averaging $586 per workshop visit for the first five years, which is on the high side for an EV, even at this price point, the average bumped up by a more than $1400 doozy at year four.

MG IM models are sold (with service available) through all of MG’s 100-plus dealerships across the country, so no concerns there.

Jaguar offers a three year/unlimited kilometre warranty and roadside assist for the same period.

Like the F-Type, XJ owners benefit from three years/100,000km free servicing.