MG MG4 vs Toyota Corolla

What's the difference?

MG has been one of the fastest growing brands in the Australian market in the past five years, carving a spot for itself amongst the best-selling names.

But now it’s about to take on arguably its toughest challenge yet - selling a performance car.

MG’s success until now has been built largely on value, with its affordable MG3 and ZS SUV leading the way. The arrival of the all-new, all-electric MG4 XPower means the brand will try its luck at selling cars based on performance, dynamics and an emotional connection.

It’s not the first electric hot hatch in Australia, that distinction arguably belongs to the Cupra Born. But, MG has achieved much higher sales locally than Cupra, making it the first electric hot hatch from a mainstream brand, and that’s why it has the potential to be a game changer for the market.

If the XPower succeeds it will likely reshape the hot hatch market, which until now has been dominated by long-time players and big-name brands, including the Honda Civic Type R, Hyundai i30 N, Toyota GR Corolla and Volkswagen Golf R.

Up until 2024 when its title was nabbed by the Tesla Model Y, the humble Toyota Corolla has been the world’s best-selling car for quite some time. 

A reputation for reliability, affordability, efficiency and in its current guise, being fun to drive, the Corolla has seen off all comers to retain the title of the most popular small car on Earth.

The current twelfth-generation Corolla is now seven years into its life cycle having landed in mid-2018. In that time scores of buyers have moved across into small SUVs, and the Corolla’s competitor set has shrunk dramatically as car brands pull out of the small passenger car segment.

But as we gear up for the next-gen Corolla, is the existing one still worth considering against some newer rivals? And should you look at this instead of a small SUV?

I lived with the mid-range Corolla SX hatchback for a week to find out.