TEST DRIVE: Mirror, signal, oh MG!
By Simon Hacker | 14th October 2024
With the electric car market accelerating in the way only electric cars can, it's little surprise to auto industry insiders that EV pioneer MG has reached the chequered flag exceptionally early when they announced this head-turning bid for the roadster sector.
Last October, Punchline-Gloucester.com offered a tantalising early glimpse of what the owner of the old-school British brand had in store.
From being just a twinkle in the eye of the London-based design team back in 2017, the Cyberster has gathered pace and made the dash from UK-market announcement to reality in just 18 months.
But for Barrie Pearson, sales manager at Baylis MG on Cole Avenue, that wait may have felt a lot longer. With customers chomping at the bit to get behind the wheel, he told Punchline Editor Mark Owen that the entire team were bouncing at the arrival of the model at the beginning of October.
Barrie told Punchline: "We've all had to be patient for our new flagship model, but the reality has been 100% worth the wait and it's wonderful seeing the first cars signed off to our early customers."
Sporting theatrical scissor doors within its lithe outline, a full array of touch-screen technology across the cockpit and a powered roof that opens and closes in less than four seconds, the Cyberster can be ordered in either single (Trophy) or dual motor (GT) options.
The Trophy, a lighter-rear wheel-drive 335bhp model with 316-mile range, is priced at £54,595, while the GT delivers an epic 503bhp and comes in at £59,995.
And the power? As those large herds of horses suggest – as Mark soon discovered – this is a blisteringly quick machine: the standard model reaches 62mph in 5.0 seconds while the GT tested here, given the added motor driving the front wheels, executes the same command in (Porsche 911-owners, look away now) just 3.2 seconds. Oven gloves are not supplied as standard.
Undaunted, Mark drove MG Baylis's test demonstrator from the dealership for a (within legal limits) blast down the A38 out of Gloucester. And when he got his breath back, the transition from his daily drive of an anonymous diesel SUV was not one he would quickly forget.
Mark said: "I was blown away and it was hard to remain objective in such a moment - there is very little to prepare you for such an experience, but perhaps more surprising than all the torque and acceleration is the serene quality - this MG rides like pure velvet and has the road manners of a kitten; a real joy to sit back and let your imagination roam. It would be the perfect MG for a weekend escape, though I might need measure carefully for the golf clubs."
And his verdict? "Ultimately, they may have got the name wrong. Cyber-star might have been more accurate?"
Such enthusiasm isn't unique: across the motoring press, the Cyberster has launched to a litany of high praise. For comfort and quality, Carwow applauded this newcomer, while What Car? said it paid respect to the glory days of MG as a legendary maker of sports cars, adding it was "thoroughly modern in concept" and has a name that could have been chosen by Elon Musk.
And the vaunted Car Magazine perhaps paid the highest accolade when Ben Whitworth wrote "this is MG getting back to its roots for a new age".
September's year-to-date sales figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers show that MG has gained traction as top-ten best-seller in the UK, its MG HS model seeing almost 23,500 sales.
But beyond the obvious arithmetic of success, 2024 is also a landmark year for MG as it celebrates 100 years as a familiar badge on British roads, not least the country lanes of Gloucestershire.
On that birthday cake, the Cyberster now makes one very tasty cherry.
Baylis MG can be called on 01452 509419.
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