MG Cyberster - long-term review

Well, this ought to be fascinating. The MG Cyberster is like no other car on sale. And we’ve been lent one, to daily-drive, for at least half a year.

There are so many threads to pull on here. The Chinese-backed resurrection of a beleaguered but admired British brand, topping a range of sensible hatchbacks and crossovers with a £55k soft-top. Is anyone going to take it seriously?

MG’s first new sports car since the 1990s. The only two-seater EV cabrio in production today – and only the second ever, after the original Lotus-based Tesla Roadster. Is there a reason for that?

And yes, it’s got electric scissor doors. Will they go wrong? Will they get annoying? Yes. Whoops. We’re not supposed to answer the introduction questions yet. Friends, we will not be short of things to talk about here.

We’ve been very particular about which model of Cyberster to run, because anyone who pays attention to EVs understands the core rule: Don’t Buy The Fast One.

Want a Mustang Mach-E? Avoid the GT. Shopping for a Taycan? Go 4S, not Turbo S. Almost all EVs are fast. Going for an ultra-rapid one is always diminishing returns. Spend a load more money, get to 60mph half a second quicker, make a 50 per cent sacrifice in range.

So, when MG launched the Cyberster it made a jolly big fuss about the flagship GT spec. Dual motors, four-wheel drive and over 500 horsepower for just less than £60k. Forget a Boxster – this spec of Cyberster will outrun a Porsche Carrera GT.

And… we’ve ignored it. Partly because there was always a suspicion the Cyberster’s chassis was out of its depth trying to instantly stamp 500bhp onto the road. But mostly because there are mathematically quantifiable reasons the rear-drive ‘Trophy’ model should be the smarter bet.

One: range. Giving up a power-hungry front motor means the WLTP lab range leaps from 276 miles to 316 miles. 40 miles further, every charge, just for being happy to make do with a mere 350bhp.

Second: weight. Lopping off the front motor makes the car a bit less nose heavy. The claimed kerbweight drops from 1,985kg to 1,885kg. The 0-62mph time increases from 3.2 to 5.0 sec, and both flavours top out at just beyond 120mph.

Third: price. An AWD, 500bhp Cyberster GT is £59,995. This RWD 340bhp Cyberster Trophy is £54,995. And does it look £5k less expensive? The only tell is 19in wheels instead of 20s. There are no badges or body panels that give away which model is which. The only optional extra selected on our car is the inoffensive ‘Cosmic Silver’ paintwork, for £595.

It’s worth pointing out that MG reckons no-one will care about any of this common sense. If they do actually sell any Cybersters, they’re more likely to be GTs: the monthly payments aren’t dramatically different and someone enthusiastic about a such a left-field e-soft-top is probably going to fancy the extra poke. But we’re here to be thorough, right?

First impressions have been… mixed. The Cyberster landed earlier this year and the best range I’ve seen so far has barely topped 250 miles. It’s far from inefficient, returning 3 miles per kWh from 74kWh of useable battery. It’s already turning heads and confounding guesses on its value (a neighbour reckoned it was ‘six figures, gottabe?’).

Like I said, lots to get our teeth into. And that’s before we answer your questions, so if there’s something you’re desperate to know about living with a Cyberster, pop a comment down below and we’ll get on with answering it.