Worth the price tag: Built with style, power and a drive-centric experience, the MG Cyberster sits pretty up
there with the BMW Z4. Photos: Supplied
Although MG has a history of making sports cars, the Cyberster is the first roadster to don the badge since the TF was discontinued in 2011.
Chinese automaker giant SAIC Motor acquired MG in 2007. While the brand remains rooted in British heritage, its lower model SUVs now have the technology that make Chinese cars popular.
The Cyberster’s design embraces MG’s rich history of sports cars. It looks almost Italian — the long bonnet with storm-eye headlamps, a clean side profile that incorporates many design lines into the body and arrowhead taillights capped with a stylish lightstrip connecting them.
However, the ultimate party trick and feature that really makes heads turn are the scissor doors. Now, in the motoring world that is something you get only once you climbed high on the financial ladder. Yet, here it is in the form of a half-Chinese, half-British roadster.
When you get in, a fantastic interior greets you. The cabin is decked out with a mix of leather and alcantara, contrast stitching and soft-touch materials along the dashboard.
The wine red adds to the sporty elements and evokes in the driver and passenger a wonderful feeling of elegance.
Chinese cars have made a habit of planting a big screen in the middle of the dash but MG has kept the infotainment in-line with that of a sports car. The vehicle is equipped with a triple-wraparound screen and two seven-inch displays that flank a 10.25 digital instrument cluster.
I love the setup because it pays more attention to the driver and less to technology.
However, one thing that did take some getting used to was the reverse camera. It appears on the screen on the driver’s right-hand side, rather than, like most cars, the usual left side.
There’s also a fourth vertical screen in the centre console that has other driver functions and climate control built into it.
Overall, the cabin is a wonderful place to be in — warm, welcoming, elegant and sporty.
The interior of the MG Cyberster
What’s it like to drive?
The MG Cyberster is fully electric. It’s the only EV roadster in South Africa.
It has a 77kWh battery that has a claimed range of 443km on a full charge, depending on the way you’re driving it. I had 407km on a full charge but then again, I had it on test, so I didn’t care about maximising range.
There were other things to test out. The manufacturer claims the Cyberster has 375kW of power and 725Nm of torque and can achieve 0-100km/h in just 3.2 seconds.
This is possible thanks to a small button labelled “Supersport” on the steering wheel. It activates the dual-motor setup, which unleashes the peak output of the vehicle, sharpens the throttle response, stiffening the suspension and reducing traction control.
Once that is done, the car throws you back and hits 100km/h before you can even blink. It’s incredibly exhilarating and you want to keep doing it over and over again. Feeling the breeze when the roof is up adds to the experience.
However, when you solely rely on the motor mounted to the rear-wheels, the car has a lot of power but feels like a comfortable cruiser, rather than an overly ambitious sports car.
I like that it can be a beachside beauty or a racetrack monster and the best part about that is the driver is in control of that, not the car.
Pricing and verdict
Built with style, power and a drive-centric experience, the MG Cyberster sits pretty up there with the BMW Z4. Many would bark at that comparison but it certainly keeps up with the German brand and does some things better.
The MG Cyberster is priced at R1 399 900, making it even more appealing.
It’s definitely worth more than R1 million and I’m surprised that because it is the only fully electric roadster in the country, it doesn’t cost more.