MG IM6 Performance 2026 Review

IM, which stands for Intelligence in Motion, is the premium EV spin-off of Chinese mainstream brand MG. It has arrived in Australia recently as part of a wave of more upmarket Chinese offerings that also includes Zeekr and Denza.

There are six models in the launch line-up split evenly between the IM5 sedan and IM6 SUV. They share the same pricing and technical specification, but are separated by different exteriors.

The 2026 IM6 Performance is the $80,990 drive away joint flagship of the line-up, alongside the IM5 Performance sedan.

For a 572kW/802Nm (yes, really) dual-motor, mid-size all-wheel drive SUV, that’s pretty good pricing. Logical opposition includes the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 non-identical twins, the new Zeekr 7X and Australia’s best-selling electric SUV, the Tesla Model Y.

While a stonking powertrain and a heap of technology are the headline items here, the 2026 IM6 Performance also comes with plenty of comfort gear.

Externally, the IM6 Performance includes LED headlights and tail-lights, a panoramic sunroof, laminated frameless door glass, flush pop-out doorhandles, a power tailgate and 21-inch staggered alloy wheels rolling on Pirelli Scorpion rubber.

Inside the five-seat cabin you’ll find dual-zone climate control run by an 800V heat pump, synthetic leather seat trim, 12-way powered driver’s seat (including lumbar) and six-way powered front passenger seat, front- and rear-seat heating, front-seat ventilation and rear-seat manual backrest adjustment.

There is no spare tyre, only pressure monitoring and a repair kit (for all the good it will do).

The IM range is covered by a vehicle warranty up to seven years, the high-voltage battery warranty is eight-years/160,000km and its independent spring suspension is covered for three years/160,000km.

Servicing is not the advantage for this EV that it is for some. Visits to the dealer are scheduled every 12 months or 20,000km – so annually for most people. That’s short for an EV.

As this was written, pricing published on the IM Motors website for servicing averages out to an expensive $585.80 for each of the first five visits. The fourth service costs a hefty $1459.

With its basket of three radars, 12 ultrasonic sensors and nine HD cameras, MG makes a big deal out of the IM6’s ability to actively learn road conditions and avoid potentially dangerous scenarios. It sounds good, but I didn’t really notice it to be honest. Although maybe that’s the point.

What was noticed was the adaptive cruise control’s desire to drastically slow speeds in even very gentle open-road corners. The IM6 would slow to 80km/h from an indicated – an eminently achievable – 100km/h. This was annoying but also potentially dangerous. Following traffic could well be taken by surprise.

Several times the car also slowed while driving in a straight line with nothing in front of it. Once, it audibly warned of a rear-end collision. With what I’m not sure as there were no cars within coo-ee.

Other weapons in the IM6’s driver assist armoury include autonomous emergency braking, various forms of lane policing, protection from rear cross traffic incursions, blind spot detection and speed limit and driver monitoring.

It also offers automated parking, pull out and reverse mode. A Rainy Night mode employs the IM6’s cameras to present a clearer picture of the road and what’s around the car.

The IM6 Performance is predictably intrusive in its various audible warnings

A rapid ding-ding-ding-ding meant I was speeding, a deeper dung-dung-dung meant I wasn’t looking straight ahead, and doot-doot-doot-doot meant the car was crossing a real (or sometime imaginary) line. I’m still not sure what the delicate singular ‘ting’ denoted.

Lane keeping also enthusiastically grabbed at the steering wheel if the various sensors judged the car was veering out of lane.

Clearly, the IM6 should be better tuned than this. Safety systems should not be a distraction. It’s a common problem with Chinese cars. But unlike any of its fellow countryman – or cars from many other origins for that matter – the IM6 has a very simple and effective one-stop shortcut to turn all this stuff. Literally, one press of one button.

Sure, it was required each time the car was started, but how good is that? Well done MG. Now just tune all those monitors to be less intrusive so we gain benefit from them and don’t want to turn them off.

Other safety equipment fitted to the IM6 Performance includes seven airbags (including middle-front to avoid head clashes), a 360-degree camera and three ISOFIX and top tether mounts for child seats.

The IM6 family has been awarded a maximum five-star ANCAP rating based on 2025 protocols and testing by sister organisation Euro NCAP.

Multiple screens and a scarcity of physical buttons in the 2026 IM6 Performance speak volumes about how cutting edge this technology package is trying to be.

A combined 26.3-inch digital instrument panel and infotainment touchscreen sit on the dashboard behind a single pane of glass. Meanwhile, a smaller 10.5-inch touchscreen is placed at an upward angle on the centre console.

This lower screen is essentially intended to take the place of the group of buttons and dials that would traditionally populate the centre console. It’s also where that driver assist system shortcut can be found.

If you want to adjust air-conditioning in any way, you must do it through a screen. There is no choice. In fact, the only physical buttons are to be found on the front and back of the steering wheel horizontal spokes. Audio volume, instrument panel views and even wing mirror settings are selected through them.

Cruise control speed is set here too, but the system is turned on and off via the gear selector stalk on the right side of the steering column. The steering wheel is manual reach and rake adjust so it doesn’t fall within this sphere of influence.

Other technology offered by the IM6 Performance includes wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless charging, FM radio and a 20-speaker audio system (including driver headrest speakers). Voice control can even be tuned to speak in an Australian accent, but there are a heap of other choices as well.

About the only thing missing in all this is a head-up display. The USB count is underdone, with only one 60W C-type port in both the front and back seat.

The IM6 also has access to MG’s remote connect iSmart app that enables you to exploit various functions including a location map so you can find it in a carpark.

The 2026 IM6 Performance lives up to its name when it comes to the powertrain.

Permanent magnet synchronous e-motors sit on each axle, the front generating 200kW/302Nm and the rear 372kW/500Nm. The combined output is given at 572kW/802Nm, which certainly seems absolutely maximised.

Driving via a single speed transmission to all four wheels, the powertrain claims a 3.4 seconds 0-100km/h time and a top speed of 239km/h.

With its underpinning 875V (yep beyond the 800V we normally talk about in luxury EVs) architecture and 100kWh lithium-ion battery pack, the 2026 IM6 Performance offers up a decent theoretical range and even better theoretical recharging ability. It also offers Vehicle to Load (V2L) up to 6.6kW.

The claimed range is 505km on the WLTP measure, while the DC fast charging speed is as high as 395kW. Trouble is a recharger with that speed in Australia is very rare indeed.

I made my way to a 350kW charger to see how quickly the IM6 would recharge only to find it inoperable. There was another charger on the site but the bloke who’d been sitting there on the phone in his car and not charging refused to move on.

With range down to 10km, the IM6 was shifted to a nearby 150kW charger. It zotted straight to the maximum.

The claimed average consumption rate for the IM6 Performance is 23.4kWh/100km, which is pretty high. We returned 27kWh on test, which is even higher. It does weigh 2410kg, which doesn’t help.

However, we’ve already found the Zeekr 7X Performance AWD to be more economic as well as lightning fast when it comes to charging.

Okay, we’ve already dealt with the intrusive driver assist systems, so let’s talk about the 2026 IM6 Performance driving experience presuming they are switched off.

Summed up, it’s a more textured experience than you might expect without being as three-dimensional as you might like.

The party trick is its outright straight-line speed. It really has a tremendous amount of grunt if you simply flatten the throttle, even though torque is clearly being doled out in manageable dollops in such circumstances.

The car is so double-glazed quiet it can be misleading just how fast you are going. It’s also front-wheel drive a lot of the time if the torque flow chart on the screen is an accurate guide.

Of course, party tricks lose their impact after a while and other aspects of the IM6 Performance drive experience come to the fore.

This is a very tuneable car from its powertrain to its steering, brakes, its height-adjustable air springs and active dampers. The latter can be absorbent or rock hard and the steering light and quick or weighted beyond what seems sensible effort levels.

You can tune various aspects of the car into a package to suit your preferences.

Rear wheel steering – which makes the car nimbler at low speed and stable at high speed – is most obvious when going slower. It aids manoeuvrability, whether in town or on a winding country road. Rear wheel steering also enables a crab mode that means the car can move diagonally, which could be handy. The turning circle is just over 10 metres, which is good for a 4904mm long vehicle.

On winding roads there’s not enough connection from the electric-assist steering or involvement from the chassis to generate real driving appeal. The lack of a manipulatable gearbox doesn’t help here.

It’s more point and squirt between the corners than continual flow. In the corners themselves the lack of body roll is quite unreal.

For round town driving or for touring across country at pace, the IM6 Performance is very comfortable and capable. Just hope there’s an OTA update of the adaptive cruise control’s cornering parameters coming.

No. While it’s classified as an SUV, the 2026 IM6 Performance is not an off-roader. Gravel roads and tracks are its outer limits. Beyond that trouble and damage lies.

We’ve spent a lot of time going over the interior intricacies, idiosyncrasies, positives and negatives of the 2026 MG IM6 Performance already.

But there’s one aspect of the cabin that’s unarguably positive – and that’s space.

This is most obvious in the rear seat. There’s no shortage of sprawling room for a couple of taller adults. The middle seat is very much an after-thought though. It’s like a goldfish bowl back here thanks to the huge sunroof. The seats are a bit V-shaped but can be raked back through a variety of angles.

Amenities include dual map pockets, rear air-con vents with directional control, small door bins, a fold-down armrest with double cupholders and a storage slot. And as already mentioned, a solitary USB point. There are also magnetised hooks on the back of the two front seats.

Up-front, the driving position is generously adjustable and the supportive seat includes sizeable bolsters and manually extendable under-thigh support. You can sit really deep in this car, something exacerbated by a huge amount of space under the dashboard. There is a perfectly positioned big left footrest.

Storage is okay up-front. Having no glovebox is disappointing but the chilled lidded bin helps compensate.

The boot is accessed by a lightly weighted power tailgate. The claimed space is 646 litres aided by a huge underfloor hole. Split fold the rear seats flat and the space expands to 1621L. Apparently, there is a 32L frunk as well. I just couldn’t figure out how to open the bonnet and access it.

The presentation apes the exterior. There’s lots of soft edges and rounded off curves. Many materials are soft to the touch and the presentation in soft hues with adjustable 256-colour ambient lighting and a bit of faux metal here and there, is pleasant.

While the Zeekr 7X sells up a storm the MG IM6 is largely being bypassed.

It’s understandable why. It’s a bit more expensive and not quite as convincing in its presentation and driving behaviour as its fellow Chinese newcomer.

The fancy MG is good, but not great and it struggles to establish its place against some fierce competition. It’s hard to see the IM6 becoming a major attraction for SUV buyers, electric or otherwise.

2026 MG IM6 Performance at a glance:
Price: $80,990 (drive away)
Available: Now
Powertrain: Two permanent magnet synchronous electric motors
Output: 200kW/302Nm and 372kW/500Nm front/rear
Combined output: 572kW/802Nm
Transmission: Single-speed reduction gear
Battery: 100kWh lithium-ion
Range: 505km (WLTP)
Energy consumption: 23.4kWh/100km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Not tested

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