MG Cyberster 2024 Review – International

Reservations are already being taken for the two-seater 2024 MG Cyberster in Australia, which is due to land in the final quarter of this year and will be priced, MG says, between $100,000 and $150,000, plus on-road costs.

When it arrives here, it’s fair to say the MG Cyberster won’t have any direct rivals, unless you’re cross-shopping it with the $500,000-plus Maserati GranCabrio Folgore.

The zero-emissions drop-top market will heat up in 2025, when the battery-powered replacement for the Porsche Boxster and Cayman arrives, but until then the MG Cyberster will have to be compared with combustion-engined rivals like the 718 Boxster.

Priced from around $135,000, the entry-level 718 Boxster with its 2.0-litre turbocharged flat-six comes nowhere close to matching the MG for straight-line performance.

In Australia, the 2024 MG Cyberster will only be available in dual-motor GT guise, whereas a lower-spec single-motor Trophy variant (albeit with a higher driving range) is offered in other markets such as the UK.

The aim is to provide a new torchbearer for the MG brand, a nod to its 100-year heritage, despite now being owned by Chinese auto giant SAIC and having moved away from its British sports car roots into mainstream territory.

So the Cyberster will be suitably well equipped, especially when the ‘budget’ new-age MG brand is stepping over the $100,000 threshold for the first time. Its most expensive vehicle is currently the MG4 XPOWER, priced from $59,990 drive-away, and it’s most affordable? The run-out MG3 at $18,990 drive-away…

Beyond those attention-grabbing electric scissor doors on the Cyberster, there’s 20-inch alloy wheels, a power-operated fabric roof, LED headlights/tail-lights and helpful parking assist features, including a 360-degree surround-view camera.

Other welcome additions include a standard wind deflector for less buffeting when the roof is down, and, when the chill sets in, a heated multifunction steering wheel, dual-zone climate control and heated six-way electric-adjust seats – with lumbar support, position memory and faux leather and Alcantara trim.

Keyless entry, ambient interior lighting, an eight-speaker Bose sound system, sat-nav, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, launch control, vehicle-to-load (V2L) capability – yep, all included.

Based on the UK spec, the only options will be whether you want to pay extra for a red-coloured fabric roof or if you fancy any body colour other than the no-cost New English White, with Camden Grey, Cosmic Silver, Dynamic Red or Inca Yellow paid-for extras.

The last decision buyers may have to make is whether they want the no-cost black and red shades for the cabin.

In Australia, the MG Cyberster will be protected by a seven-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, with seven-year/160,000km coverage for the high-voltage battery.

Service intervals are every 12 months or every 15,000 miles (24,000km) in the UK market.

The 2024 MG Cyberster has yet to be crash tested by either Euro NCAP or ANCAP but it’s reassuring that the car it’s most closely related to, the MG4 electric hatch, has already received a maximum five-star rating from both independent safety authorities, based on 2022 testing protocols.

The Cyberster has frontal and side airbag protection, and to avoid a crash occurring in the first place it gets a long list of driver assist aids – blind spot detection, rear cross traffic alert, exit warning, autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, speed alert, lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control and more.

Lower yourself behind the wheel of the 2024 MG Cyberster and the design is reminiscent of the latest Chevrolet C8 Corvette.

In a wraparound digital cockpit, MG designers have placed a 10.25-inch display ahead of the driver, flanked by two smaller 7.0-inch displays – one that shows off the infotainment, the other managing the trip computer.

A further 7.0-inch portrait-mounted display – centrally mounted lower in the console – is in charge of things like the climate and driver assist tech.

It’s capable of running wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but all the in-car tech is a bit of a disappointment and nowhere near as intuitive as it should be.

Even more infuriating, the smart-looking triple display’s two outer screens are both obscured by the steering wheel, making it hard to read maps on the move. The reason for the restricted vision? Chinese versions come with a yoke-style steering wheel.

Adjusting the climate control, or turning off the irritating (but mandatory) speed alert, is too fiddly on the move. The central screen on the dash stack is also partially blocked by the passenger grab handle, which makes it tricky for your co-pilot to raise or lower the temperature.

And that’s a shame, because for fit and finish and overall design the MG Cyberster is the car-maker’s best cabin yet.

In Australia, the 2024 MG Cyberster will be offered only with a dual-motor/all-wheel drive powertrain that punches out 375kW and 725Nm of torque.

That means it’s capable of a supercar-hustling 0-100km/h dash of just 3.2 seconds, while top speed is 201km/h.

You need a Porsche 718 Spyder RS (0-100km/h in 3.4sec) to come close to matching the MG off the line, but that car costs more than $335,000. Above 140-150km/h, we think the German combustion-powered roadster would be the quicker car.

It still makes the MG Cyberster GT one of the quickest-acceleration EVs on the Australian market.

In case you were wondering, the single-motor/rear-drive Cyberster Trophy that’s not heading Down Under produces 250kW/475Nm and doesn’t hang around either, launching from 0-100km/h in 5.0sec and topping out at 195km/h.

The 2024 MG Cyberster GT is fitted with a 77kWh (74.4kWh useable) lithium-ion battery – with nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) chemistry – and has a claimed 444km driving range, based on the WLTP cycle.

Recharging takes place via the port located behind a large flap embedded within the rear-left wheel-arch.

The battery can only be topped up at a maximum rate of 144kW using a DC fast-charger.

That might be acceptable on a $50,000 EV hatch but is a bit disappointing on a far more expensive sports car. Recharging from 10-80 per cent recharge takes a tardy 38 minutes, according to MG, which could quickly become a chore if the Cyberster is your daily drive.

Using the onboard 7kW charger, an AC charge from 10-100 per cent is said to take 10.5 hours.

For the record, the single-motor Trophy variant offered in the UK can travel up to 509km (WLTP) before needing to recharge.

The 2024 MG Cyberster has undergone a significant chassis retune in the UK to better cope with British roads – and that bodes well for Australia as it seems the Brits are as bad at maintaining their road network as we are.

As part of the overhaul, MG engineers added new dampers, springs and anti-roll bars as well as new Pirelli P Zero tyres tailored to the Cyberster.

The changes didn’t stop there. The UK band of engineers also recalibrated the driver assist systems, added a one-pedal driving mode, redesigned the seats by adding extra adjustable lumber support and even created a neat windbreak behind the driver and passenger seat for more comfortable cruising roof-down.

MG’s UK R&D team also made numerous improvements to the infotainment system, such as less offensive warning chimes for things like the speed alert.

Finally, the boot was reconfigured to enable a set of golf clubs to be carried.

Big changes, on top of the already-respectable MG4-derived MSP architecture and high-grade hardware such as double-wishbone front and five-link rear suspension. MG also claims a perfect 50:50 weight distribution.

That all sounds promising, but behind the wheel it’s a shame to report the Cyberster isn’t as good to drive as it should be.

First complaint is you sit too high.

Despite featuring an extremely slim battery pack (110mm high), the Cyberster perches you much higher than in, say, a Boxster or even an MX-5, to such an extent that people of tall stature might struggle for headroom.

It also means the windscreen rail is lower than you’d imagine, a weird criticism of the original 1995 MGF with which the electric roadster shares a lineage.

The next gripe was soon discovered over some of the best roads Scotland has to offer.

Over wildly undulating roads that were bumpy and poorly surfaced, the MG Cyberster struggled for body control, with the dampers unable to keep up with the incredible pace the GT delivers.

We actually preferred the slower single-motor/rear-wheel drive Cyberster Trophy that’s not coming to Australia, with the on-road difference in performance not as great as the figures suggest. It also felt pointier.

It seems weight is the Cyberster’s greatest enemy, and perhaps it’s unreasonable to expect the 1985kg GT – or the Trophy at 1885kg – to be able to match the athleticism of the sublime Porsche Boxster or nimble Mazda MX-5.

Push hard and the Brembo brakes – with six-piston front callipers and a single floating piston gripper at the rear – also had their work cut out and offered an unwelcome inconsistency when the system was employing regen or real mechanical braking.

With our complaints out of the way, we can now focus on the many positives.

Wind the pace back and it’s hard not to be seduced by the blend of refinement and straight-line performance on offer.

We really didn’t miss the sound of an angry flat-six exhaust note bouncing off the stone walls. Instead, we enjoyed the sound of a typical British summer’s howling wind, torrential rain and light sprinkling of hailstones…

It’s also worth mentioning that despite delivering poor steering feel (in whichever of the three weightings you choose), grip levels from the new Pirelli tyres were high and the ride was also decent at soaking up the majority of road lumps and bumps.

Despite originally touted as a Mazda MX-5 rival, the 2024 MG Cyberster has a similar footprint to bigger roadsters like the BMW Z4. It measures 4535mm long, 1913mm wide and 1329mm tall.

Access to the interior is via the electric scissor doors that are certain to win you friends every time you park. But, in reality, they’re a little too slow to raise and lower for someone impatient like me.

Inside, the cabin feels much more spacious than an MX-5, while the roof can drop at speeds of up to 50km/h in less than 15 seconds.

Boot space is lacking but, as we’ve mentioned, the 249 litres can swallow a large golf bag and two large soft bags. There’s also useful stowage space behind driver and passenger but no frunk to store your charging cables.

Overall, if you can ignore some of the niggles when it comes to operating the tech, the MG Cyberster impresses with its fit and finish.

While the 2024 MG Cyberster isn’t quite the supercar we hoped it would be, it carves out an appealing niche for itself as a fast, comfortable, quiet and refined grand tourer.

Its sharp, exotic styling and playful scissor doors are big drawcards, and although its weight counts against it, you could argue this new-age roadster is all the better for its pure-electric powertrain – and a worthy successor to the original MGB that never quite measured up as a proper sports car.

2024 MG Cyberster GT at a glance:
Price: $130,000 est (plus on-road costs)
Available: Fourth quarter 2024
Powertrain: Two permanent magnet synchronous motors
Output: 375kW/725Nm
Transmission: Single-speed reduction gear
Battery: 77kWh (74.4kWh useable) NMC lithium-ion
Range: 444km (WLTP)
Energy consumption: 16.8kWh/100km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Not tested