MGU9 EV 2026 Review

In 2026, an $80k diesel or petrol ute laden with features is no longer considered expensive. So the 2026 MGU9 EV at $78,990 plus on-road costs would appear to be good value.

While more expensive than the cheapest of its two EV dual-cab competitors, the KGM Musso EV (starting at $60,000), it’s cheaper than the most expensive Toyota HiLux BEV (starting at $74,990 for SR cab-chassis, but $82,990 for the SR5 pickup).

The LDV eT60 2WD is more expensive, at $92,000.

The MGU9 EV beats its electric competitors in basic metrics such as towing capacity (3500kg versus 1800–2300kg for the Musso, 2000kg for the HiLux and 1000kg for the LDV) and range.

With a 430km WLTP range, it’s ahead of the Musso 2WD at 420km (AWD: 380km) and LDV at 330km, while NEDC figures published by Toyota Australia put the cab-chassis variant at 245km and the double cab at 315km.

WLTP estimates put the Toyota’s all-electric ute at 200km and 270km respectively.

In other words, on paper the MGU9 EV is way ahead on these basic stats – and we haven’t even mentioned power and torque. Again, the MG has the advantage.

The only figure on the low side compared to some of the EV rivals is the MGU9 EV’s 685kg payload – less than the Toyota (725kg), KGM (805kg) and LDV (1000kg).

With a 2815kg kerb weight, 685kg payload (so a 3500kg GVM) and 6500kg GCM, the MGU9 EV clearly isn’t going to lug around a 3500kg trailer while fully loaded up itself.

Even though the U9 is not the only ute to have weight compromises like this, the key takeaway is that, if you were to have the maximum tow ball download for the MGU9 EV (350kg), you have only 335kg remaining payload you can put in the vehicle.

The other more pressing weight spec problem (pardon the pun) is to do with gross combined mass – the total weight of vehicle and trailer legally permitted. With a 3500kg trailer and assuming a 2815kg kerb weight (2815kg plus 3500kg equals 6315kg), you have just 185kg of payload before the combination ticks over its legal maximum.

The LFP battery is 102.2kWh and takes a claimed 42 minutes to DC charge from 20–80 per cent at up to 115kW. AC charging at a maximum 11kW takes 12 hours from 5 per cent to 100 per cent.

The MGU9 EV features list is long, so we won’t bore you with all of it. You can read more here.

Noteworthy specs include all-independent air suspension and a payload weight scale within the infotainment screen, using the air suspension’s sensors to give a bar graph estimate of actual payload.

It also has four 2.2kW power outlets (one in the frunk, one in the cabin and two in the tray) as well as a 6.6kW V2L capacity via the charging port. The MG comes with a CCS Type 2-to-Type 2 charging cable as standard.

The MGU9 EV misses out on the diesel’s Smart Hatch (the opening rear cabin wall, to increase load length) but has plenty of other useful features such as adjustable upper tray tie-down points, strut-assist tailgate opening and air suspension that’ll automatically drop down to make loading easier.

There’s also a drop-down tailgate step and, of course, that huge 236-litre frunk under a push-button, power-opening bonnet.

The MGU9 EV is covered by a standard five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty for private use, which is extended to seven years/200,000km when serviced exclusively by MG dealers.

But the warranty drops down to five years/160,000km for commercial use. The EV high-voltage battery is covered for seven years/150,000km.

Bearing in mind our drive of the MGU9 EV was limited to a 30km road loop and an amble around a farm paddock for off-road testing and tow testing, this first local drive experience wasn’t exactly extensive. With that caveat, there are some things we learned.

While a full-power launch seems somewhat buffered off the line, the U9 EV moves far better than something weighing nearly 3000kg should.

Its claimed 5.8-second sprint to 100km/h seems realistic and it certainly has meaningful throttle response on tap at the speeds we drove at.

Ride quality (tested unladen) was more like a large SUV than a ute, no doubt the all-independent air suspension making progress far less abrupt than a leaf-spring rear axle typical in this segment can achieve.

We really need more seat time with a full test to gauge whether the suspension really works well in all local conditions.

The towing ‘test’ at launch was lugging a 1000kg teardrop camper around some paddocks at up to 30km/h, not a 3500kg caravan on a freeway at 100km/h. No surprise then that the trailer felt as though it wasn’t there.

Something much bigger and heavier hooked up is necessary to truly test its towing chops.

Off-road capability is promising, although again the test was mild.

It’s pretty clear from the specs that this is not a desert expedition vehicle and nor is it meant to be. Ground clearance, crawling ability and instant torque, plus camera views, are all very good.

A set-piece climb over rocks required stability control to be disengaged; with it turned off, there was a very minor grumble as traction control did its thing, but then it was up and over the obstacle.

Seats have a surprising amount of initial plushness as you drop into them, as if they have a thin layer of open-cell foam layered over the seat’s moulded foam blocks. In the short time we had sitting on them, the seats appeared comfortable and supportive. The rear seat area is wide enough for three adults to sit, has a flat floor and good headroom.

The dash has buttons for key controls such as the climate control, while infotainment menus were quick to respond. However, with the multiple menus and countless configurations to choose from, you can’t help but wish for simpler times.

On a positive note, features like the weight check (not actual, but an estimation on a bar graph) within the menus are a clever idea, if they function as intended. We were not able to test this.

The cabin has lots of storage spaces, up front at least. There is no lack of places to stow your things and at the rear are deep door pockets. One USB-A and one USB-C port in both the front and rear are good to see.

There are some features you don’t normally see in a dual cab, such as four 2.2kW AC power points, a large (236-litre) front boot, tray tie-downs, adjustable top-tub track tie-downs and the strut-assisted tailgate.

Despite the 2026 MGU9 EV’s many attributes, we need to address the elephant in the room – a lack of realistic driving range when all loaded up and towing.

Even MG concedes this point.

It’s a fact of EV life that bluff aerodynamics and higher mass will reduce range, especially at highway speeds. A large, 5.5-metre-long dual cab that can tow 3500kg does not usually attract buyers wanting purely an efficient, nimble city EV runabout that will get close to its WLTP range.

If you run a lawn-mowing business in a city, towing a small trailer, maybe this won’t worry you so much with the MGU9 EV. Perhaps you go tent camping in national parks, just a few hundred kilometres away; again, this is likely doable here.

But assuming you want to tow a 3000kg-plus caravan around Australia, or tow a heavy, large work trailer in regional areas like many dual-cab ute owners do? In this kind of scenario, the MGU9 EV would not appear to have the range required to do so comfortably.

MG states a 26.7kWh/100km energy consumption figure. During the launch, we saw a figure as ‘low’ as 32kWh/100km on the drive loop at speeds up to 80km/h, something most owners of smaller EVs might consider excessive.

But this is a big, heavy EV ute. On the road loop, the test vehicle was hovering in the high-30kWh/100km range for much of it, and for the around-the-paddocks towing test, energy consumption was pushing 50kWh/100km.

While we need to do more comprehensive testing, these figures are not surprising.

The highest figure achieved at 50kWh/100km puts effective range at less than 200km. This (unfortunately) makes sense when you calculate energy use for any EV. Given the ‘sub-optimal’ circumstances of elevated speed, hill-climbing and weather that is not mild (so more use of vehicle climate control), you’re looking at around a 40 per cent reduction in real range compared with WLTP range, and as much as a 50–60 per cent reduction in worst-case scenarios.

Assuming a worst-case scenario of 60 per cent reduction in range (like trying to tow a 3000kg caravan down the freeway), that’s a likely realistic range in the region of 170km.

If you assume a 40 per cent range reduction, for example here, when driving solo on the freeway, you’re looking at 258km. Sure, these are very rough approximations, but it’s hard to put a positive spin on range for an EV whose brief would appear to be driving at highway speeds with a heavy trailer.

The MG U9 feels big – wide in particular, with a body width of 2045mm – on narrow secondary roads. It has a large turning circle at 13.3m, and no matter how I adjusted the steering wheel’s rake/reach and seat height, the steering wheel obscured the top corners of the dash display readout.

Given that you can set the ADAS warnings to turn off at a touch of the button (and the vehicle we drove on road was set up this way), it was no surprise that there were no random safety warnings.

We didn’t get the opportunity to drive on highways or freeways, so again the jury is out on how ADAS systems such as lane-keeping behave until we get to do a proper test.

When hill descent control was activated, the MG still crept up to 10km/h on a set-piece descent – it really needs to be adjustable down to about 3km/h.

Although a minor point, the rear seat occupants miss out on a centre armrest, and leg/foot room is not as abundant as you might first think, especially if taller types have the front seats racked back.

The 2026 MGU9 EV is the first serious attempt to fix the problem faced by those who want an affordable vehicle that they can use for the daily commute and also tow their boat or caravan long distances on holidays. And that problem is not having to pay a fortune in diesel to do it.

You can’t help but want the U9 EV to succeed with this brief, given (so far) nothing else electric has. However, there simply isn’t the battery capacity/efficiency here to tow anything very far or fast, or fast-enough DC charging to make the regular stops needed less painful.

While it has nothing to do with MG per se (although the problem would be reduced if there were better range), there are not enough drive-through public recharging facilities, which of course you’ll need when towing a large, heavy trailer.

The MGU9 EV is tantalisingly close for such use. If you are in the smaller subset of buyers who, for example, have a small business and drive short distances, for whom a ute tray and onboard power are useful, as is the capacity to lug the big trailer boat to the water nearby on the weekend… then maybe the MGU9 EV will work for you.

In such cases, it has the features, interior space, ride comfort and performance that will make it worth a much closer look.

2026 MGU9 EV at a glance:
Price: $78,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: Two asynchronous electric motors
Output: 325kW/700Nm
Transmission: Single-speed reduction gear
Battery: 102.2kWh lithium-ion
Range: 430km (WLTP)
Energy consumption: 26.7kWh/100km
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2025)

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