MG IM5 review

This new EV is MG’s first super-saloon since the V8-engined ZT of 2003. But is it any good? European policymakers are scrambling to protect the interests of homegrown car makers, but the torrent of aggressively priced, technologically rapier-sharp Chinese EV simply flows on. The latest insurgent is this, the MG IM5.It's a saloon (well, a hatchback, technically) priced on par with the Tesla Model 3 but promising the space of the Volkswagen ID 7 plus tech that you would more typically find on a Porsche Taycan. And, if you'd like, the small matter of 742bhp. We will get into the hardware in a moment, but before that, you’re possibly wondering what the ‘IM’ in the name is about. Those initials hold meaning, because they speak to the fact that this new MG isn’t really an MG.It’s a badge-engineered version of the Chinese-market L6 made by Intelligence in Motion, a Shanghai-based brand launched in 2020 that is a collaboration between MG’s parent company SAIC (also the majority owner of IM), e-commerce colossus Alibaba Group and Zhangjiang Hi-Tech.The arrangement is a big deal, because the L6 and thus the IM5 is a lot more luxurious than anything MG has so far sold since its reimagining as an EV brand, notwithstanding the Cyberster roadster halo model.In fact, the IM5 is only barely badge-engineered. For reasons we still don't quite understandard, there are no actual MG logos on the car, only an ‘MG’ in IM’s squiggly typeface on the bootlid.So is this an MG or not? You decide, although it hardly matters. Consider that BYD – another major Chinese car maker – sold more cars in the UK in Q1 of 2025 than it did in the whole of 2024 and in 2025 is outselling Honda and Mazda entirely. Three years ago, few British motorists had even heard of company, but clearly these days cost and capability often matter more than brand recognition. If the IM5 is good, it will sell, despite its unusual, slightly opaque origins.The more interesting question is why MG, whose budget-focused strategy is ticking along nicely, is now taking this more premium model under its wing in Europe (well, the UK, Norway and Switzerland). The answer is two-fold, although of course profit is at the heart of it. Firstly, the Chinese domestic EV market is now so competitive that car makers’ margins are hammered pancake-thin. The European market remains a juicier prospect, especially if you have a more luxurious product to offer, as the IM5 is. Compared with MG stalwarts like the 5 SW estate, it’s on another level of lavishiness and opens up a fresh revenue front for SAIC. Related to this is the fact that MG wants to push upmarket because corporate sales are, according to MG Motor UK boss Guy Pigounakis, today dominated by brands offering plush electric cars with long ranges and lots of power. Which is exactly what the flagship IM5 Performance, with its 100kW battery, 396kW peak charging rate and 3.2sec 0-62mph time, happens to be.Private buyers should certainly pay attention, though. Prices start at less than £40,000 and the IM5 has the very good but far from perfect Model 3 in its sights. There’s an opening here for MG, and if the dynamics and usability stack up, it could very well take it.

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