The latest car to be launched at the Kuala Lumpur International Mobility Show (KLIMS) is the MG Cyberster. The two-seater electric roadster was previewed in Malaysia in August, and SAIC Motor Malaysia has made good on its promise to price the car below RM350,000.
Available in a single all-wheel-drive variant for now, the Cyberster is priced at RM319,900 on-the-road without insurance. This figure includes a seven-year/150,000 km warranty and an eight-year/180,000 km battery warranty.
Power comes from dual electric motors producing a total of of 544 PS (400 kW) and 725 Nm of torque. So equipped, the Cyberster completes the century sprint in just 3.2 seconds on its way to a top speed of 201 km/h. But this two-seat roadster is a far cry from the lightweight sports cars that defined the (now Chinese-owned) British brand’s past, and that’s due to the standard-fit 77 kWh battery.
This provides a WLTP-rated range of 444 km, and with support for up to 144 kW of DC fast charging, topping up the pack from 10 to 80% takes 38 minutes. There’s only a 7 kW on-board charger, however, so charging the battery from 10 to 100% using an AC wallbox takes a yawning 10.5 hours.
Taking inspiration from the iconic MGB Roadster, the Cyberster certainly cuts an attractive figure, led by a shark nose front end with almond-shaped LED headlights and a split lower air intake. With little in the way of adornment along the sides, the eyes are drawn towards the sharp front fender line that sweeps into the doors, before being picked up the deliciously voluptuous rear haunches.
At the back, you’ll find probably the Cyberster’s second most obnoxious design cue – the Union Jack-inspired taillights that form a literal arrow in concert with the indicators. Of course, you won’t miss the actual most obnoxious feature – a pair of powered (!) scissor doors that give the car some Lamborghini-style visual drama. Being the all-wheel-drive version, the Malaysian-spec model rides on the largest available 20-inch “Jetstream” seven-spoke alloy wheels, as seen here.
Step inside and you’ll find a cockpit-like cabin that wraps around the driver, available in either black-and red or grey-and-white colour schemes. Both occupants sit on plush sports seats with six-way power adjustment, memory and Nappa leather and Alcantara upholstery in either red or grey (depending on on the exterior colour selected), facing a sporty flat-bottomed steering wheel with paddles for selecting the drive modes and regenerative braking strength.
But the highlight is the bank of screens, consisting of a 10.25-inch digital instrument display that is flanked by two more seven-inch touchscreens for controlling the infotainment and vehicular functions. Another seven-inch touchscreen housing the dual-zone climate controls sits on the centre console. Other features include Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and an eight-speaker Bose sound system.
The Cyberster is also available with a full range of driver assistance features, including autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control with stop and go, lane centring assist, blind spot warning, rear cross traffic alert with auto brake, rear collision warning and a door opening warning.
While the AWD version was the only car launched here today, SAIC Motor Malaysia also previewed the rear-wheel-drive version that is tipped to go on sale sometime next year. That car makes 340 PS (250 kW) and 475 Nm of torque, making for a century sprint of five seconds flat and a top speed of 195 km/h. The same 77 kWh battery provides a range of 509 km.
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The placement of the two seven-inch touchscreens for controlling the infotainment and vehicular functions is not ideal as it is partially block by the steering wheel.
On a side note, I think if they bring in the single motor RWD it will be cheaper & more fun, plus longer range too. It will be competitive if they can price the RWD version around 250k.
refer to this link for the blocked view;
https://paultan.org/2024/08/22/2024-mg-cyberster-ev-previewed-in-malaysia-2-seat-roadster-up-to-544-ps-509-km-range-scissor-doors/2024_mg_cyberster_preview_malaysia_int-10/
Is about time MG is come here. MG is actually a Chinese Brand not UK ok. They just buy back because they can’t sell in Europe.
The car main selling point is their convertible roof and scissor door opening. The range is relatively low while the charging speed is bad as AC 7kw while DC is only 150kw.
Won’t be doing much long range driving with this. This is a Sunday morning cruise around for 50km to and fro 100km car before breakfast thing.
So WLTP is usually 15% more than real world, you get 380km. At 80% you get 301km. More than enough for that Sunday morning spin. Come back with 200km range and 7kW will get to 100% (if you want) again in less than 3 hours.
It’s also not the most comfortable car in the world for long distance driving.