MG IM5 And IM6 Test Driven: Tesla's Model 3 And Y Beaten At Last?

Forbes

2 days ago

MG has launched cars from its IM sub-brand in the UK.
MG has made a reputation for proving that electric cars don't have to be expensive. But the Cyberster convertible sports EV was a step in a different direction, and now MG has more mainstream luxury plans. With the launch of its IM sub-brand, MG is targeting a premium, corporate fleet customer. I took MG IM's first two models, the IM5 and IM6, for a test drive at the UK launch. They're both very good indeed.
Why IM And Not Just MG?
MG is familiar in the UK, but it's just one of the brands housed under the umbrella of giant Chinese automaker SAIC Motor, which also owns Maxus. You may have seen the latter's electric vans in use by London delivery companies. IM is another of SAIC's originally Chinese-only brands, standing for Intelligence in Motion. It's the luxury marque in the portfolio, like Denza is for BYD, AVATR for Changan, and indeed Lexus for Toyota.
MG is making a clear step up into the luxury space with the IM introduction into Europe. While this is an entirely separate brand in China, the decision was to keep these cars under the MG monicker in the UK and EU, although the MG branding is subtle – no logo, just 'MG' lettering on the rear. The Chinese IM symbol is in greater evidence, bearing no resemblance to any language.
IM is one of SAIC Motor's brands in China
SAIC also has joint ventures with General Motors and Volkswagen to make and sell their cars in China. The latter includes Audi-branded models, such as the E5, revealed at Auto Shanghai 2025. There has been talk that the European IM cars share a drivetrain with the Audi E5, but while there could be shared components, there is no confirmation that the drivetrain is the same, and it's not quite identical to those available with the Chinese IM cars either.
To begin with, there are two IM models arriving in the UK and a couple of European countries (Switzerland and Norway, which don't charge the tariffs on imported Chinese EVs of EU countries). The IM6 is the SUV, called the LS6 in China, and the IM5 is the Chinese L6. There are three drivetrain choices, although only two of them are available with the IM6. The base one includes a 75kWh (gross) battery and 291hp motor driving the rear wheels. Then there's a Long Range version with 100kWh (gross) battery and 402hp motor driving the rear wheels. Then the Performance version has the same battery but with a whopping 742hp dual motors driving all four wheels.
MG IM5
The MG IM5 is the sedan member of the range, and it's a close facsimile of the Tesla Model 3. That's not necessarily a bad thing, considering how successful that car has been. All three drivetrains are available with this car, and there are no trim levels beyond this, just some rather sober paint choices. White is the basic one, and then there are grey, blue and black for £545 ($730) extra. You can choose grey or white interiors. And that's it for options.
It's obvious just getting into the IM5 that this car is a big step up from previous MGs, although they have been improving with every generation. The front seats are heated and ventilated, while the rear ones are heated. The dashboard is dominated by a 26.3in ultra-widescreen that combines infotainment to the left and instrumentation to the right. A second 10.5in portrait display sits lower down in the middle to provide most other interface controls. I'd still prefer actual buttons for key climate controls, but it's relatively easy to find these and accessing them won't interfere with seeing the navigation screen, as with some cars. However, the rear window is more cosmetic than useful in the IM5. I supposed it does let some light in, but you can barely see out of it via the rearview mirror.
The MG IM5 is a hatchback disguised as a sedan.
There's plenty of room for passengers in the rear, though, accentuated by the large panoramic sunroof. This doesn't have any funky chromatic shade-changing capabilities like the new Nissan Leaf or Lotus Emeya, however. One simple area where the IM5 surpasses the Model 3 is that it's a hatchback, giving you a bit easier access to the rear luggage space. You get 457 liters with the rear seats up, 1,290 liters with them down, and there's a small 18-liter frunk as well – around the same in total as a Model 3.
While the basic Standard Range IM5 takes a relatively pedestrian (for an EV) 6.8 seconds to hit 62mph, the Long Range and Performance cars are quick, requiring just 4.9 and 3.2 seconds respectively. One of the key improvements over previous MGs is that the IM cars have four-wheel steering. At lower speeds, the rear wheels turn slightly in the opposite direction of the front ones, making cornering smoother. At higher speeds, they turn in the same direction so that changing lanes is more stable. I found the IM5 to be quite nimble on A-roads and extremely assured on motorways.
With IM, MG is bringing its interior design and quality up to a new level.
The version of the IM5 I drove at the launch was the Performance, and I mostly drove it in the top Sport mode. My regular driver is Tesla Model 3 Performance, so this is a close comparison. On paper, the two cars have almost-identical performance, but the IM5 doesn't have quite the immediacy of accelerator response that the Tesla offers. But it's still incredibly quick to get going, making A-road overtaking similarly safe and efficient. The ride quality is much better than the pre-Highland Model 3 Performance as well, although the latest version of the Tesla is comparable.
Like the MG4 XPOWER, the IM5 isn't set up for the track-level driving. But that four-wheel steering does make for very refined behaviour at speed. I drove a good mix of A-roads, small town and highway, and almost entirely in Sport mode, and it was a very pleasurable experience. You'll still get a more engaging drive out of a BMW i4 M50. The BYD Seal falls behind the IM5 in driver involvement too.
As the IM5 is a hatchback, rear luggage space can be quite extensive.
The 75kWh (73.5kWh net) car promises 304 WLTP miles, while the 100kWh (96.5kWh net) Long Range offers a much greater 441 miles, and the Performance a still very credible 357 miles. With the Performance car, driving for about two hours quite vigorously, I achieved 2.8 miles per kWh, which would give a real-world range of 270 miles.
Charging is also impressive for the 100kWh battery cars, which have an 800V system. The maximum is 396kW, which you will not find in the UK yet. But with a 350kW charger, it will only take 17 minutes to charge from 10 to 80%. The 75kWh battery uses Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) chemistry and a 400V system, so maxes out at a more pedestrian 153kW when charging, taking 26 minutes to go from 10 to 80% on a fast enough charger.
MG IM6
The IM6 SUV is likely to be the bigger seller of the two cars, although like the family resemblance between the Tesla Model 3 and Y, the IM6 is essentially an SUV version of the IM5. In fact, both cars have a lot of external resemblance to their Tesla equivalents (at least the previous generation versions). The IM frontal design is a little more interesting, however.
The IM6 SUV is only offered with the 100kWh battery, so only with two drivetrains – Long Range and Performance. However, there is a third version of the car called the Launch Edition, which is based on the Performance model but comes with adaptive air suspension.
The IM cars have a quite a lot of Tesla resemblance, but the front is more characterful and ... More aggressive.
The IM6 interior isn't massively different in style to the IM5. However, the IM6's front seats don't just offer heating and ventilation – they have a massage function too. I found this beneficial over my two-hour test drive, although it doesn't have the range of options you get with a Lotus or BMW massage seat.
Your primary reason for buying the SUV is space. There is more of it in the back seats than the IM5, and the rear luggage space is much greater too. The basic capacity is 665 liters (646 liters for the Launch Edition, because the air suspension kit takes up some of the space). This extends to 1640 liters with the rear seats down (1621 for the Launch Edition). This isn't as much as the Tesla Model Y, and the Skoda Enyaqi iV offers a bit more too. But it's still plenty of space for carrying a family's luggage on a holiday trip or DIY materials back from the home improvement store. It's also worth noting that the IM6 (and IM5) can tow 750kg unbraked or 1,500kg braked, so pulling a small caravan or boat is possible with any of these cars.
The IM6 is essentually the SUV version of the IM5.
I drove the Performance version of the IM6 too, rather than the Launch Edition, so can't comment on the efficacy of the air suspension. It wasn't as relentlessly quick as the IM5, but still very capable of A-road overtaking and extremely composed on the highway. The Long Range takes 5.4 seconds to hit 62mph, while the Performance and Launch Edition take 3.5 seconds.
With a 100kWh battery across all versions, the IM6 offers excellent range. The Long Range version can go 388 WLTP miles, while the Performance and Launch Edition go 313 miles. During my test driving of the IM6 Performance on the same route as the IM5. I managed 2.5 miles per kWh, which would equate to 241 miles. That's not outstanding but certainly decent for a 2,410kg SUV with this level of performance. Also, with that extremely fast charging available, you won't need to stop very long to replenish.
MG IM Technology
Although the general sense of quality of the IM5 and IM6 are a step above what MG has offered before, the tech is the area where these cars feel the most differentiation. Controls are Tesla/Mercedes-like, with a stalk on the right for choose drive and reverse. There are paddles for configuring the adaptive cruise control, which is standard on all models, and the steering wheel only has scroll wheels, no other buttons. I particularly enjoyed the exit mode, where the driver's seat goes back automatically when you open the door, to facilitate getting out.
Both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are available, although the built-in satnav is very responsive and usable, with live traffic included. I particularly like the way blind spot detection has been implemented on the IM5 and IM6. Not only do you get an amber light on the wing mirrors, but there's also a camera view that pops up when you indicate and the edge of the wide display glows red. That's plenty of warning to help you avoid an unnecessary accident when changing lanes.
MG's IM cars are heavily imbued with cutting-edge technology.
There's plenty of other safety tech on these cars, and most of it is a lot more sophisticated than previous MGs. The camera-based driver distraction system is a little... distracting. But the automatic parking options are quite effective. You can detect spaces in a parking lot and the car will pull into one of these automatically and adjust itself right into the middle. The curbside option pulls the car over 6 inches left or right using 4-wheel steering, which is great if you parallel parked too far out. The most impressive capability is how the car will remember the last 100m of your driving. If you hit One Touch Reverse, the car will then back up exactly the way you came. So if you accidentally went down a narrow cul-de-sac and can't turn around, this will help you get back out again. I tried it and it was unnervingly capable.
Perhaps less essential but fun are the scene modes. The nap mode reclines your seat and triggers one of a couple of ambient lighting and sound options so you can have a rest. Rainy night clears the windows, puts the wing mirror cameras permanently on, and darkens the screens. The screens also have themes with some control over screen backgrounds, and there are loads of ambient lighting options. One other nice touch is that, while there is only one wireless phone charger, it's ventilated so your phone won't overheat while charging.
Overall, the IM cars have mature and mostly well-thought-out technology. However, while the infotainment system does offer YouTube and (naturally, for a Chinese-built car) TikTok, the narrow screen isn't ideal for watching either. The sound systems are solid, though. There's a speaker in the head rest as well, mostly used for navigational directions, which takes some getting used to.
Can IM Take MG To The Next Level?
Both IM cars are very credible, refined and mature vehicles. After all, they're only new to Europe – they've been on sale in various forms in China for a few years now. But even the infotainment seemed devoid of rough edges, as I've often seen with other new Chinese brands I've tested.
Both cars are priced competitively too. The base Standard Range IM5 undercuts the Expensive Car Supplement in the UK at £39,450 ($53,000). It's over £5,000 ($6,700) cheaper than the entry BYD Seal Design, while the IM5 Performance is almost identically priced to the BYD Seal AWD Excellence at £48,495, while being faster and offering a lot more range.
The BMW i4 is a lot more expensive than any IM5 for any model and then goes considerably further north as you move up the range. The true competitor is the Tesla Model 3, which starts at under £40,000 ($54,000) as well and offers more range, much more efficiency, and better performance. However, the Long Range RWD is almost identically priced to the IM5 Long Range, with the same performance, although it gets almost the same range with 75% of the battery, so still wins out on efficiency.
The MG IM5 and IM6 could be popular fleet choices.
The true 'cat amongst the pigeons' therefore is the IM5 Performance, which undercuts the Tesla Model 3 Performance by over £10,000 ($13,000) while offering similar acceleration and top speed, but more range. That is with less efficiency again, but this may not concern those with cheap home power or with fleet charging.
Considering SUV sales, however, the IM6 could be the bigger seller. This starts at £1,000 ($1,300) more than the BYD Sealion 7, but you get better performance, a bigger battery and 88 more miles of WLTP range. It also undercuts the Tesla Model Y Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive while offering the same range and performance. The IM6 Performance is priced below BYD's dual-motor options with comparable or better range and better performance. The Tesla Model Y Dual Motor is still the range king, but as there's no Performance version yet, it lags behind the IM6 in speed.
It's not a clearcut win for MG, but both in sedan and SUV form the IM cars are clear contenders against other Chinese brands. They put up strong competition against the Tesla Model 3 and Y too. If MG can tempt fleet buyers to add the IM5 and IM6 to their offerings, they're likely to be popular, high-quality alternatives.