MG IM6 Performance: Code for lightning fast

0 0 April 21, 2026 Edit this post

by Alistair Kennedy

What is it?

Another week, another new brand name, although in this case it’s actually a new sub-brand.

It’s called IM and it’s the new, premium electric division of MG. Think Lexus to Toyota, Genesis to Hyundai etc.

And just to confuse matters further, we’re told that its complete name is ‘IM Presented by MG’.

Good luck with anyone actually adhering to that.

The two first models are the IM5 and IM6, not to be confused with MI5 and MI6 which are the UK Government’s Spy Catchers.

We’re told IM stands for Intelligent Mobility.

What’s it cost?

IM5 is a sedan, IM6 is an SUV, both around the same length but with variations because of the fastback styling, but with the IM6 around 200mm taller.

The subject of our review, the IM6 comes in three variants: entry-level Premium has a 75kWh lithium-ion battery powering a single, rear-mounted motor. It’s priced at $60,990 driveaway.

Mid-spec Platinum uses a 100kWh nickel-metal hydride (NMC) battery and also has a single rear motor. Driveaway price is $69,990.

Top of the range Performance uses the same 100 kWh NMC battery, but has a second, front-mounted electric motor providing all-wheel drive.

It's priced at $80,990.

Design of the IM6 is very smooth with none of the boxiness that used to identify SUVs.

In this respect it can easily be mistaken for what’s likely to be its closest competitor, the Tesla Model Y.

The most common feature that attracts attention is the unfamiliar badge that sits on the front and rear of the vehicle.

It features two bars at a 45-degree angle with small round dots on either side.

Just for fun, we checked and found that dot-dash-dash-dot in Morse Code represents the letter P.

While we couldn’t find any significance to this, there is a functional aspect to the rear badge, where pushing the left-hand dot opens the boot.

The only clue to the IM’s family connection is also located at the rear, where the ‘MG Motor’ badge appears on the left side.

There’s patterned black plastic trim along the side and also at the rear below a full width light bar.

As expected, all lighting is LED with the front wraparound headlight assembly incorporating the turn indicators that sit above vertical daytime running lights.

A full-length fixed panoramic glass roof is standard on all variants. It’s double-glazed but doesn’t come with a sliding sun blind.

Entry-level Premium runs on 20-inch alloy wheels, while Platinum and Performance step up to 21-inch alloys with differing designs.

Performance includes red brake calipers.

Five exterior colours are available. Athena White is standard. Ares Black, Rembrandt Grey, Raphael Beige and Nevis Blue are $1000 options.

There are only two USB ports in the IM6, one in the front and one in the rear. Both are USB-C.

Audio in all variants is through a bespoke 20-speaker system that includes four 'sky' speakers in the headliner that can be paired with the vehicle’s 256-colour ambient lighting system.

IM6 is compatible with the MG iSmart smartphone application that allows remote control of functions such as charging and checking vehicle location and route planning.

MG IM6 was tested by ANCAP in July, 2025 and received the maximum five-star safety rating.

All three variants get the same features including the MG Pilot suite.

In addition to seven airbags there is a comprehensive Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) with a large range of features.

These include autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane support system, hill hold, blind spot detection, rear cross-traffic alert, driver monitoring system, 360-degree camera and sensors, rainy night mode and automatic parking assistance.

What’s it go like?

The dashboard features two screens.

Spanning most of the top of the dashboard is a 26.3-inch screen that combines touchscreen multimedia features on the left and an adjustable driver’s instrument cluster on the right.

A smaller, 10.5-inch, touchscreen sits on an angle at the base of the dashboard within easy reach of the driver.

Virtually every feature that operates the vehicle is controlled from here, many in combination with two rollers on the steering wheel. Even the side mirrors are adjusted from here.

There is a choice of quilted soft-touch synthetic leather seats in either Dover Beige or Highland Grey.

A vented wireless smartphone charging pad is standard.

Boot space in the IM6 Performance is 646 litres with the rear seats upright, expanding to 1600 litres when they are folded.

There’s also a 32-litre front storage space, ideal for keeping charging equipment.

No spare wheel, only the typically unreliable tyre repair kit.

Both driver and front passenger get powered seats with heating, cooling and adjustable thigh support. Rear seats are also heated.

IM6 Performance is powered by two motors that combine to provide outputs of 572kW and 802Nm.

It's based on the same 800V architecture that’s been used in vehicles such as the Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ionic 5.

That higher voltage provides greater power delivery and faster charging times.

WLTP driving range on the combined cycle starts at 450km for the Premium, 555km for Platinum 100kWh, but drops down to 505km with the heavier Performance.

A CCS Type 2 charge port is located at the rear left-hand side with an 11kW on-board charging unit.

Maximum DC charging power for the 100kWh battery is listed at 396kW with a claimed DC charge time from 30 to 80 percent of 15.2 minutes.

There is a Vehicle to Load (V2L) feature with a maximum of 6.6kW.

Entry through the pop-out flush door handles are keyless, either by touching the door handle, pressing on the key fob, or using an NFC key card or the MG iSmart app.

Large windows and side mirrors provide excellent visibility in these directions, enhanced by side camera images that are projected on to monitors either side of the dashboard when turn indicators are activated.

The big problem -- and it’s quite serious -- is rear vision. Although the rear window is quite large it lies at such an angle that it appear only as a narrow slit when viewed from the rear-vision mirror.

To compensate, there is a rear-pointing camera that is activated from the steering wheel and displays the view on a third monitor, this one in the centre of the dash.

There are three timing options, 10 seconds, 30 seconds and 2 minutes after which the image disappears.

Call me old-fashioned, but I want to be able to see what’s behind me at all times.

IM6 Performance comes with air suspension that is operated by buttons on the side wall of the boot. It can adjust ground clearance across a range of 70mm.

There’s bi-directional steering that can turn the rear wheels up to 12 degrees that allow a low-speed ‘crabwalk’ mode to assist access to tight parking spots.

Turning circle is a class-leading 10.2 metres. By way of comparison the MG ZS small hatchback needs 10.4 metres.

With virtually every feature controlled through one or other of the touchscreens we faced the usual dilemma of having to locate and adjust even the most basic features.

There is no start/stop button. All that the driver needs to do is depress the brake pedal, select either Drive or Reverse and move off.

Being an EV acceleration is instant and spectacular, to such an extent that the 0-100km/h sprint can be accomplished in a claimed 3.4 seconds.

That’s supercar territory!

Acoustic glass windows, active noise cancellation and soft-touch materials combine to provide an impressively quiet cabin.

The air suspension in the Performance model contributes to excellent ride quality.

What we like?

Smooth design lines
Supercar acceleration
Impressively quiet cabin
20-speaker audio system
Tight turning circle

What we don’t like?

Only two USB ports
No physical controls
Sunroof lacks a screen
Rear vision restricted
No spare wheel

The bottom line?

The new MI brand takes MG to a level that the ex-British, now Chinese, brand could hardly have envisaged a decade ago.

Gone is any suggestion of the ‘cheap and cheerful’ tag that early MG models carried.

While the IM6 is certainly not cheap for an MG, it is when compared with its mainly European rivals.

Technophiles will revel in working through the hi-tech features. Traditionalists (guilty as charged) will be frustrated by a lack of physical controls.

To give it some perspective, there is plenty of scope for creating shortcuts, including the ability to turn off some ADAS features with a single touch -- as well as voice activation to minimise using the screens and the annoying alerts.