Morris Garages (MG) hasn't had a presence in the United States for almost 50 years, but this little hatch makes us wish it still did. The last new MG officially sold in the United States was the 1980 MGB, which exited the market feeling actually quite old and a bit outdated. The rubber bumpers looked silly next to the chrome of past versions, the performance was leisurely, and the ride height would have qualified it as the MGB Dakar.
Across the Atlantic, MG soldiered on as part of the Rover group, building cars that might have done reasonably well in the U.S. to an Anglophile audience, but they were never brought across the pond. The MG ZT 260, for instance, might have interested more than just the tweed enthusiasts in the audience, by dint of its having a Ford Mustang's 4.6-liter V-8 under the hood, rear-wheel drive, and a manual transmission.
However, in modern times, MG has been snapped up by Chinese automaker SAIC and turned into a properly modern manufacturer of efficient electric cars. The MG4 crossover, sold in the United Kingdom, seems to be well received as being affordable and cheerful in the best British traditions. The Cyberster roadster has a silly name but also a convertible top and nearly 500 horsepower on tap.
View Price on AmazonNow, at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, MG's taken the wraps off two new models, one of which looks quite fetching. The larger Cyber crossover EV looks a bit like a more polished Ford Mach-E and should probably do well if its production form keeps the curves. More exciting, perhaps, is the feisty little MG GO! hatchback. We didn't put that exclamation point there, MG has made it part of the car's name.
Styled up as a hot hatch, the GO! joins a bit of a resurgence of the breed, with the likes of the Renault 5 Turbo 3E already giving North Americans a bit of forbidden-fruit pangs. Strip away the just-for-show aerodynamics, and this is a very sensibly packaged hatchback, and it's likely to be as affordably priced as the MG4.
Whether a Chinese-made hatchback with a British badge could do well in the U.S. market is up for debate, but there is some precedent from an unlikely corner. It's just past the 25th anniversary of BMW rebooting Mini as a brand, and that certainly was a success. The MG GO! could very well be a credible rival to Mini on U.K. soil.
Source: caranddriver.com
