From the very first moment I sat behind the wheel of the MG Cyberster, I wanted it. I wanted it so badly, I’d already signed the papers in my head. It will be mine. Oh yes.
But just one week later, I’d changed my mind completely.
Don’t get me wrong. This is an absolute BARGAIN of a car for what you get – billionaire style on a Big Mac budget.
A ragtop state-of-the-art sports car with performance to match most supercars, combining classic looks with racetrack handling, and bristling with electronics.
It even has billionaire doors that open Lambo-style like scissors, swivelling upwards, not outwards, with the press of a button on your key fob.
As Russ Hanneman famously said in US sitcom, Silicon Valley: ‘THESE are the doors of a billionaire…’
As you sit behind the steering wheel in the tight two-seater, you are cocooned in a cockpit of screens, which wrap around you beautifully.
Another button opens the gorgeous roof. Almost everything else is controlled through one of the four (count ’em) lovely screens.
From the very first moment I sat behind the wheel of the MG Cyberster, I wanted it. I wanted it so badly, I’d already signed the papers in my head
But just one week later, I’d changed my mind completely
This is an absolute BARGAIN of a car for what you get – billionaire style on a Big Mac budget
And the whole time you are inside a stunning, lovingly-crafted tribute to 60s inspired elegance – the old MG Roadster that transformed British motoring and then the world.
But therein lies the problem.
Because, even back then, MGs, especially in the 1970s, were stunning cars that were notoriously unreliable and it got worse as time went on.
I had an MG Metro in the ’90s which looked great and is still one of the best-handling cars I’ve ever driven, but literally crumbled to rust and dust in just three years.
After a brief but failed bid to revive the brand at the start of the century, the name was sold to its current Chinese owners, to the dismay of the MG Owners’ Club.
A few years of turgid cheap family cars threatened to destroy the marque’s historic legacy. I got one as a hire car once and it was simply the worst car I’ve ever driven.
And then this suddenly appeared. The Cyberster is everything an MG should be, and for a relatively affordable (for what it is) $115,000.
It does 0-100kph in a Porsche-shaming 3.2 seconds from its 375kW electric power unit. (Oh yeah, it’s an EV, but not one of the hateful, ugly ones.)
A ragtop state-of-the-art sports car with performance to match most supercars, combining classic looks with racetrack handling, and bristling with electronics
It even has billionaire doors that open Lambo-style like scissors, swivelling upwards, not outwards, with the press of a button on your key fob
And the whole time you are inside a stunning, lovingly-crafted tribute to 60s inspired elegance – the old MG Roadster that transformed British motoring and then the world
The Cyberster is everything an MG should be, and for a relatively affordable (for what it is) $115,000
And just as a soft-top two-seater should be, it’s suitably impractical, with minimal luggage and storage and needs refuelling more often than is probably convenient.
It claims a range of 443km but that is a lie. Maybe 300km in normal use, but on a run back from the Hunter Valley down the Putty Road with a near-full charge, I had serious doubts I’d make it home until I turned down the engine to eco mode.
Its top speed is not going to trouble a Ferrari at full pelt either, but let’s face it, the chances of that being an issue are minimal.
What it will do is make you smile every single minute you are behind the wheel, whether it’s in the city, on the freeway or thrashing through the bush on country roads.
The ride and handling are very well-balanced, the acceleration is grin-inducing and the cornering will not disappoint. It’s flat in the bends and fast on the straight.
The passenger space is also generous and comfortable, and unlike the MGs of old, the heating and air conditioning actually work and the buffeting/wind noise with the roof down is not just non-deafening but almost non-existent.
With the roof up, you could be in a luxury sedan.
The multitude of screens could be intimidating for some, but unless you’re a technophobe, you’ll be fine. And technophobes are still unlikely to be buying an EV…
With the roof up, you could be in a luxury sedan
It does 0-100kph in a Porsche-shaming 3.2 seconds from its 375kW electric power unit. (Oh yeah, it’s an EV, but not one of the hateful, ugly ones.
The very first thing I would do is remove the MG and Cyberster badging. Most people would probably think you are driving something far more exotic (and expensive)
So what’s the problem?
There are a few things, but the first couple are entirely subjective and trivial. If I did buy one, the very first thing I would do is remove the MG and Cyberster badging.
The Cyberster name is just awful. I know it’s a modern take on Roadster but I hate it.
I’d also take off the external MG badging as well because then, with one exception, most people would probably think you are driving something far more exotic (and expensive).
That said though, the giveaway that you’re not is the insanely juvenile arrows used for the rear indicator lights.
I can only imagine there was a Take Your Kids to work day in the MG design unit and someone’s child sketched that into their dad’s blueprint and somehow it slipped through. They are awful and cheapen an otherwise near-perfect design.
But none of those are deal-breakers.
What WAS the deal-breaker for me was that I picked this up for a week-long test drive. Soon after I left the showroom, I realised I had no sound.
If the electronics fail, it’s not just the interior light going out. In the MG’s case, you might not even be able to open the door
It’s also suitably impractical with minimal luggage and storage – as it should be – and it needs to be refuelled more often than is probably convenient
As you sit behind the steering wheel in the tight two-seater, you are cocooned in a cockpit of screens, which wrap around you beautifully
This wasn’t just a no Bluetooth/no Apple CarPlay situation. This was nothing. No radio, no sat-nav, no warning sounds, not even the tick-tick-tick of the indicators.
I tried everything I could – I even did an entire factory reset of the whole car. Still the sweet but dull sound of silence.
I called MG. They couldn’t fix it, and couldn’t even guess why. They said they’d have a look when I returned it. I ended up using a Bluetooth speaker and AirPods.
I never heard what the solution was or the cause of the problem. But remember, this was a pre-arranged, week-long test drive for a review of the car, ostensibly to show it at its best.
And that is why I mentally erased my signature on the order form for one of my own.
I loved everything about this car – but it is ENTIRELY dependent on its electronics.
If the electronics fail, it’s not just the interior light going out. In the MG’s case, you might not even be able to open the door.
It might well be covered by the ten-year warranty. It might well be an easy fix. But if the audio can completely vanish and can’t easily be fixed, what’s next?
The deal-breaker for me was that I picked this up for a week-long test drive. Soon after I left the showroom, I realised I had no sound
The insanely juvenile arrows used for the rear indicator lights are awful and cheapen an otherwise near-perfect design
But it is a thing of great beauty and great fun to drive and be seen in
In keeping with MG tradition, I’d still want a daily driver in the garage to get me to work…just in case
And that constant low-level stress about what could go wrong and when and how is a rare thing to have to deal with in this day and age.
I mean, fair play – it is ENTIRELY consistent with MGs of old – but the bottom line is it is a high price to pay for a car today.
But that said, it’s a thing of great beauty and great fun to drive and be seen in.
I’d still love to have it…but only if it was free – and in keeping with MG tradition, I’d still want a daily driver in the garage to get me to work…just in case.
