MG M9 review – Electric MPV that’s all about the back seat experience | First Drive | Autocar India
[Music] We are in Goa and we’re driving the MGM9. MG’s newest ultra luxurious allect electric MPV. Now ultra luxurious and MPV can only mean one thing and that is this car is really all about the middle row or rather more appropriately the two thrones right there at the back. So let’s hear from Nickel back there and then let’s head back to what’s it like from behind the wheel. So, yep, as Sergey rightly pointed out, these are the seats that you pay those big bucks for, and MG has done lots to make you feel that your money has been well spent. So, I’ll start with the features, and then I’ll proceed to the main event, which is the seat itself. Now, features wise, you get one sunroof up front, but this section of the cabin gets its own panoramic sunroof. Then, you have a dedicated zone for the climate control system. There’s a rear entertainment screen, although I haven’t found the mirroring function all that nice to use, but you do have the option to connect your uh devices via an HDMI port or a USB port as well. What is a bit of a miss is that while you do get sun shades, they’re manual. So, um a powered sun shade would have been a lot nicer at this price point. This is an MPV. So, of course, practicality has to be given its due importance and MG has done that. So, you get uh a bottle holder on the doors. You get a nice storage for your mobile over here. Besides the seats, there is a power point which is very handy on the go. You can plug in your laptop or other devices. And there’s also this large tray that opens up from under the center console. You also get a foldout cup holder over here. And your armrest opens up for some storage. There’s a USB port here and a type-C port over here. You get a tissue box, but you don’t get a retractable tray, which is something that you’d expect in an MPV of this price point. Now, onto the seats. Now, these are really large seats, very well cushioned, well padded, and very well upholstered as well. There’s a suede finish, too, which is in keeping with this MPV’s price. and positioning. Even the roof lining feels really rich. Now, the seats are not only about the look and feel, but also what they can do. Now, I’ll start with uh adjusting the front passenger seat. This is the boss seat, so I need the most space at my disposal. So, there we go. Now that I’ve got that seat out of the way, let’s talk all the gizmos at my disposal. And those gizmos are courtesy this screen which is on the armrest. You can have it concealed. But when you open it up, you’ll find there’s actually lots that you can control. So there is ventilation for these seats. There’s heating as well as eight massage functions. And the massage functions work really well. You get a nice back rub on the go and no harm in that after a tough day at the office. Then you get to the matter of seat adjustments and there are lots and no manual adjustments here. Everything is powered and everything is controlled via this screen. Now while I’m on the screen I have to admit that this fixed position on the armrest doesn’t always work. Say in harsh sunlight right now I can’t see much of what’s on the screen. A detachable unit would have been a lot more user friendly. But anyway let’s talk of what all we can do. So, there’s power adjust for the back rest, headrest, and lumbar support. There’s also powered slide. You could also opt for one-touch operation. Pushing it to extend mode will have the seat roll towards the center. It’ll go all the way back. The leg rest will come out. This is the good life. But it gets even better if you want to catch a bit of a nap on the go. So, oh yes, see you when I see you. As you might have established, the M9’s cabin is massive. And that’s because the M9 itself is massive. It’s 2 m wide, 1.8 m tall, and measuring over 5.2 m in length. It’s substantially longer than a Kia Carnival and Toyota. The 3.2 m long wheelbase is huge in its own right because it needs to be. It’s where the 90 kWh battery pack sits. In its basic shape, the M9 is boxy to allow max cabin space. It’s not a looker, but then again, MPVs are all about what they’re like on the inside rather than visual appeal. The front end is home to slim DRLs up top, main headlights lower down on the bumper, and a large grill at the base with generous use of chrome to add some flash. This being an EV means the bonnet lifts to reveal storage. A handy 55 L frunk in the M9’s case. 19-inch wheels and a stylistic chrome finish at the window line help uplift the slab-like side. Powered sliding doors are the entry point to the rear section of the cabin, and access to the second row requires a bit of a step, though a grab handle helps the journey in. At the back, if the size doesn’t do it, the lighting that drops down at the sides will sure help identify an M9. Back to Sergis for what the experience is like up front. In terms of controls, what does the driver or the chauffer get? Now, you’ve got a steering wheel with some steering mounted audio controls, two little toggle switches here. Uh, quite easy to operate and feel quite nice as well in terms of the feel and tactile feel. You’ve got the drive selector on the stock here on the right hand side, very much as you would in a Mercedes for example. And you have the rest of the combination, a single stock here for the wipers and headlight control. The headlight control though that is basically for your high beam and uh you know flash to pass. But if you want to switch them on or move them out from a mode like say auto mode, you’ve got to do that through the touch screen. And that’s a shame as is also the touch surface controls for the AC which do look cool but aren’t easy to use on the go. What’s nice is the 12.3 in central touchscreen which is sharp and has clear graphics. The same though cannot be said of the digital instrument panel which isn’t as sharp and seems to have an allgether different UI design. Besides the touchscreen, of course, there are a hell of a lot of screens around the car, too. This right here is actually a screen. It’s fed from a camera feed at the back. And uh it’s really nice and smooth, absolutely lagree, which it should be if it’s going to do duty of a rear view mirror. The seat is really nice and comfy, too. It’s powered. It’s heated, ventilated, and you do have a massage function, too. So, yes, it’s not just the boss at the back, but the folks up front can also enjoy a massage, too. Keeping with the MPV character, there’s a lot of storage, too, with a broad center console, large dope pockets, and phone storage with wireless charging. Now in terms of spec, the MGM M9 is powered by a 245 uh horsepower motor, 350 Newton m of torque and that is fed by a 90 kWh battery. Now MG have not released the official range because that’s under testing still or certification rather, but they claim that from their internal test they see this crossing the 540 odd kilm mark on a single charge. Internationally though, the WLTP figure stands at 430 km. So, we’ll soon put it through our instrumented test to find out the real world range. Now, from behind the wheel, what’s it like to drive? It’s really nice and measured and relaxed. Honestly, that’s exactly how it should be. Just because it’s all electric doesn’t mean it needs to dump all of its torque at the get- go. For a car that’s all about luxury, I think it’s calibrated spoton. You’ve got driving modes, of course. You’ve got eco, normal, and sport. But even in sport, the power, like right now, I’m in sport. Put your foot down, it moves off quickly, but smartly. It doesn’t really dump all of that power in a mad rush. So, it is calibrated really nicely, and that’s what you want really from a luxury MPV, right? You don’t want to upset the boss in the back. So, uh yeah, it’s it’s just nice and perfectly calibrated for driving around uh the city as well as highways. you can uh keep up with the traffic and should you need to get a move on or overtake some slowmoving traffic even in eco mode. In fact, I’m going to move to eco mode right now, you put your foot down like this and it does move off fairly smartly. So, if you were to be in eco mode and have to pull off an overtaking move, you could do so quite safely. The steering as well as the brakes too are also adjustable. So, you do have two modes for both of them, both standard and sport. Sport really just makes things a little firmer from behind the wheel and on the brakes they are a little more grabby. So for what I’ve been experiencing today and driving, I think the normal works just fine. Being an EV, you also have brake energy recuperation uh levels which you can set here and uh that’s always nice to have. I really don’t like it when it’s left to its own devices. So you can set it from uh three levels. The base level feels just fine and similar to a internal combustion vehicle. So if you lift off like this, there’s a more natural sort of deceleration, but you can set it for a slightly stronger and then a very strong mode too. It doesn’t have one pedal driving though. In terms of safety, it’s not been tested under G or BNCAP protocols, but it’s reassuring to know that the international model gets five stars from Euro NCAP. On the India car, there’s seven airbags with the curtain bags extending to the third row. electronic stability control, disc brakes on all four wheels, ISOIX child seats, and ADAS. So, the M9 comes with a full ADAS suite that includes auto emergency braking, auto lane keep assist, and out here in Goa on these nice well-marked roads. It’s worked just fine and you know, there’s very little traffic. So, can’t really tell you what’s going to be like in the hustle and bustle of a city like Mumbai. But right now, so far, we’ve had uh the car, it’s working just fine. You will hear those odd beeps uh now and then when you’re crossing a scooter or you’re coming too close to a lane. Uh but of course, as with most ADAS systems, you can switch this all off. One thing different with this ADA system is it’s got a very comprehensive driver monitoring system. And uh when I say very comprehensive, I mean very comprehensive because it does of course driver fatigue monitoring, but it can also check if the driver is using a mobile phone or even smoking. Yes, big brother is definitely watching. Around corners, the M9 manages its bulk fairly well. Driven sensibly or even slightly quickly, body roll isn’t alarming, and that’s because the springs are on the firmer side. That though does create a problem when you go over for example rumblers and small little ruts. You can feel everything coming through. So it is a firm and stable ride. Not really flush and pliant. It’s a good time to check in with Nickel now who’s had some quiet time at the back. Now a few things that I picked up over my power nap include the sun shades. Now the sun shades do a good job of covering up much of the heat and glare from these large side windows. But the third row windows don’t get any sun shade. So if you’re stretched all the way back, you will have the sun shine straight onto your face and thus it’s not particularly nice. I have to say that I was expecting a bit more from the suspension. As Serge rightly pointed out, you feel more of the road below you than you would want to. Uh these small imperfections aren’t ironed out as well as you would expect. So that is something you feel and experience at the back as well. Highlight is refinement. The MGM9 runs really quiet. Of course, it’s electric, so no engine noise, but even ambient noises are really well contained. And the JBL sound system also does its job to put you in a nice mood. The middle row seats are literally central to the M9’s appeal. But what’s it like for third row passengers? You’ll have to make your way to the third row via the passage between the middle row chairs. It’s not quite a walk-in, but is convenient enough as third rows go. Now, when the boss seat is set to full extension, the third row is all but unusable. You really cannot sit here. But in ordinary situations where the middle row seats are upright and set at a comfortable position for both the second and third row passengers, even an adult can sit here very comfortably. Now, I’m just under 6 ft tall, and my head is touching the roof liner, but anyone shorter than me will be very comfortable here. Now, interestingly, there is width for three passengers at the back, but there is no dedicated headrest for the middle seat passenger, and there’s actually no fold down armrest also, which you would expect in a vehicle of this price. Now, other amenities, you get roof mounted air conditioning vents. There’s a phone uh holder over here, you get cup holders, there’s a USB port to keep your uh devices charged, but no sun shade for these nice and large back windows. The M9’s powered tailgate lifts to reveal a usable space even with all seats up. The third row seats can be slid forward to make more room, and you can also fold the back rest down to free up more space. However, you’d expect more flexibility in an MPV so large. The rearmost seats don’t flip forward, nor do they fold into the floor as on a Kia Carnival, or fold upwards and out of the way as on a Wellfire. So, what’s the verdict then? From behind the wheel, it’s a nice and easy drive. Power delivery is smooth and well metered and strong enough to pull off a safe overtake. In terms of comfort, the seats are nice and there’s even a massage function at the front row. So, comfort on the go is just fine. But let’s be honest, the M9 is not intended for the self-drive owner. It’s for chauffeurdriven buyers. And it’s this target clientele that’ll have much to like on the M9. Middle row space and seat comfort are fantastic. Refinement is really impressive, and MG has also packed in a whole lot of goodies. Ride comfort could have been better, but I wouldn’t call it a dealbreaker. The electric powertrain does mean the M9 is best as a city vehicle, and the boxy shape doesn’t have the street cred a like SUV would have. Then again, that’s not stopped Kia selling out the Carnival for the year, or Toyota delivering over 1,000 Wellfires over the past 12 months. Speaking of which, MG hasn’t announced prices as yet, but has hinted that the M9 will slot in right between the 64 lakh rupee Kia Carnival and the 1.22 cr rupee Toyota. We expect an X showroom price near 90 lak, but MG could just surprise with keener pricing. To help convince buyers to see the M9 as a vehicle worthy of the big bucks, MG will retail the MPV from from its new premium MG select dealerships. In conclusion, the M9 might not be the first luxury vehicle that comes to mind for anyone shopping at this price bracket, but it sure deserves a look. It might just surprise you. [Music]
If you’re in the market for a luxury vehicle and rear seat comfort is a priority, the MG M9 electric MPV is a new option worth considering. Sergius Barretto and Nikhil Bhatia tell you why.
Cameraperson: Naushad (+ official B-roll)
Editor: Siddhesh Kadam and Deven Bhalla
Chapters –
0:00 – Introduction
0:38 – Middle row features and storage
2:17 – Middle row seats
4:45 – Design and dimensions
5:50 – Front row experience
7:50 – Motor specifications and range
8:25 – Performance
9:48 – Braking
10:25 – Safety and ADAS
11:40 – Ride and handling
12:07 – Rear seat experience
13:10 – Third row
14:19 – Luggage space
14:42 – MG M9 price expectation and verdict
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