Does the MG Marvel R rock the competition?

As a former British sports car manufacturer, MG has a lot of tradition in the brand name. The manufacturer has been taken over by the "Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation" since 2007 and has completely realigned the core of the brand towards a lucrative price-performance ratio. The Chinese manufacturer also wants to score points in Europe and is counting on a growing dealer network in Germany. The SUV model Marvel aims to score points in the premium segment with extensive assistance systems and equipment.

There are numerous suppliers in the SUV segment, the battery-electric versions are courting die-hard drivers, because this is where extensive assistance functions and comfort are in demand from all manufacturers. The stately Marvel with a total length of 4,67 m has to assert itself in the spacious middle class segment. Currently, only two model variants can be configured. The basic variant "Luxury" and the more powerful all-wheel drive variant "Performance" are fully equipped models, which, however, cannot be expanded with individual wishes. They impress with a very good price-performance ratio in terms of full equipment including a large panoramic glass sunroof.

Lush facilities

Since the takeover for the European market, the MG brand has focused on fully equipped and affordable cars. The responsible designers from the two design studios in London and Shanghai cooperate for the special requests on the European continent. All brand cars are manufactured in China and exported to European countries. "MG" stands for Morris Garage and has a good reputation, especially in Europe. With now 6 models, from the compact car segment to the middle class, a wide audience is addressed via a continuously growing dealer network. MG's market share in Germany in 2022 was 0,6% with a total of 4.148 vehicles. The 1% mark will probably be exceeded this year.

The growth in new registrations of electric cars is likely to be responsible for this. And this is where MG has some interesting offerings with the full featured versions. The interior of the Marvel has an appealing ambience. Accents are set with partial leather covers and chrome decor. The cantilevered center console features a powerful 19,4-inch display for all of the infotainment. The assistance system known as MG Pilot is also standard. The operation with the coarse buttons reminds a little of the earlier Nokia cell phones with the tiles. However, the low mounting of this display requires you to look down again and again and distracts you from the traffic for a short time.

Adaptive cruise control

At the bottom of the screen, the dial for the automatic function is centrally located. It is haptically and functionally easy to use and you can switch directly to parking mode with a short touch. With the adaptive cruise control, on the other hand, MG has completely hidden the stick for operation below the left turn signal. This is a bad solution for this vehicle class. For long-distance journeys, setting and adjusting the speeds is very time-consuming and the functions are not directly visible.

There is also a problem with the charging compartment for the smartphone, which is well integrated into the lockable storage compartment between the front seats. Smartphones with a greater depth cannot be inserted because the compartment is simply too narrow. Otherwise there are some useful features, such as two central beverage containers, a generous freely accessible storage compartment under the information display and, on our rear-wheel drive model, a generous frunk compartment that can hold an entire suitcase.

On tour

After the start, the greeting comes with a saying like "Let's rock the day with MG". First of all, backing out of the parking space, with an extensive sensor package and a number of noise levels in the event of impending collisions, you will almost certainly drive out of every bay. You can then choose between the three programs "ECO", "Standard" and "Sport". With the defensive ECO mode, the Marvel has a range of 360 kilometers with a fully charged battery in our summer test.

On the long tours, we were able to achieve consumption values ​​of between 20 and 22 kWh per 100 kilometers with the ECO mode. In the other modes and when driving quickly on the motorway, 25 to 30 kWh are more realistic. With an unladen weight of almost 2 tons including the driver, the high consumption values ​​are self-explanatory. It drives relatively quietly up to the recommended motorway speed and offers good noise insulation and comfortable suspension. Above that, the steering is no longer so directly appealing. And the first negative moments of surprise come with the abrupt feedback from the lane departure warning system, it simply intervenes directly and abruptly, corrects the lane and tugs on the steering wheel. It can be dangerous on wet or slippery roads.

In this way, positive and negative impressions alternate. The Marvel is fully equipped, but in driving practice there are some weaknesses for this vehicle class. There is also room for improvement when it comes to the charging processes on the Supercharger. Maximum charging capacities of up to 94 kW are only in the midfield here, and charging up to 80% SoC takes a good three quarters of an hour.

Conclusion

The Marvel R, which appears sophisticated, has its strengths in an extensive equipment package and a correspondingly good price-performance ratio. While the design and the interior are convincing, the next revision should focus even more on shorter loading times on the Supercharger. Especially with a large SUV, the focus is on long-distance suitability.

Addendum

Test from summer 2023

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N. Hawthorn

Author on the topics of sustainable mobility and new mobility concepts.

Questions and suggestions under 01575/287 3616 or by email to leser@greencarmagazine.de.

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