IM ("Intelligence in Motion") is MG’s luxury brand, as Lexus is to Toyota. Hence, this new car is officially the “IM6 Presented by MG Motor”. No octagonal brand-badges; instead you get the IM-signature dots and lines.
The IM6 does indeed offer an impressively luxurious experience. It’s pure-electric, but even the relative silence of that is enhanced by active noise cancellation, quelling road noise to the extent that sometimes all you can hear is a whoosh of wind around the A-pillar.
Don’t be distracted by this flagship Performance model’s outrageous turn of speed (0-100km/h in 3.4 seconds), Advanced Air Suspension with Continuous Control Damping (CCD) and sophisticated 4-wheel steering (4WS) system. Or indeed the name. It's not really a sports/performace SUV.
All that tech is still in the pursuit of luxury, refinement and ease-of-use. The steering is devoid of feel and the suspension is incredibly soft in Comfort mode, although still pretty well-controlled.
For faster driving, it’s quite precise and Sport mode stiffens things up, but there's stil a lot of body movement. There’s impressive traction from the AWD system and Pirelli Scorpion tyes, and the IM6 really can hustle if you want it to. But it’s more enjoyable when you don’t.
The 4WS is fantastic. At low speed (60km/h and below) the back wheels turn up to 6 degrees in the opposite direction to the front, giving the 4.9-long IM6 the same turning circle as a supermini. At motorway speeds they turn up to 12deg the same way, making lane changes so, so smooth. The same function can also be forced at low speed to allow the car to “crab” away from a close kerb.
The IM6 really can hustle if you want it to. But it’s more enjoyable when you don’t.
If you equate minimalism with luxury, the IM6 cabin will please you. Lots of rounded surfaces and no buttons on the dashboard, although there are two scroll-controls on the steering wheel, Tesla-style.
The “synthetic leather” is slightly questionable; it’s sticky feeling and not ideal in hot summer weather, although the IM6 is not alone in that choice. But the very light Dover Beige colour does give the interior an other-wordly quality. Don’t worry, if that’s not you, there’s also Highland Grey.
You might notice embroidered spots around the cabin labelled 'IM Mag'. They’re built-in magnetic mounts for a phone or tablet.
The dual-screen layout takes a little getting used to, but it’s ergonomically quite clever. There’s 26.3 inches of “immersive” screen along the dashboard, and a separate 10.5in display embedded in the centre console. The left-hand section of the main display and smaller screen are interchangeable in some ways, but it helps to think of the top section as mainly for display and the individual 10.5in screen as a work surface. For example, when you have Apple carPlay or Android Auto running, that can take over the top screen while the bottom one remains free for other functions, including shortcuts to the likes of the One Touch iAD parking functions (more about those in a minute).
There are some nifty shortcuts over the shortcuts, too. A two-finger swipe up or down on the central screen activates climate temperature, or left and right for fan speed.
The IM6 is really all about driver-assistance tech. It’s absolutely loaded with advanced AI-enhanced features.
Speaking or surprise-and-delight stuff, you might notice little embroidered spots around the cabin (dashboard, seatbacks) labelled “IM Mag”. They’re built-in magnetic mounts for a phone or tablet.
The IM6 is really all about the driver-assistance tech. It’s absolutely loaded with advanced AI-enhanced features, although not all of them seem completely sorted for Kiwi conditions.
Kudos to the camera system… in concept. There are 9 HD cameras and 12 sensors around the car, enabling some pretty cool features.
The physical rearvision mirror in the cabin can be folded away completely; that’s because you can summon a virtual one with one click of a steering wheel button, bringing up a live feed on the dashboard for a few seconds whenever you need it. And to be honest, you may as well fold the real thing away, because you can’t see a thing out of the tiny rear window.
For turning or lane changes, you also get a live feed on the appropriate side of the instrument panel. But it gets more clever than that, because the cameras are used to create an invisible A-pillar, giving you a clear view as you’re turning.
So far, so good. As well as giving a complete 360-degree view for parking, the cameras also help run the automated parking features, of which there are many. Ask the car to find a space (there’s a one-touch shortcut on the lower-screen) and the cameras scan all possible options; then you choose and once you hit go, the car can do the rest.
It’s simple to activate, which is half the battle with this kind of stuff. And in a lightly trafficked space, it works brilliantly, with impressive speed. Introduce other cars, even slow-moving ones, and you’re in trouble; we tried several times to use both the parking and “pull out” features in busy parking lots and we had to give up, lest we sparked a series of road-rage incidents.
The IM6 can theoretically retrace the last 100m it drove in reverse - a similar feature to that offered on every current BMW, although the German cars can only do 50m. However, speaking as somebody who has the ideal test environment - a narrow 60m-long hedge-lined driveway, I have to report the IM6 simply couldn’t do it, repeatedly giving up and telling me “manual reversing is recommended”.
Every BMW I’d had for the past few years has been able to automatically back up the same driveway for the allocated 50m at quite an alarming speed. Just saying.
And at the risk of this sounding like a list of IM6 grievances, the automated lane-change function was a bit tricky too. In full assist mode (that’s one click on the transmission stalk for adaptive cruise, then another for steering assistance), the IM6 can theoretically change lanes itself when you activate the indicator.
The window is fairly small for Kiwi conditions (over 75km/h) and it's a lot more picky about ideal conditions than other similar systems we've used in recent years. Just be prepared to see "impossible" and "take control" pop up on the dashboard quite a bit.
You get the picture: the IM6 is equipped with a staggering array of automated features. Some of them are brilliant, some of them are not quite there. The good thing is that over the air (OTA) updates and the speed at which Chinese brands seem able to respond to country-specific feedback of this nature mean that even if you buy an IM6 right now, it’ll get better with new software down the track.
But should you buy one? There’s a lot to like about the IM6: refinement, space and all that tech, even if some of it hasn’t reached its full potential. Despite the frustrations, it’s a likeable and often-impressive luxury EV.
But we reckon the $12k-cheaper Platinum looks like the smarter buy, partly because it has a more appropriate model name and partly because 0-100km/h in 5.4sec seems perfectly quick for this car.
The Platinum has the same 100kWh battery but a bigger range (555km versus 505km), the same 21-inch wheels and fancy rubber, and while it’s RWD it has the same 4WS system as this Performance.
You do miss out on the Advanced Air Suspension; if that’s a must-have you can add it for $5500, although you’re sneaking up towards Performance price again then.
How much is the IM6 Performance?
The Performance is the flagship model and is priced at $89,990. The less powerful Platinum and Premium versions are $77,900 and $66,900 respectively.
What are the key statistics for the IM6 Performance?
The 100kWh battery feeds dual electric motors. IM does not quote combined outputs, preferring to separate front and rear at 200kW/372Nm and 302kW/500Nm. It's fast: 0-100km/h in just 3.4 seconds.
Is the IM6 Performance efficient?
That extreme performance takes it toll on power consumption. The Performance has a WLTP range of 505km, compared to the Platinum with the same battery at 555km.
Is the IM6 Performance good to drive?
Despite the outrageous acceleration, the IM6 Performance is primarily a luxury car. It's extremely quiet with active noise cancellation and the AWD/4WS technology makes it a super-smooth machine on the road.
Is the IM6 Performance practical?
Extremely so. The long wheelbase and flat floor provide generous passenger accommodation and the boot is big for the class at 646 litres, even if it's slightly smaller than the RWD models. You also get a 32l frunk up front and another small storage space underneath the boot floor.
What do we like about the IM6 Performance?
It's a true luxury car, with extreme refinement and lots of technology that makes for a super-smooth drive (including 4WS and a "comfort stop" braking function).
If you're wowed by the acceleration, the price is pretty good: we can't think of a car that can faster for less. And it's a truly spacious and practical family SUV.
What don’t we like about the IM6 Performance?
The styling is an aquired taste (and apologies to both Tesla and Aston Martin).
Some of the automated-drive technology needs work: we really struggled with the likes of the 100m reversing assistant and automatic lane change.
What kind of person would the IM6 Performance suit?
An EV enthusiast who wants a real luxury experience and is fascinated by the high level of technology in the IM6.