GWM ORA vs MG4

With both at exactly $31,990, this is a pure head-to-head, and both rank among the most affordable EVs in Australia. Either way you get electric running costs for the price of a mid-spec petrol small car.

Charging costs are near-identical, roughly $500–$700 a year on home electricity over 15,000km. The MG4's warranty runs 10 years / 250,000km if serviced at an MG dealer, otherwise 7 years, with very long 40,000km service intervals, against the ORA's 7-year / unlimited-kilometre cover. For a budget EV buyer keeping the car long-term and servicing at MG, that's a meaningful tilt to the MG.

Both are 5-star ANCAP, the ORA dated 2022 and the MG4 2023, with the full active-safety suite standard on each. The MG4's slightly newer rating is a minor edge. Both come with comprehensive driver assistance and the usual eager warning chimes you'll want to set to taste. There's little to separate them on everyday safety.

The ORA leans hard on charm, its rounded, retro-styled body stands out in a class of conventional shapes, and the cabin follows suit with a cute, friendly design. It's the more characterful, fashion-forward choice. The MG4 takes the opposite tack: a low-slung, modern electric hatch with a sportier stance and a cleaner, more contemporary cabin.

Both are five-seaters with usable interiors for the size. The ORA is the shorter car at 4,235mm; the MG4 is a touch longer at 4,395mm. The MG4's real party trick is the way it drives, its rear-biased layout makes it genuinely engaging to steer, where the front-drive ORA is the more relaxed, style-led cruiser.

The ORA has the stronger drivetrain and, crucially, far more range. It makes 126kW and 250Nm against the MG4 Urban's 110kW and 250Nm, and its bigger 57.7kWh battery delivers a claimed 400km WLTP versus the entry MG4's 316km, an 84km advantage that genuinely matters for everyday usability and the odd longer trip. The ORA is also the quicker of the two (8.4s to 100km/h versus 9.0).

Both charge at a similar ~80kW DC peak and both are front-wheel drive. So the ORA leads on power and range; the MG4 answers with sharper handling and, with MG servicing, a longer warranty. Note that MG offers longer-range MG4 variants higher up the range (the Excite 64, Long Range 77 and XPower) if outright range or performance is your priority, which changes the comparison considerably.