Most of the cars I test drive are fairly humdrum everyday vehicles, like hatchbacks, sedans, MPVs or, as is the case mostly these days, SUVs. They all have their unique individual selling points, but they are mainly designed to serve a functional purpose.
Once in a while though, something a bit exciting comes along, one that brightens up your day and brings the joy back to driving. And the MG Cyberster is such a car indeed.
What is the MG Cyberster?
Well, for starters, the Cyberster is something that you don’t see often: a fully-electric open-top sports car.
Up till now, electric vehicles (EVs) have mostly taken the form of mainstream body styles like the abovementioned SUVs or sedans. There have been a handful of electric high-performance hypercars, but those are relatively few and far between.
The Cyberster then can really be seen as a breakthrough car of sorts. As far as I’m aware, the Cyberster is the first electric sports car on sale here that’s reasonably accessible (i.e. it doesn’t cost a million dollars), and probably the first one with a folding soft top roof as well.
In a way, it sort of pays tribute to the classic British MG brand, which was known for its roadster models for much of its existence during the 20th century.
Today’s MG is a completely different company of course, being a Chinese-owned brand that mainly focuses on practical family cars, but it’s nice that they’ve chosen to acknowledge MG’s iconic sports car heritage with the Cyberster.
What’s the Cyberster like?
Spectacular would probably be the right description here, no question about it.
I mean, if the sleek and svelte looks don’t capture your attention, then the upward-opening doors (a la Lamborghini) certainly will.
The doors are electronically-operated, and all you have to do is press a button for it to activate. You do have to stand a bit of a distance away from it though, because otherwise the sensors will detect that an obstacle is in the way and halt its operation.
And in case you’re worried about hitting the roof of the indoor carpark, you can actually set the height of how high the door reaches when opened. By and large though there shouldn’t be much of a problem as the car is quite low to begin with.
Likewise, opening the roof is merely a matter of toggling a switch on the centre console, and the fabric piece folds away in a brisk 10 seconds. You can even do it while travelling at speeds of up to 50km/h, allowing you to wow passers-by as you drive along in traffic.
Like most sports cars, the interior of the Cyberster is snug and taut, with a driver-focused setup that lets you know in no uncertain terms who should be the centre of attention.
There’s a unique four-screen layout, with one on the centre console, and three spread across in front of the driver. The one in the centre is obviously the driver instrument panel, while the one to the left of it is the infotainment screen that displays the navigation map and audio selection.
The one to the right houses the reverse camera, as well as displaying information like the battery’s state of charge. The screen down on the centre console meanwhile gives you access to the various car settings, such as the driving modes, interior ambient lighting and so on.
Truth be told, it’s not exactly the best setup ergonomically, with the centre console screen a tad fiddly to operate while on the move. The two screens on either side of the driver instrument panel are slightly obstructed by the steering wheel too.
But those are but minor qualms, which are mostly forgotten once you get going.
How does the Cyberster drive then?
The Cyberster’s performance fully lives up to its fast looks. It might seem like an obvious thing to some, but there are roadsters out there that merely look good without the performance to match.
MG offers the Cyberster in two forms: a single motor rear-wheel-drive (RWD) variant with 335hp and 475Nm of torque, or the dual motor all-wheel-drive (AWD) version tested here with an incredible 536hp and 725Nm of torque.
Those are insane numbers, especially for a car of this size, and the result is that the AWD Cyberster can rocket from 0-100km/h in a supercar-beating 3.2 seconds. Try attempting that with the roof down and you’ll end up with a brand-new hairstyle instantly.
There is a caveat though. Being electric-powered means that the Cyberster is a bit of a hefty beast thanks to its batteries, and the AWD version weighs in at just under 2 tonnes, which is rather heavy for a sports car.
The powerful motors means that there’s no detriment to its performance, but the car does feel its weight when you take on the corners at speed. It’s not particularly well-controlled in those situations, and you get the sense that the Cyberster would much prefer that you settle into an easy cruise instead of bombing through the bends.
Accede to its character though and the Cyberster makes for an excellent driving companion. The suspension is at its best when set to its softest ‘Comfort’ setting, with the car then pampering you with a ride that soothes you on a relaxing drive down the highway.
You can of course insist on going the other way by switching it to Super Sport mode (made easily accessible via the button on the steering wheel), which gives you more aggression from the powertrain and a weightier steering feel, but at the expense of a harsher ride quality, without much corresponding improvement in its handling prowess.
The Cyberster is definitely a fun drive, but not quite in the way you expect. It’s not the kind of car to set lap records around the track, but if you want to go on a long cross country road trip and take in the sights and sounds along the way, the Cyberster feels very much like the perfect car for the job.
Sounds cool. How much is it though?
While the Cyberster is not quite a million-dollar supercar (even though it looks like one), it still doesn’t come cheap. In top-spec AWD form, the car will set you back a princely $345,888 with COE (as of April 2025). You can of course opt for the lesser-powered RWD version, but that will still cost you $328,888 with COE.
Having said that, the Cyberster’s combination of breathtaking performance and stunning looks, along with the fact that it is a full-fledged EV, makes it a truly unique proposition. There’s literally no other car like it out there, and the Cyberster shows that electric motoring can be an exciting thrill to your senses, in every way possible.
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