MG U9 EV: Australia to be world’s first market to get all-wheel-drive electric ute

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MG has taken the wraps off an electric version of its U9 ute, and Australia will be the first place on earth to get it.

The U9 EV enters a surprisingly sparse market – despite utes’ evergreen popularity in Australia, and Australians’ growing demand for EVs, it’ll be just the third electric ute on sale.

MG hasn’t revealed pricing yet, but it’ll need to be competitive with electric variants of the Toyota Hilux (from $82,111 driveaway in NSW) and KGM Musso (from $60,000 driveaway nationwide).

Will all-wheel drive delivered by dual electric motors, the U9 EV becomes one of the most powerful utes on the market, producing 325kW and 700Nm. A 0-100kph time of 5.8 seconds is claimed; we recommend emptying the tray before verifying that.

MG quotes a 430km range on the WLTP cycle, from a 102kWh lithium-iron-phosphate battery. The range edges out the Musso (419km FWD, 379km AWD) and wipes the floor with the Hilux, which claims just 315km at best.

Vehicle-to-load charging is 6.6kW from an external outlet, or 2.2kW from one of three outlets in the cabin.

Charging the ute itself, though, is comparatively slow, with the U9 accepting 11kW AC charging and 115kW DC charging; MG claims charging from 20 to 80 percent takes 42 minutes. KGM claims the Musso can handle 300kW DC charging.

Impressively, the U9 EV claims a braked towing capacity of 3500kg, the market standard for midsize utes. It’ll be the only electric ute on the Australian market that can do that – the Musso can muster 2300kg, and the electric Hilux only manages 2000kg.

Maximum payload is 685kg, while a ‘froot’ (front boot) can swallow 236L.

The U9’s unusually car-like fully independent suspension goes one further on the EV, which will have air suspension.

‘Unusually car-like’ could be said for the interior as well, which features heated leather front seats, a heated steering wheel, an eight-speaker JBL sound system, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and wireless charging. The driver’s seat is ventilated and has a massage function to boot.