A "hot hatch" is a hatchback that goes fast, right? You take a hatchback, you give it performance upgrades at the factory, and boom. There's your hot hatch. There's plenty of examples of the form, the Honda Civic Type R, the Ford Focus RS, the Hyundai i30 N, all of them generating between 200-400 horsepower, with suspension and transmissions to match. That's what makes them hot hatches, right?
Well, if you ask most reviewers: No. That's not it. They'll tell you it's not, because the MG4 XPOWER has that and more. It just doesn't have what THEY look for in a hot hatch.
It's loud noise, it's a gear shifter with too many gears, it's a stereo with a discrete subwoofer and amplifier, it's obnoxious styling in the cabin and flashy graphics on the gauge monitor. None of that makes the car faster, but it does attract a very distinct demographic.
Assholes.
I've been reading and watching review after review of this car, and the writing gymnastics they'll pull to insist that NO IT'S NOT IN THE CLUB are fascinating. There's paragraphs and hours of video, all about what boils down to ancillary equipment, disregard for their fellow man, and vibes.
There's a car that had this effect before, all the way in 1990. The Mazda Miata.
It's fast, it can do donuts, it's even got pop-up headlights! But Gen X car guys had to reconcile all this fun engineering with it looking ever-so sorry for breaking granny's china. It's a high performance sports car. But. It's "the girl car".
Gen X got over it, Miatas are now revered sports cars, and I'm sure the MG 4 XPOWER will be remembered as the hot hatch that it is.