MG Cyberster review: bold electric roadster brings drama, luxury, and a few quirks

When the 80-year-old British car maker MG re-emerged from a chrysalis to become the Chinese-owned MG Motor UK, there wasn't a petrolhead on the planet that wasn't drooling over the prospect of a new range of lightweight sports cars.

But instead the Birmingham brand's resurrection yielded little more than some mediocre hatchbacks, and then some reasonably forgettable SUVs.

But MG has been quietly improving its cars with every launch, and some of them are extremely credible options, especially the MG4. And, at long last, MG is using this momentum to launch its first two-seater sports car since the TF.

Unlike the TF, which was lightweight, mid-engined, and pretty inexpensive, this new "Cyberster" is heavy, complicated, fully electric and prices start at around £55,000. Yes, that's right, you can buy a Porsche Boxster for that.

But the Cyberster isn't like other two-seater sports cars. The first thing to get your head around is that it's fully electric. And it's basically the first fully electric roadster we've been able to buy since Tesla appeared on the scene with a madly expensive Lotus Elise clone.

And because it's electric, it's quite heavy. So it isn't really all that sporty and it's more of a grand tourer, then. More in line with a Mercedes SL, in fact. And they cost twice the price.

It's also utterly gorgeous, in case you hadn't noticed. The large front end, small cockpit set back towards the rear wheels, and the abruptly squared-off rear make it look really rather British, and it has scissor doors. I don't really know why; it doesn't need them, they don't perform any useful function, but my goodness they're awesome. You'll never tire of getting in and out of the Cyberster, and electrically raising them at the touch of a button.

It's absolutely lovely inside, too. There are four displays draped around the cabin, a very comfortable pair of seats, and all the materials feel plush and expensive. It couldn't be a further cry from the MG 6 that first emerged from the MG ashes back in 2011.

It's also very fast. There are two versions; a rear-wheel-drive Trophy with 335bhp, or a GT with all-wheel-drive and almost 500bhp. This means the GT can accelerate to 60mph in just 3.2 seconds.

They each use a 77kWh battery, which gives a claimed range of 316 miles in the Trophy and 276 miles in the GT, and it's brimming with modern tech and gadgets.

On the face of it, then, the Cyberster is better than we could have hoped for, as we sat salivating over news of a new MG roadster. But there are issues.

The biggest issue is in the four digital displays. It all looks seriously impressive when you sink into the cabin, but it only takes a few miles of driving to realise that they're just needlessly complicated and really quite annoying.

The main driver's display is fine, that's centrally mounted and easy to understand. And there's also a screen on the centre console which does a fairly complicated job of bundling in the basics, including climate control. Irritating not to have buttons, but standard fayre at the moment.

Then there are two other small displays, either side of the steering wheel. They're controlled with buttons and joysticks on the wheel itself, but the menu systems - especially on the right-hand screen - are complex and fiddly. And each screen works in a different way. And each screen is obscured by the steering wheel.

It's an exercise in digital overengineering. Navigating the options on this many displays while you're driving a car with 500bhp is downright dangerous and, even when you get used to where everything is and you've built up some muscle memory, you'll still have to take your eyes off the road for a bit too long to perform basic functions and, if you do, the car's driver alertness monitoring system will tell you off.

The boot's a bit small, too. Not too bad in roadster terms at 249 litres, but the floor's quite shallow.

And then there's the slightly awkward fact that the Cyberster weighs the best part of two tonnes. That's becoming forgivable in hatchbacks these days, but it does not make for a sporty drive.

Happily, though, the rides is terrific, and the effortless power delivery coupled with a silent drivetrain makes for rather serene cruising, even if you're pushing on a bit.

This isn't a car for B-road blasting, then. But for long journeys, even with a few tasty corners thrown into the mix, it's brilliant.

Drive it more sensibly and you won't just be rewarded with a pleasant journey, you'll get fairly decent efficiency too. Topping 3 mi/kWh isn't difficult in the Cyberster and, while you'd struggle to get it too high, it does mean the range is well north of 200 miles, even if you're quite lead-footed.

The Cyberster also gets MG's impressive seven-year warranty and lease deals look pretty good, so it's going to be a viable option for anyone who wants to save some money and still have some open-top fun.

When MG launched the MG4 it took us all by surprise. It's a remarkably good hatchback and its popularity is well deserved.

Don't expect the Cyberster to be such a familiar sight on the roads, but anyone who does buy one will be enjoying a pretty unique offering in the automotive world - an electric roadster with a gorgeous design, show-stopping doors, and a genuinely luxurious interior.

It might not be the sports car we've all been waiting for, but that doesn't mean it isn't really, really good.