MG4

The MG4 EV starts at Rs. 41,49,000, which puts a rear-wheel-drive electric hatchback with a five-star Euro NCAP rating within reach of buyers who would otherwise be shopping compact SUVs. Sold globally as the MG4 Electric and brought to Nepal by Paramount Motors, it is a compact five-door hatch at 4,287 mm long, small enough for tight urban roads but with 363 litres of boot space that opens to 1,177 litres with the rear seats folded.

It sits on MG's Modular Scalable Platform, built for electric cars from the start rather than adapted from a petrol design. Both variants use the same 99 kW rear-mounted motor making 250 Nm, driving the rear wheels through a multi-link independent rear suspension. Where they differ is the battery: 51 kWh in the Comfort for 350 km, 64 kWh in the Deluxe for 440 km, both on the WLTP standard, which is a lab test that tends to run optimistic against real Nepal road conditions. A 7 kW home wallbox fills the Comfort in about 7.5 hours overnight. On a DC fast charger, both go from 10 to 80 percent in roughly 35 minutes. Both also support vehicle-to-load, so the car's battery can run appliances or tools through a normal plug.

Even the Comfort comes with six airbags, ABS with EBD, stability control, hill launch assist, TPMS, and the MG Pilot driver assistance suite as standard, including adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and bicycle detection, lane keep assist, and traffic sign recognition. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are wired on both. The battery pack carries an 8-year or 150,000 km warranty, and the high-voltage components carry a 3-year or 100,000 km warranty, though the general vehicle warranty is 1 year.

Moving up to the Deluxe at Rs. 49,99,000 buys range and equipment rather than speed, since both cars make the same power and top out at 160 km/h. The Deluxe adds 90 km of range, 18-inch wheels in place of 17s, blind spot detection with rear cross-traffic alert and door-opening warning, a 360-degree camera, heated front seats and steering wheel, wireless charging, satellite navigation, and a six-speaker system.