Australia will be the first country in the world to receive the MGU9 EV, and MG has now confirmed the full numbers ahead of a launch expected before the end of 2026. The figures are hard to brush off: 325kW, 700Nm, 430km of WLTP-rated range, a 3500kg braked towing capacity and a 0-100km/h time of 5.8 seconds. A 102.2kWh LFP battery feeds a dual-motor drivetrain, and the whole thing sits on four-wheel air suspension with variable ride height. That last detail alone is enough to make leaf-spring loyalists sit up.
MG Motor Australia marketing director Dimitri Andreatidis describes it as a vehicle designed for daily use, the school run and weekend trips, combining ute utility with an electric powertrain. It's priced at $78,990 plus on-road costs and a firm launch date is still to come, but the MGU9 EV is real, it's built with local conditions in mind, and it's coming for the same buyer who's been looking at a 79 dual cab.
At a Glance
- 325kW and 700Nm from a dual-motor setup, 0-100km/h in 5.8 seconds
- 430km WLTP range from a 102.2kWh LFP battery; 115kW DC fast charge gets you 20-80% in 42 minutes
- 3500kg braked towing capacity, 685kg payload, 236-litre front storage compartment
- Four-wheel air suspension with variable ride height as standard
- ANCAP's five-star MGU9 rating applies to the diesel variants; $78,990 plus on-road costs, launch date not yet announced
Where the MGU9 EV genuinely wins
That torque figure is the headline. Seven hundred Newton metres arrives from a standing start, with no turbo lag and no waiting for a diesel to spool up. If you're using a ute to move gear around a job site, tow a boat to the ramp twice a week, or just cover the school run and highway commutes, that instant pull is a real-world advantage over the 2.8-litre four-cylinder in the current 70 Series.
The air suspension is worth noting too. The 79 runs leaf springs at the rear. They work hard off-road and carry load well, but they are not known for comfort on corrugated tracks or freeway cruising. Variable ride height and air suspension on a ute at this price point is the kind of spec you'd normally expect from a Ram 1500. Running costs on electricity versus diesel also favour the MGU9 EV heavily for anyone covering urban or suburban kilometres every day. The 6.6kW V2L output through the external port, plus 2.2kW outlets in the tub and frunk, makes it genuinely useful on a worksite or at a campsite without a generator.
What the 70 Series platform still has that this doesn't
The comparison stops being comfortable for the MGU9 EV the moment you start talking about what you can do to a 70 Series after you drive it off the lot.
The 79 platform has been in production long enough that the aftermarket around it is enormous. A 4-inch lift on 35s is a weekend job with well-documented kits, known costs and local fitment shops that have done it hundreds of times. GVM upgrades are available through certified engineers with established upgrade paths. Long-range sub-tanks and auxiliary fuel setups are catalogue items. Dual-battery systems, canopies and trays, snorkels, winch bumpers, integrated drawer systems: every one of these has multiple suppliers, tested hardware, and installation guides written by people who've done the same track you're planning to do.
The MGU9 EV isn't on sale yet and Australia is its first market, with an aftermarket that does not yet exist at any meaningful scale. That's not a knock on the vehicle; it's just the maths of being new. You can't buy a proven long-range tank for it. There's no lift kit with a calibrated alignment spec. The suspension is an air system, which is capable hardware, but air suspensions are more involved to modify and repair remote from a city than a coil or leaf setup. That matters if your annual trip takes you three hours past Marree.
The LFP battery chemistry is durable and tolerates partial charging well, but 430km of WLTP range shrinks on corrugated dirt roads, in heat, with a full tray and a caravan on the back. Charging infrastructure between Darwin and Katherine, or across the Nullarbor, is improving. It is not yet what you'd call sorted. The 70 Series will accept diesel from any servo, a jerry can, or a farmer's shed.
The payload and tray question
Six hundred and eighty-five kilograms of payload puts the MGU9 EV at the lower end for dual-cab utes, though MG says the tray fits a standard-sized pallet. The 79 in GVM-upgraded trim carries substantially more, and with the right tray setup you can spec it exactly for a specific trade or touring load. That flexibility comes from decades of bolt-on solutions, not from the factory configuration.
So who should actually be interested?
If your ute does school runs, highway miles, weekend towing and the occasional graded track, the MGU9 EV deserves a serious look. The performance numbers are genuine, the towing rating matches the class benchmark, and the cabin spec leaves the current 70 Series looking industrial by comparison. That's not an accident: MG has positioned it as a lifestyle vehicle, and it delivers on that positioning.
If you're planning a Cape York run in the wet, a Simpson crossing, or any trip where fuel access is uncertain and the vehicle will need to be fixed by a local mechanic who has never seen the brand before, the 79 is still the tool for that job. The aftermarket depth, the parts availability, the mechanical simplicity of a diesel drivetrain, and thirty-plus years of people pushing this platform to its limits and documenting what breaks: that is not something you can buy in 2026 for any amount of money.
The MGU9 EV is a genuinely capable ute entering a market that will test it hard. The LandCruiser 70 is a platform that has already survived every test the country can throw at it. The argument about which one is right for you is worth having, and the answer is going to depend entirely on where you're going.
