There's a moment, somewhere around the point your neck meets the headrest, when you realise MG has stopped being a byword for sensible and started building something genuinely startling. Floor the throttle in this IM5 Performance and 3.2 seconds later you're doing 62mph — supercar territory, delivered with the eerie, silent inevitability that only electric power can manage. Don't let the saloon silhouette fool you into thinking this is a one-trick straight-line special, either. Twin motors and four-wheel drive put all 751 ps down cleanly, while four-wheel steering tightens the turning circle to something that feels almost mischievous for a car this size. Underneath the swooping bodywork sits a 100kWh battery good for around 357 miles on paper, and when you do need to top up, a 396kW peak charging rate means you're rarely waiting long. Inside, it's every bit as ambitious as the numbers suggest: heated and cooled leather seats, a heated steering wheel, panoramic glass roof, and a dashboard dominated by a vast widescreen display that wouldn't look out of place in something twice the price. A 20-speaker sound system and 360-degree camera round out the sense that MG's upmarket IM sub-brand is aiming squarely at premium rivals — and, on this evidence, landing plenty of blows. Finished in striking blue and covered by MG's generous long warranty, this one-owner example arrives as a genuine alternative to the usual German and American electric suspects — quieter about it, perhaps, but no less quick to make its point.