MOTORING - Road Test First Drive: Morgan’s revised Plus Four re - tains a traditional feel but with modern touches
By Jack Evans, PA Motoring Reporter
What is it?
Morgan has always been rooted in a sense of the traditional. From its home in Malvern, Morgan has produced cars which have, over the many decades, evolved at a very sedate pace, introducing changes that don’t rip up the rulebook but remain true to this carmaker’s roots. In the last few years, however, things have become more modern.While the exterior of its Plus Four and Plus Six models might still look like they’re channelling the spirit of yesteryear, the underpinnings have been made a whole lot more up-to-date. Now, Morgan has chosen to give the Plus Four a new update – a lot more like ‘mainstream’ manufacturers do – with a few choice changes introduced here and there.
What’s new?
As mentioned, Morgan has introduced a series of updates to the Plus Four, following the introduction of the completely new version back in 2020.While the mechanicals have been largely left alone – more on this later – there have been several tweaks made to the interior. There’s a new, punchier, Sennheiser audio system and even – a breakthrough for Morgan – Bluetooth connectivity which allows you to connect your phone to the car’s system. The exterior of the Plus Four has been tweaked, too. Of course, it’s still instantly recognisable as a Morgan, but the cleaner headlights – and lack of separate spot lamps – do make it a little sharper than before.
What’s under the bonnet?
As before, the Plus Four uses a BMW-sourced four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine. With 255bhp and 400Nm of torque is pleasantly punchy, and enables a 0-60mph time of 4.6 seconds in our automatic-gearbox test car or five seconds dead in the six-speed manual version. Flat-out, the Plus Four will manage a respectable 149mph, too, and all while achieving fuel efficiency of up to 45mpg and low CO2 emissions of 140g/km.
Continued on following page >
mccartthyhollden..co..uk | 113
Made with FlippingBook Annual report maker