Morgan Plus Four 2.0 (A) Review

If the tall asking price of the Morgan Plus Six is too much for you but you're still hankering after that classic 1920's design, there's now a new, more sensible option from the Morgan family in town.

Enter, the Morgan Plus Four.

Practical roadster

This Morgan Plus Four reaches our shores with a starting price of $330,888, a significant discount next to the $430,888 the Plus Six is asking for (all prices w/o COE as of 26 October 2021).

For that price, you get a downsized engine, with 2.0-litres of displacement instead of three, and just 255bhp to play with, instead of the Plus Six's 355bhp.

It's not all bad news, though, for the Plus Four gets a narrower overall body and the wings that flank the central section of its body have their own distinct profile, which have been designed to make ingress and egress easier. Extricating yourself out of this car is noticeably easier compared to the Plus Six.

And the practical improvements do not end there, for customer cars will also get a very sensible new locking compartment that they can access located behind their seats, so there's finally a secure place to store valuables without having to pop the roof up.

Speaking of which, the folding mechanism for the fabric roof also now has new rubber parts that mean there's no need to tuck the water-channeling fabric sleeves into the right places when getting it up.

It's a welcome change that means there's less steps involved and less room for error should you need to erect that tent up in a hurry, but it is still ultimately a job that requires a fair amount of strength to complete, so check the weather report before heading out.

The latter two changes will come to the Plus Six at a later time.

Petite charger

Once you've verified that its sunny outside, and started that BMW-sourced engine up, you'll find the Plus Four has plenty of drama in store. On the go, there's minimal insulation from the sound of the engine, which offers up quite the hiss as you climb through the rev range, and there are still plenty of pops on lift off.

You do lose some of that low down bass and burble from the exhaust with the omission of two cylinders when compared to the Plus Six however, so if sheer vocals are what you're after - you'll want to spec your car with the new and optional Active Sports Exhaust System that this press car does without.

Push the Morgan Plus Four hard and it responds with urgent acceleration all through the rev range, making its low 1,115kg kerb weight felt. A short accelerator pedal travel, coupled with an eight-speed gearbox that is always eager to downshift with every blip of said accelerator pedal also helps with proceedings here.

Show the car a set of curves and it rewards richly, diving into corners with quite a bit more eagerness than what I remember of the Plus Six.

There's 350Nm of torque always at the ready to quickly translate any heavy-footedness into tyre spin at the rear, and no electronic safety net save for ABS should you push it too far, but you should be able to detect just when the rear tyres have had enough from the shimmying that gets sent through that new ash and aluminium platform.

Plucky cruiser

Opt for a gentler turn of speed in the Plus Four and the car delivers a ride that is fidgety, picking up all sorts of bumps and dimples from the road you simply won't ever notice in other cars. Thankfully there's still enough compliance to ride over larger humps and the like.

A somewhat slow but well-weighted steering here also allows comfortable progress at high speeds without the car ever feeling too nervous.

Get that roof up and you'll be well-shielded from the wind and sun, but the engine volume in the cabin does get amplified now that it has nowhere to escape to. Headroom is also at a premium once the roof is up.

Plenty fun

At $330,888, the Morgan Plus Four may be the more accessible of the two Morgans available here, but it is still by no means cheap, especially so for a four-cylinder convertible.

If you've got the cash to spare and are looking for a truly unique driving experience, it will be rather hard to beat, with its engaging handling and that eye-catching exterior. Just remember to check the weather forecast before you head out.