► Updated Morgan Plus Six driven
► Same 335bhp BMW straight-six
► Now with added ESC and airbags (!)
The Morgan Plus Six was a rare thing indeed when it first launched in 2019: an all-new model from a long-standing British brand famous for not changing things very much in the last 60 years or so. As the first car to receive the firm’s latest bonded-aluminium CX-Generation platform – which now also underpins the Morgan Plus Four – the Plus Six continued the vein of cautious modernisation Morgan has been pursuing in recent years, a process this updated Plus Six extends a little further.
Introduced for the start of production in 2023, while the Plus Six maintains a largely classic Morgan silhouette that’s unchanged from the 2019 version, it features a slightly redesigned interior that now incorporates a pair of airbags. What’s more, there’s a new button on the centre console marked ESC. While it’s tempting to be all macho about these things and talk about how real men driving real roadsters don’t need electronic stability control, that’s actually quite a reassuring development given what’s under the bonnet…
The Plus Four is a four-cylinder, the Plus Eight was a V8, so this must be a six?
Yep, a straight-six does the donkey work here, and it’s got a real kick: BMW’s B58 engine also found in the Z4 M40i and Toyota Supra, among other berths.
To be crystal clear, that means 335bhp – and 369lb ft. Which here feels more potent than ever. The updated Plus Six weighs just 1145kg dry (up slightly from the 1075kg of the pre airbag version), and it can snort and snarl its way from 0-62mph in 4.2sec, quicker than the same-power BMW Z4 and even a smidge faster than the Toyota Supra.
Thing is, it feels even quicker than that. In part because you’re closer to the engine doing its work, hearing its turbo swooshing and smelling its exertion through the bonnet vents just ahead of you – you even get washed with heat every time you put your foot down. Not only also because we strongly suspect Morgan is conservative with its figures. But also because in addition to the way those fat rear tyres hook-up well from a stand-still, the in-motion acceleration here is seriously fierce. And of the various cars the B58 engine powers, it feels at its most characterful in this car.
Comparison test: Morgan Plus Four CX-T vs Lada Niva
Sounds like it’s quite hairy to drive…
When you want it to be. But overall, it’s actually surprisingly refined and well-rounded – by low volume sports car standards, anyway – and the added presence of ESC means you can press on with a great deal of confidence, even when the weather starts playing havoc.
Helping with this sense of sophistication, the engine is coupled to the eight-speed ZF torque converter auto gearbox it’s also paired with in the Z4 and Supra – although specifically retuned in partnership with BMW for this application. In its default mode it shifts smoothly and unobtrusively, changing up relatively early. Nudge the lever to the left for Sport mode and downshifts become more extravagant and upshifts later and swifter; more so still if you press the Sport Plus button on the centre console, which alters the throttle and gearshift maps but doesn’t muck about with the power steering.
The noises the Plus Six makes in this setting would be anti-social if they weren’t coupled with such charmingly old school visuals – completing the delightful incongruity between what this car looks like and how it performs. Top speed is a somewhat alarming 166mph. We’ve no doubt it’s capable, but you’d need to be brave.
Wot, no manual?
It does feel odd to see that unapologetically BMW gear selector in the middle of the Plus Six’s hand-built cockpit, and it’s hard to shake the feeling that a H-pattern ’box would fit the car’s character more completely.
But the B58 engine and ZF auto transmission are very much an item, and separating the two isn’t straightforward. Morgan told us originally that if a suitable manual gearbox were to become available, it would certainly consider offering a manual version in the future; no sign of this yet. Plus, the pedals feel a tad offset, which might be exacerbated with the addition of a clutch pedal.
Regardless, the ZF ’box is easy-going in town and you can override it with manual shift paddles mounted to the steering column. Shame they’re plastic and rather ordinary-feeling, much like the indicator and windscreen wiper stalks. When so much of the rest of the car is bespoke inside, this seems a touch unfortunate. But really only these and an ill-fitting steering column shroud dent the overall sense of quality about the Plus Six cabin.
How’s the handling?
The Plus Six is the most undemanding Morgan to drive yet – which isn’t the same thing as saying it’s uninvolving.
It has electric power-assisted steering – Morgan’s own – which is remarkably adept on bumpy roads. There’s real stability either side of the straight-ahead, and the steering doesn’t paw at cambers or feel nervous at speed, which does wonders for fatigue on long journeys. It’s not the most feelsome setup in the world, and in some ways you might wish it actually did writhe around in your hands a bit more on B-roads, but for high-speed ground covering and carrying momentum on uneven roads, it’s impressively well-resolved.
With 369lb ft available all the way from 1600rpm to 4500rpm, the Plus Six is happy to leave a light smear of rubber in its wake under hard acceleration on sunny days. We’ve spent a week driving the most recent update, including long journeys in a variety of weather, and the ESC certainly helps resolve our previous concerns about things being overly slippery when wet. The car uses an open differential – chosen over a locking diff make the car less intimidating in these circumstances – and for the most part it works extremely well; it’s only in occasional driving situations you find yourself with an LSD craving.
Similarly, the Plus Six’s handling is very polished overall. In terms of outright body control it’s not perfect by any stretch, as is entirely reasonable for a car developed by a small independent company on a budget a fraction of the size of a large manufacturer. It’s a car that it takes longer to trust than some, with less immediate feedback through its controls than one might expect of a sports car. The front end can seem a little slow to turn-in, and there’s more body roll than you might anticipate.
Once you do learn to trust it, it’s really quite benign with a balance that appealingly tends far more towards oversteer than understeer. For an ultimate drive on a great road there are other sports cars you might choose over it (not least Supra, Alpine, Elise) – but that’s not really what the Plus Six is about. It gets far closer to them dynamically than the stereotypical view of old-fashioned, wood-obsessed Morgan the local pub expert would probably put forward, while preserving a character all of its own. And in straight-line acceleration it’s more exciting than most cars this side of an Ariel Atom.
Suspension is by double wishbones all round. In terms of ride as opposed to handling, it doesn’t quite breathe with the road in the manner of a Lotus. There’s a slightly abrupt edge to its suspension movements, though again not as much as you might anticipate given you sit pretty much on top of the back axle. It is remarkably comfortable on the motorway, for example, and for a sporting car it’s far from unreasonably firm.
There must be some downsides to the Plus Six experience?
Some of us struggled with the driving position, so important in a sports car. The hand-made seats (trimmed in leather with an almost limitless choice of grain and colours) look fantastic but some felt like they’re mounted little too high, leaving you perched on, rather than ensconced in, the car.
However, there is a decent range of adjustment, more so than in previous Morgans, with the seat sliding fore and aft and the backrest tiltable, enabling taller drivers to get more comfortable in the Plus Six than in previous models. The Plus Six offers 200mm more legroom than a Plus 8, for example, and a wider cabin than the Plus Four. Those of us less inclined to worry about laptimes were cosy enough, accepting the compromises relating to limited aerodynamics and the inevitable buffeting, as well as the lack of lateral cornering support from the seats.
The steering wheel adjusts for reach and rake, further increasing the Plus Six’s accessibility to drivers of all sizes. It’s a shame the wheel itself doesn’t look a little more attractive, but it does now incorporate an airbag. The cubby on the passenger side of the dashboard has disappeared for the same reason, the Plus Six instead gaining a glove box for the first time. In here you’ll find – shock, horror – USB ports for charging a phone; just don’t rely on the glove box staying shut if you trouble it with anything heavy.
The interior is beautifully crafted for the most part, but you will want to be familiar with the secondary controls, as they rely on a lot of similar-looking buttons – when you can even see them. The switches for the optional heated seats are buried under the dashboard, as is the volume knob for the stereo.
Struggling to spot that hi-fi? This is also hidden away as a Bluetooth-only device, controlled by your smartphone. A Sennheiser component upgrade adds quality to the audio, but it only just goes loud enough to hear at higher speeds on the motorway.
Pleasingly, the heating works rather well, and the roof seems to be watertight. You’ll drive mostly with it lowered, of course – not least because it makes getting in and out easier and improves rear three-quarter visibility. That roof is entirely manual, but easy enough to figure out; it takes a little patience to re-deploy, though, and the catches apparently take the paint off the windscreen surround.
Perhaps more troubling for anyone contemplating a toy to enjoy during weekends away, that’s also practically no luggage space. There is a small area behind the seats, that’s no very accessible with the roof down. You’ll therefore need a luggage rack and suitably weather-resistant travelling equipment – making the optional ‘luggage rack preparation’ when you commission the car from the factory pretty much essential.
Tell us more about the CX-Generation platform
CX signified 110 years of Morgan when it was introduced. Throughout that time, remarkably, the company has been family owned and run; that finally changed at the beginning of 2019 with a majority stake purchased by European investment group Investindustrial – although the Plus Six was completed before the acquisition.
Apart from the car’s structure, designed to be roomier and with greater adjustment for different drivers, the CX’s electronics platform also unlocks a variety of opportunities for Morgan. This is what’s allowed the addition of stability control for this update, as well as the central locking and puddle lights under the doors the Plus Six had at launch. Intriguingly, the platform has provision for electric motor architecture, so a hybrid or 100 per cent EV could be possible.
Is there still a wood frame as part of its construction?
Yes. While the CX platform is a bonded aluminium monocoque – a type of structure Morgan has been working with for two decades now, coinciding with the use of BMW engines – it still features a supplementary ash frame to which the body panels are mounted.
Aside from tradition, Morgan says this approach brings extra rigidity and benefits impact protection.
How much is the Morgan Plus Six?
It launched at £77,995, but the entry figure has now risen to £99,603.40. The blue test car we’ve driven and photographed here is specced up to £110,985.79. In some respects, that’s a hard figure to swallow – even the base price will (theoretically) get you into a Porsche 911, and the test car spec is nearly double the cost of a Z4 M40i. But to even make the comparisons is missing the point.
We’d posit that nothing else on sale quite gives you the hit delivered by this hot rod dressed in the automotive equivalent of… tweed? Though if you really must consider some alternatives, might we suggest a Frontline MGB.
Morgan Plus Six: verdict
The Morgan Plus Six is a deeply appealing car. While it’s more sanitised than classic Morgan models, the increased civility hasn’t eroded the fundamental character or the sense of occasion. To be sat within it, sidescreens and roof removed on a sunny country lane, vented bonnet ahead and arms in the breeze, is an experience unlike almost any other in the modern automotive landscape.
The burly straight-six is smooth and tractable at low speeds, feels electrifyingly fast when extended, and the Plus Six has the handling to fully extend it while also enabling comfortable long-distance jaunts – relatively compact 46-litre fuel tank notwithstanding. The official 34mpg and 180g/km seem reasonable enough, though you’ll get through plenty of fuel if you make the most of it.
The driving position is an issue for some, and the interior furniture may be for others. But overall this is one exceptionally well-rounded Morgan and, most importantly, an absolute hoot.
