MG4 Range

[kin]

Greetings everyone,

I'm considering getting the MG EV 4 but have some concerns and would greatly appreciate insights from fellow drivers who have experienced real-life driving conditions.

According to the manufacturer, the MG EV 4 claims a range of 280 miles on a single charge. My primary intention is to use it for a 170-mile motorway trip without needing to recharge. While I understand that in the summer, the car should theoretically handle the journey comfortably on one charge, I'm curious about its performance during the winter months. Considering the usage of heating, lights, and other electrical components, do you believe it would still be able to complete the trip on a single charge?

I'm seeking real-world experiences from drivers who have encountered similar situations. Any advice or insights you can provide would be immensely valuable. Thank you!

Welcome, it all depends on how fast youre driving on motorway?
I get 2 miles/kWh during winter, but I only drive 2miles to work, so my figures is unrealistic.

 

[Rolfe]

I'm not the right person to answer this, as I have the smaller battery and I've only had my car since April. But from all I hear, I would think you'd be OK with this. As the poster above said, a lot depends on how fast you drive on the motorway. If you're prepared to moderate your speed in cold weather to conserve range, it would probably make a fair bit of difference.

There is another point though. If you're setting off to drive 170 miles you're fine to charge the LR battery to 100%. The question is, how far down can you let it run? You might have 170 miles of range in theory, but how close to the wire do you want to play that?

A lot will depend on your charging facilities at either end. If you can charge to 100% overnight after you get back, before you need the car again (will you be doing this trip every day, or even on consecutive days?) then that will be fine. But what about the non-home end? If you need to get back on one charge, you need to be able to charge to 100% while you're at your destination, in the time you will spend there. Do you know you can do that?

If you have reliable charging at either end then you can run the battery down pretty low, but don't risk being caught somewhere you expected you could charge, but for some reason can't, without enough charge to get somewhere else where there's a charger.

 

[tsedge]

Greetings everyone,

Greetings.

I'm considering getting the MG EV 4 but have some concerns and would greatly appreciate insights from fellow drivers who have experienced real-life driving conditions.

That's exactly what the forums are for.

According to the manufacturer, the MG EV 4 claims a range of 280 miles on a single charge.

Yes, assuming it is the LR variant.

In practice I'm getting 260 miles in summer, 225 miles in spring/autumn and 190 miles in winter, although I don't live in a cold part of the UK.

These are conservative figures: this is without driving slower and without ECO mode and a/c and heater off - basically I am driving it like I did my ICE cars.

My primary intention is to use it for a 170-mile motorway trip without needing to recharge. While I understand that in the summer, the car should theoretically handle the journey comfortably on one charge, I'm curious about its performance during the winter months. Considering the usage of heating, lights, and other electrical components, do you believe it would still be able to complete the trip on a single charge?

In winter you should manage it with a full 100% charge, provided you drive economically. Motorways are not the best environment for EV range due to the aerodynamic drag, so this will be mainly dependent on how fast you drive. Driving at 65mph, for example, will help considerably. If you are used to 80mph, you will struggle.

The ancillaries don't make all that much difference except the heater but once the car is warm this will cut in less.

Driving style and terrain dominate, so you will get more on a flat motorway and less if there are lots of hills. If it is windy you'll get more range with the wind and less against it.

I'm seeking real-world experiences from drivers who have encountered similar situations. Any advice or insights you can provide would be immensely valuable. Thank you!

I would have no worries most of the year but in a cold winter I would plan for a charging stop.

Now, you haven't said how often you are doing this trip. Occasionally, would be no issue, even weekly, but if you are doing it daily, you'd probably want a car with longer range.

 

[Gunner82]

Welcome, it all depends on how fast youre driving on motorway?
I get 2 miles/kWh during winter, but I only drive 2miles to work, so my figures is unrealistic.

Thanks for your reply. I would be doing between 70 and 75mph.

 

[Rolfe]

Thanks for your reply. I would be doing between 70 and 75mph.

That's where you might have to modify your driving in winter depending on the conditions. However, as the weather changes you should gradually get the feel of how fast you can drive and still not run into range anxiety. If you want to do the best part of 170 miles at 70 to 75 mph no matter how cold or wet it is, or what the headwind, you might need to modify your thinking a bit.

But then, how often will you be driving it in the worst weather? At worst, have a good idea of where there are fast chargers where you could stop for 15 minutes if it turned out to be really necessary. Might not happen often, if at all.

 

[Gunner82]

I have a different perspective on this matter. It seems unreasonable to expect individuals to modify their driving behavior to conserve energy when the car manufacturer claims a range of 280 miles. I find it frustrating that car dealerships make promises about electric vehicle ranges that are often unrealistic. Consumers pay a premium for these vehicles, only to be faced with the need to adapt their driving habits. It's no wonder people have doubts and lack trust in electric cars.

 

[Gunner82]

Thanks for your reply. I would be doing between 70 and 75mph.

Greetings.

That's exactly what the forums are for.

Yes, assuming it is the LR variant.

In practice I'm getting 260 miles in summer, 225 miles in spring/autumn and 190 miles in winter, although I don't live in a cold part of the UK.

These are conservative figures: this is without driving slower and without ECO mode and a/c and heater off - basically I am driving it like I did my ICE cars.


In winter you should manage it with a full 100% charge, provided you drive economically. Motorways are not the best environment for EV range due to the aerodynamic drag, so this will be mainly dependent on how fast you drive. Driving at 65mph, for example, will help considerably. If you are used to 80mph, you will struggle.

The ancillaries don't make all that much difference except the heater but once the car is warm this will cut in less.

Driving style and terrain dominate, so you will get more on a flat motorway and less if there are lots of hills. If it is windy you'll get more range with the wind and less against it.

I would have no worries most of the year but in a cold winter I would plan for a charging stop.

Now, you haven't said how often you are doing this trip. Occasionally, would be no issue, even weekly, but if you are doing it daily, you'd probably want a car with longer range.

Certainly, I plan to undertake this journey on a weekly basis. I already have a pod point charger installed at my residence, allowing me to fully charge the vehicle to 100% before embarking on the trip. Since it is a once-a-week occurrence, I will always start with a full charge. However, I have reservations about the dealer's claims regarding the car's ability to easily cover the 170-mile distance during extremely cold winters. Southampton to London and back to Southampton

 

[Rolfe]

It seems to me you know the score and you're doing the right thing in asking around before you make your final decision. But expecting car manufacturers' claims on fuel consumption to be bang on reality is unrealistic.

Car manufacturers have been over-stating range (or mpg) since the ICE was invented, I think. We read that our new car is certified as doing 45 mpg and we automatically apply the necessary pinch of salt. We also know that petrol consumption increases with high speed on motorways, and on wet roads, and in cold weather. EVs are hardly unique in this. My Golf could do 450 miles on a tank of petrol in summer if I happened to be doing a journey where I kept to a fairly steady 50 (not that that happened very often). I'd be lucky to get 380 miles in winter, especially if I was pushing the speed or driving on wet roads. Assuming you can get 280 miles in freezing conditions, on wet roads, doing 70-75 mph is as daft as believing the mpg figures your ICE car came with.

I have the SR, supposedly 218 miles. I checked with the dealer that it would do a round trip of 120 miles in the dead of winter - and this is in Scotland, not the south of England. It was only sensible. But I also checked out the destination type 2 chargers in the car park I use while I'm in Glasgow, just in case, and I've investigated the rapid chargers on the way home too.

I won't need these belt-and-braces plans, but it's as well to have them.

I think you'll be OK actually, but just as we make sure we know where the petrol stations are on our usual route, just in case, check out rapid chargers in case of the odd occasion when conditions are really bad. Come on, I used to live in Sussex. Really cold weather, the sort that absolutely slashes range, is relatively infrequent.

 

[ceeessbee]

I've a Trophy, one of the earlier ones delivered November. I had a number of trips over the Pennines Leeds too Manchester area in December with temps around zero +/-. Fully charged, the guessometer said 220 range and that was pretty accurate on circa 160 mile trips. Done at around 65mph, and it's a hilly and windy motorway drive. Getting 250-270 now. Easily made the miles. My 2 pennyworth.
Chris

 

[PeteC]

Certainly, I plan to undertake this journey on a weekly basis. I already have a pod point charger installed at my residence, allowing me to fully charge the vehicle to 100% before embarking on the trip. Since it is a once-a-week occurrence, I will always start with a full charge. However, I have reservations about the dealer's claims regarding the car's ability to easily cover the 170-mile distance during extremely cold winters. Southampton to London and back to Southampton

I do a 350 mile journey from Cambridgeshire to Scotland every couple of months. My first time in our Trophy was on 22nd December and quite cool. We had the heating set to a comfortable level and probably had the heated seats on as well (my wife certainly would have!). I was unsure of what the range would be like so I set the ACC to 65mph. We set off with 100% charge and our first stop was after about 160 miles where we still had 29% and an estimated 60 miles left, so that would be well over your 170 miles at that speed.

After that journey I could stand 65mph no longer and now set it to 70mph and have quicker bursts to clear traffic when necessary. We still hit that first stop with plenty of charge left.

As others have said, it's not the end of the world if you have to grab a quick charge. Our Trophy charges so quickly that by the time we've had a wee and got a sandwich and a drink the car is back up to 85%+ so we're not waiting for the car.

 

[tsedge]

I have a different perspective on this matter. It seems unreasonable to expect individuals to modify their driving behavior to conserve energy when the car manufacturer claims a range of 280 miles. I find it frustrating that car dealerships make promises about electric vehicle ranges that are often unrealistic. Consumers pay a premium for these vehicles, only to be faced with the need to adapt their driving habits. It's no wonder people have doubts and lack trust in electric cars.

Range has always been overstated, that's not new with EVs, it is mainly due to unrealistic standardised testing methods. It matters more with EVs because they have lower range and are more sensitive to temperature and conditions due to their much higher efficiency.

To be fair, it is neither dealers nor manufacturers who define these range tests; it is governments. Without them, however, it is likely claims would still be based on unrealistic driving scenarios and exaggeration.

The premium for EVs is simply because it is an emerging technology. Paying more for an EV than ICE doesn't give you a better quality or level of vehicle - it is often the other way around. An EV needs to cut many corners to avoid the price being much much higher than ICE.

This will change, it is shifting already, but it is where we are.

 

[WonkoTheSaneUK]

If you're planning long trips at "motorway speeds" during winter, maybe you should be looking at the new "Extended Range" 77kWh variant of the MG4?

 

[PeteC]

I have a different perspective on this matter. It seems unreasonable to expect individuals to modify their driving behavior to conserve energy when the car manufacturer claims a range of 280 miles. I find it frustrating that car dealerships make promises about electric vehicle ranges that are often unrealistic. Consumers pay a premium for these vehicles, only to be faced with the need to adapt their driving habits. It's no wonder people have doubts and lack trust in electric cars.

To be fair to MG, on their website they do show range estimates for different situations. They don't claim 280 miles for an SE LR if you are on the motorway.

It would be better if they showed summer and winter comparisons and some of their estimates look higher than I could get, but at least they are giving some indication of how the range will vary depending on how/where you are driving.

You don't have to adapt your driving behaviour if you don't want to. I think it's better to adjust your range expectation according to your driving preferences and plan accordingly. I still drive at 70+mph on the motorway and don't expect to get the 270 miles WLTP of my Trophy.

 

[Kithmo]

I'd factor in a 30-35% loss in range for the Winter so I expect my Trophy will probably get 180 miles range in winter.

 

[PeteC]

I'm pretty happy that mine will get at least 200 miles in winter from what it managed last winter. But I'm unlikely to test that out as I don't like reaching much below 20% charge on long journeys to give myself plenty of leeway in case of charger problems and, anyway, my bladder makes me stop sooner these days!

 

[Joules]

I can't help comparing the Kona and the MG4 Trophy LR that I've just swapped for...it's early days, I've only had it a couple of weeks! If you want to get the best mileage drive with a light foot and in 'ECO' mode. One of the things I liked with the Kona was when in 'ECO' mode, and running downhill with the foot off the go pedal, you could often see the GOM go up a mile, also it displayed how much more mileage you were gaining by re-gen braking, which disappeared when you pressed the accelerator. I'm getting used to the MG now, I have to admit it does drive very well. The secret is planning ahead, just as you have been saying above.

 

[DevonMG4]

Greetings everyone,

I'm considering getting the MG EV 4 but have some concerns and would greatly appreciate insights from fellow drivers who have experienced real-life driving conditions.

According to the manufacturer, the MG EV 4 claims a range of 280 miles on a single charge. My primary intention is to use it for a 170-mile motorway trip without needing to recharge. While I understand that in the summer, the car should theoretically handle the journey comfortably on one charge, I'm curious about its performance during the winter months. Considering the usage of heating, lights, and other electrical components, do you believe it would still be able to complete the trip on a single charge?

I'm seeking real-world experiences from drivers who have encountered similar situations. Any advice or insights you can provide would be immensely valuable. Thank you!

First, my experience with an SE SR. Weekly 153 miles each way from the Cornish border to Basingstoke. I've stopped planning or fretting about this one. Best case one way is not an issue, I don't even set off with 100% sometimes. Worst case in the very cold weather I may only get 3.0 miles per kw/h, you sort the maths! However, lights/wipers etc don't seem to make much of an impact but a howling headwind does, only happens once in a blue moon. I'm not doing 70-75 either, it's the A303 so not all motorway.
So I'd say you'll be OK most of the time but very occasionally not, know where all the GOOD rapids are and have a contingency stop in your back pocket. With a modern rapid you'll gain more than enough to sort out a modest shortfall in the time it takes to empty your bladder.
Don't forget, charge when you can, not when you have to.
Personally, I'd arrange a 48hr test drive and do a proving journey myself.

 

[tsedge]

Also, why not buy the new ER model, launching in July, that offers 325 miles WLTP range? This would definitely be enough year round.

 

[Sloucher]

Well, this'll do for me. Country roads using Eco:

 

[Gunner82]

Also, why not buy the new ER model, launching in July, that offers 325 miles WLTP range? This would definitely be enough year round.

Ooh not heard about this one. If that's the case then I'd just wait for it. Thanks for the update.