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1000 miles in report - LONG POST

Moog42

Standard Member
Joined
May 30, 2021
Messages
26
Reaction score
16
Points
14
Location
Shropshire
Driving
MG HS PHEV
Hi all, and thank you for the welcome messages, sorry I was so tardy in responding, had some IT issues...

I hit 1 month and 1000m in this weekend, so thought I'd put down some reflections for owners and lurkers alike. We have a white HS Exclusive with full black interior. Only additions are the dealer fit black boot lip protector, interior mats (more about those later) and the plastic boot mat. This is the wife's car, my car is a 2018 Nissan Leaf, and I've been full BEV for 5 years now having owned a Renault Zoe prior. We chopped our 64 plate diesel Citroen C4 Grand Picasso for the MG.

So reliability first - nothing has broken so far. No rattles or speaks yet either (I'm totally OCD on interior noises unlike my wife). The car does exhibit some of the oddities discussed on other threads (mostly design issues), namely:

1. The MASSIVE gear change gap at c45-50mph in full EV mode
2. It's a bit odd with the whole locking and unlocking on the charge flap - it charges ok with my wall charger, but every time you unlock the car on charge it cycles off and on again - it would also have been nice to have LED's in the charging port.
3. Who on earth designed the silver flap at the front of the centre console? Not being able to close it with a cable connected (or better still why isn't it just deep enough for my phone of comes with a charger plate?) is just such a Friday afternoon bit of design.
4. The carpet mats I bought have already started to wear through, will be speaking to the dealer about that.
5. The bumper lip is not worth the money at all and is lifting in the middle at the back.
6. The satnav is quite out of date, the A14 this weekend basically was missing BIG sections and went into meltdown.
7. The speed recognition thinks that UK dual carriageways are 60mph - as this can be linked to the MG Pilot function for regulating your speed, I have turned that off.
8. The lane drift warning is way too loud! We tend to turn that off as Shropshire has intermittent lines at best and it drives the system nuts. This weekend however I drove to Cambridge and used the full lane guidance system, and it was really excellent.
9. The BLIS lights - I mean why bother? Need to be much brighter. My LEAF has them in the mirror, not quite sure why they felt the need to (badly) invent a new place.
10. I have had the infotainment system glitch out a couple of time, but nothing major - not having physical controls for HVAC and heated seats is just a PIA though, and even more of a pain if you are using Apple CarPlay. Also the heated seats don't stay on if you stop the car and restart it.
11. Why does the 360 camera system come on when you are indicating at a junction - what a pain if you are trying to follow the satnav!
12. The tailgate deactivating once you have opened the doors is a bit weird and I constantly smack my head on the centre black locking mechanism (I am quite tall though)

But you know what? I could write a list just as long if not longer about my LEAF - design 'curiosities' are a symptom of most car designs - our Citroen had a similar infotainment system / HVAC setup, and you couldn't open the windows above 20mph as the reverb was SO bad. No one at Nissan could be bothered putting lights in the window and door lock switches and 3 years later, I still can't find them at night.

The MG is fast, smooth, a nice place to sit and has a comfortable ride. It looks good, it's economical, and despite a bit of a worry this weekend ahead of the journey, I was able to fit all my sons possessions in the car when I picked him up from university. I may get a roof box soon, but it lugged a lot in the space. I'm really quite pleased with the car so far tbh, and it absolutely surpasses my expectations.

The important bit for a PHEV I guess, is how does the EV bit work? Well aside from it not remembering to keep a forced EV selection it works seamlessly - transitioning smoothly and without fuss. the weird gap in the EV gearing notwithstanding, we like trundling around town in EV mode, and then just getting to places quickly on the motorway in AUTO without having to wait for a recharge to complete - this will be even more important to us as child no.2 starts uni in September, so much more long distance trekking.

Anyway if you got this far, thanks for reading - I have been putting together a YouTube video of the car, but my slow iMovie skips are holding that up badly! Will post when it is up.

Best wishes, and happy to take questions!

Carpet mat pic enclosed!

David
 

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I have identical model, and age, but probably 100miles ahead of you. I have an identical wear patch on the mat as well.
 
A response to a couple of your points.

3. you can get angled USB leads/connectors, may solve this.

11. This can be deactivated. It also annoyed me but, rereading the manual (eeek!) for an unrelated matter I can across how to get rid of this.
You need to select the camera view and then press on the setup icon, looks like a cog wheel, and there is an option for disabling the low speed camera view.
 
A response to a couple of your points.

3. you can get angled USB leads/connectors, may solve this.

11. This can be deactivated. It also annoyed me but, rereading the manual (eeek!) for an unrelated matter I can across how to get rid of this.
You need to select the camera view and then press on the setup icon, looks like a cog wheel, and there is an option for disabling the low speed camera view.
On the 360 camera - That’s brilliant, thank you.

Don’t think the angled cable will make a difference though, the flap just won’t close with the cable in the way as there’s no gap when it is closed, unless I can get a flat ribbon lighting cable…
 
Forgot to mention using a flat cable, available from a well known online auction site!
 
Forgot to mention using a flat cable, available from a well known online auction site!
Do you have a link to the cable you use? Android Auto is known to be fussy about cables.

That said, the 90deg connector would probably help me. I tend to put the cable away under the flap when not in use, can't leave it plugged in which is annoying, but when I'm using it, I place the phone on top of the open flap, which holds my phone rather nicely. I'll take a photo if you need it.
 
I do the same with my phone, phone cable is a short coiled one so stays beneath the flap when not in use. Can't send a link as it's one I've had for a couple of years.

Use the flat cable to link up to my dashcam, won't get a permanent wired connection until I've made my mind up about keeping the one I have or upgrading.
 
Do you have a link to the cable you use? Android Auto is known to be fussy about cables.

That said, the 90deg connector would probably help me. I tend to put the cable away under the flap when not in use, can't leave it plugged in which is annoying, but when I'm using it, I place the phone on top of the open flap, which holds my phone rather nicely. I'll take a photo if you need it.
Yes i do the same , re placing my phone on top of the open flap and the lip thingy stops it sliding forward and off.
I would be interested in the angled usb cable as well , because at present i leave it open and the cable plugged in , as stated a bad bit of design really .
 
Great post and very glad no surprises as mine is due to arrive on Friday. I did a 3 day test drive and agree the pros outweigh the cons exponentially. The boot space not having side tidies is a pain but why carry a granny charger - so hoping that can hold the bits and bobs. Also noted the silly centre flap, why was it not 1cm deeper or even hinged further forward? Did you know in video adverts they say the slim slot to right of cup holders is where you are supposed to store your phone?
 
IMG20210628141226.jpg

Menu option to disable low speed 360 view is second one down
 
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Just a month on, I have crossed the 1st 1000 miles. Of those I have had 2 journeys that required Petrol. First one to drive home from Chorely MG. Second taking my son for a tennis tournament. Over 700 electric miles.

My list ?

1) 3 pin charger too short - I had to relocate the outdoor socket to be able to charge it without awkward parking
2) that 44-50 mph gear shift in EV mode is annoying and Chorely MG has raised this with MG who will be sending data to China.
3) non sticky EV mode - besides charging, something else causes EV mode to turn off and I still don't know what.
4) 20 mph switch to Petrol rather than 30 mph in Auto mode. Wish it was possible to change this.
5) I don't tend to use built in SatNav and this one is different. Used it once and hope I don't have to again.

I do like the near doubling of EV range compared to what Outlander offered before.
 
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thanks for the great summary. I'm in a 2018 leaf atm. Trading it for the hs due to comfort reasons more than anything. Mrs has bad back issues and struggles to even adjust the seat never mind open and close the boot. It's one of the few options out there with a 360 degree camera which she insists on. I'm mainly working from home now so don't need the range that i had in the leaf. we should manage most journeys in all-electric. nice to get a perspective from a leaf driver.
 
A brilliant review of the pro's and con's. I was rather concerned that I had ordered too hastily after my test drive, I usually thoroughly check out the forums before handing over the deposit, much to my wife's annoyance. I went to look and test drive the MHEV Kona and she ended the visit by ordering a red one!!
I note your comment about the rear bumper guard, these are from RGM and we have had 3 fitted by them at their works and not had a problem at all, I can only assume the dealer did not clean off the surface or contaminated the sticky pads before attaching. Their fitter really took a lot of time to carefully clean my rear bumper. RGM link: RGM ABS REARGUARD RBP - HS - RGM Automotive
I have yet to experience the EV gear change problem, mainly because I do not yet have the car, but am hoping the dealers test model will have enough electric power to be able to see for myself.
Can you, should you open the tailgate and then open a door, shut the tailgate by hand without upsetting the car?

How long is the granny charger lead plug to plug? The dealers one is neatly folded up in the boot space so I don't want to pull it out to try and measure it on the forecourt.

I was going for a BMW 330e Tourer or A4 Avant but doing the sums found I was paying about £14k extra for not a lot more, and in some cases less than you get with HS PHEV. I would hope that over time (ASAP) most annoying problems will be corrected .

With another 6 months under it's belt any other problems/thoughts?
 
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thanks for the great summary. I'm in a 2018 leaf atm. Trading it for the hs due to comfort reasons more than anything. Mrs has bad back issues and struggles to even adjust the seat never mind open and close the boot. It's one of the few options out there with a 360 degree camera which she insists on. I'm mainly working from home now so don't need the range that i had in the leaf. we should manage most journeys in all-electric. nice to get a perspective from a leaf driver.
We have 2016 Leaf30 and HS Phev. My wife primarily uses the Leaf30 and I use the HS. My wife tends to find issues with the height of the HS (compared to Outlander I had before).
I’m certainly getting a bit annoyed with engine only heating but after 5k miles the car is doing very well
 
Just a month on, I have crossed the 1st 1000 miles. Of those I have had 2 journeys that required Petrol. First one to drive home from Chorely MG. Second taking my son for a tennis tournament. Over 700 electric miles.

My list ?

1) 3 pin charger too short - I had to relocate the outdoor socket to be able to charge it without awkward parking
2) that 44-50 mph gear shift in EV mode is annoying and Chorely MG has raised this with MG who will be sending data to China.
3) non sticky EV mode - besides charging, something else causes EV mode to turn off and I still don't know what.
4) 20 mph switch to Petrol rather than 30 mph in Auto mode. Wish it was possible to change this.
5) I don't tend to use built in SatNav and this one is different. Used it once and hope I don't have to again.

I do like the near doubling of EV range compared to what Outlander offered before.
Hi
would let us all know if Chorely MG come back on the EV gear change at 44-50 MPH.
It also has a slow great change when the ICE running at 30 MPH.
 
Hi all, and thank you for the welcome messages, sorry I was so tardy in responding, had some IT issues...

I hit 1 month and 1000m in this weekend, so thought I'd put down some reflections for owners and lurkers alike. We have a white HS Exclusive with full black interior. Only additions are the dealer fit black boot lip protector, interior mats (more about those later) and the plastic boot mat. This is the wife's car, my car is a 2018 Nissan Leaf, and I've been full BEV for 5 years now having owned a Renault Zoe prior. We chopped our 64 plate diesel Citroen C4 Grand Picasso for the MG.

So reliability first - nothing has broken so far. No rattles or speaks yet either (I'm totally OCD on interior noises unlike my wife). The car does exhibit some of the oddities discussed on other threads (mostly design issues), namely:

1. The MASSIVE gear change gap at c45-50mph in full EV mode
2. It's a bit odd with the whole locking and unlocking on the charge flap - it charges ok with my wall charger, but every time you unlock the car on charge it cycles off and on again - it would also have been nice to have LED's in the charging port.
3. Who on earth designed the silver flap at the front of the centre console? Not being able to close it with a cable connected (or better still why isn't it just deep enough for my phone of comes with a charger plate?) is just such a Friday afternoon bit of design.
4. The carpet mats I bought have already started to wear through, will be speaking to the dealer about that.
5. The bumper lip is not worth the money at all and is lifting in the middle at the back.
6. The satnav is quite out of date, the A14 this weekend basically was missing BIG sections and went into meltdown.
7. The speed recognition thinks that UK dual carriageways are 60mph - as this can be linked to the MG Pilot function for regulating your speed, I have turned that off.
8. The lane drift warning is way too loud! We tend to turn that off as Shropshire has intermittent lines at best and it drives the system nuts. This weekend however I drove to Cambridge and used the full lane guidance system, and it was really excellent.
9. The BLIS lights - I mean why bother? Need to be much brighter. My LEAF has them in the mirror, not quite sure why they felt the need to (badly) invent a new place.
10. I have had the infotainment system glitch out a couple of time, but nothing major - not having physical controls for HVAC and heated seats is just a PIA though, and even more of a pain if you are using Apple CarPlay. Also the heated seats don't stay on if you stop the car and restart it.
11. Why does the 360 camera system come on when you are indicating at a junction - what a pain if you are trying to follow the satnav!
12. The tailgate deactivating once you have opened the doors is a bit weird and I constantly smack my head on the centre black locking mechanism (I am quite tall though)

But you know what? I could write a list just as long if not longer about my LEAF - design 'curiosities' are a symptom of most car designs - our Citroen had a similar infotainment system / HVAC setup, and you couldn't open the windows above 20mph as the reverb was SO bad. No one at Nissan could be bothered putting lights in the window and door lock switches and 3 years later, I still can't find them at night.

The MG is fast, smooth, a nice place to sit and has a comfortable ride. It looks good, it's economical, and despite a bit of a worry this weekend ahead of the journey, I was able to fit all my sons possessions in the car when I picked him up from university. I may get a roof box soon, but it lugged a lot in the space. I'm really quite pleased with the car so far tbh, and it absolutely surpasses my expectations.

The important bit for a PHEV I guess, is how does the EV bit work? Well aside from it not remembering to keep a forced EV selection it works seamlessly - transitioning smoothly and without fuss. the weird gap in the EV gearing notwithstanding, we like trundling around town in EV mode, and then just getting to places quickly on the motorway in AUTO without having to wait for a recharge to complete - this will be even more important to us as child no.2 starts uni in September, so much more long distance trekking.

Anyway if you got this far, thanks for reading - I have been putting together a YouTube video of the car, but my slow iMovie skips are holding that up badly! Will post when it is up.

Best wishes, and happy to take questions!

Carpet mat pic enclosed!

David
Take a photo of the matts I got with the car which are different to one in your photo. I got these in July.
 

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We have 2016 Leaf30 and HS Phev. My wife primarily uses the Leaf30 and I use the HS. My wife tends to find issues with the height of the HS (compared to Outlander I had before).
I’m certainly getting a bit annoyed with engine only heating but after 5k miles the car is doing very well
the heating issue might lead us to cancel the hs and get the new zs instead. It's got most of the features that I wanted in the original. noticing that yes we use the heated seats and wheel most of the time in the leaf but we also demist a lot in winter and so would be firing up the engines with the hs. wish they did an all-electric hs.
 
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