Recent content by SteveM

I charged mine with included granny chrager for months before I got a proper 7kW charger in the drive (which, by the way, was well worth it). I used a regular extension, rated 13A. It had a thermal cutout as many do and I was careful to weather proof it. I don't want to get into an argument...

Just for fun, because I charged the night before last, and because I was curious to check the process described: I took an MG4 LR battery (64kWh nominal) from around 15 - 85 % (I might have misremembered by 1 or 2%). My Evec charger app reports 49.77kWh. By my reckoning, that is an efficiency...

Why do you think that? The range is based on recent consumption rate, but surely the mi/kWh is an average value since the last trip reset.

An interesting discussion. When I first got my MG4 I was puzzled by the mi/kWh figure. I use the car for a commute, so the journey is pretty similar every day. As the seasons changed it became obvious that the mi/kWh figure is highly temperature dependent, much more so than might be expected...

Sorry I have not updated, as promised, it's been a busy week. I'm still pursuing the insurance aspect but haven't yet been able to get a clear answer from the insurance company. Geekice offers a tantalising alternative. I am reasonably IT literate, but I fear the above explanation leaves me in...

Both our keys had the blade. In my cynical view, the high cost is simply because they have you over a barrel. Yes it's worth £350 to be able to use the car, but that's hardly the point. There is very little cost to the dealer/MG, some minor database adjustments, maybe half an hour of...

My wife has lost her key. Part of her birthday present was a "Tile" device to prevent it happening again (she is happy because it helps her find her phone also; I did not get into trouble for possible passive-aggressive behaviour!). However, I still want a replacement. The manual says: go to the...

I've had my MG4 for ~15months and am very happy. As others have said, an EV is likely to be much better at short journeys than an ICE car. I have the luxury of a home charger, which gives me maximum convenience and lowest cost, but for the the first few months I used the Granny charger that came...

This might seem obvious, but make sure the connector is fully home. I have been caught out; having plugged the lead in both ends and retired thinking the timed charge would happen overnight. I have an Evec charger, and the connector at that end needs a bit of a wriggle to make full contact. The...

Maybe it depend on the model. I have the MG4 LR and recently drove down through Normandy charging each way on Tesla rapid chargers with no problems at all. ~120kW to beging with dropping to ~60kW at at 80% charge. My only preparation was to install the Tesla App, which I believe only shows...

Mum's wheelchair (fairly basic model, large rear wheels, foot rests detatch, handles fold down) fits into my MG4 no problem. The parcel shelf has to be removed (quick and easy), but the seats do not need to be folded down. I put it wheels down and leant towards the front of the car. It does...

Well that sounds adventurous! However, the advice to find a venicle that already has the facility is probably more practical. Thanks for the suggestions. If you have any links to descrptions of self-conversions along these lines I would be interested.

It it though? Propelling the car might take ~10kW. I wonder what the heating takes. The whole point of my question arises from the realisation that the traction battery is so much better than a expensive 26kg 1.2kWh leisure battery. The traction battery is kind of free and won't give me a hernia.

I need about 800W, so I don't think the cigarette lighter is going to manage

I have a fourth, a real edge case I guess: I want to run a piece of mains powered analytical equipment as I drive. At the moment I have to lug a heavy leisure battery and a separate inverter; even then I don't get much analysis time. Being able to use some of the traction battery energy would be...