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I love my MG4, but...

kounanz

Standard Member
Joined
May 5, 2023
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Location
Portugal
Driving
MG4 Trophy LR
Have my MG4 Trophy for a month now and I'm loving it more the more I drive it. Nevertheless, there are small annoyances that hurts a little the experience of driving it:
  • Bluetooth pairing: this was really not good. Never worked properly. But changed the Bluetooth car name and now it's working fine. Let's see if it stays that way.
  • Automatic brightness: this was working at the beginning, but since a couple of weeks, it doesn't. I need to manually adjust brightness between day and night.
  • Light sensors: during a sunny day, every time I go through a small bridge, or maybe a road with some trees shadow, the lights turn on. This is specially annoying when using automatic Light and Dark mode (which I do, mainly because automatic brightness doesn't work).
  • LKA: hate it. I really think this is dangerous while driving.
  • 360 cameras: it does the job but quality is meh. Also, while using the cameras, if the dark/light mode changes, the cameras will turn off.
  • Sound system: it's really not good. Maybe a physical subwoofer would greatly improve the sound quality but, as it is, speakers are not great at all.
  • Back seats seatbelt: they are not fixed. That means that it's really difficult to insert the seatbelt with one hand. This is really bad specially when you trying to put the seatbelt on your child. Not good at all.

I know some are nitpicking, but it's annoying when you daily drive the car.
Most of it are software related, so I hope future firmware updates will resolve some of it.

What annoys me the most, is that the cheapest Model 3 is now only 1.500€ more expensive than my MG4. And probably, most of the things I've just referred would not exist (certainly new ones would arise, but still...).

What about you guys, do you experience the same on your side? Any suggestion/tip in order to fix/minimize any of these annoyances?

Cheers from Portugal


IMG_2453_final.JPEG
 
Auto-lights - remove the sensor cover, or drill a hole in it and cover it with a clear plastic sticker. (There's a thread here about this issue). At the moment I've just removed the cover - auto-lights now work perfectly.

Rear seat belt buckles ... you can get holders that keep them in place. (There's a thread here about this too). :)
 
Personally I find the sound to be really quite good, enable virtual subwoofer and crank the sound up and it's better than my previous Ioniq with a premium system. Like any sound system, it needs a bit of tweaking rather than using the default settings. My phone is a Pixel 7 with spacial sound activated, so not sure if this makes it sound better than from other phones.
 
I've been pleased by the sound system, but my feeling is that this isn't because it's all that great in itself, but that without the noise of an ICE to cope with, the sound just comes over in so much more detail.
 
I've not long since received my MG4 Trophy and actually do like it a lot. I'm aware that it's built to a budget and compared to other electric cars on the market it's undercutting their price by quite a bit so I'm happy enough. I don't have a lot to complain about other than a few software bugs like most others have mentioned and the fact that some of the cabin material quality is a bit cheap feeling. I don't mean so much the types of plastics or other materials being used but more so their durability. Not so great! Being a new car I'm of course looking after it carefully but it's taking very little to leave a scratch here or there on the interior plastics (and I'm not going out of my way to try!) Surprised me a few times and makes me more wary than I'd have been in other cars I've owned.
 
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Have my MG4 Trophy for a month now and I'm loving it more the more I drive it. Nevertheless, there are small annoyances that hurts a little the experience of driving it:
  • Bluetooth pairing: this was really not good. Never worked properly. But changed the Bluetooth car name and now it's working fine. Let's see if it stays that way.
  • Automatic brightness: this was working at the beginning, but since a couple of weeks, it doesn't. I need to manually adjust brightness between day and night.
  • Light sensors: during a sunny day, every time I go through a small bridge, or maybe a road with some trees shadow, the lights turn on. This is specially annoying when using automatic Light and Dark mode (which I do, mainly because automatic brightness doesn't work).
  • LKA: hate it. I really think this is dangerous while driving.
  • 360 cameras: it does the job but quality is meh. Also, while using the cameras, if the dark/light mode changes, the cameras will turn off.
  • Sound system: it's really not good. Maybe a physical subwoofer would greatly improve the sound quality but, as it is, speakers are not great at all.
  • Back seats seatbelt: they are not fixed. That means that it's really difficult to insert the seatbelt with one hand. This is really bad specially when you trying to put the seatbelt on your child. Not good at all.

I know some are nitpicking, but it's annoying when you daily drive the car.
Most of it are software related, so I hope future firmware updates will resolve some of it.

What annoys me the most, is that the cheapest Model 3 is now only 1.500€ more expensive than my MG4. And probably, most of the things I've just referred would not exist (certainly new ones would arise, but still...).

What about you guys, do you experience the same on your side? Any suggestion/tip in order to fix/minimize any of these annoyances?

Cheers from Portugal


View attachment 17315


Hey fellow Trophy owner, have had some minor niggles similar to yourself, (mostly all) liveable and fixable with a bit of messing around with settings and fixtures.

Automatic brightness: Switch the infotainment to Dark Mode, it's much better IMO, and doesn't need adjusting brightness for day/night - which brings us to

360 Cameras: it won't switch over between Light/Dark mode if it's always on Dark Mode. Try cleaning your cameras, I've found the quality to be very good with mine.

And light sensors: your screen won't change light to dark if it's set Dark mode, and there is a way to mod the light sensor plastic cover - see Hillbilly Hack : Auto lights always coming on ? Hillbilly hack.

LKA: yeah this sucks having to turn it off, but some versions of infotainment update seem to fair better than others, I'm on v.24 and don't find it too intrusive.

Sound system: a few members have upgraded the door speakers and even tweeters and made a notable difference, see the thread 'MG4 will upgrade speakers : MG4 Will upgrade all speakers and add a sub

Back seats seatbelt: seat belt holders from Amazon. Works a treat for many

IMG_20230416_165446.jpg
 
I find the sound system ok, you have to ensure virtual sub is on and also the Arkymys I set to on. I find switching to driver profile helps with the ”image” that it creates.

it is easy enough to pop it back to the “all” setting if you have passengers that you care about😂
 
Hey fellow Trophy owner, have had some minor niggles similar to yourself, (mostly all) liveable and fixable with a bit of messing around with settings and fixtures.

Automatic brightness: Switch the infotainment to Dark Mode, it's much better IMO, and doesn't need adjusting brightness for day/night - which brings us to

360 Cameras: it won't switch over between Light/Dark mode if it's always on Dark Mode. Try cleaning your cameras, I've found the quality to be very good with mine.

And light sensors: your screen won't change light to dark if it's set Dark mode, and there is a way to mod the light sensor plastic cover - see Hillbilly Hack : Auto lights always coming on ? Hillbilly hack.

LKA: yeah this sucks having to turn it off, but some versions of infotainment update seem to fair better than others, I'm on v.24 and don't find it too intrusive.

Sound system: a few members have upgraded the door speakers and even tweeters and made a notable difference, see the thread 'MG4 will upgrade speakers : MG4 Will upgrade all speakers and add a sub

Back seats seatbelt: seat belt holders from Amazon. Works a treat for many

View attachment 17318
Thank you very much for your detailed response! Just ordered the seat belt bucket holder!
Regarding the auto-light issue, the hack you mentioned seems to work, but it’s not pretty. I found that there are already some 3D printing schematics to be downloaded, but no 3D printer on my side. Need to wait.
I got a sub and amp installed in mine and now it's a proper sound system! I could also change the speakers to make it even better but don't feel the need to anymore - highly recommend getting a sub and amp if you're into your music.
I agree. Sound is not bad overall, but I miss the bass a lot. How was that procedure? Any tips on how to install the subwoofer?

Thank you all for your feedback. Really appreciated!
 
Thank you very much for your detailed response! Just ordered the seat belt bucket holder!
Regarding the auto-light issue, the hack you mentioned seems to work, but it’s not pretty. I found that there are already some 3D printing schematics to be downloaded, but no 3D printer on my side. Need to wait.

I agree. Sound is not bad overall, but I miss the bass a lot. How was that procedure? Any tips on how to install the subwoofer?

Thank you all for your feedback. Really appreciated!

You're very welcome, you may be able to order the modded sensor cover part online, or there may be a way for yourself and other MG4 owners (local to you) to group together to order a few prints from a 3d printing company, or a kind 3d printing enthusiast who'd be happy to print the design for you.

Sidenote: I haven't changed the sound setup from factory myself, but there are a few who have done the mod, I know @Alansurfer has done a fair few mods, so he may be another knowledgeable gentleman to ask, too.

It is on my list of things to do when I get time as the sound is lacking some bass and oomph - but my knowledge of sound systems, especially car audio is limited.
 
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Have my MG4 Trophy for a month now and I'm loving it more the more I drive it. Nevertheless, there are small annoyances that hurts a little the experience of driving it:
  • Bluetooth pairing: this was really not good. Never worked properly. But changed the Bluetooth car name and now it's working fine. Let's see if it stays that way.
  • Automatic brightness: this was working at the beginning, but since a couple of weeks, it doesn't. I need to manually adjust brightness between day and night.
  • Light sensors: during a sunny day, every time I go through a small bridge, or maybe a road with some trees shadow, the lights turn on. This is specially annoying when using automatic Light and Dark mode (which I do, mainly because automatic brightness doesn't work).
  • LKA: hate it. I really think this is dangerous while driving.
  • 360 cameras: it does the job but quality is meh. Also, while using the cameras, if the dark/light mode changes, the cameras will turn off.
  • Sound system: it's really not good. Maybe a physical subwoofer would greatly improve the sound quality but, as it is, speakers are not great at all.
  • Back seats seatbelt: they are not fixed. That means that it's really difficult to insert the seatbelt with one hand. This is really bad specially when you trying to put the seatbelt on your child. Not good at all.

I know some are nitpicking, but it's annoying when you daily drive the car.
Most of it are software related, so I hope future firmware updates will resolve some of it.

What annoys me the most, is that the cheapest Model 3 is now only 1.500€ more expensive than my MG4. And probably, most of the things I've just referred would not exist (certainly new ones would arise, but still...).

What about you guys, do you experience the same on your side? Any suggestion/tip in order to fix/minimize any of these annoyances?

Cheers from Portugal


View attachment 17315
I am waiting for the dual motor or extended range. What you highlight seems to be a constant theme which is putting me off a bit. I’ve had a test drive which was great but isn’t long enough to highlight these many niggles ☹️
 
Another thread with a number of relatively minor gripes. And my perception is that most of these relate to the Trophy model. And I can understand that because of the price premium.
I have the base model SE SR which only cost £25,950. And so I didn't have the same expectations as of the Trophy.
My expectations related to my previous car; a Ford Fiesta Vignale which was the top of the range model. And very nice too.
But I have to say that the MG4 beats it on every feature except for the sound system, which on the Fiesta was B&O.
We have to bear in mind that the MG4 is very much cheaper than any other comparison. And not just by a bit. But significantly so.
I did consider the LR and Trophy but concluded that, for me, it was not worth the additional cost.

It is what it is. A fantastic EV car for the money and I would have no hesitation in recommending it to others.
In fact I have done so and know of at least 3 who have bought one. 2 of them are delighted and 1 is waiting delivery.
 
Have my MG4 Trophy for a month now and I'm loving it more the more I drive it. Nevertheless, there are small annoyances that hurts a little the experience of driving it:
  • Bluetooth pairing: this was really not good. Never worked properly. But changed the Bluetooth car name and now it's working fine. Let's see if it stays that way.
  • Automatic brightness: this was working at the beginning, but since a couple of weeks, it doesn't. I need to manually adjust brightness between day and night.
  • Light sensors: during a sunny day, every time I go through a small bridge, or maybe a road with some trees shadow, the lights turn on. This is specially annoying when using automatic Light and Dark mode (which I do, mainly because automatic brightness doesn't work).
  • LKA: hate it. I really think this is dangerous while driving.
  • 360 cameras: it does the job but quality is meh. Also, while using the cameras, if the dark/light mode changes, the cameras will turn off.
  • Sound system: it's really not good. Maybe a physical subwoofer would greatly improve the sound quality but, as it is, speakers are not great at all.
  • Back seats seatbelt: they are not fixed. That means that it's really difficult to insert the seatbelt with one hand. This is really bad specially when you trying to put the seatbelt on your child. Not good at all.

I know some are nitpicking, but it's annoying when you daily drive the car.
Most of it are software related, so I hope future firmware updates will resolve some of it.

What annoys me the most, is that the cheapest Model 3 is now only 1.500€ more expensive than my MG4. And probably, most of the things I've just referred would not exist (certainly new ones would arise, but still...).

What about you guys, do you experience the same on your side? Any suggestion/tip in order to fix/minimize any of these annoyances?

Cheers from Portugal


View attachment 17315
If the Tesla model 3 is only €1500 more why didn't you get one ? Then you wouldn't feel so bad about these minor faults you have with the Trophy. If there was only £1500 difference I know what I would have bought.
 
I'm with Buster. I also have the SE SR and I'm loving it. It's a different way of living with a car which I'm still getting used to, and apart from the village charge-point 400 yards from my house I haven't charged away from home yet, but that will come next week.

I have only three gripes, and these are not exactly deal-breakers.
  • I can't turn off the automatic door locking, which is a real nuisance.
  • The wing mirrors don't have electric folding, but as I have discovered that the car will reverse into my garage fairly easily without folding them (it really is a great car to reverse), I'm getting less annoyed about that.
  • The USB sound system is ridiculously simple-minded, necessitating a rather laborious work-round to get tracks to play in the right order.
Since I've done the work-round (I have about 25 hours of music on the car's USB stick now, including one continuous "playlist" of 14½ hours), and I can get the car in the garage without turning the air as blue as the car is, that only leaves the automatic door locking. If anybody knows a way of jemmying that, do tell.

I have come from a 2009 Golf GTi Mk 6 which was an absolute pet, but was showing its age. I'm absolutely thrilled with the MG4, and especially with the price. I had had a vague thought I'd have to pay about £30,000 to get a decent replacement for the Golf when the time came. With the insurance payout for the Golf taken into account I actually got the MG4 for £23,000. I can live with claustrophobic door-closing for that price.
 
Another thread with a number of relatively minor gripes. And my perception is that most of these relate to the Trophy model. And I can understand that because of the price premium.
I have the base model SE SR which only cost £25,950. And so I didn't have the same expectations as of the Trophy.
My expectations related to my previous car; a Ford Fiesta Vignale which was the top of the range model. And very nice too.
But I have to say that the MG4 beats it on every feature except for the sound system, which on the Fiesta was B&O.
We have to bear in mind that the MG4 is very much cheaper than any other comparison. And not just by a bit. But significantly so.
I did consider the LR and Trophy but concluded that, for me, it was not worth the additional cost.

It is what it is. A fantastic EV car for the money and I would have no hesitation in recommending it to others.
In fact I have done so and know of at least 3 who have bought one. 2 of them are delighted and 1 is waiting delivery.
As the title says, I love the car! Just wanted to point out these small annoyances, which some were minimized due to the awesome feedback from the members.
I agree with you, we have to bear in mind the price of the car, which I think it’s still very good deal (specially the SE).
If the Tesla model 3 is only €1500 more why didn't you get one ? Then you wouldn't feel so bad about these minor faults you have with the Trophy. If there was only £1500 difference I know what I would have bought.
Had the MG4 ordered since last year and already had the car when Tesla decided to cut their prices. Currently, due to MG4 increase price here in Portugal, an MG4 Trophy is more expensive than the cheapest Model 3.
 
I would find it hard to chose between the Tesla Model 3 and MG4 even if they were the same price (which they are not, especially on PCP). I could go either way.

I know some people will laugh at that as if it is crazy but I honestly really like both the exterior look, interior, drive and ride of the MG4 plus the practicality of a proper hatch.

Yes, the Tesla is a much older and more "sorted" design, but many of the "benefits" of the much vaunted software are not things I want - I like using Apple CarPlay, which I couldn't in the Tesla, and I am not interested in self-driving technologies.

Not saying that the model 3 isn't a great car - it is, but those that say there is no comparison are really just saying for the things they value (eg performance, ota updates), the M3 is much better, which I don't dispute, but not everyone wants the same things from a car.
 
Have my MG4 Trophy for a month now and I'm loving it more the more I drive it. Nevertheless, there are small annoyances that hurts a little the experience of driving it:
  • Bluetooth pairing: this was really not good. Never worked properly. But changed the Bluetooth car name and now it's working fine. Let's see if it stays that way.
  • Automatic brightness: this was working at the beginning, but since a couple of weeks, it doesn't. I need to manually adjust brightness between day and night.
  • Light sensors: during a sunny day, every time I go through a small bridge, or maybe a road with some trees shadow, the lights turn on. This is specially annoying when using automatic Light and Dark mode (which I do, mainly because automatic brightness doesn't work).
  • LKA: hate it. I really think this is dangerous while driving.
  • 360 cameras: it does the job but quality is meh. Also, while using the cameras, if the dark/light mode changes, the cameras will turn off.
  • Sound system: it's really not good. Maybe a physical subwoofer would greatly improve the sound quality but, as it is, speakers are not great at all.
  • Back seats seatbelt: they are not fixed. That means that it's really difficult to insert the seatbelt with one hand. This is really bad specially when you trying to put the seatbelt on your child. Not good at all.

I know some are nitpicking, but it's annoying when you daily drive the car.
Most of it are software related, so I hope future firmware updates will resolve some of it.

What annoys me the most, is that the cheapest Model 3 is now only 1.500€ more expensive than my MG4. And probably, most of the things I've just referred would not exist (certainly new ones would arise, but still...).

What about you guys, do you experience the same on your side? Any suggestion/tip in order to fix/minimize any of these annoyances?

Cheers from Portugal


View attachment 17315
I have to agree with your Bluetooth point - it's really bad for something that should be so simple.

I also agree with your point about the sound. I've come from a 2016 skoda to the MG4 & I really do miss the sound quality of that skoda. I wouldn't have thought the difference in sound would be so much - the mg4 lack depth of sound - in my opinion.

The 360 camera lacks definition but I don't really use it so not a deal breaker.

However, the fun enjoyable driving experience more than makes up for these niggles.
 

Are you enjoying your MG4?

  • Yes

    Votes: 423 79.8%
  • I'm in the middle

    Votes: 70 13.2%
  • No

    Votes: 37 7.0%
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