Company Car - Relying on public charging

[Perry3]

MG4 Trophy LR due for delivery on Wednesday. It’s a company car, and one of the reasons why we went for EV is so I didn’t have to pay a high BIK% on an ICE.

I’m handing in in my current car (NHS Salary Sacrifice) saving me £400 p/m

So I’m only having to pay for charging the car.

My problem is that I don’t have off-street parking too allow for home charging. I’ve been in communication with Newcastle Council about getting Kerbo Charge approved, but that’s been as painful as pulling teeth. It seems that the council is actively avoiding any meaningful support for EV adoption.

So I’m going to have to rely on public charging for now. I’m fortunate enough to have two Charging Point locations within walking distance from my home. But when I’ve visited them, you have some regular ICE cars parking in the EV bays and according to the comments, they’ve occasionally not been working.

In terms of mileage, I don’t do a huge deal on a daily basis, so I’m expecting to only need to charge once or twice a week at a maximum.

Is any one else in a similar situation as me?

Have you any advice on planning and what to expect when relying solely on using public chargers.

I’ve asked SelectCar Leasing if I’ll get a Type 2 charger as I’ve read I’ll only get a granny charger with the MG. I’m going to read into this as I’m still a little clueless about the whole different DC/AC and the different types of charging options.

I’m concerned about the current charging infrastructure in Newcastle as I’ve read it is exceedingly inadequate, perhaps one of the worst in the country.

If it wasn’t for the company paying for it, I wouldn’t have went EV as it seems that society in the UK as a whole have a negative view about EVs. So I’m even worried about the car getting damaged when leaving it to charge.

Then I’m reading all the negative feedback about the MG4 software and lane assist being dangerous and people having to disable it every time you get into the car.

Not sure if I’m just getting cold feet but I’ve even thought about declining delivery and cancelling the order and going for an ICE and just bite the bullet with the BIK%

I think I’m just being a stress head, so any thing to calm my brain will be welcomed

Thanks

 

[Ian Key]

Remember those with faults shout more than those without. There are a lot of happy MG4 owners/drivers who just get on with enjoying driving the car. I take it you've had a test drive?

99% of public chargers are tethered so you don't need a type 2charging cable although it's good to have one just in case.

The LR battery benefits from a balancing charge once a month which means connecting it to an AC charger for several hours. More information here.

If the dealer has done the PDI properly and all the updates have been done then lane assist isn't as bad as it is for some.

 

[Perry3]

I did go for a test drive, got there and as soon as I mentioned I was getting a company car they said there wasn’t one available to test drive, which was quite frustrating as I drove 45 minutes to that dealers.

I have read many positives about the car and have watched a couple of the latest MGEV Podcasts and most do seem to like the MG4s performance. It was the only car with such good range, within our budget anyways. And although it’s peculiar, I think it looks great in Camden Grey.

Thanks for referencing that post, that’s good to know and a bit of a relief I can rely more on rapid charging.

If they have not performed the latest updates, how would I find out and is it as easy as booking the car in for a day or is it a tedious process which takes a longer period of time in the workshop?

Thanks.

 

[StuartMG]

I actually quite like the car and other than some of the software quirks that a number of others have reported (and I just hope they do get sorted somehow and not too far into the future) I've no other complaints really. These things aren't too detrimental for the car overall, just a bit annoying at times! Other than that it is a good car - not just for the price but more generally too.

 

[PristDean]

Whilst the MG is a great car, I believe you need to consider your personal circumstances as a priority. As life plays out, will you become annoyed with:
1. Out of order chargers
2. ICE cars parked in charging bays
3. Walking back, waiting for the car to be charged, then having to retrieve it
4. Charging options in Newcastle limited
5. If you can use a 'Granny charger' can you use without creating a trip hazard for others

LKA on my Trophy is fine, I don't have an issue with it myself.

 

[Grriff]

I'm due to get an MG4 in August and have been doing some research on charging. My findings so far are:
It's probably worth getting an Octopus Electroverse card. You don't have to be a customer. It doesn't cover all chargers.
Cards seem to be more reliable than apps at chargers
On street chargers in London do not have tethered cables
Not all apps (Zap Map Etc) show all chargers. Google maps might be the best but you have to search on EV chargers.

Check out the other threads dealing with chargers.
Good luck

 

[RayReliable]

I have a salary sacrifice car with no home charging although 95% of the time I have access to work chargers.

If I am on holiday I will use my local public network. It has not been to bad. You can find some free chargers here or there but usually I will go to the nearest fast charger and sit for an hour. Take my Nintendo switch and a coffee!

Mine came with both a granny charge cable and a type 2 charge cable so I would be surprised if yours did not so would be surprised yours didn’t being a lease vehicle.

I have had a great car with no major issues. 2.7k miles in and loving it.

 

[Perry3]

Whilst the MG is a great car, I believe you need to consider your personal circumstances as a priority. As life plays out, will you become annoyed with:
1. Out of order chargers
2. ICE cars parked in charging bays
3. Walking back, waiting for the car to be charged, then having to retrieve it
4. Charging options in Newcastle limited
5. If you can use a 'Granny charger' can you use without creating a trip hazard for others

LKA on my Trophy is fine, I don't have an issue with it myself.

Great thanks.

Apart from being a little irritated with inconsiderate ICE drivers, I’m happy to put up with that list. One is a minute away and the other chargers are about 10mins walk (which are brand new).

Hopefully Newcastle City Council pull their finger out.

 

[Perry3]

I have a salary sacrifice car with no home charging although 95% of the time I have access to work chargers.

If I am on holiday I will use my local public network. It has not been to bad. You can find some free chargers here or there but usually I will go to the nearest fast charger and sit for an hour. Take my Nintendo switch and a coffee!

Mine came with both a granny charge cable and a type 2 charge cable so I would be surprised if yours did not so would be surprised yours didn’t being a lease vehicle.

I have had a great car with no major issues. 2.7k miles in and loving it.

Haha that’s my plan. Are you playing the new Zelda by any chance? It’s awesome.

Yeah I do have a Sainsbury’s near by, even if I go for a shop and a coffee, that will get me a little bit free %

Hopefully I do. But no doubt my boss will purchase one if needs be.

 

[PristDean]

As a note with LKA, I believe it doesn't active until you hit 40 Mph anyway

 

[RayReliable]

Haha that’s my plan. Are you playing the new Zelda by any chance? It’s awesome.

Yeah I do have a Sainsbury’s near by, even if I go for a shop and a coffee, that will get me a little bit free %

Hopefully I do. But no doubt my boss will purchase one if needs be.

Yes actually. Great game.

I was worried about cables but pleasantly surprised to see both in my boot when I got the vehicle. It makes less sense to not include them with a lease vehicle. For non leases vehicles they can leverage an up sell. For what I’ve read there is no hard rule with the MG4, everyone seems to get different things.

Mine were both in MG branded storage bags. I suspect the dealers make the decision when they sell their cars.

 

[WonkoTheSaneUK]

As it's a company car, is your employer installing chargers in the office car park?

 

[Perry3]

As it's a company car, is your employer installing chargers in the office car park?

We live in an office where there are multiple businesses, so it’s not our choice. But we and a few others have requested them. So far we’ve heard nothing back.

 

[RichardC]

Great thanks.

Apart from being a little irritated with inconsiderate ICE drivers, I’m happy to put up with that list. One is a minute away and the other chargers are about 10mins walk (which are brand new).

Hopefully Newcastle City Council pull their finger out.

If you are anywhere near Gosforth then Costa Gosforth, just off A1, has excellent charging facilities. They are Instavolt chargers and a little expensive but are very reliable.

 

[johnb80]

We live in an office where there are multiple businesses, so it’s not our choice. But we and a few others have requested them. So far we’ve heard nothing back.

I used to rent an office in Mercury House in Gainsborough. A council run business centre for smallish company's and start ups. They applied for lottery funding and got a tracking solar array and 2 charging points. The charging points were free vend to anyone, not just residents of the offices.

 

[Perry3]

If you are anywhere near Gosforth then Costa Gosforth, just off A1, has excellent charging facilities. They are Instavolt chargers and a little expensive but are very reliable.

I do and I drive past there on a daily basis! This is excellent to know, I didn’t spot that! Thanks. I’ll likely see you there! I’ve already accepted the fact that using public chargers as such will be the same cost as ICE fuel.

 

[siteguru]

If you'd got an ICE company car then you'd be paying huge BIK and ICE fuel costs. So if you end up paying "ICE fuel costs" (as in - expensive rapid chargers cost about the same per mile as cheap local filling stations) then you're still quids in.

HWTL!

 

[Rolfe]

I think you'll get on fine. It's a bit of a learning curve, but the car is a dream to drive and the software niggles can be worked round. If you have a public charge-point only a minute's walk from your house you are sitting fairly pretty as you can get out there and get on the charger when it's free, maybe even late evening? You'll soon get used to patterns of usage and how to be the one who succeeds in getting that spot.

ICEd-up charger spaces are a pain, but consider a polite note on the windscreen. I think there are people who think EVs are still as rare as hen's teeth and they won't be bothering anyone when they park there. Try explaining that you really need this charger to fuel your car, and maybe even how would they like it if you parked across the only petrol pump for hours so that they couldn't get in?

I don't think there is the animus against EVs that you hear about in parts of America, I think it's mostly thoughtlessness. It will depend on the area of course, but I'd be surprised if your car was singled out for vandalism just because it's an EV.

Battery management on the LR is a bit more complicated than on the SR, but if you're mostly using rapid chargers, just remember to let it sit at 100% on a type 2 charger for a couple of hours once a month to balance the cells. Do that just before you're going to drive at least 50 miles if possible, because they don't like being left sitting at 100% for any length of time.

However, if your nearby charge-point has a type 2 you can leave the car on for a while, you may find that you can work this into your usual charging routine without any trouble. Just watch for time limits and overstay fees on some of these places. (My local charge-point is five minutes walk away, which turned into three minutes sprint last week when I realised I'd mistimed it. I missed a £10 overstay fine by less than 15 seconds.)

 

[BrianG]

You need to download the apps for the different charger owners. Start with ZapMap for what might be a complete list/map but it does contain errors. If you are an octopus energy customer you can pay for charging via your electricity bill. See Electriverse. And remember just 10 minutes charge will add 8 kWh or maybe more to give you an extra 35+ miles on a rapid charger. There are devices to allow for cables across pavements, narrow slots your council should be positive to allow these. Hants CC is ok with cables providing they are in a protective slot the type you find on building sites.

 

[RayReliable]

A neighbour of mine has to extend a cable across the pavement whilst home charging. They have a mini speed ramp with cable slot in which they whip out whilst charging.