fnegroni
Prominent Member
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2023
- Messages
- 1,567
- Reaction score
- 1,578
- Points
- 500
- Location (town/city + country)
- London, UK
- Driving
- MG4 EV Urban
Picked up my Urban Comfort Standard Range today.
These are my considerations after driving it for about 25 miles on several local trips.
In no specific order:
1. I like the looks. In Black Pearl, the lights design really stand out.
2. Despite the 16" rims, the wheels look well proportioned, maybe thanks to the Black Pearl body colour. I can't wait to remove the aero wheel covers to see how the gloss black five spoke alloys will complete the look.
3. The lights can now be switched off completely even when the car is in Ready state.
4. The lights selection is in the infotainment system, not on a wheel stalk.
5. I got used to the indicators stalk: odd at first that they return to centre immediately but adapted within a few moments.
6. Oddly enough, I still reach for the centre dial to change to Reverse and Drive despite not driving the MG4 SE for 6 months.
7. I wish the mirrors were power folding, but admittedly it's not something I need regularly when I park up.
8. I do like the raised driving position and all-round visibility is excellent.
9. The rear centre headrest is fixed and can't be removed, but rear window visibility is unobstructed
10. No Auto wipers: The front wiper's intermittent speed can only be set in the infotainment system.
11. Mixed urban and B-road driving is way more efficient than on the MG4 SE I had previously: currently averaging 5mi/kWh without even trying!
12. Flashing the full beams feels way more instantaneous
13. First impression is that all the MG Pilot settings are applied upon starting the car without the need to click on the MG Pilot icon.
14. Certainly, it seems the Adaptive regen selection and the One-Pedal drive mode are remembered in between trips, without the need to save them as custom MG Pilot profile. More tinkering needed!
15. The Auto Speed Assist seems to be working well enough so far. I haven't tested it extensively though and admittedly I would probably stick to the manual limiter if in doubt. It got confused once, but it quickly recovered. I guess it depends on the map data as well as on the quality of the speed signs.
(Admittedly this is a pet peeve of mine in the UK: absence of speed repeaters and inconsistent speed limit signage. In complete contrast to direction signs and other street furniture which is rather good especially compared to many other countries)
16. Switching the speed limiter mode (auto or user) can only be done via the corresponding button on the wheel.
17. Likewise, selecting as well as switching between ACC and ICA can only be done via the Pilot button on the steering wheel.
18. Both star buttons have their own shortcut: if you long press either of them you can change their settings without browsing the infotainment system maze.
19. I mapped the right star button to drive mode, and the left star button to Drive screen: this allows me to change some settings on the fly even when using Carplay
20. Wireless CarPlay is quite neat even without a wireless charging pad. A slim pad can be bought online for a few quid these days and you can still use a wired connection.
21. The MG4 cable routing trick is now mentioned on the rubber pad itself in the small pocket in front of the centre cup holder: lift the pad and you get holes to route your usb cables (and more) from under the centre upper tray.
22. The combined door handle/armrest is more ergonomic.
23. The rear doors still open 80+ degrees for ease of access.
24. I find the cabin generally more refined: the hard plastics are less hard than they were in the MG4 of old.
25. The steering wheel on the Comfort is soft genuine-plastic rather than fake-leather, but it feels well-made and has a nice soft grippy touch.
26. The reversing camera and parking sensors work remarkably well, minimalistic, yet retains the live distance meter. Will see whether it stays clean!
27. The wing mirrors are huge, bigger than in the MG4, they give a clear view of the side of the car to quite low down.
28. I don't have the 360 camera, which when I test drive the Premium model was excellent, but I find reversing at least it's still a doddle give the standard camera, sensors and huge mirrors.
29. I was given both a granny charger and a Type2 cable. The MG4 can charge at 11kW, if you are lucky to have access to one.
30. If you mess about with the HVAC settings, the AUTO button is on the main infotainment screen, but a neat shortcut is to press the physical AC button once to switch it off, and press and hold to switch it back on and set it to AUTO directly.
31. Generally speaking the onboard software seems bug free so far!
32. When locking the car, you can choose whether to close all windows automatically too
32. The driver attention/drowsiness system with the camera mounted on the steering column is very effective and in my experience well timed. I have ADHD so this is a life saver for me.
33. Despite it being less powerful (and lighter), front wheel drive and with a front biased weight distribution, it drives remarkably well. I have driven on the track in powerful sportscars for many years, and although this won't set your life on fire, it won't disappoint either. I find the car handles well and is communicative. The brakes are well calibrated and I didn't detect any issues with the way they respond to my input and they are both powerful and smooth.
34. There is a setting to make the brakes even smoother, but there isn't really much in it unless you drive in Adaptive regen mode, where it can help reduce any change in regen strength.
35. The tyre pressure screen can be set to display Bar, kPa or PSI, finally!
36. The stock tyres remind me of the stock Continental on the first MG4. Will likely swap them for some all-season tyres in due course, but so far, they are not bad and I haven't noticed any issues while they still have their entire tread on.
These are the things are noticed that stood out for me and I didn't really see or notice from the various reviews and my previous test drive.
I'm sure there are more nice things and odd ones too, many of which are now in the re-vamped MG4.
Screenshots of the iSmart app features available
These are my considerations after driving it for about 25 miles on several local trips.
In no specific order:
1. I like the looks. In Black Pearl, the lights design really stand out.
2. Despite the 16" rims, the wheels look well proportioned, maybe thanks to the Black Pearl body colour. I can't wait to remove the aero wheel covers to see how the gloss black five spoke alloys will complete the look.
3. The lights can now be switched off completely even when the car is in Ready state.
4. The lights selection is in the infotainment system, not on a wheel stalk.
5. I got used to the indicators stalk: odd at first that they return to centre immediately but adapted within a few moments.
6. Oddly enough, I still reach for the centre dial to change to Reverse and Drive despite not driving the MG4 SE for 6 months.
7. I wish the mirrors were power folding, but admittedly it's not something I need regularly when I park up.
8. I do like the raised driving position and all-round visibility is excellent.
9. The rear centre headrest is fixed and can't be removed, but rear window visibility is unobstructed
10. No Auto wipers: The front wiper's intermittent speed can only be set in the infotainment system.
11. Mixed urban and B-road driving is way more efficient than on the MG4 SE I had previously: currently averaging 5mi/kWh without even trying!
12. Flashing the full beams feels way more instantaneous
13. First impression is that all the MG Pilot settings are applied upon starting the car without the need to click on the MG Pilot icon.
14. Certainly, it seems the Adaptive regen selection and the One-Pedal drive mode are remembered in between trips, without the need to save them as custom MG Pilot profile. More tinkering needed!
15. The Auto Speed Assist seems to be working well enough so far. I haven't tested it extensively though and admittedly I would probably stick to the manual limiter if in doubt. It got confused once, but it quickly recovered. I guess it depends on the map data as well as on the quality of the speed signs.
(Admittedly this is a pet peeve of mine in the UK: absence of speed repeaters and inconsistent speed limit signage. In complete contrast to direction signs and other street furniture which is rather good especially compared to many other countries)
16. Switching the speed limiter mode (auto or user) can only be done via the corresponding button on the wheel.
17. Likewise, selecting as well as switching between ACC and ICA can only be done via the Pilot button on the steering wheel.
18. Both star buttons have their own shortcut: if you long press either of them you can change their settings without browsing the infotainment system maze.
19. I mapped the right star button to drive mode, and the left star button to Drive screen: this allows me to change some settings on the fly even when using Carplay
20. Wireless CarPlay is quite neat even without a wireless charging pad. A slim pad can be bought online for a few quid these days and you can still use a wired connection.
21. The MG4 cable routing trick is now mentioned on the rubber pad itself in the small pocket in front of the centre cup holder: lift the pad and you get holes to route your usb cables (and more) from under the centre upper tray.
22. The combined door handle/armrest is more ergonomic.
23. The rear doors still open 80+ degrees for ease of access.
24. I find the cabin generally more refined: the hard plastics are less hard than they were in the MG4 of old.
25. The steering wheel on the Comfort is soft genuine-plastic rather than fake-leather, but it feels well-made and has a nice soft grippy touch.
26. The reversing camera and parking sensors work remarkably well, minimalistic, yet retains the live distance meter. Will see whether it stays clean!
27. The wing mirrors are huge, bigger than in the MG4, they give a clear view of the side of the car to quite low down.
28. I don't have the 360 camera, which when I test drive the Premium model was excellent, but I find reversing at least it's still a doddle give the standard camera, sensors and huge mirrors.
29. I was given both a granny charger and a Type2 cable. The MG4 can charge at 11kW, if you are lucky to have access to one.
30. If you mess about with the HVAC settings, the AUTO button is on the main infotainment screen, but a neat shortcut is to press the physical AC button once to switch it off, and press and hold to switch it back on and set it to AUTO directly.
31. Generally speaking the onboard software seems bug free so far!
32. When locking the car, you can choose whether to close all windows automatically too
32. The driver attention/drowsiness system with the camera mounted on the steering column is very effective and in my experience well timed. I have ADHD so this is a life saver for me.
33. Despite it being less powerful (and lighter), front wheel drive and with a front biased weight distribution, it drives remarkably well. I have driven on the track in powerful sportscars for many years, and although this won't set your life on fire, it won't disappoint either. I find the car handles well and is communicative. The brakes are well calibrated and I didn't detect any issues with the way they respond to my input and they are both powerful and smooth.
34. There is a setting to make the brakes even smoother, but there isn't really much in it unless you drive in Adaptive regen mode, where it can help reduce any change in regen strength.
35. The tyre pressure screen can be set to display Bar, kPa or PSI, finally!
36. The stock tyres remind me of the stock Continental on the first MG4. Will likely swap them for some all-season tyres in due course, but so far, they are not bad and I haven't noticed any issues while they still have their entire tread on.
These are the things are noticed that stood out for me and I didn't really see or notice from the various reviews and my previous test drive.
I'm sure there are more nice things and odd ones too, many of which are now in the re-vamped MG4.
Screenshots of the iSmart app features available
