Even more impressed after test drive

[tsedge]

Um... I don't know why you are mentioning the law. We also bought the Trophy mainly for the 360 camera which makes parking much easier. It sounds like you drive a truck so you won't need one, but for some of the rest of us it gives us great visibility and makes it easier to see around us, which is no bad thing. Could we live without it? Yes, absolutely, but we don't need to and it does improve safety.

 

[Deleted member 9692]

The jury finds you guilty of colliding with a minor because you didn't have a 360 degree camera system fitted to your vehicle, show me precedence... All they do is provide you with a false sense of security.

I don't understand the rhetorical question. A jury would find you guilty if they were convinced that you were negligent. They could find you guilty if you had a 360 camera or if you didn't. It would depend on the circumstances

Yes watching me, do you have cameras watching you in your office, factory.

Yes, I have cameras watching me in my job all day long, not sure how that is relevant?

I swear down that if you can justify spending 6k more on a car just for a camera system, I'll never post on here again.

When I drove the SE, I found the view from rear window poor as others have noted. I reversed it just fine using a combination of my eyes and other senses but I would have preferred the 360 camera. I won’t be relying upon it for legal defence though and I can’t see anyone suggested that other than yourself. Similarly I wouldn’t rely solely on MG Pilot, but I will be using it. I don’t drive HGVs anymore or coaches but have driven both and performed a lot of reversing with and without trailers, I’m very good at it. I can reverse perfectly well and safely without a 360 camera but I prefer to have than not to have, safer with than without when used correctly. Similarly, I can brake perfectly well without ABS but I like to have it.

The 360 camera was a big factor in me spending the extra. I could have said it was the only factor but then we wouldn't get to see posts from you anymore and that would be a shame.

I sense you are not a fan of the 360 camera

 

[Collected]

I’ve found the 360 camera on my Leaf invaluable for getting into awkward EV charging spaces in weird car parks with cars parked either side, narrow manoeuvring space behind. E.g the one in this image. Would never have attempted it without. The things we’ll do for 15mins free charging
At least with the Trophy I won’t be so desperate for a couple of kW.

 

[MoDolph]

Well that escalated quickly! I don't care about being right or wrong, I just don't want to run somebody over.

 

[Deleted member 9692]

Well that escalated quickly! I don't care about being right or wrong, I just don't want to run somebody over.

I can see the headline now: "Mass casualties today at Tiny Tots Nursery. Man seen running from MG4 shouting "It was the 360 wot dunnit, you'll never take me alive copper""

 

[tsedge]

I am literally on the floor laughing at that!!

 

[Johnny 5 is alive]

I too test drove an MG4 Trophy during the week, and whilst I'm likely to be in a minority, I was frankly disappointed with certain aspects of it.
Don't get me wrong, it's a good car, and I've ordered one! But I imagine my wife will be driving it more than I will.
For a start, the steering wheel is nothing short of ghastly. Reminded me of the square one on my 1973 Allegro.
I also prefer a dashboard rather than a couple of i-pads that look like they've been stuck on as an afterthought.
But the thing I was most disappointed with is how scrubby it was when pushed hard into corners and on roundabouts. My MG5 LR was the same until I went to 17" rins with 225 45 tyres, but the MG4 comes with 215 50s as standard so there isn't much scope to improve it.
That said, I'm sure it will be satisfactory and my wife won't be going for FTD But after the salesman raving about it, I have to say I prefer the longer wheelbase and stability of the 5, however dated it looks in comparison.

 

[BugEyed]

I prefer the longer wheelbase and stability of the 5

The MG4 wheelbase is 2,705mm, the MG5 is 2,659 mm, so -46mm longer.

Perhaps the difference is in the tyres or just your perception of FWD Vs RWD feel?

however dated it looks in comparison.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

[wandle MG4 trophy]

I tested a standard range model on Friday. As background I am coming from a 9 year old manual gearbox ICE with hardly any driver tech. The learning curve for the MG4 will be significant but fun!

Looks
Modern and sporty. I only saw black which was nice, and white which was showing the dirt already

Ease of driving
Get in, press the brake and turn the gear selector to drive and you are good to go.
There’s no dedicated key cubby so you can keep the rather chunky key in your pocket
Driving in traffic was a doddle as unlike a manual ICE, there’s no clutch, gear or handbrake to operate.
Acceleration was very brisk when needed.
Seemed quiet enough around town
I couldn’t get the car brake to engage automatically when I was in stop/start traffic - maybe I was not pressing the brake pedal hard enough?
Sadly I didn’t get the chance to test most of the options and settings or get onto a fast dual carriageway as I only had the car for about 35 minutes

Exiting the car
Exiting the car was not brilliant because of the very wide door sills. Worth checking out if you have limited mobility or are worried about getting the bottom of your trousers or legs dirty in bad weather. However, am sure you will soon find a technique to avoid the sills.

Instrumentation
There’s a lot going on in the two panels which will take a while to get used to.
The two displays were crisp and bright (though the weather was overcast)
Screen sensitivity could be better. Sometimes I needed to press the screen twice to register my input - it's certainly not iPad standard but it is acceptable.
Apple Car Play set itself up in a couple of seconds and I had Google Maps running on the big screen - looked great.

Cabin
Although the roof liner is dark it does not in my opinion make the car unduly dark or claustrophobic.
The car felt roomy.
Storage was OK but the glove box was on the small side, however as there is no printed handbook there will be room for your fingerless driving gloves!

Boot
Big enough for my needs - eg couple of small suitcases

Build quality
The doors were satisfyingly heavy and gave a nice clunk when closed.
The inside did NOT feel cheap or full of scratchy plastics
There was a bit of a rattle somewhere near the main instrument panel
The seats were comfortable and had no obvious signs of rucking or poor stitching. I’m not sure about how durable they will be. I will investigate seat covers later.

Visibility
I had been concerned by the small rear window but rear visibility was good through the mirrors.
I could not see the front of the bonnet from the driving seat (but this is common these days) however when I sat in the Trophy I raised the height of the seat and got a much better view of the bonnet. As with every car I’ll need to experiment with seating position and steering wheel adjustment (which was excellent)

Service Plan
Likely to be a tad under £100 for the first year (and a bit less if you have done low mileage). Service interval will be one year

Trophy
After the drive I sat in a Trophy model but didn’t drive it.
The electric seat adjustment on the driver’s side was excellent.
I was not convinced by the 360 camera - it was not as good as the one in a Leaf I test drove a year ago.
The Trophy boot has a false bottom which easily fitted the charging cable (in a nice MG branded bag) with quite a bit of shallow space all around to spare.
The voice control needs a smart phone to operate as it is not a stand-alone feature of the car.

Conclusion
I was very pleased with the car and reconfirmed my order for a Trophy.The dealer is expecting stock at the end of October and the end of November and “some’ in December but he has no idea yet about variants and colours.

 

[Dan C]

I tested a standard range model on Friday. As background I am coming from a 9 year old manual gearbox ICE with hardly any driver tech. The learning curve for the MG4 will be significant but fun!

Looks
Modern and sporty. I only saw black which was nice, and white which was showing the dirt already

Ease of driving
Get in, press the brake and turn the gear selector to drive and you are good to go.
There’s no dedicated key cubby so you can keep the rather chunky key in your pocket
Driving in traffic was a doddle as unlike a manual ICE, there’s no clutch, gear or handbrake to operate.
Acceleration was very brisk when needed.
Seemed quiet enough around town
I couldn’t get the car brake to engage automatically when I was in stop/start traffic - maybe I was not pressing the brake pedal hard enough?
Sadly I didn’t get the chance to test most of the options and settings or get onto a fast dual carriageway as I only had the car for about 35 minutes

Exiting the car
Exiting the car was not brilliant because of the very wide door sills. Worth checking out if you have limited mobility or are worried about getting the bottom of your trousers or legs dirty in bad weather. However, am sure you will soon find a technique to avoid the sills.

Instrumentation
There’s a lot going on in the two panels which will take a while to get used to.
The two displays were crisp and bright (though the weather was overcast)
Screen sensitivity could be better. Sometimes I needed to press the screen twice to register my input - it's certainly not iPad standard but it is acceptable.
Apple Car Play set itself up in a couple of seconds and I had Google Maps running on the big screen - looked great.

Cabin
Although the roof liner is dark it does not in my opinion make the car unduly dark or claustrophobic.
The car felt roomy.
Storage was OK but the glove box was on the small side, however as there is no printed handbook there will be room for your fingerless driving gloves!

Boot
Big enough for my needs - eg couple of small suitcases

Build quality
The doors were satisfyingly heavy and gave a nice clunk when closed.
The inside did NOT feel cheap or full of scratchy plastics
There was a bit of a rattle somewhere near the main instrument panel
The seats were comfortable and had no obvious signs of rucking or poor stitching. I’m not sure about how durable they will be. I will investigate seat covers later.

Visibility
I had been concerned by the small rear window but rear visibility was good through the mirrors.
I could not see the front of the bonnet from the driving seat (but this is common these days) however when I sat in the Trophy I raised the height of the seat and got a much better view of the bonnet. As with every car I’ll need to experiment with seating position and steering wheel adjustment (which was excellent)

Service Plan
Likely to be a tad under £100 for the first year (and a bit less if you have done low mileage). Service interval will be one year

Trophy
After the drive I sat in a Trophy model but didn’t drive it.
The electric seat adjustment on the driver’s side was excellent.
I was not convinced by the 360 camera - it was not as good as the one in a Leaf I test drove a year ago.
The Trophy boot has a false bottom which easily fitted the charging cable (in a nice MG branded bag) with quite a bit of shallow space all around to spare.
The voice control needs a smart phone to operate as it is not a stand-alone feature of the car.

Conclusion
I was very pleased with the car and reconfirmed my order for a Trophy.The dealer is expecting stock at the end of October and the end of November and “some’ in December but he has no idea yet about variants and colours.

Very thorough write up I picked up my MG4 SE on Friday. I can’t say I’ve noticed any issue with getting in and out of the car / cills, but I have come from a 2019 A class which is very cramped inside and awkward to get in and out of.

Regarding the auto brake hold, this is switched off by default, easy enough to change in the infotainment and remembers that setting for future journeys.

The trophy looks to have a great amount of kit on top of the SE, but I couldn’t justify the £5k more ( don’t need the extra range ) and needed a car asap - managed to grab a cancelled order SE 1-2 months before mine was due.

 

[FiferMG4]

I tested a standard range model on Friday. As background I am coming from a 9 year old manual gearbox ICE with hardly any driver tech. The learning curve for the MG4 will be significant but fun!

Looks
Modern and sporty. I only saw black which was nice, and white which was showing the dirt already

Ease of driving
Get in, press the brake and turn the gear selector to drive and you are good to go.
There’s no dedicated key cubby so you can keep the rather chunky key in your pocket
Driving in traffic was a doddle as unlike a manual ICE, there’s no clutch, gear or handbrake to operate.
Acceleration was very brisk when needed.
Seemed quiet enough around town
I couldn’t get the car brake to engage automatically when I was in stop/start traffic - maybe I was not pressing the brake pedal hard enough?
Sadly I didn’t get the chance to test most of the options and settings or get onto a fast dual carriageway as I only had the car for about 35 minutes

Exiting the car
Exiting the car was not brilliant because of the very wide door sills. Worth checking out if you have limited mobility or are worried about getting the bottom of your trousers or legs dirty in bad weather. However, am sure you will soon find a technique to avoid the sills.

Instrumentation
There’s a lot going on in the two panels which will take a while to get used to.
The two displays were crisp and bright (though the weather was overcast)
Screen sensitivity could be better. Sometimes I needed to press the screen twice to register my input - it's certainly not iPad standard but it is acceptable.
Apple Car Play set itself up in a couple of seconds and I had Google Maps running on the big screen - looked great.

Cabin
Although the roof liner is dark it does not in my opinion make the car unduly dark or claustrophobic.
The car felt roomy.
Storage was OK but the glove box was on the small side, however as there is no printed handbook there will be room for your fingerless driving gloves!

Boot
Big enough for my needs - eg couple of small suitcases

Build quality
The doors were satisfyingly heavy and gave a nice clunk when closed.
The inside did NOT feel cheap or full of scratchy plastics
There was a bit of a rattle somewhere near the main instrument panel
The seats were comfortable and had no obvious signs of rucking or poor stitching. I’m not sure about how durable they will be. I will investigate seat covers later.

Visibility
I had been concerned by the small rear window but rear visibility was good through the mirrors.
I could not see the front of the bonnet from the driving seat (but this is common these days) however when I sat in the Trophy I raised the height of the seat and got a much better view of the bonnet. As with every car I’ll need to experiment with seating position and steering wheel adjustment (which was excellent)

Service Plan
Likely to be a tad under £100 for the first year (and a bit less if you have done low mileage). Service interval will be one year

Trophy
After the drive I sat in a Trophy model but didn’t drive it.
The electric seat adjustment on the driver’s side was excellent.
I was not convinced by the 360 camera - it was not as good as the one in a Leaf I test drove a year ago.
The Trophy boot has a false bottom which easily fitted the charging cable (in a nice MG branded bag) with quite a bit of shallow space all around to spare.
The voice control needs a smart phone to operate as it is not a stand-alone feature of the car.

Conclusion
I was very pleased with the car and reconfirmed my order for a Trophy.The dealer is expecting stock at the end of October and the end of November and “some’ in December but he has no idea yet about variants and colours.

Thank you Wandle for that very thorough and informative write up. I have to wait until January, but I’m thankful for members like yourself posting their thoughts and only confirms my decision to put a deposit on one.

 

[Johnny 5 is alive]

The MG4 wheelbase is 2,705mm, the MG5 is 2,659 mm, so -46mm longer.

Perhaps the difference is in the tyres or just your perception of FWD Vs RWD feel?



Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Sadly I didn't have any tape measure with me
I think you're correct - it doesn't "feel" enough like a RWD car for my liking. They've probably set it up as such due to the vast majority of everyday drivers being used to (and probably expecting) a FWD experience, BMW owners being a notable exception, but I hope everyone ends up pleased with theirs.
I'll be interested to see what the motoring press verdict is, as they made criticisms of the MG5 which 18 months into ownership I have to say were way off the mark.

 

[Deleted member 10041]

New posting to the Forum but have been reading with interest.
Test drove an SE long range yesterday at Perth MG.
Have to say I am really impressed, I had reservations before the drive but it felt really solid and we'll put together. The handling was excellent on a mix of country roads, village streets and dual carriageway.
Like many others, have said, I was impressed by the room inside and the boot although not the biggest is fine for us.
Have ordered a Camden grey trophy, the only annoying thing was that the dealer mentioned that the PCP interest rate had risen a .9% on the 1st October, has anybody else been told this?

 

[Shengis]

New posting to the Forum but have been reading with interest.
Test drove an SE long range yesterday at Perth MG.
Have to say I am really impressed, I had reservations before the drive but it felt really solid and we'll put together. The handling was excellent on a mix of country roads, village streets and dual carriageway.
Like many others, have said, I was impressed by the room inside and the boot although not the biggest is fine for us.
Have ordered a Camden grey trophy, the only annoying thing was that the dealer mentioned that the PCP interest rate had risen a .9% on the 1st October, has anybody else been told this?

Hi, I’m from the Perth area and have been in touch through an online enquiry form to see if they have an MG4 to look at and to test drive. Still awaiting a reply so great to hear that they have.

Hope you don’t mind me hitting you with a couple of questions…

What was the dealer like and were they knowledgable about the car?

How did the test drive go? Was it accompanied or did you get to take it out on your own and I take it it was it more than up the A9 to Luncarty and back?!

Did they tell you how long you will have to wait for the car to come in?

Cheers in advance!

 

[Deleted member 10041]

Hi, I’m from the Perth area and have been in touch through an online enquiry form to see if they have an MG4 to look at and to test drive. Still awaiting a reply so great to hear that they have.

Hope you don’t mind me hitting you with a couple of questions…

What was the dealer like and were they knowledgable about the car?

How did the test drive go? Was it accompanied or did you get to take it out on your own and I take it it was it more than up the A9 to Luncarty and back?!

Did they tell you how long you will have to wait for the car to come in?

Cheers in advance!

Mate they were really decent, they are obviously playing catch up with regards their knowledge, they had been down south at the launch event to get there intro and are pretty much learning as they go, the salesman I was with didn't try to blah his way through anything and was really honest.
They have a white SE SR in the showroom and a red SE LR as the test car.
The test drive was accompanied but it didn't feel like a driving test, the salesman was even encouraging me to floor the pedal to check what the performance was like!
I was told we would be looking at the end of Jan/Feb for my car.

I would just pop in if your close by, there is a car to see and a couple did that when I was in and got straight out on a test drive (they didn't book!)

 

[Shengis]

Mate they were really decent, they are obviously playing catch up with regards their knowledge, they had been down south at the launch event to get there intro and are pretty much learning as they go, the salesman I was with didn't try to blah his way through anything and was really honest.
They have a white SE SR in the showroom and a red SE LR as the test car.
The test drive was accompanied but it didn't feel like a driving test, the salesman was even encouraging me to floor the pedal to check what the performance was like!
I was told we would be looking at the end of Jan/Feb for my car.

I would just pop in if your close by, there is a car to see and a couple did that when I was in and got straight out on a test drive (they didn't book!)

Sounds good. I’m in Perth on Tuesday so planning on popping in then. That is a long wait! I take it they’re all on that sort of lead time?

I think I’ll be looking at the SE standard range so I’ll go and see what they’re saying.

 

[FiferMG4]

New posting to the Forum but have been reading with interest.
Test drove an SE long range yesterday at Perth MG.
Have to say I am really impressed, I had reservations before the drive but it felt really solid and we'll put together. The handling was excellent on a mix of country roads, village streets and dual carriageway.
Like many others, have said, I was impressed by the room inside and the boot although not the biggest is fine for us.
Have ordered a Camden grey trophy, the only annoying thing was that the dealer mentioned that the PCP interest rate had risen a .9% on the 1st October, has anybody else been told this?

Hello, it’s nice to see a fellow Fifer (there are a few of us) on the forum. I’m also with Perth MG and I haven’t been told about any rises, but then I ordered the car last month. Hoping the interest payments don’t go up.

Glad to hear you had a good experience with the car. Did they say when your car might be delivered? I was told late January, 2023.

 

[Deleted member 10041]

Hello, it’s nice to see a fellow Fifer (there are a few of us) on the forum. I’m also with Perth MG and I haven’t been told about any rises, but then I ordered the car last month. Hoping the interest payments don’t go up.

Glad to hear you had a good experience with the car. Did they say when your car might be delivered? I was told late January, 2023.

Cheers, they said end of January/start of Feb. The interest rise was as off the 1st October so you should be ok. Obviously with everything that is going on with the economy it probably won't be the last rise. They told me I would be locked in at that rate even if there were further roses, would imagine your deal will be the same.

 

[FiferMG4]

Cheers, they said end of January/start of Feb. The interest rise was as off the 1st October so you should be ok. Obviously with everything that is going on with the economy it probably won't be the last rise. They told me I would be locked in at that rate even if there were further roses, would imagine your deal will be the same.

That sounds like the same delivery date I was told then. Yeah, I hope there won’t be any more major shocks to the economy courtesy of Truss and co.

Anyway, I can’t wait to try the handling on country roads myself. I live near Cupar and there are plenty to choose from.

 

[Deleted member 10041]

That sounds like the same delivery date I was told then. Yeah, I hope there won’t be any more major shocks to the economy courtesy of Truss and co.

Anyway, I can’t wait to try the handling on country roads myself. I live near Cupar and there are plenty to choose from.

I live a couple of miles from Cupar also be seeing you on the same roads