EVV (electric vehicle virgin) looking for tips.

[Flwul]

Have a red MG5 Excite long range for 4 days now. Already recharged battery via included home charger and that works but is admittedly slow. Ordered a type II cable (one phase seems to be enough for MG5) for faster charging whilst away. I am wondering about a few things:
1. Public chargers seem to come from a plethora of suppliers, which one are the best and do I need to have a card/account with them? List of best suppliers would be really welcome.
2. Trying to adjust "Speed Assist" on the middle console panel always reverts back to "Off". Dealer says that that is normal, "they all do that". Errrm do they?
Any tips and tricks are more than welcome as I have no clue.
Thank you very much.

 

[Jomarkh]

Welcome, there are a number of app and RFID card to be had.
Check out Zapmap and the Electric Juice card from Octopus Energy as it covers a number of networks.
You will need Pod point to start free supermarket charge units.
Rapid units like Instavolt have a tethered CCS cable.
Happy motoring

 

[Vipar]

Do I need a pod point card an account or what to use my local Lidl free charger?

 

[Jomarkh]

Yes I use the Pod point app. It may look like it is working but will stop if you don't confirm the charge

 

[Hairyfool]

It should say "managed by" or "provided by" Pod Point but as said even though the app is needed to enable charging the 7 and 22kW should be free.

 

[Dave S]

My tip. Download the ZapMap and/or Electric Juice apps so you can plan exactly where you can get a charge for any journey you make.
And remember that during the winter, not just with reduced capacity of the battery due to the temperature, but that the use of wipers, lights and heater all draw from the battery and reduce your range expectation.
No hassle if you plan round it.

 

[biffo]

There is an article on Zap-Map with ratings for charging networks - it's a good starting point. Most accept contactless payment now - some charge different amounts for member/non-members so worth seeing which you plan to use if this is the case. The top rated just need your card - but as mentioned there are some tie ins with Octopus, Zap-Map, etc if that appeals to you

Revealed: UK electric vehicle charge point networks ranked - Zapmap

Find the most recent network rankings here: Zapmap's best en-route charging networks in the UK 2023-2024 New Zap-Map survey identifies the most and least...

www.zap-map.com

The speed assist thing? If it's the one I'm thinking about there are some threads about this and how it works - pretty sure it disables when the MG Pilot features activate. There are others but this one popped up

Does anyone actually use Speed Assist on the 5LR?

I ask as I do, but it seems to me that it's a pretty poor implementation. Not sure how it compares to the ZS though. 1) You have to turn it back on in the infotainment unit EVERY TIME YOU DRIVE, regardless of manual or intelligent, it sets back to 'off' when you start the car. I wouldn't mind -...

www.mgevs.com

 

[Flwul]

Thank you @Jomarkh , @Vipar , @Hairyfool , @Dave S , @biffo
Car is now charging for free at my local Tesco using podpoint app. Have downloaded and subscribed to the Zap App and will download more charging provider apps. That's quite different to petrol world, I don't need a Shell app and a Texaco app, etc... Then again I never had petrol for free either, so not complaining. I have a type 2 charger cable now but only 1 phase. So it works up to 7kW charge capacity. I did that because on Zap App site it says that MG5 only charges with type 2 with one phase speed. One can use a 22kW charger and cable but It will only go at 7kW. Is that right? 1 phase cable was cheaper than 3 phase ones.

 

[biffo]

Thank you @Jomarkh , @Vipar , @Hairyfool , @Dave S , @biffo
Car is now charging for free at my local Tesco using podpoint app. Have downloaded and subscribed to the Zap App and will download more charging provider apps. That's quite different to petrol world, I don't need a Shell app and a Texaco app, etc... Then again I never had petrol for free either, so not complaining. I have a type 2 charger cable now but only 1 phase. So it works up to 7kW charge capacity. I did that because on Zap App site it says that MG5 only charges with type 2 with one phase speed. One can use a 22kW charger and cable but It will only go at 7kW. Is that right? 1 phase cable was cheaper than 3 phase ones.

Exactly right. Only supports single phase charging (on UK model) so no point spending more on a 3 phase cable (unless you have another EV that supports it).

 

[Flwul]

Good, I think I'm getting the hang of it. For an old petrolhead and lifelong biker, that's something. Will probably have a cheap phone dedicated to car for Android Auto. That way it can be a WiFi hotspot for my boys and I get one of those 60GB for £10/month SIM cards in it. Amazon Prime Music for on the road, hey, I could start to like driving cars again.

 

[EVsince2016]

Do I need a pod point card an account or what to use my local Lidl free charger?

Pod Point App only, you have 15 minutes to confirm a charge.