First Impressions from Test Drive

[BigEVFan]

Test drove MG4 Trophy in orange today.

First impressions:

• Incredibly capable car. Feels solid on the road, good feeling and response. Nimble.
• Fast enough off the mark. Isn't hanging around.
• Comfortable at 65mph (fastest we got it to). Some road noise, but not more than you would expect. Tyres probably chosen for economy rather than road noise.
• Very sporty-looking in the flesh. We saw both orange Trophy and white SE LR. Personally, I prefer the look of the white SE, by far. It's stunning.
• Interior is excellent. Solid enough quality. Doesn't give away it's price tag.
• Seats incredibly comfy. Good side bolsters. Premium look.
• Interior looks clean and sparse up front. Reminds me of Model 3. Nothing superfluous. Just enough.
• Touchscreen in Trophy is beautiful. CarPlay looks amazing on it. Great widescreen. Responsive.
• Not sure about the storage. Door bins and middle armrest bin have good space. Middle cubby is a little shallow.
• MG infotainment software looks typically ropey. Unresponsive. Will definitely need a few software updates to be decent. Couldn't try satnav.
• Rear area is a lovely space. Lots and lots of room. Plenty of width for three in back.
• Chargeport has four lights. Three were fully illuminated, one was half illuminated. The battery had 80% charge - I wonder if the four lights correspond to 25% capacity each?
• Boot space is adequate. Coming from a Nissan Leaf, it's quite a bit smaller. Definitely one to go judge yourself in the flesh. We reckon two paddleboard bags would fit in sideways, one on top of other. False floor has nothing but tyre inflator stuff.

I've driven the following EVs, and I'd put them in this order, based on what I'd buy today if I could afford them:

• Tesla Model 3
• MG 4
• ID.3
• Zoe (gen 1)
• New Leaf
• Tesla Model X
• Old Nissan Leaf
• GTE
• e208
  

 

[Famandy]

Great review and photos - interesting league table of EV's that you've driven. I've got an order in for a MG4 Trophy which I haven't driven yet and plan to sell my Model 3 in due course. I love the Tesla, but it's a bit too long for me and I miss having a hatchback. I'm hoping from your comments that the MG4 will be just the ticket!

 

[StackH]

Nice comprehensive review there, thanks. We sat in one today (and drove an SE) and the only negative thing we found was that my 5 foot tall wife found it difficult to get out of the car without catching her leg on the plastic door sill. It does jut out a fair bit, and as I’m 6 foot I didn’t have the same problem.

 

[ukflyer]

Has anyone, yet, test driven the MG4 and disliked it to the point of asking for their deposit back?

 

[BugEyed]

Boot space is adequate. Coming from a Nissan Leaf, it's quite a bit smaller. Definitely one to go judge yourself in the flesh. We reckon two paddleboard bags would fit in sideways, one on top of other. False floor has nothing but tyre inflator stuff.

Interesting. My Wife has a LEAF and we felt the 4 to be only slightly smaller but a better shape. The false floor gives somewhere to store the Type 2 and goes a long way to leveling up the floor when the rear seats are folded. On the SE the floor is a nasty piece of "cardboard" that sat poorly in the car that we saw.

 

[scoobeesnac]

Has anyone, yet, test driven the MG4 and disliked it to the point of asking for their deposit back?

Possibly. As much as I would like an MG4 - I’m not convinced at this point that the ‘family’ aspect works. The rear was very dark and oppressive with the doors closed, and the storage in the rear is tight. For a short journey it would be fine but longer trips I’m not convinced it would be enjoyable for the kids.

The drive was good and as other commented it’s firm but comfortable. Interestingly the rear passengers feel more of the bumps and road - maybe due to the seats or closeness to the rear motor setup.

Some points I noted - accelerator pedal seemed stiff (maybe my foot was misaligned?) the brake pedal had a long travel and was slightly lacking in feel - I had to push rather hard to stop at one point. The steering wheel seems to have an extra turn or two to full lock.

I did have a little play with the infotainment and it’s fairly responsive.

The boot can hold two medium suitcases 65x43x25 side by side laid down although it’s roughly 15cm shallower, closer to the lip than the ZS.

 

[PhilYerBoots]

Nice comprehensive review there, thanks. We sat in one today (and drove an SE) and the only negative thing we found was that my 5 foot tall wife found it difficult to get out of the car without catching her leg on the plastic door sill. It does jut out a fair bit, and as I’m 6 foot I didn’t have the same problem.

My wife at 5'4" had the same issue yesterday so I'm glad somebody else has noticed this. As you say It seems to be the chunky plastic trim alongside the door sill that's the problem. Hopefully it will just take a bit of a change in 'dismount' procedure to avoid the problem, otherwise I'm in trouble..

 

[Gomev]

Nice comprehensive review there, thanks. We sat in one today (and drove an SE) and the only negative thing we found was that my 5 foot tall wife found it difficult to get out of the car without catching her leg on the plastic door sill. It does jut out a fair bit, and as I’m 6 foot I didn’t have the same problem.

My wife at 5'4" had the same issue yesterday so I'm glad somebody else has noticed this. As you say It seems to be the chunky plastic trim alongside the door sill that's the problem. Hopefully it will just take a bit of a change in 'dismount' procedure to avoid the problem, otherwise I'm in trouble..

I have looked at them today and found exactly the same problem for my wife. I would have signed on the line as the rest is really nice in most other respects. Wife tried moving the seat to different positions/heights but it didn't solve the problem for her. .

 

[Gem10]

I have looked at them today and found exactly the same problem for my wife. I would have signed on the line as the rest is really nice in most other respects. Wife tried moving the seat to different positions/heights but it didn't solve the problem for her. .

Is this the plastic trim that is causing issues?

 

[StackH]

Is this the plastic trim that is causing issues?

Yes, as it’s exposed it will also get mucky resulting in dirty jeans and an unhappy wife!

 

[PhilYerBoots]

No idea why it's so wide either in conjunction with the structural door sills...definitely a minus for more the vertically challenged.

 

[ukflyer]

No idea why it's so wide either in conjunction with the structural door sills...definitely a minus for more the vertically challenged.

My guess is to protect the battery in event of a side impact.

 

[Gomev]

Is this the plastic trim that is causing issues?

View attachment 11235

Yes, normal sill plus an extra bit which in real life is bigger than it looks in the photo. Not a problem for most but was for my wife hence no sale unfortunately

 

[Vipar]

Is it for ground effects like F1.

 

[RichardC]

I sat in one today and I did notice the sill, but it is something that I will get used to. My wife needs assistance getting in and out of the car so I am not anticipating any problems.

 

[Paulie68]

Yes, normal sill plus an extra bit which in real life is bigger than it looks in the photo. Not a problem for most but was for my wife hence no sale unfortunately

Just think though, cars have now all got so ridiculously good that one decides for or against buying one based on brushing trousers against a piece of styling trim whilst getting in or out! First world problems indeed.

When I was young, it was how long will it last until the head gasket blew on this model? Or is it prone to gearbox whining, or sill related again, will it last 3 years before the sills have rust bursting out all over?!

 

[ukflyer]

Just think though, cars have now all got so ridiculously good that one decides for or against buying one based on brushing trousers against a piece of styling trim whilst getting in or out! First world problems indeed.

When I was young, it was how long will it last until the head gasket blew on this model? Or is it prone to gearbox whining, or sill related again, will it last 3 years before the sills have rust bursting out all over?!

Good point. Pity they only build cars to last ten years though. We live in a disposable society.

 

[ShaneC]

Good point. Pity they only build cars to last ten years though. We live in a disposable society.

That depends on how you treat your car, our last car an '03 Honda Civic was going along just fine until some numpty smashed into it while it was parked outside our house on a quiet estate road back in January.

 

[D1no]

Good point. Pity they only build cars to last ten years though. We live in a disposable society.

Really? My first car was a 9 yr old Mk 2 Escort. Failed every MOT, rotting through everywhere, had to have a reconditioned engine at one point despite having done least than 70,000 miles at that point.

My wife's car, and the current family one now we've gone to just one, is a 10 yr old Suzuki Swift. No rust anywhere, even where the paint is chipped. My previous but one car was a Fiat Grande Punto. 11 yrs old when I sold it, no rust and, as a 1.9 turbo diesel had an engine probably good for another 100k miles.

The quality of cars over the last 40 years, particularly in the first 20 of that, has give through the roof. Galvanized bodies are a bit part of that, but you never hear the sound of people trying to get a car to start in the morning.

I'd add TVs into that as well - when I was a kid, the rental repair man must have been around every month. Yes, it's harder to get things repaired these days, but in part that's because there's so little call for it. I can't even remember when I had to change the fuse on something.

 

[meangreen]

I test drove today and the MG4 is a seriously good car, it drives nicely and just flows how you want it. They've put a lot of work into the regen settings. It's just as good if not slightly better than an ID.3 in most ways and as a bonus it doesn't have the wipers on the wrong way round or offset peddles like the ID.3 does I found the seats on the SE very good, certainly an improvement on the latest KIA Niro

Coming from a Mk1 leaf I'd say the MG4 is a little lower seating position wise, spacious in the front but not as much in the back. MG4 rides and handles just as most other modern cars

Bad points:

• Touch screen not very sensitive.
• Would have been nice to have the climate control menu to open off the button rather than it functioning as an on/off
• Trim on the seats doesn't look the neatest where it joins towards the back.

I forgot to test the washers, anyone tested it and can tell me if they go up the screen properly (Nissans are so low it's a joke)?

Still 50/50 on whether to cancel my order, as I love the car but I just need slightly more room in the rear.