Learning to drive my MG4: Reversing on tight ramp

[elias]

Hello everyone,

I'm excited to share that I recently bought my new MG4! However, I'm currently facing some challenges while trying to get used to driving it, especially when manoeuvring in tight spaces. This is my very first car, and it's also the first time I'm driving an EV; my previous experience has been limited to manual transmission cars. As a result, I would love to seek some valuable advice from experienced drivers in this community.

One of the main difficulties I'm encountering is while trying to reverse and park the car in my garage. The garage entrance has a narrow ramp that only leaves a few centimeters of clearance on each side. Regrettably, every time I attempt to move forward slightly to adjust my position and avoid hitting the walls, the car tends to accelerate too quickly, despite my efforts to be gentle with the throttle.

I apologize if this question seems redundant or inexperienced, but I would greatly appreciate any advice or tips you may have for me. I'm curious if using the snow mode could be beneficial in this situation or if it might exacerbate the problem.

Thank you all in advance for your valuable responses!

 

[siteguru]

The car should creep on it's own in reverse if you lift off the brake. Are you reversing up an incline?

Which model do you have? SE or Trophy? (Trophy has a reversing camera).

 

[Rolfe]

I'm sure you will soon master this.

I too reverse my car into my garage through a narrow door. I was concerned when I first got the MG4 (SE) that its wing mirrors didn't have electric folding, as the only safe way to get my previous car was to fold them as I passed through the doorway, then open them again to see where I was going. Carelessness damaged a mirror on more than one occasion.

However, once I lined the car up to the door and tried it, I was surprised by how easy it was. In fact there is perhaps three inches (10 cm) either side and I'm not in too much danger of catching a mirror on the side of the door. The mirrors give very good rear visibility, and the rear parking sensors are great. Using them I can judge exactly how close to the stack of boxes at the back of the garage I am, and know that I've left enough space to walk behind the car to plug in the charger, while at the same time the nose is far enough in to close the door. (This is in an SE.)

Siteguru is right. You shouldn't be using the accelerator at all at this point. You should be controlling the speed of the car with the brake, easing off to let it creep backwards, and pressing harder when the parking sensor tells you you're almost there. I can get the car's position within an inch or two of where I want it by doing this.

I had an advantage. My previous car was an automatic with a DSG, and it crept the same way an EV does when the accelerator is not being used, so I had become used to parking like this. But it's not at all difficult and you'll soon get the hang of it. I'm actually very pleased how easy it is to do this in the MG4. (The courtesy car I had just before I got it was an absolute swine, and I was so relieved to get my Golf back, temporarily, and it was an even bigger relief to realise that the MG4 was actually easier than the Golf.)

 

[elias]

Thanks for the feedback siteguru and Rolfe.

Here, in Spain, my model is called MG4 Luxury Edition, it has the 360 degrees cameras.

The car actually creeps while reversing, using just the break, the problem I'm having is that I'm not still managing to align it properly and I'm having to drive forward to correct the alignment and then keep creeping back the ramp.

The key clearly is, as Rolfe said, to align it properly before attempting to reverse down the ramp, that way I should not need to realign it and can go it all just using the brake.

 

[Kithmo]

ECO mode makes the accelerator pedal less responsive initially and so easier to control at slow speeds.

 

[Rolfe]

Yes, it is the initial line-up that's crucial. If it's any help, I find this much easier to do in the MG4 than in my old Golf. I don't know why, something about the way the mirrors are positioned. Also in your model you have the electrically folding mirrors, so use them. You can reverse until the mirrors are almost in the doorway, fold them, creep back a little more, then unfold them.

But it's worth reversing back and forward several times to get the car straight and positioned the same distance from both sides of the door before you actually drive in. Once you have done this several times you'll learn which landmarks help you do this and it will be easier. But if the car is at an angle, or closer to one side or the other, just pull forward and realign until you're straight and central, Then it will be much easier to do.

Really, it's mainly practice. If you haven't had your own car before and this is a new manoeuvre for you, it's going to take time. You won't be expert immediately. The thing to remember is to take it slowly and carefully at first so that you don't damage the car while you're learning to get it right.

 

[Ian Key]

Are you using the reversing camera or the door mirrors?

I find it easier to use the door mirrors to reverse especially in a straight line and just use the camera to check the proximity of objects I can't see in the mirrors.

 

[Rolfe]

I don't have a reversing camera, but when I did (on that swine of a courtesy car) I found it counterproductive. The wing mirrors on the MG4 are excellent for reversing though. So are the rear parking sensors on the SE. Does the Trophy have that as well as the camera?

 

[Martinonline]

The Trophy has all the gadgets. The cameras give an overview as well as a rear view so you can clearly see you are central/offset. Ideal for reversing between marked lines.

 

[ukslim]

I think we're missing OP's main point. How do you crawl forward from a standing start?

Curious myself, because setting off from my slightly downhill drive is always a bit of a jolt and a lurch.

 

[elias]

Are you using the reversing camera or the door mirrors?

I find it easier to use the door mirrors to reverse especially in a straight line and just use the camera to check the proximity of objects I can't see in the mirrors.

I tried using the reversing camera, but I also find way more useful using mostly the door mirrors, they give me a better idea of where I am respect to the walls. The problem is that I need to be very careful not hitting the walls or the door frame with them.

So are the rear parking sensors on the SE.

The rear parking sensors are mostly useless for this situation, they start beeping constantly as soon as I'm bellow 30 cm away from an obstacle, which I am all the way down, so they just go crazy beeping like there is no tomorrow.

I think we're missing OP's main point. How do you crawl forward from a standing start?

Yes, I'm trying to find a way to get better control over the throttle and avoid situations where the car "takes off forward" and I hit the wall in front of me while trying to rectify my position or at the time of getting out the garage.

On the other hand, as Rolfe said, the key is to align it properly before attempting to reverse down the ramp, so I don't ever need to forward and rectify my position, at least while entering the garage.

ECO mode makes the accelerator pedal less responsive initially and so easier to control at slow speeds.

That is what I was looking for, I've read that ECO and snow modes make the car to have slower/softer response, which could help in my situation, I'll have to test those modes.


Thank you all for all the feedback an support, I'm learning a lot.

 

[Rolfe]

I think the point is that you shouldn't need to use the throttle at all. You should use the "creep" speed that the car will do if no brakes or accelerator are applied. Your foot should be controlling the car with the brake only, easing off to let the car creep, pressing down to slow or stop it.

I don't know how the rear parking sensors work on the Trophy, it sounds as if they may be different from the SE. The bleeping is a bit secondary and would be nothing but a royal pain if it wasn't for the visual display that accompanies the bleep. The centre screen shows a facsimile of the rear of the car with the space behind it shown as an arc divided into four segments. These segments progressively light up, individually, as the car gets closer to the obstacle. First the outer part of the arc goes green, then the middle bit lights up amber, then the closest part lights red. As that happens the bleep gets faster, and if you go on reversing when the red segments are lit it eventually becomes a continuous sound just before you touch the obstacle.

Do you have that display in the Trophy? I think it's absolutely great and I can put the car to the exact distance I want from the rear obstacle with it. Gradually creep till the two centre segments are red, then a tiny bit further but not so far that the bleep is continuous, and I have exactly the distance I need to walk behind the car to get the granny charger plugged in.

 

[Alb]

I'm wondering whether people are missing the nuance in the original post?
This is about moving the car on a ramp i.e. gravity acting against you.
Unless the incline is very small you will almost certainly need some throttle input.

 

[elias]

I think the point is that you shouldn't need to use the throttle at all.

Absolutely, but I still don't have enough experience to be able align it perfectly, hence why I'm trouble. Next time I'll spend more time aligning the car to avoid that issue.

Do you have that display in the Trophy?

Yes, mine has the display, but I haven't paid too much attention to it, I think the corner lines are mostly always in the red section. And the beepers are certainly either beeping very fast or continuously beeping all the time. I think that's happens because the corners of the car just around 15 cm away from the walls. I'll pay more attention to the screen next time, maybe I can get some useful information from it. Thank you.

 

[siteguru]

Depending on the gradient of the incline ... it might sound counter-intuitive, but - try the car in Sport mode. If you need to move forward UP the incline then Sport mode will hold the car much better (like holding a manual on the throttle plus clutch) and might even creep forward without needing to press the accelerator, so giving much finer control, perhaps using only the brake pedal.

 

[elias]

Unless the incline is very small you will almost certainly need some throttle input.

That is especially true when I try to get out the garage (forward up the ramp) and unfortunately, due to my inexperience aligning the car before reversing, it is also the case if need to stop and forward a bit to fix my aliment (which I shouldn't need).

Depending on the gradient of the incline ... it might sound counter-intuitive, but - try the car in Sport mode. If you need to move forward UP the incline then Sport mode will hold the car much better (like holding a manual on the throttle plus clutch) and might even creep forward without needing to press the accelerator, so giving much finer control, perhaps using only the brake pedal.

That is very interesting, I would never think about using the Sport mode, but what you are saying makes sense, if that makes the car able to creep upwards using the break only.

 

[Rolfe]

Absolutely, but I still don't have enough experience to be able align it perfectly, hence why I'm trouble. Next time I'll spend more time aligning the car to avoid that issue.

Yes, mine has the display, but I haven't paid too much attention to it, I think the corner lines are mostly always in the red section. And the beepers are certainly either beeping very fast or continuously beeping all the time. I think that's happens because the corners of the car just around 15 cm away from the walls. I'll pay more attention to the screen next time, maybe I can get some useful information from it. Thank you.

Aligning the car will come with practice. Be encouraged by the fact that it is actually a very easy car to align compared with some, so you will get it.

Yes, the side (corner) segments will be in the red section if the garage wall is that close to the car. That's why you need your mirrors to be sure that you're straight and not getting closer to the wall. (I have a double garage, so I see both side segments go off as I pass through the door, then the right-hand one shuts up as that side is clear, while the left-hand one keeps going.)

I would say try not to use the throttle at all, let the car creep, and if it won't creep because of the gradient, be very very light on the accelerator pedal. I wonder if both-feet-driving might help, so that you have your left foot on the brake to brake immediately if anything goes wrong?

Use the wing mirrors to gauge your distance from the walls at the side of the garage, and to ensure that you're straight, and rely on the two central segments of the parking sensors to tell you how far you are from the back wall.

 

[Ian Key]

I think we're missing OP's main point. How do you crawl forward from a standing start?

Curious myself, because setting off from my slightly downhill drive is always a bit of a jolt and a lurch.

Put your foot on the brake and keep it there. Turn the selector to D and still keeping your foot on the brake release the handbrake switch. Now remove your foot gently off the brake.

 

[Rolfe]

Talking of aligning the car, although I have had this house for 16 years and the MG4 is the third (and easiest) car I've had to put in it (not counting the work pool car sometimes, which was a Focus, or a couple of hire/courtesy cars over the years), I still don't always get it right first time.

I find the MG4 the easiest of all the cars I've ever put in there, but I still sometimes find I'm misaligned. The trick is NOT to go on if you're not straight and central. Don't even try it. Pull forward and re-position the car as often as you need to to get it right. Once you have learned the visual cues that tell you when the alignment is right (with me it's the widest part of the car body against the architraves of the garage door) then it will come more easily.

This is the only picture I have of a car in my garage (taken to record the snow depth), but you get the idea.

 

[elias]

Here are a few photos showing my situation. Note that the car is backed almost all the way to the back wall, hence why the perspective makes it look like there is more available space than what it actually is.

I've measured the minimum with of the entrance, where the door frames are, to be 220 cm (86.6 inches) and the car is about 204 cm (80.3 inches) from one door mirror to the other door mirror (while open), so I have around 8 cm (3 inches) on each side with the door mirrors open.

The second photo shows a bit better the slope I have to drive back when parking and forward when getting out. It is certainly possible, but it is quite frightening to me.

Put your foot on the brake and keep it there. Turn the selector to D and still keeping your foot on the brake release the handbrake switch. Now remove your foot gently off the brake.

That is what I tried first time and I ended up falling back and almost hitting the walls behind me. The ramp slope is too much for the car to creep forward, at least while setup in Normal mode.