Living with my new long range Zs Ev Trophy

[Delboy102000]

That brings me to another question. The car more or less recommends charging only to 80% to preserve battery life, except when on long distance, which obviously does away with equalisation charge. I thought not doing equalisation was as bad for the battery as too many rapid charges. Also when do you use battery heating, if ever. As I say I love the car but the lack of handbook has been an enjoyment limitation for me.

 

[drmcw]

Sadly those questions won't be answered in the manual. I'd guess that you could use the 80% strategy but if you haven't charged to 100% in a month or two then do it. Without knowing what the battery temperature is then the heater is somewhat awkward. Ideally the battery should be "warm" (25 Celsius plus?) for decent rapid charging speed. Can only suggest that if you're needing a rapid charge and want optimal speed and the outside temperature is low then use the heater. How long before the charge should it be switched on? Again is anyone's guess; half an hour?
Wouldn't worry about it and just enjoy what sounds like a great car. Unless of course, as an early adopter, you fancy running some experiments and publishing the results here for the rest of us?

 

[Delboy102000]

Sadly those questions won't be answered in the manual. I'd guess that you could use the 80% strategy but if you haven't charged to 100% in a month or two then do it. Without knowing what the battery temperature is then the heater is somewhat awkward. Ideally the battery should be "warm" (25 Celsius plus?) for decent rapid charging speed. Can only suggest that if you're needing a rapid charge and want optimal speed and the outside temperature is low then use the heater. How long before the charge should it be switched on? Again is anyone's guess; half an hour?
Wouldn't worry about it and just enjoy what sounds like a great car. Unless of course, as an early adopter, you fancy running some experiments and publishing the results here for the rest of us?

Thanks for your replies. Your answers highlight the exact reasons I asked the question. I am not worried as such but as a pensioner enjoying a new car (major purchase) would like to do as much right as I can to preserve and maximise the life of the battery. The reason for this upgrade from my 2021 Zs ev exclusive was for the extra range capability and upgrades to what was already a really good car. However the sudden introduction of an 80% cap for charging without background explanations raises more questions than answers. So the question again is “ is 80% max charge a good normal, or is 100% with equalisation better or normal. This addition to the App and the car software needs to be clarified. Also it seems that charge unlocking no longer happens by unlocking the car but an additional action now needed. Why? Unlocking to release cable was perfectly acceptable. Not all changes are improvement.

 

[drmcw]

For the battery chemistry used then the general consensus is to avoid leaving at a high state of charge, hence the 80% limit, but 100% is fine if you're going to use the car and hence remove a decent percentage of that charge. Also avoid a low state of charge, so try to start thinking about chargers when you hit 20%. As for the battery heater then it's almost a gimmick until the battery temperature can be monitored and/or the car can use it automatically if you navigate to a charger.
My leaf doesn't have a charge limit so goes to 100% each time, but I use it every day and I still have 12 bars on the battery health after 4 years.

 

[AshMG]

Hi,If you use Print-my-PDF, you can get a 20% discount by using code Dragon9, this brings the bill down to £15.88 delivered.

 

[ProfessorE]

my experience after 1.5 weeks: very good value for money. Software needs improvement!. often changes the language without my intervention. shows after .1000 km that the inspection is due. stupid

 

[ProfessorE]

Also some announced voice commands do not work. Also not in English. Videos are almost turned off. Coming soon.

 

[Deleted member 7171]

All good but in spite of updates now being over the air onboard the car, a major software update for the infotainment system, has to be dealer installed and was missed

That's a pain!

So I guess when the dealer calls to say "Your car has arrived!" The reply will be " Excellent. When I come to collect it, can you ensure all the required software updates have been done please?"

Great review btw - I'm not worried about PDF manual, it saves trees.

 

[Septian]

That’s really kind of you. I may well get it done. There is also the infotainment book as well. So will probably be about £25 in total. I still cannot believe MG think this deprivation of books is a good idea on a £30k purchase

Glad you're "mostly" liking the new MG Still waiting for mine, but I have patience! I don't suppose you have a link for the infotainment manual anywhere? I've read the main manual.. and I need something else to read, haha.

 

[Delboy102000]

Well I am happy. It’s a smashing car. They did tell me the updates were done but it turns out were missed. The only thing of real substance is the lack of WMA playing and JPG files. Tis a big improvement over the Mk1 though. The infotainment pdf attached.

 

[drmcw]

Page 7 says that WMA is a supported audio format!

 

[Eclectic]

Also JPEG supported!

 

[drmcw]

That manual is somewhat woeful though, printing it would be a terrible waste of a tree.
On page 62 what is "Unplugged in" on the diagram?

Just got to page 64 which is utter gibberish now; wtf is a "discharge gun" dare I ask?

[Edit] Just worked it out and I do hope they sell the V2L adapter as a "discharge gun" although that could be why there aren't any available as they'll never get through customs!

 

[Delboy102000]

Page 7 says that WMA is a supported audio format!

I know the manual says they are supported but when I complained to Mg the answer was “
These are WMA (Windows Media Audio) format files. Unfortunately the music player doesn’t support these. They worked on the older head units because the software in these was Microsoft Windows based. The new units are Android based and as such do not natively support the file format.
Unfortunately it looks like the manual hasn’t been updated to reflect this, I will get on to the publications team to sort this.
Your correct that there is no photo player, I don’t think it was requested as a feature moving forward so it was removed.”

So that’s the response.

 

[drmcw]

They worked on the older head units because the software in these was Microsoft Windows based.

No wonder people complained it was laggy

 

[Delboy102000]

In my initial comments I was wrong about the menu for air con. You can button straight into it but I thought initially that button was only to switch it on and off. Therefore I was wrong on that count..

I did manage to fit a set of mudflats off eBay successfully and have fitted a really nice set of Coll plates.

 

[Delboy102000]

Chorley group Burnley did me a cracking deal though, so I can forgive them for missing the update, and Miles was really helpful in getting the answers from MG re the issues. Well pleased overall

 

[Gadget Geek]

I know the manual says they are supported but when I complained to Mg the answer was “
These are WMA (Windows Media Audio) format files. Unfortunately the music player doesn’t support these. They worked on the older head units because the software in these was Microsoft Windows based. The new units are Android based and as such do not natively support the file format.
Unfortunately it looks like the manual hasn’t been updated to reflect this, I will get on to the publications team to sort this.
Your correct that there is no photo player, I don’t think it was requested as a feature moving forward so it was removed.”

So that’s the response.

I don't know if you are computer savvy, but you can convert WMA files to mp3 or other formats either online, or with VLC media player. Happy to advise if you want ot give it a go.

 

[Delboy102000]

I don't know if you are computer savvy, but you can convert WMA files to mp3 or other formats either online, or with VLC media player. Happy to advise if you want ot give it a go.

Thanks, yes I do have converter but with 7000+ files it will take a long time. However I have purchased a usb3 drive to c converter lead and using this can play usb 3 mp3 files on the c socket while my iPhone is plugged into the usb socket. That does work Ok. I am pleased with the car. It is very nice.

 

[navneeth1986]

Now having had the new car 9 days overall the verdict is good.but with flaws.

Firstly Chorley Group, did me a fantastic deal And this meant that I had the car trailer delivered and my previous part ex picked up saving me a six hundred mile return drive
Car was beautifully prepared and all correct as per my order

All good but in spite of updates now being over the air onboard the car, a major software update for the infotainment system, has to be dealer installed and was missed, meaning I now have to spend a half day going to a dealer to get it done.

Things I like:
Sound system has much improved sound with nice tone and depth of sound. Command inputs are cleaner faster and smoother with less delays and jerkiness.

Better miles per K/watt currently doing about 3.4/3.5.

Improved ride with better bump damping and much quieter all round.
Steering is nicer, higher geared and has more feel.
Torque seems to come through more smoothly and in a very linear curve giving rise to a beautiful smooth drive. So quiet, it whispers along.
The Battersea Blue is fantastic.
Rear seat much improved with three headrests and Centre armrest and directable air vents.

Love the App, turning on the heating in the morning before going into the car, also monitoring what is going on.

Things I don’t like:
App is very difficult to link to the car and not straightforward by any stretch of the imagination. Once set up and mastered it is fine
Manuals for car and Infotainment amount to over 400 pages. No hard copy online only and really difficult to find and read what you want. Also could not find out how to PDF download to print. Simple print online does not allow configuration of print. This is the worst thing about the car. It is a sophisticated upgrade to the previous model and is really difficult to work with.
Mg have decided arbitrarily to remove wma and jpg support from the car unit. This means my usb’s which have played perfectly on all cars I have owned no longer play and I will need to reorganise my library converting to MP3 files. However no information re this and a backward step overall.
Perhaps more important and needing change, the heating and ventilation menu , the only place you can turn on and off the AC and the heated seats, is buried three menus deep, requiring you to stop to do it or having a passenger in the front to do it.
This I believe is a serious issue which could be dangerous. It needs rethinking and re-programming.

On a separate note , not sure whether this is car specific or general, I keep finding I have to use the emergency release to stop charging when I unlock the car. Any advice re this gratefully received.

Overall though, love the car. It’s terrific.

How did you manage to turn off the heated car seat? I still can't find that setting.