Long Range's Range Cant Be Trusted? Almost Failed To Arrive Home... 😮‍💨

[tsedge]

It would be nice to be able to configure the energy available display into either a percentage, 100% full or a traditional 8/16 bar gauge (which I would prefer).

Or even just:
FINE (>20%)
PLAN (5%->20%)
PANIC (<5%)

 

[ReintjeWA]

I don’t mind the percentage, I think in a way it matches an analoge needle more, as that slowly came down as the petrol in your tank came down.

I also think having a system that can be perceived as less accurate might deter people from switching to EVs, as newbies often still believe in range anxiety (until they swap that for the more realistic charger anxiety).

 

[salty]

To be honest, I'm happy with the way it is, now.

 

[Bam Bam]

Percentage is quite handy for the ~50kWh batteries because you can get a sense of how much energy is in there (and hence required to fill up) as well.

Let's say it says 30% battery. I know that is 15kWh because it is just half if 30.

You can sense check the range because you know that if you get 3mi/kWh (winter on motorway) then it is 45 miles and if you get 5mi/kWh (summer around town) then it is 75 miles.

I can also work out easily that there is 35kWh capacity to fill up.

 

[tsedge]

Percentage is quite handy for the ~50kWh batteries because you can get a sense of how much energy is in there (and hence required to fill up) as well.

Let's say it says 30% battery. I know that is 15kWh because it is just half.

You can sense check the range because you know that if you get 3m/kwh (winter on motorway) then it is 45 miles and if you get 5m/kwh (summer around town) then it is 75 miles.

I can also work out easily that there is 35kWh capacity to fill up.

For that kind of calculation it would be more helpful if the car showed kWh remaining, not percentage. It is silly to have efficiency in mi/kWh and then display percent!

But each to their own, proportions work whatever the scale once you adjust.

 

[Tuareg]

But each to their own, proportions work whatever the scale once you adjust.

which is why I said the display should offer some form of choice of 'scale' type, very easy to implement, just a conversion from %age to bars or even an 'analogue' gauge with a moving arrow as found in some ICE. cars, just give owners a choice for virtually no development costs.

 

[barry7153]

Hey guys... I just got back from my first "long trip" in my mg4 450km "long" range...

And here's my experience:

I had it charged to 80% last night. Trip wasn't planned otherwise i would have charged up to 100%. So this was kind of improvised trip with my kids.

I analyzed the km required for the trip... From home to destination ~140km so back home its ~280km.

View attachment 38409

At 80% it said 370km range... So i thought i would have 90km left to use around the city we were arriving.

Cool. 20~30km is enough i thought to go eat or something. Giving us an extra 60~70km.

Now google map has been ultra precise in kms to arrive to destination. So 140km to destination was precise. So i thought i would have left 240km when i arrived.

And in the road, AC on ECO mode driving slow with low volume music... I calculated a progress of 4.5km every 1% less.

When i arrived destination it said 43% left... Almost 40% to arrive... So i had 43% to come back??? Wtf... I felt like getting my car stuck there...

View attachment 38410

138.1 km from home to destination. -37%. To go home it would be another -37%... Supposedly. And that would mean 6% left and not use the car at all. But we did use it - to go to a beach not so far away. Dropped to 41% for next day.

I panicked. I confessed to my wife... (Yep, i thought i had my numbers right so i didnt tell her).

We asked the hotel to kindly share an outlet to charge the car. I saw on Google that mg4 native charger can be used with 110V. Not in my case. And MG Car dealer told us it can use any 220V to charge.. when i checked the "legs" (pins) it's foreign to my country. So impossible to use here... And also... Who has a 220V laying around in parking lots? Not in my country...

Non sense.

I was terrified. So we left the car there and moved in taxi the rest of the trip.

Now coming back home... It rapidly drop to 38%... So i didnt have that 41% i thought i had to come back home. And from there... It got worse.

A/C turned off. Eco mode on. And it got worse performance... 3.5km per 1%... Why was it less economic??

View attachment 38411
Yellow warning turned on at 11% and i was driving alone..wife n kids sleeping. Felt the paranoia alone. Haha...

To end the story now - i arrived at home with 6% left. And 30km range left... So i had left 30km and not 100km as i initially calculated.

View attachment 38412

I cant trust this car prediction of how much it can run. And i was lied to. 450km is nowhere nea true. No A/C, eco mode and it randomized between 3.5 ~ 4.5km per 1%? That averages 4km per 1% so it's 400km... And no one runs a car to 0%.

Tip for everyone:

• Charge your car to 100% on weekends, specially on holidays just in case.

• Get one of these from Amazon. Its supposed to charge from 0 to 100% in 24 hours. Works both 110V or 220V (charges in 12 hours).

https://a.co/d/hXMSvuT

Reviews are nice. Thanks to this trip - I'm getting one of these. I cannot use what the car dealer gave me with car purchase. So no idea what to do with it...

P.S. My surprise when opened the box where the useless portable charger is... This is what i saw.

View attachment 38413View attachment 38414View attachment 38415

Ive never seen this 220V connector in my country. And because the car got purchased in one payment, i received a home charger. Otherwise how would i charge this car?

One thing I have noticed on my few long trips is that the less charge left the lest miles per kw. Normally 4.3ish when I start and down to just over 3 by the end. Not sure if that is normal but makes it very difficult for me to work out what final range will be and hence my few long trips have usually ended up in a unplanned panic charge.

 

[JIS]

So since last November when we bought our MG4 64k Luxury, we have done 20,000km and so i have built up real experience in this car's distance estimates. Overall, I would say that it's very accurate indeed. On everyday driving (summer AC on) we get 4 miles per kw. But on the motorway (where I limit our speed to a max of 110kph (68 mph) we still get 3 miles per kw.
I use A Better Route Planner linked to a OBDLink CX and I find the estimates of SoC to be surprisingly accurate. Perhaps a little conservative at times but what this means is that we have NEVER been caught short; even on long journeys of up to 600km per day. However, this DOES mean that pre-planning always pays dividends. But yes, if we suddenly have to go on a longer than expected journey without charging to 90%, then I leave with confidence, knowing that ABRP will always find me a suitable charging station en route. However, this confidence is based upon the charge stations in France. we have an excellent and growing network which ensures peace of mind.

 

[tsedge]

which is why I said the display should offer some form of choice of 'scale' type, very easy to implement, just a conversion from %age to bars or even an 'analogue' gauge with a moving arrow as found in some ICE. cars, just give owners a choice for virtually no development costs.

Yes absolutely, a choice would be best.

Surprised given that it is a digital screen that MGs have such a plain and non-configurable display. Some rivals have a bunch of choices and much more attractive graphics.

One thing I have noticed on my few long trips is that the less charge left the lest miles per kw. Normally 4.3ish when I start and down to just over 3 by the end. Not sure if that is normal but makes it very difficult for me to work out what final range will be and hence my few long trips have usually ended up in a unplanned panic charge.

A lot depends on where you live.

For example, my experience is the exact opposite - but that's because it is very hilly where I am and things only flatten out on a long trip, so I only typically get 4+ on a long journey.

Also, it isn't accurate early on in any journey, takes a while before you can use it to predict anything.