MG4 EV (Long Range) - Bugs

[Rolfe]

Oh, thanks, I didn't realise. Maybe he will return and explain the anomalies next time.

 

[ROTS]

He has SE LR in his details but he says MG quote over 300 miles range and they don't, not for that model. 281 miles for the LR. (Only the Extended Range Trophy is quoted at more than 300 miles.) Then he says his actual GOM range is less than 100 miles, which is less than what you'd get on an SR even driven uneconomically in winter.

And he hasn't returned to explain any of these anomalies.

According to MG the ranges for the MG SE Long Range are:

Town and Cities 360
Rural 315
Motorways 216
Mixed 281

I do, of course, understand that these are maximum ranges under ideal conditions and there are any number of things that will reduce them - including using the radio/heater/windscreen wipers/headlights etc, incorrect tyre pressures, road conditions, outside air temperature, number of passengers and even the wind direction!

Almost all of my driving is rural or in town so I don't think it unreasonable to say that the advertised maximum range for this model is 300+ Others may disagree. My issue is the severe effect that temperature seems to have. In early Dec 23 when temperatures were around 12C the best range I achieved was about 250 miles (a round trip of 110 used about 39% of the charge) but when the temperature dropped to -5C the car was using more than 1% of the charge per mile. With temps now back up to around 10C the range is back up to around 200 miles (giving about 3 miles for each 1% of charge).

I don't put too much store in the miles per Kwh display although it is useful as an instant indication.

With EVs becoming more common, isn't it about time that the industry came up with a better indication of range (other than the WLTP figures) that show the range with a set load, in different temperature conditions and different driving conditions - not just for use as a comparison but to give buyers some indication as to the precticality of owning a EV.

Even with the low temperatures of late I have not had to modify my use of the car and still find it fun to drive. I am, however, looking forward to the warmer temperatures of the Spring to see just how much the range does improve.

Best regards
ROTS

 

[ROTS]

To answer your points in order:

1. There a two versions of the MG4 'Long Range' the SE and the Trophy. The SE LR has a WLTP range of 281 miles. The Trophy is 270. Neither are advertised as '300+ mile range'. There is however the Extended range version which has a WLTP range of 323 miles. ev-database.org suggests an average real range of 225 miles for the LR and 265 for the ExR. If you are only getting less than 100miles then there is either a fault with your car or your driving style is more suited to a closed circuit than a public road.

2. I agree there are those who do not like the LKA while there are others that do. I have found that it works quite well on dual carriageways and motorways with legible painted lines. It does not do as well on poorly marked twisty A & B roads.
The issue with it 'randomly reengaging' is your failure to follow the instructions on P159 of the owners manual namely that your first action one entering the car must be to press the brake pedal. Until this is done and the car is then in READY mode any changes you make to the MG Pilot section will reset back to their default status when you do eventually press the brake pedal.
Regarding your inability to permanently disable LKA as you did on your previous car, blame the EU not MG. All cars built after a certain date (1/1/23 I think?) must have a LKA system that defaults to on each time the car is restarted.

3. A freezing flap is not unique to the MG4. Just about every car I have had in the past has done the same in the winter. Some warm water (or any warm yellow fluid that you might have handy) usually solves the issue.

4. The 'Granny charger' is really only meant for occasional use or emergencies. A type two cable is easy enough to source. Would you complain to BMW that they don't supply a Jerry can with their ICE cars?

5. From a personal point of view, I have no problem with the steering wheel buttons or the size of the screen. I do however think the screen buttons are too small and the 'Touch' system is not up to the standard of the screens on the vast majority of phones.

Thanks for your comments which are very useful.

I agree that the max range quoted for the MG4 SE LR is 281 for "mixed" driving, the ranges quoted for Rural and Town and City are 360 and 315 resprctively. Since almost all my driving falls into these 2 areas I don't think it unreasonable to use 300+ as a starting point (obviously any motorway driving with an advertised maximum of 216 would temper my expectations!) So far the max range has varied from 250 miles to less than 100 and the only variable has been the Outside Air Temperature (OAT). I've just this minute returned from a 4 mile round trip starting at 80% charge and the indication "clicked over" to 79% as I turned into the drive. The mls/KWh showed 4.5 - all of which suggests a max range above 200mls - again, due purely to a modest increase in OAT.

With regards to the LKA, I didn't realise that the NCAP rules had changed, so that explains why it resets. But I do press the brake pedal and wait for the "READY" on entering the car and only then deselect (and confirm) the LKA. Sometimes it re-engages 8-10 minutes into a journey and sometimes it remains de-selected.

I'm not sure that the flap was actually frozen and I did try the hair dryer treatment with no effect - it started working later in the day.

When I bought a ZS just over 4 years ago it came with a rapid charging lead and a slow (3pin plug) charging lead - which was indeed described as an "emergency" lead. However, when I bought the MG4 the 3 pin charging lead was described as the "primary" charging lead. I'm not sure that the BMW analogy works if the "Type 2" cable is meant to be the primary means of recharging; the primary lead is essential to the operation of the vehicle and should not be considered an optional extra. Having said that, I've read some articles regarding the preservation of battery life that suggest only using the "granny" lead - in any case, on the odd occasion when you need 100% range, the 3 pin option is the only one you've got that will do it. (Or so I'm led to believe but I stand to be corrected.)

Thanks again for the info and the interest.

 

[ROTS]

There's a misunderstanding somewhere. The SE LR is advertised as doing 281 miles, not "over 300". But even so, surely to God the OP should be getting a lot more than 100 miles from a full charge even in winter - especially in Kent!

I do not have the softest right foot and my idea of motorway driving is to set the ACC at 75 and let the car get on with it. I drove from central Scotland to Penrith a couple of days before Christmas, about 95 miles, and got to the charger with 20% charge and 28 miles still on the GOM. That was entirely motorway from Moffat on. And that was in an SR.

On the way back I got to Carlisle, 113 miles, before I charged, and again I had about 20% battery when I got there. (The first 60 miles was A roads, but motorway after that.)

I've never seen less than 145 miles at 100% on the GOM no matter how cold or how I've been driving. Admittedly a string of trips to the nearby village hall (three miles away) and back, in the evenings, in sub-zero temperatures, with pre-heating at both ends and the heater going full blast during the journey, has seen 9% of battery go for each trip, but even so the GOM is currently showing me 41 miles of range on 36% battery. But even that, pro rata, would be 113 miles full. On an SR that has been driven about as uneconomically as it's possible to drive it.

So if the OP is getting less than 100 miles to a charge from an LR, what the hell is he doing? Or there's something wrong with the car.

Also, the complaint about only getting a granny lead seems to rest on a misunderstanding. Most people don't need a type 2 lead very often. Charging on long journeys is done on DC chargers that have their own tethered connectors. Charging at home will be by wall box (maybe you need a separate type 2 for that but maybe you don't, depends on the box, but surely you sorted that out when you had it installed) or using the granny lead.

You only need a type 2 lead out on a journey if you're going to use a public type 2/destination charger, which is probably the least frequent requirement for most people. You certainly don't need one to charge out on the road on a CCS charger. Has the OP not realised this?

Thank you very much for the response which I found very interesting. I can assure you that my driving style is on the economical side so, although no one is perfect, I don't think that's a problem.

I've experienced both extremes so far - a 110 mile round trip that only used 39% of the charge - and a shorter 30 mile trip that used 32% of the charge. The load and road conditions were the same but ther was a difference of about 12C in temperature (and of course, the use of heater!)

My comment regarding the lack of "Type 2" lead was based on my previous experience with MG when they supplied it with the car (a ZS) just over 4 years ago. EV charging points then mainly required drivers to use their own leads - obviously things have moved on since then!

Romsey, however, has remained stationary and is still in Hampshire! (I think you must have confused it with Romney!)

Thanks again for the info!

 

[Rolfe]

I see where you're coming from now, thanks for the explanation.

I think there is something wrong with your car. I have the SR, which has an overall WLTP advertised range of 218 miles, that's more than 60 miles less than your car, and I would be disappointed if I was seeing or getting less than 100 miles from a full charge, even in winter weather in Scotland. You're in Hampshire (sorry, you're right, I was confusing it with Romney!), which still shouldn't be as adverse as 800 feet up in the Pentland Hills where I am!

The worst GOM estimate I have ever seen has been 145 miles. The charge I'm doing right now might come in a bit lower, as I was doing a series of 3-mile journeys in cold weather with a lot of pre-heating and the heater on at max. Then yesterday I deliberately drove it to waste power as I wanted to get it below 10% to do its periodic long charge. However, right now it's sitting at 85% and telling me I have 124 miles. In an SR that has been driven about as uneconomically as it can be driven.

ETA: In fact, once the charge was finished and iSmart deigned to work, again I got 145 miles range for 100% charge. I would expect that to increase a bit now though, because we're not seeing freezing temperatures at the moment.

So if we ignore the ranges MG quotes for your car and home in on the fact that you're seeing a range of less than 100 miles estimated for a full charge on an LR, something is wrong. It's way too early for problems to have arisen in relation to not doing balancing charges or long charges (it's not even time for you to be thinking about a long charge anyway) so I feel there is a fault somewhere.

Most people hate the lane control, and there has been a fault with (at least some) Trophies where it would come back on after being turned off when the central screen changed between light and dark mode. However this fault has not been reported on the SE (apart from by Joanne the Hairdresser, but I never understood what she was saying about it). I always turn it off, and I saw it come back on only once, after about a mile, and I question whether I'd turned it off properly in the first place. I've done over 6,000 miles and it never bothers me because I turn it off and it stays off. So again I think there is a fault with your car there.

Your charging door issue also sounds like a fault. Mine has never been a problem and the only problems I've heard about from others have mainly involved ice causing it to get stuck.

I don't think having to buy your own type 2 cable is a huge issue. If you charge at home and only use DC chargers when out on long journeys, you're not going to need one. If you do, get one off Amazon. In my MG4 manual the granny charger is described as an "emergency charger". I don't think it is recommended for constant routine use, although that's exactly what I'm doing, but I think most home chargers come with a tethered cable.

I find the steering wheel buttons fine, but they took a while to get used to. I try to avoid having to touch the central screen at all while I'm driving, and usually succeed. Audio controls, HVAC controls and ACC control all work well from the steering wheel. I agree that if you want to change driving mode or regen mode you have to touch the screen and that could be an issue, but I understand from those who have had the R33 software update that these options have been added to the steering wheel buttons on that revision. Mainly, though, I would advise setting it up how you want it for your journey at the start, and keeping your fingers off the screen while driving.

As regards the twitchy back end. Is this an issue that could be resolved with different tyres? Also, the fact that this only happened to me once (in the factory-fitted tyres) and I do have a fairly active right foot shall we say, makes me wonder if your driving style is less economical than you think.

Nevertheless the winter range you are quoting is well out of line, and needs investigating. You might like to talk to @QLeo who has had an SE SR for probably eight months, and lives in the far north of Scotland, to see what sort of range he's seeing this weather. I haven't heard him report anything like what you're seeing.

 

[Martinonline]

Rots, do you have intelligent battery heating switched on?

In my experiences scaling up figures doesn't always work. My Trophy tells me 200 miles range based on scaling from 50%. But when I charged to 100% the GOM said 250 miles on December.

 

[Rolfe]

Yes, there is a non-linearity in the GOM that means scaling-up is misleading.

 

[ingobill]

MG4 EV (Long Range) Bugs

Now 2 months and 1500 miles into ownership and whilst I'm fairly happy with the way the car drives, there are a couple of annoying bugs and a couple of more serious ones which makes me generally disappointed.

1. The Range! I know the weather has been cold but for a car advertised with a 300+ mile range, less than 100 from a full charge is very poor. Even when the weather was milder an 80% charge was only giving around 160 miles. I await warmer weather with interest.

2. The lane control system is over aggresive and too sensitive - stray even a few inches out of the centre of the lane and there is a very sharp corrective yank on the steering. I have taken to de-selecting the lane control before starting to drive. Unfortunately the system randomly re-engages and requires de-selecting again. There ought to be a way to permanently disconnect the lane control without the need to do so every time the system reboots (as I've been able to do with previous cars).

3. The charging door is temperamental; sometimes it won't close and sometimes it won't open. I'm currently awaiting a call back from the dealer (after 4 attempts to contact them) so that they can resolve this issue - otherwise it makes the car unusable.

4. There was only a domestic 3 pin plug charger provided making the car unusable for any long distance (over 100 miles given the current cold weather range). This makes the car "as sold" unfit for purpose. MG should provide both types of charger leads with the car (they did 4 years ago when I bought a ZS from the same dealer).

5. The software interface and the over-complicated steering wheel buttons are far from user-friendly or intuitive. The "screen" is way too small for easy touch screen use when the car is in motion.

General

The MG4 is one of the cheapest EV's available if you can pick up one of the many deals on offer. It is fun to drive but the back end can be twitchy when conditions are slippery, even under mild acceleration. But the quirky software interface and the very poor range in cold weather (5°C and below) will be a big disappointment for most and make it unusable as a "primary" car. Single point of failure issues - such as the stuck charging door - are down to poor design.

My car had a recall for the charging door and the lane control issue best to check with dealership. For the price a really good driving experience. My dealer ( Arnold Clarke) have dropped the price for a new MG4 Ev LR Se from 29,500 to £23500 , goods new for a new buyer not for me .