MG4 First EV & Advice

the briggie said:
Dylan, you have the car. Do you think internal sill protectors may be an idea going forward?

Alan
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Internal sill protectors I would say are a must - I can’t seem to find any as of yet though, for mud & protecting the sills themselves I would say that it’s definitely going to be an addition.
 
Had a look at the mg4 this morning as my mg5 is in for service. Great little car with loads of space inside. Boot is much smaller than mg5 but a good size for the car.

Seating position is better due to lower floor and flat rise to the seat. It doesn't tilt you forwards like many seat risers do. Getting in and out of the car is a little more awkward than mg5 as it is a lower car.

Very dark inside especially with the tinted Windows. No rear center headrest so not great for larger families.

On the whole an amazing car. I would swap but the center headrest, less boot space and the price for LR Trophy rules it out for me.

Looking forward to the next MG on the MSP. Hopefully an estate or an SUV.
 
DylanHalliday said:
How did everyone find the podcast ? Informative enough ?
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Yeah - I think everything that could be said, was said really ?.
Miles has not even driven one yet on the open road, so that does limit his input really.
The couple on the post cast had only had their MG4 a few days, so again limited feedback.
Interesting to hear that Les picked up on the low / wide door sill’s on the car.
It was the first thing that my brother remarked on when he seen the car at his local dealer.
This could become a struggle for anybody who has mobility problems.
Personally, I have not rushed to see the MG4 because I could pretty much tell it had a low ride ride height, just from the pictures and videos I had seen on-line.
For us the higher ride height of the ZS EV makes entering and leaving the car much easier.
It has received a positive reception from the motoring press and people who have taken a test drive, I think it will do really well !.
It’s just not suitable for us.
 
I understand where you are coming from in regard to ride height versus the ZS. I came to my MG4 from a hybrid Ioniq and I am definitely sitting higher in the MG4 than the Ioniq, the underfloor batteries compared to a much smaller pack under the rear seats. The MG4 seating position is in no way as low as a traditional car but obviously won't be comparable to an SUV. Personally I don't find the wide sills an issue but understand how it would be difficult for some.
 
Anybody else noticed the panel alignment issue mentioned by Les in the podcast?

Disappointing re 11kw and heat pump i.e fitted in error to some LR models and no heat pump. MUZ you got the golden ticket🎟️

Alan
 
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the briggie said:
Anybody else noticed the panel alignment issue mentioned by Les in the podcast?

Disappointing re 11kw and heat pump i.e fitted in error to some LR models and no heat pump. MUZ you got the golden ticket🎟️

Alan
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First I have heard regarding heat pump - shouldn’t be a lottery, it should be consistent. I mean effectiveness of heat pip as range increases really had to be reviewed.
 
DylanHalliday said:
First I have heard regarding heat pump - shouldn’t be a lottery, it should be consistent. I mean effectiveness of heat pip as range increases really had to be reviewed.
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It's on the podcast re Miles Roberts replied no 11kw, no heat pumps ...some 11kw fitted in error on first batch...I hope I get a misbuilt one when it arrives😄

Alan
 
the briggie said:
No. See my post above. Lithium batteries, no matter the composition, do not like a 0 to 100% cycle. LFP do not need a deep cycle once a week. 100% daily is a Tesla thing purely for that cars BMS not the battery health. As stated it is not recommended to take LFP down to 0%. 20 to 80% is best, 10% ok. The BMS (battery management system) will balance the cells accordingly.

Also think of the practicalities. Are you going to throw away good energy to get to 0%. Drive round and round the block perhaps. Sit with the heating full blast for hours? Ensure 0% comes right when you are next to a charger?

Se sr will take about 20+ hours on a granny plug,, 7+ hours on a home charger, 4.5 plus at a public ac charger and dc charge ? depending on the kw rate...

Please, don't do it🙏

Alan
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Hello Alan
I have had a test drive in a MG 4 and was thinking of going for a SR one as price comes in for me. I drive to work Monday to Friday which is 16 miles per day and maybe 20 miles over the weekend in total. Now the drive to work is town driving 30 mph and looking at the spec this would be over 300 miles in a SR. How I am not able to have a 7kw charge fitted to my home so would be using a granny charger to charge the car so with the information I have given you what would be your advice on a charging protocol.

Thanks
John
 
Jto said:
Hello Alan
I have had a test drive in a MG 4 and was thinking of going for a SR one as price comes in for me. I drive to work Monday to Friday which is 16 miles per day and maybe 20 miles over the weekend in total. Now the drive to work is town driving 30 mph and looking at the spec this would be over 300 miles in a SR. How I am not able to have a 7kw charge fitted to my home so would be using a granny charger to charge the car so with the information I have given you what would be your advice on a charging protocol.

Thanks
John
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Given you don't have a home charger don't worry. For the first 12 months ownership of my current EV the granny charger was all I had. Ensure that your consumer unit is up to date with associated protection and if possible surge protection would not go amiss. Take advantage of any free charging such as Tesco if available. That means having both a granny charging lead and a type 2 lead single phase. Charging limits are as stated but charging to 100% every week or two would not go amiss. I recommend not taking it below 10%. Anywhere in between is 👍. Does that answer you question or do you have something more specific in mind?

Alan
 
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the briggie said:
Given you don't have a home charger don't worry. For the first 12 months ownership of my current EV the granny charger was all I had. Ensure that your consumer unit is up to date with associated protection and if possible surge protection would not go amiss. Take advantage of any free charging such as Tesco if available. That means having both a granny charging lead and a type 2 lead single phase. Charging limits are as stated but charging to 100% every week or two would not go amiss. I recommend not taking it below 10%. Does that answer you question or do you have something more specific in mind?

Alan
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Thanks
I have been using my PHEV on the granny charger for over a year now. In my test drive I did a 8 mile journey and used 2% of battery in normal mode so that would be 4 to 6 % per day in battery use. ( in my PHEV that uses 46% for the same journey.)
so looking at this i may only need to charge every every other week, but with the slow charge what lower % would you recharge from.
 
Jto said:
Thanks
I have been using my PHEV on the granny charger for over a year now. In my test drive I did a 8 mile journey and used 2% of battery in normal mode so that would be 4 to 6 % per day in battery use. ( in my PHEV that uses 46% for the same journey.)
so looking at this i may only need to charge every every other week, but with the slow charge what lower % would you recharge from.
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It's really a time factor for you. Not knowing your granny charger output let's go for 2.3 kw. The SR has 50.8kw usable. Allowing for losses it will roughly take about 23 hours 0 to 100%. Looking at you figures you use 100 miles per week which may equate to roughly 29kw using 3.5 miles per kw as a base figure (potentially a lot less in winter). To top up 29kw with 2.3kw is roughly 12 - 15 hours charging. Each day you go 16 miles which will be roughly 5kw. So each day top up could be 2 - 3 hours. You can alter the figures accordingly as city might be 5.2 miles per kw but I hope you can see where I am going. So perhaps nightly top up to a certain % in the settings, such as 80%, may suit you best but it's a horses for courses and down to individual preference. Can you 'steal' power at work, use a nearby Tesco etc. because every little helps keep costs down?

So for example initial charge to 80%, top up to that level nightly. 100 % if you get free charging or weekly/fortnightly on your granny plug and then setting to a set % accordingly...whatever you choose. 100% will not really damage the LFP batteries but if you want to be on the safe side 90% is the regular max setting I believe.

My figures are rough and others may disagree but it gives you an insight into charging option

SR published figures

Real Range Estimationbetween 130 - 275 mi​

City - Cold Weather *180 mi
Highway - Cold Weather *130 mi
Combined - Cold Weather *155 mi

City - Mild Weather *275 mi
Highway - Mild Weather *170 mi
Combined - Mild Weather *215 mi

Alan
 
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the briggie said:
It's really a time factor for you. Not knowing your granny charger output let's go for 2.3 kw. The SR has 50.8kw usable. Allowing for losses it will roughly take about 23 hours 0 to 100%. Looking at you figures you use 100 miles per week which may equate to roughly 29kw using 3.5 miles per kw as a base figure (potentially a lot less in winter). To top up 29kw with 2.3kw is roughly 12 - 15 hours charging. Each day you go 16 miles which will be roughly 5kw. So each day top up could be 2 - 3 hours. You can alter the figures accordingly as city might be 5.2 miles per kw but I hope you can see where I am going. So perhaps nightly top up to a certain % in the settings, such as 80%, may suit you best but it's a horses for courses and down to individual preference. Can you 'steal' power at work, use a nearby Tesco etc. because every little helps keep costs down?

So for example initial charge to 80%, top up to that level nightly. 100 % if you get free charging or twice weekly on your granny plug and then setting to a set % accordingly...whatever you choose. 100% will not really damage the LFP batteries but if you want to be on the safe side 90% is the regular max setting I believe.

My figures are rough and others may disagree but it gives you an insight into charging option

SR published figures

Real Range Estimationbetween 130 - 275 mi​

City - Cold Weather *180 mi
Highway - Cold Weather *130 mi
Combined - Cold Weather *155 mi

City - Mild Weather *275 mi
Highway - Mild Weather *170 mi
Combined - Mild Weather *215 mi

Alan
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Alan, great advice! I’ve actually managed to stay on free chargers with 1K miles on the clock now & lucky have one basically on my doorstep - I am planning on getting a home one but right now it’s just awesome to see!

Granny charger is a must for places where you might want a quick too up to a larger destination charger like holiday lets - you never know when you might need an emergency boost!
 

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