MG4 - First UK dealer hands on photos and specifications

[aled]

As far as I know, all chargers in the UK are load balanced, and to expect the same charge rate, wherever you charge is unrealistic. The manufacturer cannot and will not supply you with information on what to expect, as again, that all depends on the amount of people charging around you, at any given time. I have very rarely achieved the advertised charge rate, and that’s purely as I was the only one charging, and that is diminishing by the day, as more EV’s are sold.

My tests of the speed were done at 350kw fastned chargers at Hamilton Palace grounds which may have helped.

 

[AshOfIce]

I'll be shocked if that's correct for either of the launch models in the UK. But fingers crossed.

Preordered MG4 Luxury and the dealer confirmed that it will have 500kg of towing capacity like the existing updated MGs.

 

[Les burrows]

@Les burrows , on your phone get AmiGO app, it is Tomtom, is free and is pretty good, I've been trying it out recently.

Hi Gomev thank you for that information I have never heard of it but I will sure take a look at it, had until recently an iPhone 6 which a lot of newer apps would not download to it but just very recently got the iPhone 13 so I think it might work on that anyhow I will try it thank you again.
Les

 

[MoDolph]

For the charge rates:

LR
Useable capacity - 61.7 kWh
10% to 80% time from MG specs - 35mins = 0.583 hours
Average charge rate = (61.7*0.7)/0.583 = 74 kW

SR
Useable capacity - 50.8 kWh
10% to 80% time - 39 mins
Average charge rate = 55 kW

 

[WalkingBootWeather]

For the charge rates:

LR
Useable capacity - 61.7 kWh
10% to 80% time from MG specs - 35mins = 0.583 hours
Average charge rate = (61.7*0.7)/0.583 = 74 kW

SR
Useable capacity - 50.8 kWh
10% to 80% time - 39 mins
Average charge rate = 55 kW

Yeah but.......

MG claimed for the original ZS
Useable capacity - 44.5 kWh
0% to 80% time from MG specs - 40 mins = 0.666 hours
Average charge rate = (44.5*0.8)/0.666 = 53.4 kW

I've rarely seen charge rates of much more than 50 kW for more than a few minutes even on 150 kW chargers and would say that for taking on 30 kWh from a start of less than 20% SoC the average charge rate is low-mid 40 kW in summer and low 30 kW in winter.

Some will say that this is because I've not driven hard enough or far enough or arrived at a low enough SoC, but we want cars that just perform without having to be in a narrow 'Goldilocks state'.

I've driven Kia and Nissan EV's and have friends who drive other marques, all experience slower rates in sub-optimal conditions but none are as far from claimed rates as the Mk 1 ZS in my experience.

In reality I do 90%+ of my charging at home when rapid charge speed is irrelevant, but it would be good for manufacturers to advise what level should be expected and then deliver on that claim more or less.

 

[weedavemac]

In general I agree with you right up to the point where you are significantly inconvenienced. Case in point; I made a 250 mile journey to attend a funeral in January 2001 and found that my Mk1 ZS was charging at around 30kW even after driving fairly fast for 120 miles and arriving at around 10% SoC, and hence taking more than an hour to go from 10-80% and add another 100 miles range. I still had to make a second charging stop adding a further 15kW in around half an hour and only just arrived in time for the service.

Before purchasing I was told that the car would charge at a peak rate of 76 kW, and influencers were releasing videos suggesting high rates were possible, without dwelling on the fact that this was only possible under a very particular set of conditions. Since I'd mainly charged at home I had not appreciated how much slower than advertised the car would charge in practice.

All I'm asking for is for honest, real world performance to be made available so that we can make an informed buying decision. That applies to all vehicles not just MG but I'd expect manufacturers to know what the charge profile of their vehicle looks like, so why do we have to wait until they are released and independently tested to know what they are?

Could the charger have been reason for the reduced charging speed? And not the car?

 

[meangreen]

It would be good if the manufacturer would publish charts explaining the charge curves, buy any electrical components and they provide a datasheet with several charts to explain the way they work. It wouldn't be too difficult for manufactures to include said charts, maybe even a screen with the expected charge curve and time to certain percentages.

 

[Werneroeder]

Could the charger have been reason for the reduced charging speed? And not the car?

This is what I am trying to say, as well.

 

[BugEyed]

Could the charger have been reason for the reduced charging speed? And not the car?

The problem is that we don't know. Manufacturers make claims that people can't achieve in practice - Bjorn's experience with the original Ionic 5 being a case in point where despite doing all of the tricks such as speed surfing he could get nowhere near the quoted speeds. Two cars later and being told exactly what SoC to arrive at he got close. Cynics like me remember the tricks that ICE manufacturers got up to and suspect foul play and a "special" being given to an influencer.
I accept that some sites are power limited and will not give the car all it asks for when others are plugged in (the Tesla supercharger behaviour is interesting), but at the low levels of the ZS MK1 I doubt that's the case. Perhaps the car should tell us when that happens with a message along the lines of "I'm asking for X kW but only being given Y, so charging will take longer ".

 

[WalkingBootWeather]

Could the charger have been reason for the reduced charging speed? And not the car?

If it had just been that charger, and just been my car that had been affected then I'd have thought so too, but I have subsequently tested on many other chargers and have seen reports of other owners experiencing the same thing. Things have improved a bit with BMS updates, and temperature undeniably is a major factor, but unless extraordinary steps are taken to prepare the car by warming the battery and getting the SoC down to a low single figure value before starting, I simply don't believe that the advertised charge rates for the Mk 1 ZS can be achieved in normal use.

But we are getting distracted again. This thread is not about what charge rates I or other people can get while charging other vehicles, it is about obtaining genuine useful metrics regarding the realistic speed of charge of an MG4. Not the peak charge rate possible or what is possible under a very particular circumstances only, but how long it takes in the real world to add an appreciable level of charge.

Let's not introduce external factors like performance of the charger. Let's find a good charger, prove performance by charging a different car then generate a realistic charge profile. Eventually the likes of Tesla Bjorn will do this sort of testing but in the meantime why don't manufacturers or independent agencies like the WLTP labs release it?

The crazy thing is that it is highly likely that the MG4 will perform brilliantly and exceed our expectations, but once bitten......

 

[Werneroeder]

If it had just been that charger, and just been my car that had been affected then I'd have thought so too, but I have subsequently tested on many other chargers and have seen reports of other owners experiencing the same thing. Things have improved a bit with BMS updates, and temperature undeniably is a major factor, but unless extraordinary steps are taken to prepare the car by warming the battery and getting the SoC down to a low single figure value before starting, I simply don't believe that the advertised charge rates for the Mk 1 ZS can be achieved in normal use.

But we are getting distracted again. This thread is not about what charge rates I or other people can get while charging other vehicles, it is about obtaining genuine useful metrics regarding the realistic speed of charge of an MG4. Not the peak charge rate possible or what is possible under a very particular circumstances only, but how long it takes in the real world to add an appreciable level of charge.

Let's not introduce external factors like performance of the charger. Let's find a good charger, prove performance by charging a different car then generate a realistic charge profile. Eventually the likes of Tesla Bjorn will do this sort of testing but in the meantime why don't manufacturers or independent agencies like the WLTP labs release it?

The crazy thing is that it is highly likely that the MG4 will perform brilliantly and exceed our expectations, but once bitten......

So you reckon, the chargers have nothing to do with the charging performance of the car?

 

[WalkingBootWeather]

So you reckon, the chargers have nothing to do with the charging performance of the car?

No, clearly a poorly performing charger will be a limiting factor and impact charging performance.

Where slow speeds are achieved on good quality 150kW+ chargers it is likely it is the vehicle that is the limiting factor.

If it had just been my car then it would likely be an issue with a single vehicle. I have seen other vehicles charging at high speed on a rapid charger then plugged in and found that I have not achieved anything like those speed.

What I'm saying is that many Mk1 owners have tested on many different rapid chargers, on different occasions and found the charge rate to be much slower than advertised.

 

[Biccys]

So still no word on the most important factor (for me anyway!) Do the rear seats fold flat?!

 

[Deleted member 8269]

So still no word on the most important factor (for me anyway!) Do the rear seats fold flat?!

I read a Review from China which suggests the seat fold nearly flat (MG Mulan). I assume that it's more than my MG5 does. I will try to find the article

 

[benfello]

So still no word on the most important factor (for me anyway!) Do the rear seats fold flat?!

The seats do not fold completely flat, no, but they're not far off
This screenshot is from a review of the Mulan moniker

 

[Miles Roberts CG]

The seats do not fold completely flat, no, but they're not far off
This screenshot is from a review of the Mulan moniker
View attachment 10230

I suspect that if you order the SE model, then there will be a step up from the boot as per this image (which shows the Trophy model in the low-floor position), whereas the Trophy model has the 2-level boot floor, so you can sit it in the higher position and have a flat load level in line with the seats

 

[benfello]

I suspect that if you order the SE model, then there will be a step up from the boot as per this image (which shows the Trophy model in the low-floor position), whereas the Trophy model has the 2-level boot floor, so you can sit it in the higher position and have a flat load level in line with the seats

Yeah that makes sense.
I would have thought of all things, the 2-level boot would be standard among all models, but

 

[WalkingBootWeather]

Maybe you need a Boris Boot if you want to level up

 

[weedavemac]

Yeah that makes sense.
I would have thought of all things, the 2-level boot would be standard among all models, but

Is there not a need for all manufacturers to provide enough extras/improvements to tempt people to go for the posher version?

 

[duncerduncs]

Just a thought....

What would stop you from getting the part number of the false floor and ordering it?

It should be cheaper than the difference between SE and Trophy?!