MG4 in Australia

[ChrisR]

I would definitely be interested to hear when people ordered vs when they got delivery of their 51's as I'm thinking about putting an order in next week. Also if any particular colours have better availability / shorter delivery times than others.

Out of interest, has anyone else noticed that the Excite 51 is the only model that doesn't have one pedal driving? Excite 64 and all the Essense models get it, but the 51 misses out. I'm a bit sad about that as after driving a Tesla model 3 I've come to really like one pedal driving.

Not sure if it's being withheld as a feature differentiator or if something about the charging properties of the LFP battery in the 51 makes it harder to implement (perhaps less regen?)

My Excite 51, picked up yesterday, does have one pedal driving. Interestingly, when I first test drove an Essence model the dealer said the 51 wouldn't have it but by the time I got mine apparently the latest update has included it. Even more reason to choose the 51 unless you really need the extra range frequently.

It's in the 'Driving' menu so may have to be selected each time you start but I'll keep an eye on that. Coming from a ZS EV without one pedal driving I have to get used to it as it feels a bit abrupt but I'm sure I will eventually.

 

[AlC]

Yeh that is interesting and you may be correct in the battery being the reason.

As for order vs delivery times, others experiences will unfortunately be irrelevant from what I have seen so far. Basically it appears that every dealership operates independently. One dealer in Perth estimated a 6 month wait, another had stock arriving of certain colours and spec level and another just happened to have the exact colour and model I wanted that was already on a ship enroute to WA. Each places their own orders I think based on what they think will be in demand and what they can afford to hold as stock. I would test drive whoever has the ones you are interested and then choose what you want and then ring around and see which dealer either has stock or has an eta for that particular colour and spec level . Good luck.

Thanks - good advice to phone around dealers. I hadn't considered they each have their own independent allocations.

My Excite 51, picked up yesterday, does have one pedal driving. Interestingly, when I first test drove an Essence model the dealer said the 51 wouldn't have it but by the time I got mine apparently the latest update has included it. Even more reason to choose the 51 unless you really need the extra range frequently.

It's in the 'Driving' menu so may have to be selected each time you start but I'll keep an eye on that. Coming from a ZS EV without one pedal driving I have to get used to it as it feels a bit abrupt but I'm sure I will eventually.

Oh awesome. I'm excited (sorry unintentional pun but I'm leaving it there).

I'll definitely be going with the 51. It has the bulk of the features I would like, I don't need the range, and I think I prefer the LFP battery.

You got yours quickly - when did you order?

Also, out of interest, does one pedal driving stay active after you power off the car or do you need to enable it every time? Sorry didn't read your message properly, you're waiting to see if it stays on. TBH I wouldn't mind too much if I need to enable it each time. Pretty sure my other half will hate it.

 

[ChrisR]

Thanks - good advice to phone around dealers. I hadn't considered they each have their own independent allocations.

Oh awesome. I'm excited (sorry unintentional pun but I'm leaving it there).

I'll definitely be going with the 51. It has the bulk of the features I would like, I don't need the range, and I think I prefer the LFP battery.

You got yours quickly - when did you order?

Also, out of interest, does one pedal driving stay active after you power off the car or do you need to enable it every time? Sorry didn't read your message properly, you're waiting to see if it stays on. TBH I wouldn't mind too much if I need to enable it each time. Pretty sure my other half will hate it.

I ordered back in late June (subject to test drive) when they were first announced and was told delivery would probably be late August. The Camden Grey I ordered has come now but in the meantime they got a White one that arrived first week in September so I took it.

The one pedal driving does appear to need resetting (along with Energy Saving mode and LKA etc) at each start. I guess I'm going to have to develop a little pre-start routine.

 

[Agrajag]

Oh man reading these last few posts has been a rollercoaster I test drove a 64 and turned on the one pedal driving and really liked it. I hadn't looked closely enough at the spec sheet to realise the 51 didn't have it before ordering. Now very relieved to hear it likely does.

Call around if you want to know stock. In Sydney there were a few 64s at dealers but 51s were "on the docks" and didn't seem like there were very many.

 

[Lanster27]

I have been told by 2 dealerships there is literally one 51 camden grey at the dock so whoever want it better get in quick. Due to finances I can only place an order next month so I’mma leave you guys to it.

 

[Abe]

The LFP battery is absolutely the reason I’m going with the 51. Much longer lifespan, can charge to 100% rather than 80% (which basically wipes out the NMC extra range for everyday driving), cheaper, less toxic to recycle, thermally more stable, doesn’t need ingredients from Russia or the Congo…

If the 64 was LFP I’d get that.

An interesting phenomenon: after researching MG4s on YouTube, I’m now getting tons of EV misinformation videos in my feed.

 

[DerekH]

The LFP battery is absolutely the reason I’m going with the 51. Much longer lifespan, can charge to 100% rather than 80% (which basically wipes out the NMC extra range for everyday driving), cheaper, less toxic to recycle, thermally more stable, doesn’t need ingredients from Russia or the Congo…

If the 64 was LFP I’d get that.

You do realise you can charge non LFP chemistry batteries to 100% and run them to 0. The BMS protects the battery so can never overcharge or completely discharge. Plenty of long term tesla use cases of 100's of thousand of kms where the owner has done that for example with no noticeable degradation. The chemistry of the battery incl use of cobalt and source of the components well that is another story too complex to debate here

 

[Lanster27]

You do realise you can charge non LFP chemistry batteries to 100% and run them to 0.

Most sources say you can do it but it's not recommended if you want to make your battery last as long as possible. Some people probably dont care, others will be bothered by it because they are not 'optimising' the battery.

A good explanation is from this video (starts around 14:20 mark):

 

[DerekH]

Wooohooo. My Camden Grey essence 77 kWh is sitting at the dealer awaiting pre delivery!!

 

[JoeBlow]

The LFP battery is absolutely the reason I’m going with the 51. Much longer lifespan, can charge to 100% rather than 80%

I would have taken a 51 Essence if it existed, not for LFP, but because I have another EV for longer trips already. But I've taken the 64 Essence for the feature set.

I feel like the lifespan concerns are overstated, even just 1000 cycles from NMC is over 400,000km - and you'll still have 75-80%+ capacity left. And as it degrades the 64 will always have more capacity than the 51 - 350km might be plenty of range now, but 80% of 350km could prove limiting in a few years.

I'm also of the opinion that "charge your LFP to 100% all day every day" will in the long run prove not to be wise either, Tesla for example says "charge to 100% at least weekly" not all the time. I keep it at 80-90% usually.

In any case, I must be the only person who is happy the orange ended up being the flat version. I was really glad when that was confirmed rather than a "bronze metallic orange" that they were showing as the video on the website for a while.

It's at the dealer right now, with any luck I can pick it up on Saturday.

 

[Abe]

Yes, the NMC still has a perfectly reasonable lifespan compared to ICE. But I have seen videos where Tesla owners have noticed the onboard recommendation suddenly change from 90% to 80% after an update plus Tesla are switching to LFP for the most part. With Musk saying LFP is the way of the future. He says a lot of BS but he also has access to a ton of data from all the Teslas, so has monitoring to base it on rather than just theory.

But then I’ve also seen a video where someone reckons that the reason they say to charge LFP to 100% at least once a week is to recalibrate the range guess-o-meter as the voltage of LFPs doesn’t drop as it’s run down whereas on the NMCs it does.

 

[JoeBlow]

The calibration issue is the reason they say to do it weekly. If you don't do it eventually you will notice that 10% is really 0% and run out when you least expect it.

They are only switching to LFP where they can, all manufacturers are. But consumers want lots of range in a small car and you can't fit that much LFP into a small car. See also MG4 51 vs 64. If they could fit 64 of LFP in the car they would have. It would simplify supply chain, manufacturing, maintenance, everything.

 

[Abe]

The calibration issue is the reason they say to do it weekly. If you don't do it eventually you will notice that 10% is really 0% and run out when you least expect it.

They are only switching to LFP where they can, all manufacturers are. But consumers want lots of range in a small car and you can't fit that much LFP into a small car. See also MG4 51 vs 64. If they could fit 64 of LFP in the car they would have. It would simplify supply chain, manufacturing, maintenance, everything.

They probably can - they can fit 77 kWh NMC into it, so should have enough room for 64 kWh of LFP, but perhaps powering the bigger motor would again make range suffer.

 

[Agrajag]

My Excite 51, picked up yesterday, does have one pedal driving

Are you able to share what version you have? A guy on whirlpool forums says his 51 doesn't have OPD and his versions are

MPU software version SWI131-29958-1100R05
MCU software version -125.1.3.0

 

[ChrisR]

Are you able to share what version you have? A guy on whirlpool forums says his 51 doesn't have OPD and his versions are

I have those same software versions.

The OPD has to be turned on (in Driving settings) each time you start and isn't available at full charge (seems to need to get below about 95% SOC to allow enough room in the battery for regen braking).

I wasn't initially worried when I was told the 51 was not going to have OPD but now that it (mine at least) has and I've got used to it I love it.

 

[AlC]

Went ahead and ordered the Excite 51 from Western MG here in Melbourne today. There's some stock in the country, they had a blue 51 (which I ordered) and a white available. Also an Excite 64 and I think there are a few Essences available right away too. Delivery time for mine is around 4 weeks because they need to go through compliance and the rest of it.

I'm pretty happy about it because I was expecting ~3-4 months for delivery. As others have said, it's worth asking around dealers because the first dealer I was talking to was adamant there was no stock of 51s in the state.

 

[leonkernan]

I have those same software versions.

The OPD has to be turned on (in Driving settings) each time you start and isn't available at full charge (seems to need to get below about 95% SOC to allow enough room in the battery for regen braking).

I wasn't initially worried when I was told the 51 was not going to have OPD but now that it (mine at least) has and I've got used to it I love it.

The guy from the Whirlpool thread here.

I have a feeling those versions are just for the infotainment system. I'm guessing we have different firmware versions somewhere else in the car because that option just isn't available on mine.
It's currently at 70% charge so that's not the issue.

 

[ChrisR]

The guy from the Whirlpool thread here.

I have a feeling those versions are just for the infotainment system. I'm guessing we have different firmware versions somewhere else in the car because that option just isn't available on mine.
It's currently at 70% charge so that's not the issue.

Hi @leonkernan yes, I think you might be right about them being for infotainment as I saw on the latest podcast Miles saying that the driving software/firmware version isn't apparent until you've got it actually set up for updating.

When I first test drove an Essence the dealer told me that the Excite didn't have OPD but by the time I test drove the Excite a week later it was on there. They said they'd just done all the latest updates so it sounds like there's one more that yours didn't get. Definitely worth telling your dealer about.

 

[leonkernan]

I'm pretty happy about it because I was expecting ~3-4 months for delivery. As others have said, it's worth asking around dealers because the first dealer I was talking to was adamant there was no stock of 51s in the state.

Cranbourne MG had mine in their storage yard when I ordered it last weekend. They told me they have a few more waiting at the docks to be cleared.
Ringwood was also showing a few on their website.

Anyone telling you theres no stock is full of it.

 

[Agrajag]

To anyone with a 51 without OPD, see Aussie MG4 Excite 51 owners can get One Pedal Driving software update at dealer - Electrifying Everything

An MG spokesperson told me today that:

“The OPD update is available now. Customers can go back to dealership for the update which should only take 30 minutes.