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MG4 Range

All the advanced aerodynamics and then they fit a whacking great spoiler on the Trophy that acts like a wind brake!
Some have talking about taking the spoiler off and adding the cover plates from the SE. However I believe the tail spoiler is an integral part of the SE's slippery shape, so that would be needed too.
 
Active shutter is .27 on the SE LR and 0.30 on SE SR so they improve drag coefficient by 10% this would give the SE SR a range of around 239mi if they were fitted with them.

As stated by @Ian Key it'll be remove "extra" or "special" features to get that come take a look pricing before upselling the more advanced tech and cars.
yes, seems totally bizarre to me. I'd like to see an international 'green' law that makes deliberate unnecessary use of energy illegal, so preventing these halfwits from screwing things up just so they can make a couple of quid on their old stock. As an engineer, I always hated (and still do!) beancounters; they wreck virtually every engineering project.
I wonder if the shutter assembly is a purchasable spare, i guess it must be. Just the integration with the sr system management to do then. My suspicion is, per other comments, that the sr's lfp battery, in northern european climes, could just be semi-permanently blocked-off.
atb - ttp

p.s: and the 'spoiler', lol.....please no, i need to go and do something else....
 
Warmer weather on the horizon..
Screenshot_20230129_093453_MG iSMART.jpg
 
All the advanced aerodynamics and then they fit a whacking great spoiler on the Trophy that acts like a wind brake!
I will take the spoiler all day long was driving a 300hp mk5 astra before switching to ev's I could be towing an anchor with the handbrake on and it's still way cheaper to run 🤣🤣
 
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So, I drove from Swansea to Caernarfon last week through mid Wales - it was between 3 and 6 degrees Celsius, so cold for the whole journey. As you'll see below, the MG4 (SE Long Range) managed 4.1mls/kwh, having travelled 138 miles, with an estimated 119mls left in the 'tank', so a total of 257 miles. I do have the intelligent battery heating on, so maybe switching that off would increase the range further? But in reality, If I'm getting 257 miles in cold weather, I'm quite happy with it.

In general, I absolutely love the car. It's everything I hoped and more. There are negatives, but these are minor. The negatives include: no rear windscreen wiper, no automatic windscreen wiper, the settings resetting after every journey, AndroidAuto black screen occasionally, and the foot rest small block that comes off sometimes (easy to put back). In truth though, the positives clearly outweigh the minor negatives above. If I was looking to purchase a new car again today I'd go for the MG4 again.


Swansea to Caernarfon from full charge.png
 
So, I drove from Swansea to Caernarfon last week through mid Wales - it was between 3 and 6 degrees Celsius, so cold for the whole journey. As you'll see below, the MG4 (SE Long Range) managed 4.1mls/kwh, having travelled 138 miles, with an estimated 119mls left in the 'tank', so a total of 257 miles. I do have the intelligent battery heating on, so maybe switching that off would increase the range further? But in reality, If I'm getting 257 miles in cold weather, I'm quite happy with it.

In general, I absolutely love the car. It's everything I hoped and more. There are negatives, but these are minor. The negatives include: no rear windscreen wiper, no automatic windscreen wiper, the settings resetting after every journey, AndroidAuto black screen occasionally, and the foot rest small block that comes off sometimes (easy to put back). In truth though, the positives clearly outweigh the minor negatives above. If I was looking to purchase a new car again today I'd go for the MG4 again.


View attachment 14838
Great to hear that you like your car. The key to your 4.1 is your average speed of less than 30mph. EV’s hate high speed. If Your average speed was up around 45-50mph you would nowhere near 4.1.
 
Some have talking about taking the spoiler off and adding the cover plates from the SE. However I believe the tail spoiler is an integral part of the SE's slippery shape, so that would be needed too.
the tailgate 'spoilers' might look racy, but imo are a misdirected crock. Firstly; as 'spoilers' they are misnamed: spoilers are flow breakers used to create drag and/or dump lift, neither of which function is useful to any degree on a 1800 kg car travelling at a limited 100 mph while carrying 900 kg over the rear axle driving wheels (with a driver + passenger(s), around 5kN downforce per tyre...). Unless being driven on ice, at 44 metres/sec (~100 mph) even a boot to full throttle is very unlikely to break traction with < 250Nm available, so the almost insignificant extra downforce generated (assuming the 'spoiler' is actually generating downforce as well as drag) combined with slight loss of body lift would hardly be noticable. If dumping body lift is what is desired, it would be better done on the roof approximately at max thickness point, i.e. approximately near the driver's head.
Secondly, they are behind the rear axle, so even if they were generating gobs of downforce at speed, they would also be lifting the nose; quite undesirable.
The route to lower drag at the roof rear is to extend the body/roofline length while avoiding flow separation, but this would further restrict rear window vis, so until we get to use solely rearview cameras (like newer trucks) and bin the legacy 'window/mirror' requirement, it's either raised drag coefficient, longgggg cars - like the Lightyear0 - , or Aptera, which has been design-led by aerodynamicists rather than, er, 'designers'.
A better way to create downforce would be via underbody flow management, per current F1 designs: mine has joined the ranks of the 'trying to disembowel itself') with the bulgy undertray, so is investigating extra drag/lift dumping/road debris collection of it's own volition. Off to the dealer; might ask for the shutter kit to be fitted while it's there, lol.
atb - ttp
 
the tailgate 'spoilers' might look racy, but imo are a misdirected crock. Firstly; as 'spoilers' they are misnamed: spoilers are flow breakers used to create drag and/or dump lift, neither of which function is useful to any degree on a 1800 kg car travelling at a limited 100 mph while carrying 900 kg over the rear axle driving wheels (with a driver + passenger(s), around 5kN downforce per tyre...). Unless being driven on ice, at 44 metres/sec (~100 mph) even a boot to full throttle is very unlikely to break traction with < 250Nm available, so the almost insignificant extra downforce generated (assuming the 'spoiler' is actually generating downforce as well as drag) combined with slight loss of body lift would hardly be noticable. If dumping body lift is what is desired, it would be better done on the roof approximately at max thickness point, i.e. approximately near the driver's head.
Secondly, they are behind the rear axle, so even if they were generating gobs of downforce at speed, they would also be lifting the nose; quite undesirable.
The route to lower drag at the roof rear is to extend the body/roofline length while avoiding flow separation, but this would further restrict rear window vis, so until we get to use solely rearview cameras (like newer trucks) and bin the legacy 'window/mirror' requirement, it's either raised drag coefficient, longgggg cars - like the Lightyear0 - , or Aptera, which has been design-led by aerodynamicists rather than, er, 'designers'.
A better way to create downforce would be via underbody flow management, per current F1 designs: mine has joined the ranks of the 'trying to disembowel itself') with the bulgy undertray, so is investigating extra drag/lift dumping/road debris collection of it's own volition. Off to the dealer; might ask for the shutter kit to be fitted while it's there, lol.
atb - ttp
Most people like them because they relate to racing and provide a sporty look - that’s mostly why manufacturers fit them - aesthetics - except on real performance cars. Others may find them a bit silly.
If you are not that bothered about functionality they can look ok on some cars.
The Trophy looks ok to me. I’m not particularly for or against it. If I needed max range then I might feel different.
 
I am doing a lot of longer journeys of late. These are mainly motorway journeys, and around 350-to-450-mile round trips. I am getting a solid 200 miles indicated on the night-time leg (colder) and 220 miles indicated on the day-time leg. Quite happy with this, especially given the charging speeds on ultra-rapid chargers. I also managed to pull 9.6kw on a three-phase AC public charger recently, which surprised me (see attached photo).

My journey and strategy for the long trips is as follows:
  • Leave home on 100% SoC from home charging
  • A 'splash and dash' charge when I take a comfort break or stop for a bite to eat after around 2 hours (up to 15 mins or so elapsed time)
  • A rapid charge to 60 - 70% on arrival at my destination (up to 15 mins or so elapsed time) followed by a fast charge whilst the car is parked. If I were staying at my destination overnight, the rapid charge would not be necessary
  • Leave destination with 100% SoC
  • A 'splash and dash' charge when I take a comfort break or stop for a bit to eat (10-15 mins or so elapsed time)

Yesterday's journey was 448 miles and I used the following (ignoring diff between total and usable battery capacity i.e. 64 kWh and 61.7kWh):

Home charging to 100% - 64 kWh
Rapid Charging - 53kWh
AC charging - 29 kWh
SoC on return 19% - 12 kWh

kWh's used 134 (64+53+29-12)
Distance covered 448 miles (according to Google Maps not the cars trip computer)
Calculated miles per kWh 3.34

As a final scenario, based on the data above, even if you assume I arrived home with zero SoC, which I didn't of course, the miles per kWh would still be just over 3.0. And, if you multiply usable battery capacity of 61.7 by the calculated miles kWh from above, the total range is 206 miles.

The above strategy comfortably gets me too and from my destination with lots of 'buffer' miles in the battery. I have been using Bonnet charging exclusively for my rapid charging and at my destination I use a Be.EV AC charger. I am hopeful in the warmer months I will need a little less public charging.

I can also comment on the comfort of the car on longer journeys, given I am spending up to 10 hours driving in a 24-hour window. From my personal perspective I can say the seats and general comfort are as good as my previous cars (EV and ICE). The infotainment system glitches are irritating and hopefully they get sorted soon but if someone asked me to mark the car out of 10, I would award it a solid 9, all things considered.

UPDATE: I've just reworked the maths since I had omitted one of the small rapid charges in error. I also totalled up the cost of the journey and it was £52.20 for public charging and £4.80 for home charging, making a total of £57. This equates to 12.7 pence per mile.
 

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I am doing a lot of longer journeys of late. These are mainly motorway journeys, and around 350-to-450-mile round trips. I am getting a solid 200 miles indicated on the night-time leg (colder) and 220 miles indicated on the day-time leg. Quite happy with this, especially given the charging speeds on ultra-rapid chargers. I also managed to pull 9.6kw on a three-phase AC public charger recently, which surprised me (see attached photo).

My journey and strategy for the long trips is as follows:
  • Leave home on 100% SoC from home charging
  • A 'splash and dash' charge when I take a comfort break or stop for a bite to eat after around 2 hours (up to 15 mins or so elapsed time)
  • A rapid charge to 60 - 70% on arrival at my destination (up to 15 mins or so elapsed time) followed by a fast charge whilst the car is parked. If I were staying at my destination overnight, the rapid charge would not be necessary
  • Leave destination with 100% SoC
  • A 'splash and dash' charge when I take a comfort break or stop for a bit to eat (10-15 mins or so elapsed time)

Yesterday's journey was 443 miles and I used the following (ignoring diff between total and usable battery capacity i.e. 64 kWh and 61.7kWh):

Home charging to 100% - 64 kWh
Rapid Charging - 35kWh
AC charging - 29 kWh
SoC on return 19% - 12 kWh

kWh's used 116 (64+35+29-12)
Distance covered 443 miles (according to Google Maps not the cars trip computer)
Calculated miles per kWh 3.8

Interestingly, the trip computer was consistently showing a miles per kWh of 3.6 in the day and 3.3 at night, so I am confident the trip computer is understating actual consumption. So, if you are worried about what the car is telling you it is achieving in terms of efficiency, I recommend you do a check using actual data and you might be pleasantly surprised.

As a final scenario, based on the data above, even if you assume I arrived home with zero SoC, which I didn't of course, the miles per kWh would still be almost 3.5

The above strategy comfortably gets me too and from my destination with lots of 'buffer' miles in the battery. I have been using Bonnet charging exclusively for my rapid charging and at my destination I use a Be.EV AC charger at my destination. I am hopeful in the warmer months I will need a little less public charging.

I can also comment on the comfort of the car on longer journeys, given I am spending up to 10 hours driving in a 24-hour windon. From my personal perspective I can say the seats and general comfort are as good as my previous cars (EV and ICE). The infotainment system glitches are irritating and hopefully they get sorted soon but if someone asked me to mark the car out of 10, I would award it a solid 9, all things considered.
Great update. What is your average mph on the journey? Do you compare costs to an ICE for example?
 
Great update. What is your average mph on the journey? Do you compare costs to an ICE for example?
Average MPH from memory is just under 50 MPH and I have just updated the post with costs. The costs are theoretical as I still have some free Bonnet charging and are based on if I paid full price less a 10% subscription discount.

Cost per mile is 12.7 pence which is broadly the same cost as a petrol ICE car with a fuel economy in the range 58 to 70 miles per gallon based on average petrol prices using RAC data, which averages motorway and non-motorway services fuel prices. We all know how much of a premium there is on motorway service station fuel prices. I remember it could be up to £1 per gallon more expensive than non-motorway petrol prices.
 
Average MPH from memory is just under 50 MPH and I have just updated the post with costs. The costs are theoretical as I still have some free Bonnet charging and are based on if I paid full price less a 10% subscription discount.

Cost per mile is 12.7 pence which is broadly the same cost as a petrol ICE car with a fuel economy in the range 58 to 70 miles per gallon based on average petrol prices using RAC data, which averages motorway and non-motorway services fuel prices. We all know how much of a premium there is on motorway service station fuel prices. I remember it could be up to £1 per gallon more expensive than non-motorway petrol prices.
That’s a pretty good miles/KwHr figure for averaging around 50 mph. It is irritating how much public charging now costs - never would I have believed that it would reach such a high level.
 
Downhill on the way back? :unsure:
Downhill both ways I think :)

Short trip today, 4 miles along the coast, around 10 meters above sea level all the way. 50 mph average, no heating as it was a balmy 9 degrees.:cool:
3.7 miles Kwh upon parking at my dog walking spot, battery had around 45mins resting time.
Reset trip - 5 miles Kwh showing when parking back at house.
cd must if anything have been worse on way back as mutley likes a window open to cool down.

So even over an 8 mile round trip the first few miles are very noticeably gobbling electrons.
Be interested if this is particularly pronounced in the LFP packs, feeling it might be.
 
Downhill both ways I think :)

Short trip today, 4 miles along the coast, around 10 meters above sea level all the way. 50 mph average, no heating as it was a balmy 9 degrees.:cool:
3.7 miles Kwh upon parking at my dog walking spot, battery had around 45mins resting time.
Reset trip - 5 miles Kwh showing when parking back at house.
cd must if anything have been worse on way back as mutley likes a window open to cool down.

So even over an 8 mile round trip the first few miles are very noticeably gobbling electrons.
Be interested if this is particularly pronounced in the LFP packs, feeling it might be.
There's an interesting video about LFP Vs NMC/NCA and how their structure contributes to their cold performance I'll see if I can find the YouTube link
 
Great to hear that you like your car. The key to your 4.1 is your average speed of less than 30mph. EV’s hate high speed. If Your average speed was up around 45-50mph you would nowhere near 4.1.
Yup, you're probably right. There aren't any motorways (or decent roads) from north to south Wales, so the speed average is dragged down. It also involves some lengthy stops at road works etc.

However, I drove to Bristol airport on Thursday evening along the M4 which was a 170 miles round trip at a far higher average speed (i.e. doing 70 when I could all the way, but with some minor delays). I left home with 100% and when I returned home to Swansea I had 50 miles left in the car. So, roughly 220 miles on motorway driving, again quite cold (about 6 Celsius). I'll turn off the battery heating to see if that makes a difference too.
 
Downhill both ways I think :)

Short trip today, 4 miles along the coast, around 10 meters above sea level all the way. 50 mph average, no heating as it was a balmy 9 degrees.:cool:
3.7 miles Kwh upon parking at my dog walking spot, battery had around 45mins resting time.
Reset trip - 5 miles Kwh showing when parking back at house.
cd must if anything have been worse on way back as mutley likes a window open to cool down.

So even over an 8 mile round trip the first few miles are very noticeably gobbling electrons.
Be interested if this is particularly pronounced in the LFP packs, feeling it might be.
Here's the link:



it talks about NCA Vs LFP as its a Tesla battery comparison video but NMC and NCA are similar battery technologies with NCA being a bit more advanced.
 
There's an interesting video about LFP Vs NMC/NCA and how their structure contributes to their cold performance I'll see if I can find the YouTube link
Not sure what the 'goldilocks zone' is temp wise, maybe around 25 degrees ? Just about reach that in a highland summer, so if the start of trip electron gobbling greatly reduces when ambient is nearer that it would kind of prove the cause.
 
Not sure what the 'goldilocks zone' is temp wise, maybe around 25 degrees ? Just about reach that in a highland summer, so if the start of trip electron gobbling greatly reduces when ambient is nearer that it would kind of prove the cause.
Macadoodle, perhaps bear in mind the optimum chemystery temperature is the internal cell temp, so the oat (ambient) is probably best a little below that so as to provide decent cooling when large current flows occur (right boot/max regen). 17-22 Deg C might seem optimum?
 
Macadoodle, perhaps bear in mind the optimum chemystery temperature is the internal cell temp, so the oat (ambient) is probably best a little below that so as to provide decent cooling when large current flows occur (right boot/max regen). 17-22 Deg C might seem optimum?
That's true. Plan to block the air vents at least partially so I maybe should be careful what I wish for.
Would like to keep the SOH above 95% for my term of ownership if possible, essential for a good resale value I would think.
 

Are you enjoying your MG4?

  • Yes

    Votes: 423 79.8%
  • I'm in the middle

    Votes: 70 13.2%
  • No

    Votes: 37 7.0%
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