MG4 Range

[Derek25]

They potentially will just make non Tesla drivers pay more to use them.
That could discourage drivers to look elsewhere but Tesla can say they are open to everyone, a bit like they do just now with the monthly subscription offering a discounted rate.

But the open ones are still among the cheapest even though you pay more than Tesla drivers Tesla is opening up because it wants its superchargers to be a leader and it's competing on price right across Europe.

 

[DevonMG4]

But the open ones are still among the cheapest even though you pay more than Tesla drivers Tesla is opening up because it wants its superchargers to be a leader and it's competing on price right across Europe.

Your comment made me check the Tesla app and sure enough they seem to be about 60p - keenly priced indeed, shame none of them are in my neck of the woods. It's getting on for a year that 16 or so sites have been on the trial, I hope they open the rest of the network soon but if I were a Tesla owner ofcourse I'd have the opposite opinion

 

[WonkoTheSaneUK]

I see the government may be going to tell Tesla they have to let everyone use their chargers.

On that note, the UK Telsa club have tweeted pics showing a v4 Tesla supercharger with spaces for both screens & card readers, as the new regulations will require.

 

[Rolfe]

Nice!

 

[SueH]

The existance of MG4 models with two different ranges underlines that for all the talk of some people, "I need 400 mile range", for many of us we don't or the optimum solution is not to carry around a massive battery that we'll only fully utilise once or twice a year.

Due to caring duties (and covid) I haven't really been able to get away for a few years although I've been planning to do so. I've only charged once away from home from necessity. I live less than 10 miles from Portsmouth ferry port so just as likely to head south as north, but in both cases I've noticed some notable gaps being filled in the last year on likely routes up't North and in France.

There's a poster on Speak EV who was commenting how in the last year on French autoroutes planning doesn't have to be on the same level of detail - "we'll stop at Ionity La Reserve on the A6", but rather any service station. I was showing somebody a mapping tool only the other day and a new aire appeared on what I knew as a bit of a gap on the A19. Sure enough, looking at user comments it had only just opened, and each such opening adds flexibility and reduces worry.

The advantage of cars having V2L is having a quick cuppa is now so easy. Who needs thermos' any more! As for passing the time at my age a quick nap is handy, but I also carry a tin whistle in the door side pocket. Time for a bit of practice.

 

[ukslim]

There's a poster on Speak EV who was commenting how in the last year on French autoroutes planning doesn't have to be on the same level of detail - "we'll stop at Ionity La Reserve on the A6", but rather any service station. I was showing somebody a mapping tool only the other day and a new aire appeared on what I knew as a bit of a gap on the A19. Sure enough, looking at user comments it had only just opened, and each such opening adds flexibility and reduces worry.

Exactly this, and I really hope the UK gets to this point really soon. All that really means is that we can reasonably rely on a 100kW+ charger at ANY motorway (or motorway-like dual carriageway) services.

My wife had her first need-to-charge-to-get-home trip this weekend. She made a couple of mistakes, from which we have learned.

She was in York with friends, waking up on Sunday morning with around 40% and needing 70% to get home. Her first strategy was to charge while they had breakfast, assuming that if she went to an NCP multi-storey in York, it was bound to have chargers. It didn't.

Then she set off south anyway, and at around 25%, pulled off at an arbitrary services, plugged into a 50kW charger, and phoned me griping that it was charging painfully slowly. At this point I was really worried that she'd come home soured against the whole EV experience.

I sent her the postcode of a 110kW charger in a little retail park in Doncaster, and that got her to 80% very quickly; crisis averted.

But the two assumptions that sunk her:

• You can't rely on a car park, even a major branded one, to have charging
• You can't rely on 100kW in a motorway services

... are both assumptions that I think you ought to be able to make, and I hope/expect this will be fixed in the next 18 months or so.

 

[ukslim]

Most of today's people approaching or just entering retirement have been pioneers within technology. So many will be able to quickly adapt and change from MPG to KW/H in a new screen based EV quite easily
The generation behind have grown up with and worked with matured technology in an ever changing market place. It will all be almost second nature to them
The generation before them, as a kid they can pick up a tablet, swipe & click,.... as an adult they will collect their new car, swipe & click.... charge their new car, swipe & click.

It's not inability to use technology that's the problem though.

It's "if I were in a petrol car, none of this would be necessary".

My wife's trip to York and back, it's true she could have done on a single tank of petrol. And if she'd set off without enough in the tank, she could have pulled off pretty much anywhere, filled up and been on her way. Some drivers try to avoid filling up at motorway services, because of price, but that's all.

Now, she could have had a smooth journey if she'd studied ABRP ahead of the journey and let it take her to an ultra-rapid close to her route. And she will next time. She ended up taking a 2 mile detour to find an ultra-rapid. 2 miles isn't much, but neither is it nothing.

We knew when we chose the car that longer journeys would be slightly more hassle, and we accepted that because journeys like that are infrequent for us. The rest of the time we get free charging (for the timebeing) at work, and cheap no-hassle charging at home. But we mustn't pretend it isn't additional hassle which would affect people who make frequent long journeys on varying routes.

(I say "varying routes", because if you just ply the same route, you're going to find a charger that works for you, and use it every time)

We keep saying "it's fine, you just need to learn to do a little bit of planning", but actually when (very soon I hope) there's chargers in all the places they should be, planning won't be necessary any more.

 

[Kithmo]

Just done my first 100% charge and balance, 292 miles. I'm happy with that (if only it were real range)

 

[Rolfe]

It must think your driving over the past few days or whatever, if continued, would give you that range.

 

[Kithmo]

It's never real on the GOM though, today I did a 6 mile round trip and lost 11 miles off that total, now at 281 miles.

 

[WonkoTheSaneUK]

It's never real on the GOM though, today I did a 6 mile round trip and lost 11 miles off that total, now at 281 miles.

TL;DR - YMMV

 

[Rolfe]

The minute you switch on the aircon you'll lose 10 miles from the estimate anyway.

 

[Diggsy]

The minute you switch on the aircon you'll lose 10 miles from the estimate anyway.

Mine is never off

 

[Rolfe]

Doesn't it assume that it's off until you actually start the car?

 

[Diggsy]

Doesn't it assume that it's off until you actually start the car?

As soon as I get into the car the air con is on. I have it set to 24/25 and auto. Rarely change it unless it’s particularly warm or cold outside.

 

[Rolfe]

I might try that, because I fiddle with it a bit and maybe a setting you don't need to fiddle with could be better.

 

[siteguru]

Mine is set to 25c Auto, and stays at that.

 

[Diggsy]

I might try that, because I fiddle with it a bit and maybe a setting you don't need to fiddle with could be better.

The auto simply ramps the fan speed up if it needs to, then back down again once the set temperature has been achieved. From that point it stays pretty consistent to be honest. I never take it off auto.

 

[Rolfe]

I'll give that a try. Whenever it's gone on to auto I've been so startled by the fan's reaction I immediately backed off!

 

[Diggsy]

I'll give that a try. Whenever it's gone on to auto I've been so startled by the fan's reaction I immediately backed off!

Yeah, see how it works for you. I find it ideal, instead of blasting the fans manually then lowering them vast amounts in an effort to adjust temperatures (annoys the life out of me when I get into another car and someone does this) the car auto tunes the fan speed to suit the set temperature.