I think your view is very similar to that of not only many on the forum looking for insights but my own.
#Before anyone thinks, to type the forum immortal phrases of
"oh here we go, another moan about niggles",
"its a new platform, things should not be expected to be perfect"
or
"why do people post on a forum for a vehicle they don't own"
or
"well my car has been perfect"
Each forum member is empowered to share their experience's and thoughts, that is what makes these places so powerful, and a resource car manufacturers and dealerships ignore at their peril. So, please feel free to read, or not to read the following, but before you type, engage brain and be:
Mindful
Respectful
Open minded enough to counter any confirmation bias you may be experiencing
@Leni16 I too test drove the MG4 (it was a LR SE) on the 01st October, I loved the drive, didn't like that it had no rear view camera or heated seats, and lane assist was dangerous and turned itself back on each restart, but I ordered and placed my £250 deposit on a White Trophy.
I was told it would be around 12 weeks, e.g. by Christmas Eve, (however it is still TBA on the MG Dealer info page. so likely delivery perhaps Jan Feb 2023? Who knows) but waiting times and delays are to be expected for any car order (EV or ICE)
I then joined this forum to expand my knowledge of the vehicle, and to fully understand what owners of the early deliveries were finding out, any niggles, and tips I should look out for come my own delivery day.
To be fair, we have owned a VW ID.3 since Dec 2021, so I know EV's are not perfect and glitches and recalls abound, but I think the MG4 is now entering a level where I am no longer confident in it.
I know, we all suffer from confirmation bias, and people are way more likely to post a negative rather than sing a positive, I fully understand that, but some of the issues of late have been very significant.
In no particular order, I have read each thread and thought about what I would do if I had a car which exhibited these faults, imagined the stress and inconvenience and its when you "walk a mile in their shoes" that you start to think, why should we accept this at all.
Oil leak -
New ground has ben broken here, even for an ICE car, where many more moving parts and more opportunities for leaks may indeed exist, for a new EV to have it I was surprised.
I was even more surprised with MG's reaction, initial denials, then will only rectify & retro fit the fix if you experience the problem. Well, sorry, no, it should be a redesign not a botched job and ALL vehicles sold to date should be inspected and rectified. Furthermore, all deliveries post November 2022 should not have a car which has not had this corrected. Perhaps if a recall for this issue had manifest then as a consumer and user base / community, we would have had more confidence in the brand and the vehicle. The face it has been handled so shabbily erodes confidence in the brand, the vehicle and the competence of each and every dealership
Locked in (key issues) -
This one I find almost incomprehensible, that a brand new to market car has not been tested to the extent that this issue was not picked up. The fact it has escalated to a RECALL is one positive to be thankful of.
I wonder if the Oil leak should have been escalated to the same degree (I know this is more user impactful and potentially dangerous, hence its escalation,) but so could mechanical failure of the motor be impactful?
Restricted speed (Loss of Power) -
May be model specific, e.g. related only to SR-SE models, who knows, but a vehicle which fails to accelerate when merging onto fast moving traffic flow, for no apparent reason, whilst the SOC is more than 40%, and all other potential options are not engaged (ECO plus modes) it can put your life in danger and thus far I don't think it has been investigated or evaluated enough by MG.
Under Tray Dip/Bulge-
Ok, it may look cosmetic, but it serves a purpose, and the instance of a forum member hitting standing water and ripping part of it off, is exactly what was feared may happen. It is "not a design feature" is it a fault and one which may hinder efficiency and increase noise at speed, and lets not forget, its there to protect the lower most components, if open to the elements, it is not doing its function.
Partial deployment of Driver Airbag -
This one, is a poor reflection of build quality and if more of these instances come to light (as more and more units are in the field -With higher frequency, we should expect to observe more opportunities to fail) on a super critical item such as the driver's steering wheel airbag, then the rest of the issues just simply fade into the "also ran" category.
The Quality Also-Ran category:
Software glitches - these happen on all modern vehicles, and will continue to, as long as the MG dealer network learns how to install them correctly and regular updates are created and cascaded it should be an iterative loop of continuous improvement
Wheel balancing (or lack of it) -
A simple one but rumbles and vibrations on a new vehicle would not be expected. Simple wheel balancing I mean, come on guys, its simple.
Dead car - 12V Battery -
Perhaps the incorrect specification of a 12V battery could be to blame, perhaps the low temps (not anticipated) could be to blame, who knows.
Heater / Air conditioning - Incorrectly calibrated controls (no heat until 28 Deg C?) We also have instances of the wrong privacy glass for model spec being used, what is to say in some units they have the incorrect or worse, none fitted PTC heater elements. If the heater controls do not generate heat perhaps this is not down to software alone, perhaps they are missing components (I jest, partly, but would you put it past them to miss stuff out ?
)
So, not an exhaustive list, as I am not trying to paint the ultimate negative picture, I'm really not, but all excuses aside, it isn't good enough, no matter how much of a value proposition the car may be, if it spends most of its life at the dealership or dripping oil on your drive, it fails to operate as expected on any aspect of user expectations, if bits break of fall off, is it really a bargain or a false economy which continually plays on the mind.
I know there is a lot to unpack here, mostly because it has been playing on my mind of late, and as we know we don't have concrete number of cars on the road Vs number of issues and it must be stressed, I have yet to reach a final decision about my order, I will wait for a delivery date and visually inspect the car before making any decision, but week by week as the issues encountered rise, the confidence in the vehicle drops.
