MG5 owners only. Post on here what you think of the car.

OK a week in so feedback time LEAF v MG5

Exterior

MG5 looks so much better, roof rails are a huge gain. Looks like a VW estate!

Interior

Again so much more space, more comfortable but the cheap leather effect seats I think could be an issue. Also no lights in the back and poor centre console storage option. Extra USBs good thought.

MG5 win

Driving

Much smoother ride, better acceleration and general regen. Brakes a bit touchy, hopefully they'll settle in, lights not that good compared with LEAF and you cannot fold in mirrors on narrow bits unless under 10 mph.

Controls fiddly, especially mixing up indicator & cruise control stalks.

Lots of annoying beeps, many turned off but lane keep restarts daily. Instrument display too bright - might have to get them tinted lol!

Equal

Infotainment

Not as bad as suggested. Radio is better, satnav is OK but lacks full postcode search? Hope it does EU too! Not tried car play yet or had a phone call. Many features are easier than the LEAF some not. Many common issues like when setting MG pilot speed vanishes is just the same.

Overall equal to LEAF

Battery / miles per kW etc

Obviously the bigger battery, faster charging rate & lack of #rapidgate are a win.

The LEAF has a heat pump so range wasn't badly affected by the heater whereas it is in the MG5.

No light at the T2 plug is a pain & the lack of flashing light to say charging is a big fail.

No preheat is a fail. No app is a fail.

So overall?

Winter it's a draw
Summer the MG5 wins by a country mile!

Overall

MG5 wins, but by much more in the summer and only just in the winter.
 
MG5 LR thoughts after a month. Coming from a Petrol Hyundai ix20.

External

Looks aren't particularly an area I care about, I there are some designs I wouldn't want to be seen in, but at (nearly) 40 the lack of street cred driving an estate isn't something I care about. It looks fine.

Internal

It's nicer than my previous car which was a Hyundai ix20, but yeah it's nowhere near as pretty as many of the other EV's. However for the price you pay it's adequate. I like the heated seats, I like the physical buttons rather than touch sensitive buttons/infotainment controls.

Glovebox is a little smaller than I'd like but it just means less crap being left in the car.

The centre armrest/storage is great.

Infotainment

Honestly, I've not bothered to use the built in navigation. I've seen reviews, it does nothing that Android Auto doesn't,

What annoys me is the volume inequality between the radio and Android Auto. I have to turn AA up past halfway to hear podcasts well, but switch back to the radio and it's aggressively loud.

The fact that when you turn the car back on, if Android Auto doesn't connect in time, the radio automatically comes on at the level you left Android Auto, means that I frequently get deafened or the radio wakes up the baby in the back seat leading to a load of crying.

Also the lack of consistency of what car setting reset to default and what stays the same when you turn the car off and on again is a bit annoying.

Drive

Very happy with the drive, it's smooth, I generally prefer ECO mode however it's lack of immediacy does occasionally leave me wanting at the odd junction. However to be fair, if I am in need of immediate response to make it out of the junction I probably shouldn't have pulled out in the first place.

I make liberal use of MG Pilot and for the most part I really like it. On the motorway it works well and leaves me feeling a lot calmer, especially when I see a traffic jam coming up. I sit there happy as the car does the stop start for me and I no longer want to smother the whole world with a pillow.

Efficiency so far is good. On my short journeys it's a little less than I would like, but it's cold so I have tempered my expectations. Long drives I am happy. I am getting near enough 200 miles from Bristol to London and whilst I always charge somewhere half way, I know I would make it if I couldn't.

Couple of issues with MG Pilot

When it loses its lock on the lane, there is not audible warning, you can feel the steering has changed and the icon turns yellow, but that's one area where I would appreciate a little more feedback. "Hey I am about to cross lanes indiscriminately at 70mph, just thought you should know" Sure we can have alerts for lane keeping, but I wouldn't have minded a little beep for it losing lane keeping when MG Pilot engaged.

The other issue to be wary of, is when the car in front of you changes lane, MG Pilot will speed up to fill the space, however it doesn't always seem to recognise if there is another car now in front, and will ignore your distance settings and race forward. I've sort of allowed it to keep going and have had to intervene with manual brakes when it's gotten within a few feet of the car in front.

I know it might seem like a negative list, but I do really love the car. But I don't want to ignore it's flaws. It's a great intro to electric cars, it'll serve me well for a good few years.
 
Only 5 days into my MG 5 (LR Excite) ownership and absolutely loving it. I came from a '58 plate Jag XF, and I actually think the MG is as good (if not better) a ride. All the reviews of it being soft and wallowy I just don't get. It's fast, responsive, and I just love sitting in traffic or at junctions using no fuel!

The infotainment system on the Jag was old, very slow, and didn't natively support USB/BT etc (the satnav was based on a DVD player in the boot!), so I've no problems with the MG's at all.

Can't believe how many toys and driver aids it comes with as standard. I do sometimes wonder if I should have gone for the Exclusive, but I've still not found anything the Excite is lacking. Heated mirrors at the time of year, maybe.

Some of the dash info is a bit odd. No digital speedo on the same screen as the auto-cruise for example, but I dare say a lot of these things will be addressed in a future update.

So far really happy with the first brand-new car I've ever owned :) Getting it through the Affinity scheme was an added bonus that really makes it feel like I've got a bargain!
 
iainfm said:
...

Some of the dash info is a bit odd. No digital speedo on the same screen as the auto-cruise for example, but I dare say a lot of these things will be addressed in a future update.

...
Click to expand...
As you are in auto cruise you should have an idea of what speed you are travelling at LOL. However use the left/right buttons on the right of the steering wheel while in cruise to change the display back to speedo (or any other display you want to see).
 
Gomev said:
As you are in auto cruise you should have an idea of what speed you are travelling at LOL. However use the left/right buttons on the right of the steering wheel while in cruise to change the display back to speedo (or any other display you want to see).
Click to expand...
LEAF does exactly the same and is less easy to correct.
 
I have had my LR Exclusive for a few weeks and coming from a 19 year old Skoda Octavia, it feels like it's from another planet.. Absolutely love it. My only gripe is that the Android Auto connects intermittently, and once disconnected in the middle of a journey. I have disabled BlueTooth on my phone - someone suggested that as an option. Is there a knack to getting a reliable connection?

That aside, I love the car and it has even attracted attention from a tradesman. My neighbours have been sniffing around as well !
 
Petriix said:
Solar can definitely contribute to charging. On a good, sunny day my 3.42kWp array can add about 20kWh to the car - around a third of the battery after charging losses. It might require a little from the grid even when it's sunny e.g. when I boil the kettle, the charging won't stop instantly so some power will be imported.

You'll need something like a Zappi charger or similar and it obviously depends on where you are, the orientation and size of your array, the time of year and the weather.
Click to expand...
My Zappi will only start charging the car when there is 1.4Kw of spare power available. I have had the car two weeks and the sun has barely shone, so I have had no spare solar to charge so far
 
FormerOctavia said:
My Zappi will only start charging the car when there is 1.4Kw of spare power available. I have had the car two weeks and the sun has barely shone, so I have had no spare solar to charge so far
Click to expand...
You can reduce the minimum green threshold to lower and allow the grid to supplement the solar power. I tend to keep mine set at 60% which will pull up to 560W from the grid to make up the 1.4kW minimum charge rate.
 
Petriix said:
You can reduce the minimum green threshold to lower and allow the grid to supplement the solar power. I tend to keep mine set at 60% which will pull up to 560W from the grid to make up the 1.4kW minimum charge rate.
Click to expand...
That's really clever - nice tip - thank you ! That Zappi is awesome
 
Did my first drive in dark country lanes. The bright instruments make seeing cars coming near impossible, had to open the windows!
 
I have the Mg5 SR owned three months now and done about 3000 miles.
it is so simple to drive, comfortable and cheap to run. The car has all of the essentials but lacks voice control over entertainment system. The acceleration and braking is good. The space and legroom more than good. For me the extra height to get in and out is great. Seats are comfortable and controls easy to manipulate. Auto handbrake and hill hold is very easy to use. Holds the road well at speed and takes pot holes in its stride. Mud flaps needed to keep front doors and sills mud free. Some if my previous cars cost nearly three times more than this one, they were more refined but nowhere near as cheap to run or as much fun to drive. I love it. Being a tad deaf I can now hear conversation whilst driving which I couldn’t in my ICE’s.
 
Support us by becoming a Premium Member

Latest MG EVs video

MG3 Hybrid+ & Cyberster Configurator News + hot topics from the MG EVs forums
Published
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom