Motorway economy

[dido]

I have the same journey to and from work mainly on motorways. My petrol consumption increases significantly on rainy stormy weather with heater on. I couldn't trust the 52kh battery so I ordered the long range....

 

[hequals4]

Hey guys, I have a MG4 SE standard range 70mph motorway range test coming out today on my YT channel.
Please feel free to sub and hit the notification bell for when it goes live today

https://youtube.com/channel/UC1lUIYZmO6LRgG4Z7Q7CDtA

Another good video Stuart with a lot of useful info. I was glad to see you doing this test at a decent speed which is of much more interest to me than when you see others driving slowly and slip-streaming trucks etc to eek out max range. I would sub but I already had after your previous DC charging video ?

 

[MoDolph]

Hey guys, I have a MG4 SE standard range 70mph motorway range test coming out today on my YT channel.
Please feel free to sub and hit the notification bell for when it goes live today

https://youtube.com/channel/UC1lUIYZmO6LRgG4Z7Q7CDtA

Great video and very useful. As above, this is how normal people drive and how I plan to be driving. The consumption was about what I expected. I hope it doesn't drop too much with the heater running.

Thank-you

 

[BugEyed]

3.2 miles/kWh at 70 mph in 11C dry weather is poor by the car (not the driver). I note the use of Eco mode to turn off the HVAC to maximise range which was slightly undone by the use of cruise control and the regen set at High. Whilst 160 miles is the claimed value I can't say that I'm impressed (by the car), particularly for a virtually new car with no battery degradation.

As an aside, in similar conditions a 2013 LEAF gives 3.3 miles/kWh and a 2022 Tesla M3 on 20" wheels 3.55 miles/kWh.

Thanks for the video - very useful!

 

[MoDolph]

3.2 miles/kWh at 70 mph in 11C dry weather is poor by the car (not the driver). I note the use of Eco mode to turn off the HVAC to maximise range which was slightly undone by the use of cruise control and the regen set at High. Whilst 160 miles is the claimed value I can't say that I'm impressed (by the car), particularly for a virtually new car with no battery degradation.

Thanks for the video - very useful!

It would be nice if it was better but I think it is about right. You'll be able to find lots of examples where people say they do better in different cars but they often don't mention that they had a bit of a drive to the motorway at low speeds both before and after the motorway section, or there were roadworks slowing them down etc.

I've always worked on the assumption that it would be a 3miles/kWh car so I'm happy.

 

[tsedge]

3.2 miles/kWh at 70 mph in 11C dry weather is poor by the car (not the driver). I note the use of Eco mode to turn off the HVAC to maximise range which was slightly undone by the use of cruise control and the regen set at High. Whilst 160 miles is the claimed value I can't say that I'm impressed (by the car), particularly for a virtually new car with no battery degradation.

Thanks for the video - very useful!

The MG4 is definitely not the most efficient.

However, it only has to have enough range for the owner and most people’s daily drives are short, so is it really down to whether it works for you for longer journeys.

 

[amdmad]

It's just nice to drive at 70mph compared to our ex Leaf24..

 

[MoDolph]

It's just nice to drive at 70mph compared to our ex Leaf24..

Exactly! Our 2014 LEAF is down to 78% SOH, or ~16kWh usable. At 70mph we get around 45 miles range. It's our only car so the LR will be a massive upgrade. No more lorry slipstreaming for us.

 

[hequals4]

3.2 miles/kWh at 70 mph in 11C dry weather is poor by the car

I disagree. I've got zero interest in bigging up the MG4 but this is not a bad efficiency number for a long distance trip that had a particularly high average speed of 63mph.

Not to brag but I speak as someone who has 9 years of EV driving under my belt with thousands of miles logged via software such as Teslafi and Tronity.

To try back that up I've just had a look at my data for the last few weeks to see if I can find a similar trip. I currently own a VW e-up, arguably the most efficient EV out there at the moment (see R Symons recent video about that where he came to that conclusion) and here's a comparison. A long trip down the M1 with an average speed of 55 mph, 9 degrees outside and efficiency of 3.4 mi/kWh.

The MG4's efficiency for this high speed trip isn't spectacular, it's about what is expected but it's not poor IMO.

 

[malachi456]

I don't have one but suspect that you'll be fine provided your willing to take it easy on the worst 5% of days.

I calculate that for an SR with the battery warranty of 70% you would have to achieve 3.4 miles/kWh so in 7 years time you might struggle

I think the SR has the LFP battery which degrades very little, so you shouldn't have a problem here. It is the LR which has the traditional NMC battery which could degrade to 70%. I think I am right here?

 

[BugEyed]

I disagree. I've got zero interest in bigging up the MG4 but this is not a bad efficiency number for a long distance trip that had a particularly high average speed of 63mph.

Not to brag but I speak as someone who has 9 years of EV driving under my belt with thousands of miles logged via software such as Teslafi and Tronity.

To try back that up I've just had a look at my data for the last few weeks to see if I can find a similar trip. I currently own a VW e-up, arguably the most efficient EV out there at the moment (see R Symons recent video about that where he came to that conclusion) and here's a comparison. A long trip down the M1 with an average speed of 55 mph, 9 degrees outside and efficiency of 3.4 mi/kWh.

The MG4's efficiency for this high speed trip isn't spectacular, it's about what is expected but it's not poor IMO.

Clearly we disagree. The RSymons video was interesting in the form of the test not involving sustained (relatively) high speed which in the case of the MG4 appears to be the undoing of the SR in comparison to the LR - a combination of lower gearing and motor design along possibly with the active grille.

Which reminds me - I must get on with making a grille block.

 

[BrenEV]

Clearly we disagree. The RSymons video was interesting in the form of the test not involving sustained (relatively) high speed which in the case of the MG4 appears to be the undoing of the SR in comparison to the LR - a combination of lower gearing and motor design along possibly with the active grille.

Which reminds me - I must get on with making a grille block.

What makes you say 3.2 is poor in those conditions ?

There are many EVs which cost significantly more that return similar or worse figures at 70mph. EV6 and Ioniq 5 included.

Cars like the original Audi e-tron which can return as low as 2 miles per I would say is “poor”, for example.

Teslas are around an entire mile per kWh better than this MG4 result but they also cost a minimum of £15k more!

 

[amdmad]

Exactly! Our 2014 LEAF is down to 78% SOH, or ~16kWh usable. At 70mph we get around 45 miles range. It's our only car so the LR will be a massive upgrade. No more lorry slipstreaming for us.

What makes you say 3.2 is poor in those conditions ?

There are many EVs which cost significantly more that return similar or worse figures at 70mph. EV6 and Ioniq 5 included.

Cars like the original Audi e-tron which can return as low as 2 miles per I would say is “poor”, for example.

Teslas are around an entire mile per kWh better than this MG4 result but they also cost a minimum of £15k more!

Don't forget iPace

 

[adiel]

I'd probably work at home if we had snow. But yes charging at home off peak is not a problem as got 7.5p a kWh for four hours. It would be fine for a top up.

I guess I realistically wanted to know what regular cruising at 75mph would get you.

A speeding fine?

 

[BugEyed]

There are many EVs which cost significantly more that return similar or worse figures at 70mph.

That's very much the case, but generally in the sort of products that are converted ICE or cars intended to appeal to people who don't care about efficiency. They mainly have obscenely large batteries.

EV6 and Ioniq 5 included.

Both of those exceed 3.5 miles/kWh at 70 mph and are cars from bigger segments. But both are considerably more expensive.

I have to accept that the MG is alone at its price point and any comparison is unfair. About the only competitor for the MG4 SE SR tested would be the MG4 SE LR (£2.5k more) or the MG5 (only available in LR form currently and £4.5k more).

 

[MoDolph]

Both of those exceed 3.5 miles/kWh at 70 mph and are cars from bigger segments. But both are considerably more expensive.

I doubt that is the case. TeslaBjorn has tested both of these and found much worse. Granted it was at 120 km/h which is 75 mph but I doubt going 5 mph slower would make enough of a difference.

Here are a few cars taken from his Google Sheets:

The data isn't perfect due to different weather conditions.

 

[Ivan]

I'd probably work at home if we had snow. But yes charging at home off peak is not a problem as got 7.5p a kWh for four hours. It would be fine for a top up.

I guess I realistically wanted to know what regular cruising at 75mph would get you.

Hi, I have my MG ZS Long range 15000km /9500 miles app./ now. I am using it every day for roughly the same distance as you and it is completely achievable even in the heaviset winter , with anb average speed of 50 mph - varying between 40 and 75 mph.
The secret of the long range performance is the swift and easy throtle - no acceleration, no overtakings. I have even achieved 540 km /300 miles/ on a single charge, but then the charging is a nightmare given you don't have the really expensive 22 KW one . If you are charging home don't expect more than 3.5 KW/h, so about 14 Kw for the cheap price and this is hardly enough to cover your 120 miles, but rather 65-70 miles, so either get one home charger of at least 7 KW or find a charger close to your place that can provide at least15-20KW as this will suffice to vamp the batytery in a reasonable time.
And , yes, I am living in France and am very happy to have an all year round subscription for 150 euros with one of the electricity providers, so for the time being my mileage is all nearly free and is getting cheaper with every mile driven
Good luck

 

[robrymond]

Hi, I have my MG ZS Long range 15000km /9500 miles app./ now. I am using it every day for roughly the same distance as you and it is completely achievable even in the heaviset winter , with anb average speed of 50 mph - varying between 40 and 75 mph.
The secret of the long range performance is the swift and easy throtle - no acceleration, no overtakings. I have even achieved 540 km /300 miles/ on a single charge, but then the charging is a nightmare given you don't have the really expensive 22 KW one . If you are charging home don't expect more than 3.5 KW/h, so about 14 Kw for the cheap price and this is hardly enough to cover your 120 miles, but rather 65-70 miles, so either get one home charger of at least 7 KW or find a charger close to your place that can provide at least15-20KW as this will suffice to vamp the batytery in a reasonable time.
And , yes, I am living in France and am very happy to have an all year round subscription for 150 euros with one of the electricity providers, so for the time being my mileage is all nearly free and is getting cheaper with every mile driven
Good luck

Thanks. I do have a 7KW wall charger at home, so there isn't an issue there. I was just curious since I'm a bit heavy footed and hate trundling along at 50-60mph when I do the same journey day-in day-out.