One week in ….

[Ejaydee]

do feel a bit sorry especially for older buyers who may not be very computer-savvy and maybe they're only of average intelligence, and they could probably do with a bit of hand-holding.

Ouch.....as an "older" buyer, can I say this comment feels more than a little condescending, particularly the bit about our perceived intelligence level?

Don't forget, it is us oldies that taught the generation following what we had learnt and knew, furnishing them with the tools and skills to continue the developments that we had researched and developed during our working lives!!! There is very little out there that is truly "new", mostly it is developments of old technology and activities. Even the concept and creation of EVs predate the internal combustion engine and for info, I am now on my third new EV (Zoes in 2015 and 2021, and MG4 in 2023)!

So, please do not feel sorry for this "oldie".

 

[siteguru]

You're only as old as you feel.

An anecdote ... when I was a young boy there was a guy of about 80 who used to pull around a buggy/cart loaded with off-cuts of wood. We asked him what he was doing ... "I'm collecting and distributing wood for fires for the old people" he said ... many of those "old people" were at least 10 years younger than him.

(I think you'll find @Rolfe is older than she seems here)

 

[Rolfe]

Ouch.....as an "older" buyer, can I say this comment feels more than a little condescending, particularly the bit about our perceived intelligence level?

Don't forget, it is us oldies that taught the generation following what we had learnt and knew, furnishing them with the tools and skills to continue the developments that we had researched and developed during our working lives!!! There is very little out there that is truly "new", mostly it is developments of old technology and activities. Even the concept and creation of EVs predate the internal combustion engine and for info, I am now on my third new EV (Zoes in 2015 and 2021, and MG4 in 2023)!

So, please do not feel sorry for this "oldie".

My dear boy, I'll be 70 myself later this year. But I know that many of my contemporaries (and those even older who are still motoring) are not as net-savvy as I am and would struggle with a lot of this. And half the population is below average intelligence. I'm trying to highlight the need to think about people who grew up with the ICE cars of the 60s and 70s, who don't spend half their lives online, and who aren't Mensa material. There are a lot of them, and they deserve to have systems they can cope with. Many people of pensionable age are sharp as a tack and very net-savvy, but many aren't. If the cap doesn't fit, don't wear it.

 

[bowfer]

I'm pretty sure the sound system in the MG4 isn't objectively better than the one in my Golf. But it sounds better, because I can hear a lot of detail that used to be drowned out by engine noise.



You have got to making this up!

TBH, certainly in the SE, MG seems to have used the lack of engine noise to excuse a very poor stereo.
It’s objectively poor, it lacks any sort of bass and is probably the worst sounding system I’ve had in a car for a long time, I used to joke it sounded like those novelty coke-can radios you used to get.
Back to back driving our 2021 Polo ‘United’ sounded like a nightclub PA in comparison (it’s not upgraded to the beats system).
Honestly quite shocking the difference in bass.
It didn’t overly bother me, but still.

 

[Rolfe]

I think we like different sorts of music. I was startled by the amount of detail I could suddenly hear, in recordings I'd listened to several times in my Golf. Articulation, diction, delicate instrumental passages, it was all there.

I gather some people have upgraded their speakers but I don't think I'll bother. Booming bass isn't my thing really, and if I want a true hifi experience I'll be using my home system. (There's a Linn Sondek in there, which is quite something.)

 

[Ejaydee]

My dear boy, I'll be 70 myself later this year. But I know that many of my contemporaries (and those even older who are still motoring) are not as net-savvy as I am and would struggle with a lot of this. And half the population is below average intelligence. I'm trying to highlight the need to think about people who grew up with the ICE cars of the 60s and 70s, who don't spend half their lives online, and who aren't Mensa material. There are a lot of them, and they deserve to have systems they can cope with. Many people of pensionable age are sharp as a tack and very net-savvy, but many aren't. If the cap doesn't fit, don't wear it.

Thanks for calling me a 'boy', I am a few years older than yourself, but thank you for the compliment all the same . By the way, I would not class myself as Mensa material, just experienced of life and questioning of everything that moves (or doesn't).

I agree there are many people, not just oldies that are not net-savvy, so yes I do agree that designers of cars, home equipment and even mobile phones, need to either have really good instructions/help desks in place (which MG does not seem to do particularly well), or the systems need to be completely intuitive and are able to look after themselves i.e. you do not need to have any knowledge how the 'engine' works principle.

Thankfully I haven't really struggled with anything so far with the MG4 after 2 week's ownership, despite my 'advanced years' .

I have found however, the some of the same irritations that other people have found. I'm philosophical about those issues though and think they will get sorted, simply because when I had my first Zoe, the systems were extremely flaky and very frustrating, but with many owners feedback and lots of developments, Renault (mostly) ironed out the problems and made it a cracking little car by about 2017/18. Unfortunately, they did not particularly exploit that situation and develop the later Zoe which my Wife now drives and thankfully loves, hence me moving to a competitor!

The cap you were offering definitely does not fit me so I will not be wearing it!!

 

[Rolfe]

You've at least had the advantage of owning an EV before this one. A lot of people are starting with their first EV and have no idea of the difference between DC and AC charging when they drive off. TBH, all the older people I know who have got these cars are coping brilliantly, having turned themselves into experts in pretty short order, but not everyone is capable of that. Half the population (of any age) is below average intelligence. Some old dogs really struggle to learn new tricks. There are people I know whom I think would be way out of their depth if they took the plunge without someone holding their hand.

Younger people, having grown up online, are in a better position to get their own bearings - even those on the dimmer end of the spectrum. But I think manufacturers and dealers need to try to put themselves in the shoes of someone who learned to drive on a Ford Anglia in the 1960s and isn't quite sure what YouTube is.

 

[siteguru]

and isn't quite sure what YouTube is.

Up here it's an idiot.

 

[Rolfe]

Well, yes. (My house is three miles from the county boundary with South Lanarkshire.)

 

[RayReliable]

I think the less tech savvy comment stands. My father is only 65 years young and I know for a fact that in his hyandai I have used more features in the 20 miles or so I borrow it over the period he has it than he will in the 1000’s of miles he will drive it.

A half decent two sided leaflet would have done well to go into the glove box of all the new cars even if it said start the car like this, lock it like this and you can download an app here which has the full manual.

Or even just the first time you start it up it does a little quick start video, like TVs in Curry’s running the shop demos.

Even with the manual you have to trial and error some features to see how they work.

 

[Rolfe]

What I find difficult with the manual is knowing what the features it's telling me how to operate actually do, and why I might want to do that. It's big on describing how to turn the goofleflump on and off and how to select its various modes, but I'm often none the wiser as to what the goofleflump actually does and why this is something I might actually want to use.

 

[Hboutdat]

TBH, certainly in the SE, MG seems to have used the lack of engine noise to excuse a very poor stereo.
It’s objectively poor, it lacks any sort of bass and is probably the worst sounding system I’ve had in a car for a long time, I used to joke it sounded like those novelty coke-can radios you used to get.
Back to back driving our 2021 Polo ‘United’ sounded like a nightclub PA in comparison (it’s not upgraded to the beats system).
Honestly quite shocking the difference in bass.
It didn’t overly bother me, but still.

In our SE, you can certainly notice the lack of depth to the audio output when using the Radio even after tweaking the equaliser settings to get something acceptable. This becomes even more apparent after playing iphone audio over bluetooth in the SE as it actually cranks things up a notch quality wise and the audio output is noticeably fuller with much better lower frequency bass and overall tone.
So even in the SE, the front speakers/system is capable of producing a decent sound, just unfortunately not with the output from the fm/digi radio signal.

 

[RayReliable]

In our SE, you can certainly notice the lack of depth to the audio output when using the Radio even after tweaking the equaliser settings to get something acceptable. This becomes even more apparent after playing iphone audio over bluetooth in the SE as it actually cranks things up a notch quality wise and the audio output is noticeably fuller with much better lower frequency bass and overall tone.
So even in the SE, the front speakers/system is capable of producing a decent sound, just unfortunately not with the output from the fm/digi radio signal.

Maybe why I haven’t noticed any audio issues as I play exclusively through Apple CarPlay and use Apple Music and Apple Podcasts.

I think the sound is alright, I was never expecting the soundstage I get with my headphones.