Roof box range effect?

[MGJimmy]

Just coming back from a lovely camping trip to Cornwall and the joy of using the Moto Exeter charging stations...but after being very proud of my packing efficiency for the journey down there I'm afraid the same efficiency was somewhat lacking for the return journey. Now thinking I either leave one of the kids behind (or slightly amputate them) or start using our old roof box (plus some generic roof bars as ours is an Excite)...but how will it affect our range? Anyone got any experience of roof boxes yet?

 

[biffo]

Just coming back from a lovely camping trip to Cornwall and the joy of using the Moto Exeter charging stations...but after being very proud of my packing efficiency for the journey down there I'm afraid the same efficiency was somewhat lacking for the return journey. Now thinking I either leave one of the kids behind (or slightly amputate them) or start using our old roof box (plus some generic roof bars as ours is an Excite)...but how will it affect our range? Anyone got any experience of roof boxes yet?

I drove 280 from Glasgow to North Wales at the start of July & back again mid July. Car fully loaded and had a 510 litre box on the roof.

I got about 3.5 miles/kWh sitting at 65 on ACC using Eco and Kers 1 - pretty much the same both directions.

Contrasting that to a 60 mile motorway journey early August to Fife, same driving style, etc - I got around 4.2 miles/kWh.

So - fully loaded & roofbox gave 0.7 miles/kWh less than just family of three. Depending on how aerodynamic & size of your box, might be more or less. Ultimately though - work with a loss of around 0.5 miles/kWh and that’ll give you a fair idea.

 

[RMGEV]

I don’t know about the newer models but my Dec 21 SR model states in the manual that the roof bars are for aesthetic purposes only. Unfortunately I’d already bought the car by the time I discovered this! Has anyone ignored this and used them anyway? Or do the people using the roof bars have the newer version?

 

[biffo]

I don’t know about the newer models but my Dec 21 SR model states in the manual that the roof bars are for aesthetic purposes only. Unfortunately I’d already bought the car by the time I discovered this! Has anyone ignored this and used them anyway? Or do the people using the roof bars have the newer version?

There is a recall which adds an addendum to the manual for SR, stating an updated rating of 35kg. The LR has a 75kg rating.

Recall MG MOTOR R/2021/179 - Vehicle Recall UK

Recall MG MOTOR R/2021/179. VEHICLE ROOF BARS WERE PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AS BEING NON-LOAD BEARING

www.vehicle-recall.co.uk

 

[Hairyfool]

0.7 off of 4.2 equates to a 17% reduction in range @ 65mph.

That fairly well matches another test showed a medium saloon had a 19% loss and a small SUV 13%

The SUV would have been aerodynamically poor in the 1st place so the box would only make it slightly worse. The saloon has good aerodynamics but based on clean flow down the rear window and off a lower boot.

The MG5 is reasonable aerodynamically but lacks the better low boot edge.

So that brings the WLTP range of the LR down from 250 to 207 miles, however WLTP includes slow driving phases so the effect should be slightly less.

 

[Tweed98]

There is a recall which adds an addendum to the manual for SR, stating an updated rating of 35kg. The LR has a 75kg rating.

Recall MG MOTOR R/2021/179 - Vehicle Recall UK

Recall MG MOTOR R/2021/179. VEHICLE ROOF BARS WERE PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AS BEING NON-LOAD BEARING

www.vehicle-recall.co.uk

35kg i.e. half my Missus weekend bag!

 

[Les burrows]

I don’t know about the newer models but my Dec 21 SR model states in the manual that the roof bars are for aesthetic purposes only. Unfortunately I’d already bought the car by the time I discovered this! Has anyone ignored this and used them anyway? Or do the people using the roof bars have the newer version?

Hi RMGEV,I can see your new here to the forum so welcome onboard, so many thanks to you for your question and may I also so say a big thank you to Biffo for his Response to you.
Can I just add if I may, this 35kg limit on the early models is the total roof loading allowed, so that’s cross rails roofbox and what ever you are to carry combined that you need to be aware of for safety and insurance purposes
,
You say your car is a December 2021 the exclusive model presume.
So If you don’t mind can you please give an answer a just couple of question, the reasons why I’m asking will become apparent when I have your answers.

1 How long have you owned the car?
2 When did you purchased it and where did you purchase it from, and was this an MG dealer.
Thank you.
Les.

 

[RMGEV]

Hi RMGEV,I can see your new here to the forum so welcome onboard, so many thanks to you for your question and may I also so say a big thank you to Biffo for his Response to you.
Can I just add if I may, this 35kg limit on the early models is the total roof loading allowed, so that’s cross rails roofbox and what ever you are to carry combined that you need to be aware of for safety and insurance purposes
,
You say your car is a December 2021 the exclusive model presume.
So If you don’t mind can you please give an answer a just couple of question, the reasons why I’m asking will become apparent when I have your answers.

1 How long have you owned the car?
2 When did you purchased it and where did you purchase it from, and was this an MG dealer.
Thank you.
Les.

Thanks for both of your replies! This is clearly a great forum to get updated information and user experience from. I’ve had the car for about a month and I bought it from an MG dealer in Ipswich. It is the exclusive model. I did ask the dealership at the time about the roof bar load (before I’d read the manual) and they weren’t sure what it was. I’ve not needed a roof box so far due to the generous boot space compared to my last car but it would certainly be good to know for the future.

 

[Les burrows]

Hi again RMGEV, many thanks for you reply this morning and the answers to my question.
This saga about the roof rails on the MG5 is a very long standing one and was my main reason for joining this forum back in 2020 you see I like yourself read the thing in the handbook online after I placing my order my 5 SR in November 2020, which was about these rails being decorative only and must not be used, this was on page 62 of the owners handbook and if you search the forums you will find a very long thread about this issue.

I am so pleased that you to read the handbook and found this very same page in it, you see back in 2020 I wrote many letters, and had many conversations in writing and on the telephone with MG over this very issue, and I have been expecting it to rear it’s ugly head again, because I asked MG motors to fix or remove the roof rails back in 2020, as I knew that someone would buy a car new or 2nd hand car, not even look at the handbook, and think they could put items onto the roof like you can with most estate cars that are fitted with roof rails, you see lots of people buy a car and never read the handbook and when it’s 2nd or 3rd hand also may not even be given a handbook with the car, and my concerns where it could cause an accident on our roads if something came adrift.

Well MG didn’t remove them they eventually came back with a load rating of 35 kg maximum load after so called testing, which is a get out for MG because they in affect they have past it on the to the vehicle owners and their dealers to explain what can and can’t be loaded on the roof bars, they even confused matters more when along came LR car, they look and feel exactly the same rails that are fitted but now the LR can have 75kg on its rails.

You have confirmed today that your MG dealer told you, they weren’t sure of the roof load when you asked a question about the roof load, I wonder how many people have purchased a SR 5 and not even asked the question about the roof load, I said back then the dealers won’t do that in case they loose a sale and it appears I was correct.

MG motors assured the DVSA and myself, they would instruct their dealers to ensure all perspective owners would be made aware of the loading on the rails.
It appears they haven’t done so with you by the dealer who sold you the car.

But, please don’t get downhearted you have purchased a very good vehicle that should give you very cheap and trouble free motoring despite this issue that I have outlined above, I still took delivery of my 5 SR and have on the whole been very happy with my purchase, and continue to be so, but as for MG Motors head office and some of their dealership the should be and are very often in that place known as

Les.
PS when you have chance to please up date your Avatar so everybody knows you have the SR model and that you get the correct answers to any question you may post it can help other members here thanks again .les

 

[RMGEV]

Hi again RMGEV, many thanks for you reply this morning and the answers to my question.
This saga about the roof rails on the MG5 is a very long standing one and was my main reason for joining this forum back in 2020 you see I like yourself read the thing in the handbook online after I placing my order my 5 SR in November 2020, which was about these rails being decorative only and must not be used, this was on page 62 of the owners handbook and if you search the forums you will find a very long thread about this issue.

I am so pleased that you to read the handbook and found this very same page in it, you see back in 2020 I wrote many letters, and had many conversations in writing and on the telephone with MG over this very issue, and I have been expecting it to rear it’s ugly head again, because I asked MG motors to fix or remove the roof rails back in 2020, as I knew that someone would buy a car new or 2nd hand car, not even look at the handbook, and think they could put items onto the roof like you can with most estate cars that are fitted with roof rails, you see lots of people buy a car and never read the handbook and when it’s 2nd or 3rd hand not even be given a handbook with the car, and my concerns where it could cause an accident on our roads if something came adrift.

Well MG didn’t remove them they eventually came back with a load rating of 35 kg maximum load after so called testing, which is a get out for MG because they in affect they have past it on the to the vehicle owners and their dealers to explain what can and can’t be loaded on the roof bars, they even confused matters more when along came LR car, they look and feel exactly the same rails that are fitted but now the LR can have 75kg on its rails.

You have confirmed today that your MG dealer told you, they weren’t sure of the roof load when you asked a question about the roof load, I wonder how many people have purchased a SR 5 and not even asked the question about the roof load, I said back then the dealers won’t do that in case they loose a sale and it appears I was correct.

MG motors assured the DVSA and myself, they would instruct their dealers to ensure all perspective owners would be made aware of the loading on the rails.
It appears they haven’t done so with you dealer who sold you the car.

But, please don’t get downhearted you have purchased a very good vehicle that should give you very cheap and trouble free motoring despite this issue that I have outlined above, I still took delivery of my 5 SR and have on the whole been very happy with my purchase, and continue to be so, but as for MG Motors head office and some of their dealership the should be and are very often in that place known as
View attachment 10598
Les.
PS when you have chance to please up date your Avatar so everybody knows you have the SR model and that you get the correct answers to any question you may post it can help other members here thanks again .les

Hi Les,

That’s really useful to know. I only read the handbook to find out after the dealer said they didn’t know but you’re right about private purchased second hand cars or those purchased after several owner changes. It’s good to hear that your overall views on the car are positive! I have started to experience some peculiar noises with mine which I made a topic about on here yesterday but no responses yet so it may be something I need to speak to the dealer about. I’m not quite sure what’s actually covered under the warranty so I probably need to do some more paperwork reading!

Thanks

 

[MGJimmy]

Thanks for the replies, I was expecting 20% loss so if anything this sounds better However I was only getting 3.6m/kWh on the motorway when fully loaded so we won’t be getting great efficiency!

 

[Gomev]

Thanks for the replies, I was expecting 20% loss so if anything this sounds better However I was only getting 3.6m/kWh on the motorway when fully loaded so we won’t be getting great efficiency!

On the motorway consumption at 70 is greater than at 65 but with not much difference in feel of speed or actual time to get somewhere.

 

[smokie]

not much difference in feel of speed or actual time to get somewhere.

Which is, of course, patently wrong.

You tend to reach the next traffic jam a bit quicker.

 

[Gomev]

Which is, of course, patently wrong.

You tend to reach the next traffic jam a bit quicker.

Indeed.
In fact for about a year my daily commute was Leeds to Knutsford and back. I was working with a colleague who lived in Huddersfield so followed the same route. I would burn off rushing to get home speed at up to 80 70mph in my 3 litre V6, whilst he being the economical sort pootled off at 55/60 in his Golf eco thingy.
I would just hate him every time he ended up a few cars behind at the next jam but I still couldn't stop myself every day.

 

[Robf]

Indeed.
In fact for about a year my daily commute was Leeds to Knutsford and back. I was working with a colleague who lived in Huddersfield so followed the same route. I would burn off rushing to get home speed at up to 80 70mph in my 3 litre V6, whilst he being the economical sort pootled off at 55/60 in his Golf eco thingy.
I would just hate him every time he ended up a few cars behind at the next jam but I still couldn't stop myself every day.

I used to do similar, eventually I got a leaf (1st gen) as replacement for my racing car and found to my displeasure that tootling along on the motorway at 55 got me to my destinations almost as quickly as queing in the fast lane. In addition I was not getting stressed out and range is so much better.
My hidden pleasure though is leaving all the boy racers behind at the traffic lights, I just cant help myself . I have a 3 to 2 lane nearby and...... such fun .

 

[MGJimmy]

On the motorway consumption at 70 is greater than at 65 but with not much difference in feel of speed or actual time to get somewhere.

I've not quite got to the point of not being able to push the speed limit a bit, one day I will reach such a level of enlightenment, maybe by the next camping trip...

 

[Gomev]

I've not quite got to the point of not being able to push the speed limit a bit, one day I will reach such a level of enlightenment, maybe by the next camping trip...

Oddly for some reason to me, travelling at 65 feels quite fast in this MG5 and upping to 70 doesn't feel any different. I think possibly because the speedo is very accurate.

Something I did notice when I set ACC at 70 on the motorway was how many times I slowly crept up to cars doing a steady 67 or 68, they obviously have the more normal overreading speedo's set to cruise at 70.

 

[AnonymouseDriva]

but late to the party here, but for my last camping trip (last October) with a full car, roofbox (5LR so loaded up!) cool weather and wet roads I got about 3.2m/kwh keeping to 60 on the motorways.

Also - there's a lot of chat on here about the roof rail saga, but I notice OP has the excite, which doesn't have roof rails. How does he then stand for weight limits on a 'normal'roofrack?

 

[Les burrows]

but late to the party here, but for my last camping trip (last October) with a full car, roofbox (5LR so loaded up!) cool weather and wet roads I got about 3.2m/kwh keeping to 60 on the motorways.

Also - there's a lot of chat on here about the roof rail saga, but I notice OP has the excite, which doesn't have roof rails. How does he then stand for weight limits on a 'normal'roofrack?

Wel that’s a good question and I don’t have an answer for you so he says generic roof bars for an excite, I have never seen or heard of any.
Les.

 

[MGJimmy]

Wel that’s a good question and I don’t have an answer for you so he says generic roof bars for an excite, I have never seen or heard of any.
Les.

Thanks for noticing that I don't think there is a restriction as the problem isn't with the roof itself...that needs to be strong enough to roll! The problem is the runners, which don't seem that strong, which is part of the reason we didn't go for them.