Test drive (MG4 SE long range) impressions

[FiferMG4]

I currently own a Suzuki Vitara mild hybrid 1.4 litre turbo petrol, so this is what my comparisons are based on with the MG4. I enjoy driving the Suzuki and have had no issues with it whatsoever. However, the pricing of the MG4 has made it possible for me to consider buying my first ever electric vehicle. It was this review by Jonny Smith on his Late Break Show YouTube channel which piqued my interest, led me to this forum and the resultant test drive I booked today:

Much appreciation to all the forum members old and new who answered my questions and gave me much to ponder. Needless to say I had 101 questions to ask my dealer and to be fair he answered them all honestly and is aware of the issues that are discussed here. For those interested I booked the test drive at MG Perth Just ask for Graham and he’ll be happy to help!

After a short introduction to the car, it’s handling, regenerative breaking and a bit about the controls I was given the key and a route explained to me which took in a bit of city driving, small and large 3 lane roundabouts, dual carriageway, an A road and a few B roads with some villages. I was out for about forty minutes.

Upon opening the door, my immediate impression was the build quality and solidness of the door compared to my Vitara. Sitting down I adjusted the seat and felt the seats to be as comfy, and even better hugging than my present car. Good visibility out the front and hardly any bonnet to see. The rear view wasn’t quite as open as the Suzuki’s though and I will miss that car’s reversing camera. It was weird not having to turn a key and just twisting the dial into drive mode. The steering felt light and responsive and when I did a three point turn, I was thinking I wouldn’t have negotiated the turn as easily in my Vitara. The turning cycle felt shorter to me.

The car gripped the road reassuringly at all times. It was raining with low cloud, but visibility was fine. Sorry, but I was having too much fun to check on the efficiency of the battery. I did note that I used 2% of the charge over the course of the test drive. There were no rattles or vibrations and only this strange, tinny sound which I found out was a song on the radio the previous driver had left on at a very low volume. I turned that off and enjoyed the peace even at Motorway speeds.

I must say, I was surprised by the acceleration compared with the Vitara when I merged with the dual carriageway. You catch up very quickly with any cars in front, so I’m going to have to be more careful in allowing more space when overtaking. The Vitara goes from 0 to 60 in just over 8 seconds, but the MG4 felt much faster than that acceleration or maybe I just can’t change gears fast enough.

I toggled the heating, demister and temperature controls on the infotainment screen and found it responsive and easy to use. Much better than the small touch screen on my Suzuki.

So, my closing thoughts are, the MG4 will be a step up for me in terms of materials and build quality, handling, responsiveness, acceleration and just fun to driveness! I’ll just have to get over reaching for the non-existent gear stick and for my left foot having nothing much to do.

As it was raining, I wasn’t (didn’t want to get all wet and muddy) able to look under the demonstrator, but it has done over a thousand miles and no oil leak seen. Neither on their Trophy demonstrator. The few cars which have been sold also have not reported this issue, but of course it’s still early days for some drivers, but fingers crossed this doesn’t crop up.

I did take photos of the SE short range in the show room.

Can’t wait to take ownership!

 

[FiferMG4]

@Leni16

 

[meicd]

As a guide I’m getting about 3 miles per % at the moment. Expecting less over the winter. So if you did about 6 miles on 2% that would be about right.

 

[FiferMG4]

As a guide I’m getting about 3 miles per % at the moment. Expecting less over the winter. So if you did about 6 miles on 2% that would be about right.

I’ve just done a rough guesstimate on how many miles I drove using Google maps and it was about 11~13 miles. I did stop a few times, plus there were roadworks and 20mph speed limit zones in the villages.

 

[Jomarkh]

I took a MG4 SE out friday afternoon.
Very nice drive but I was not blown away by it.
It was no quicker than my 5 but did not spin the wheels like the front wheel drive 5 does when pushed.
The 4 had a number of whines, the first may be the pedestrian noise but at 65ish there was a noise that seemed to be related to the motor rpm.
I found the centre screen had a bit of glare and I couldn't see the R when selected on the dial (in am short)
There was a bulge in the plastic under the car but no oil leak (the salesman said that the mod had been done) but there was a fault light showing to do with the autohold.
If I didn't have a 5 I would be tempted but then I would also be tempted by the face-lift 5 that has just arrived in the UK.
At 25k the SE is a great price what price will the lastest 5 be?

 

[FiferMG4]

I took a MG4 SE out friday afternoon.
Very nice drive but I was not blown away by it.
It was no quicker than my 5 but did not spin the wheels like the front wheel drive 5 does when pushed.
The 4 had a number of whines, the first may be the pedestrian noise but at 65ish there was a noise that seemed to be related to the motor rpm.
There was a bulge in the plastic under the car but no oil leak (the salesman said that the mod had been done) but there was a fault light showing to do with the autohold.
If I didn't have a 5 I would be tempted but then I would also be tempted by the face-lift 5 that has just arrived in the UK.
At 25k the SE is a great price what price will the lastest 5 be?

I had a look at a face lifted version of the MG5 in the showroom and it’s a big improvement over the outgoing model (which they also had) in terms of exterior and interior styling in my opinion. There weren’t any pricing details on it yet, so I’m guessing the dealer hasn’t had it long. I would be happy to own that too, but it’s probably slightly out of my price range. The boot seemed much longer, but a bit shallower than the MG4’s.

 

[Jomarkh]

My salesman said they had a new 5 but it was being prepped as it had just been delivered. He said all the 4's on their site had been modified with the new breather pipe plus most of the cars they had sold.

 

[4ND]

I currently own a Suzuki Vitara mild hybrid 1.4 litre turbo petrol, so this is what my comparisons are based on with the MG4. I enjoy driving the Suzuki and have had no issues with it whatsoever. However, the pricing of the MG4 has made it possible for me to consider buying my first ever electric vehicle. It was this review by Jonny Smith on his Late Break Show YouTube channel which piqued my interest, led me to this forum and the resultant test drive I booked today:

Much appreciation to all the forum members old and new who answered my questions and gave me much to ponder. Needless to say I had 101 questions to ask my dealer and to be fair he answered them all honestly and is aware of the issues that are discussed here. For those interested I booked the test drive at MG Perth Just ask for Graham and he’ll be happy to help!

After a short introduction to the car, it’s handling, regenerative breaking and a bit about the controls I was given the key and a route explained to me which took in a bit of city driving, small and large 3 lane roundabouts, dual carriageway, an A road and a few B roads with some villages. I was out for about forty minutes.

Upon opening the door, my immediate impression was the build quality and solidness of the door compared to my Vitara. Sitting down I adjusted the seat and felt the seats to be as comfy, and even better hugging than my present car. Good visibility out the front and hardly any bonnet to see. The rear view wasn’t quite as open as the Suzuki’s though and I will miss that car’s reversing camera. It was weird not having to turn a key and just twisting the dial into drive mode. The steering felt light and responsive and when I did a three point turn, I was thinking I wouldn’t have negotiated the turn as easily in my Vitara. The turning cycle felt shorter to me.

The car gripped the road reassuringly at all times. It was raining with low cloud, but visibility was fine. Sorry, but I was having too much fun to check on the efficiency of the battery. I did note that I used 2% of the charge over the course of the test drive. There were no rattles or vibrations and only this strange, tinny sound which I found out was a song on the radio the previous driver had left on at a very low volume. I turned that off and enjoyed the peace even at Motorway speeds.

I must say, I was surprised by the acceleration compared with the Vitara when I merged with the dual carriageway. You catch up very quickly with any cars in front, so I’m going to have to be more careful in allowing more space when overtaking. The Vitara goes from 0 to 60 in just over 8 seconds, but the MG4 felt much faster than that acceleration or maybe I just can’t change gears fast enough.

I toggled the heating, demister and temperature controls on the infotainment screen and found it responsive and easy to use. Much better than the small touch screen on my Suzuki.

So, my closing thoughts are, the MG4 will be a step up for me in terms of materials and build quality, handling, responsiveness, acceleration and just fun to driveness! I’ll just have to get over reaching for the non-existent gear stick and for my left foot having nothing much to do.

As it was raining, I wasn’t (didn’t want to get all wet and muddy) able to look under the demonstrator, but it has done over a thousand miles and no oil leak seen. Neither on their Trophy demonstrator. The few cars which have been sold also have not reported this issue, but of course it’s still early days for some drivers, but fingers crossed this doesn’t crop up.

I did take photos of the SE short range in the show room.

Can’t wait to take ownership!
View attachment 12467View attachment 12468

Nice write up.
The remark about hardly any bonnet to see: That's a negative in my opinion. I love being able to see some bonnet as it gives me a much better idea of where the front ends are.

 

[FiferMG4]

Nice write up.
The remark about hardly any bonnet to see: That's a negative in my opinion. I love being able to see some bonnet as it gives me a much better idea of where the front ends are.

I can understand that, but personally I liked the unobstructed view out of the windscreen.

 

[BugEyed]

My salesman said they had a new 5 but it was being prepped as it had just been delivered. He said all the 4's on their site had been modified with the new breather pipe plus most of the cars they had sold.

Interesting. To my knowledge nobody else has seen this yet. I wonder whether he was confusing the reduced oil level "fix"?

 

[bear1]

I took a MG4 SE out friday afternoon.
Very nice drive but I was not blown away by it.
It was no quicker than my 5 but did not spin the wheels like the front wheel drive 5 does when pushed.
The 4 had a number of whines, the first may be the pedestrian noise but at 65ish there was a noise that seemed to be related to the motor rpm.
I found the centre screen had a bit of glare and I couldn't see the R when selected on the dial (in am short)
There was a bulge in the plastic under the car but no oil leak (the salesman said that the mod had been done) but there was a fault light showing to do with the autohold.
If I didn't have a 5 I would be tempted but then I would also be tempted by the face-lift 5 that has just arrived in the UK.
At 25k the SE is a great price what price will the lastest 5 be?

I think the new 5 is coming in at just over 30, and doors have a 0-60 that's a tad quicker than the 4.
A bit of a surprise there.

 

[wiz043]

I took a MG4 SE out friday afternoon.
Very nice drive but I was not blown away by it.
It was no quicker than my 5 but did not spin the wheels like the front wheel drive 5 does when pushed.

In fairness the MG4 is rear wheel drive so is not going to spin the wheels or possibly have torque steer under hard acceleration like your front wheel drive car.
Most front wheel drive cars with a bit of grunt will spin the wheels under acceleration from a stop or in the wet but not sure that is a good thing.

 

[FiferMG4]

In fairness the MG4 is rear wheel drive so is not going to spin the wheels or possibly have torque steer under hard acceleration like your front wheel drive car.
Most front wheel drive cars with a bit of grunt will spin the wheels under acceleration from a stop or in the wet but not sure that is a good thing.

Yeah, my Suzuki Vitara does that when coming out of busy junctions. It’s a front wheel drive car. There was none of that wheel spin in the MG4 and the roads were very wet.

 

[BugEyed]

According to the MG UK website configurator it's £30,995+paint for the SE LR and £33,495+paint for the Trophy LR. There's no SR options listed.
0-60 is claimed as 7.3 secs rather than 7.7 which is very interesting. Given the fwd nature of the 5 (compared to 4 LR) you'd expect worse but it shows the difference in weight (1556 Vs 1685 kg), gearing and motor set-up similar to the 4 SE - lower power (115 to 156 PS) but higher torque (280 to 250NM).
The weight is a major surprise to me - why is the 4 so heavy?
Edit: the iD3 is a lardy 1803kg but has 310NM torque. It makes me think that the 4 LR is deliberately restricted to keep it behind the more expensive car similar to Porsche with the Cayman and 911.

 

[wiz043]

Yeah, my Suzuki Vitara does that when coming out of busy junctions. It’s a front wheel drive car. There was none of that wheel spin in the MG4 and the roads were very wet.

Got a bit excited there for a minute as I read below your comments that you ordered your MG4 and are awaiting delivery in January from MG Perth.
We also have a Perth in WA, Australia and I thought they were arriving here and I could order one tomorrow or whenever.
Sadly they are not due here for order until the first quarter next year.

 

[FiferMG4]

According to the MG UK website configurator it's £30,995+paint for the SE LR and £33,495+paint for the Trophy LR. There's no SR options listed.
0-60 is claimed as 7.3 secs rather than 7.7 which is very interesting. Given the fwd nature of the 5 (compared to 4 LR) you'd expect worse but it shows the difference in weight (1556 Vs 1685 kg), gearing and motor set-up similar to the 4 SE - lower power (115 to 156 PS) but higher torque (280 to 250NM).
The weight is a major surprise to me - why is the 4 so heavy?

Mat Watson of CarWow tested the MG4 from nought to sixty and was able to do it in 7.1 seconds.
From 15min 54sec mark:

 

[BugEyed]

Most front wheel drive cars with a bit of grunt will spin the wheels under acceleration from a stop or in the wet but not sure that is a good thing.

Only for tyre sales

 

[FiferMG4]

Got a bit excited there for a minute as I read below your comments that you ordered your MG4 and are awaiting delivery in January from MG Perth.
We also have a Perth in WA, Australia and I thought they were arriving here and I could order one tomorrow or whenever.
Sadly they are not due here for order until the first quarter next year.

Sorry, I got your hopes up. Hopefully it won’t be too long before the order books are open for you guys. I’ve got a few Aussie friends who live in the Perth down under. I took a quick look at Wikipedia and it says, “The city inherited its name due to the influence of Sir George Murray, then Member of Parliament for Perthshire in Scotland and Secretary of State for War and the Colonies.” Very interesting.

 

[tsedge]

According to the MG UK website configurator it's £30,995+paint for the SE LR and £33,495+paint for the Trophy LR. There's no SR options listed.
0-60 is claimed as 7.3 secs rather than 7.7 which is very interesting. Given the fwd nature of the 5 (compared to 4 LR) you'd expect worse but it shows the difference in weight (1556 Vs 1685 kg), gearing and motor set-up similar to the 4 SE - lower power (115 to 156 PS) but higher torque (280 to 250NM).
The weight is a major surprise to me - why is the 4 so heavy?
Edit: the iD3 is a lardy 1803kg but has 310NM torque. It makes me think that the 4 LR is deliberately restricted to keep it behind the more expensive car similar to Porsche with the Cayman and 911.

I am pretty sure CarWow measured 7.1 secs 0-60 on a Trophy, but I could be wrong.

Edit: oops... this has already been pointed out above, my bad.

 

[BugEyed]

Mat Watson of CarWow tested the MG4 from nought to sixty and was able to do it in 7.1 seconds.
From 15min 54sec mark:
View attachment 12486

It's not unknown for the early demo cars to be non-standard, in fact they are often claimed not to be to excuse any criticisms of things like harsh ride and poor handling - "not yet in UK road specification" which never gets changed.
Back in the day the demo E-type Jags had wide angle heads from the D-type racing cars and managed an easy 150mph according to the testers. Production cars struggled to get beyond 145mph until the big stick of the V12 was introduced. Mind you they are all frightening with an absence of brakes for the speeds they are capable of.