Three Months In An S5

[Gonzales Bojangles]

So I've had my S5 Trophy Looking Range for three months now. Have to say, I'm pretty disappointed overall.
There's just so many wee niggles. Wee cost saving annoyances. The non automatic window closing for instance. Or the lack of a light on the vanity mirror under the visor.
Then there's the missing things that I'd expect in a modern car. Steering wheel buttons to pick up and hang up the phone. Front parking sensor. Front fog lights. Cornering headlights. And a bloody screen that automatically changes from dark to light when it gets dark outside.
Then most annoying, the things that just don't work well. The phone link that keeps cutting me off. The infotainment system that just doesn't 'flow'. The front collision avoidance system. The auto headlights. The cruise control that randomly slams the brakes on as you're happily tootling along the motorway.
Trying to think of what I like about it. The turning circle is pretty good. It's quite comfy.
I think when I come to change cars again in a couple of years I'll be very wary of getting another MG.

 

[nem]

Tbf some of these points will be an issue in other car brands as well, like:
Phone link (AA problems)
Auto highbeam
Ghost braking (caused by erroneous map metadata I think)

 

[OzDrew]

We had ours for 3 months, over 8000kms, and experience all the same niggles. Not sure how long we'll keep it or what would replace it.
That said, I can't find anything else I'd rather own that drives as well, is RWD, similar size, as comfortable, with the same long warranty and at a similar price point.

 

[dx4100]

I think thats a fair view point. I defrosted the car today (which it does really well to be fair) and I looked at iced wing mirrors and it dawned on me they weren't heated lol. I was gob smacked at the cost cutting lol

I think overall we are disappointed. All its features are poor versions of what we have in our other car which is five years older.

Its a decent entry for our first EV car but we wouldn't keep beyond the current commitment or go for another MG.

 

[dx4100]

Tbf some of these points will be an issue in other car brands as well, like:
Phone link (AA problems)
Auto highbeam
Ghost braking (caused by erroneous map metadata I think)

The auto headlights in our Skoda is flawless and ghost breaking is very rare. So I suppose it depends what your benchmark is.

 

[Ian Key]

I think thats a fair view point. I defrosted the car today (which it does really well to be fair) and I looked at iced wing mirrors and it dawned on me they weren't heated lol. I was gob smacked at the cost cutting lol

I think overall we are disappointed. All its features are poor versions of what we have in our other car which is five years older.

Its a decent entry for our first EV car but we wouldn't keep beyond the current commitment or go for another MG.

The heated door mirrors come on with the heated rear window. Try turning that on when remotely defrosting the car.

 

[stevedee]

The auto headlights in our Skoda is flawless and ghost breaking is very rare...

Interesting, which Skoda model do you have?

 

[dx4100]

The heated door mirrors come on with the heated rear window. Try turning that on when remotely defrosting the car.

Lol that's funny. Will try next time thanks. What an odd decision.

Interesting, which Skoda model do you have?

Skoda Kodiaq

 

[MG Clive]

Lol that's funny. Will try next time thanks. What an odd decision.

Heated mirrors almost always come on with the rear screen heater.

 

[dx4100]

Heated mirrors almost always come on with the rear screen heater.

Yeah but I've always been able to independently turn them on in other cars.

 

[DBedford]

It's a cheap vehicle made in China, trying (not too hard) to be a quality European car. Should we expect any thing else.

Temu on wheels !

 

[salty]

It's a cheap vehicle made in China, trying (not too hard) to be a quality European car. Should we expect any thing else.

Temu on wheels !

Bit harsh.

 

[Lovemyev]

Yeah but I've always been able to independently turn them on in other cars.

I guess they work on the theory that if you need one, you need the other .
It’s the same on a lot of different cars tbh.
Does any body think like me, that the two rotary control under the info screen should be the opposite way around ?.
The one that can be used to adjust the volume of the radio, is closest to the driver, when you have buttons on the steering wheel.
Surely this would be better switched over in order so the passenger can adjust it ?.
The ZS EV had a similar toggle switch, closer to the passengers side.
Could be a R/H vs L/H drive thing maybe.
No big deal really, but could be better placed and switched across very easily.
Hey - If that’s the only complaint, then it’s pretty sad really .

 

[Ian Key]

Heated mirrors almost always come on with the rear screen heater.

Yeah but I've always been able to independently turn them on in other cars.

They have always come on together in my previous cars too and they include Ford Mondeos, a Frord Focus and a Rover.

 

[stevedee]

...Does any body think like me, that the two rotary control under the info screen should be the opposite way around ?.
The one that can be used to adjust the volume of the radio, is closest to the driver, when you have buttons on the steering wheel...

Not me.

When I'm parking the car & suddenly realise I might be upsetting my lovely neighbours, I want a reliable way to turn down the volume.

The problem with steering wheel controls is that they are only in the right place when the wheels are centralised.

In contrast, I never need to change the temperature in a hurry.

I also like the mechanical 'home screen' button where it is.

 

[Kurisu112]

So I've had my S5 Trophy Looking Range for three months now. Have to say, I'm pretty disappointed overall.
There's just so many wee niggles. Wee cost saving annoyances. The non automatic window closing for instance. Or the lack of a light on the vanity mirror under the visor.
Then there's the missing things that I'd expect in a modern car. Steering wheel buttons to pick up and hang up the phone. Front parking sensor. Front fog lights. Cornering headlights. And a bloody screen that automatically changes from dark to light when it gets dark outside.
Then most annoying, the things that just don't work well. The phone link that keeps cutting me off. The infotainment system that just doesn't 'flow'. The front collision avoidance system. The auto headlights. The cruise control that randomly slams the brakes on as you're happily tootling along the motorway.
Trying to think of what I like about it. The turning circle is pretty good. It's quite comfy.
I think when I come to change cars again in a couple of years I'll be very wary of getting another MG.

Lights on the vanity mirrors is a bit annoying but the interior lights are really bright and compensate for it at least.

Automatic windows 100% agree, came from a 2013 Fiesta which had automatic windows on the passenger side so yes it's annoying even if a very minor 1st world "problem"

The Trophy Long Range does have front parking sensors though linked to the 360 cameras.
Front fog lights are also built into the LEDs and part of the automatic headlight system.

Cornering Headlights never had a car with one so never seen the benefit yet.
Dark/Light mode, I always prefer dark mode so happy that dark mode stays on, though you can configure your Android Auto to automatically change from Dark/Light if needed.

Phone Link will drop if you have either of the following issues... (wifi only)
1. A phone that lacks the thermal performance (Wireless Android Auto heats up phones ALOT)
2. A phone that has limited cpu performance
3. A phone with a weak WiFi antenna
4. In a location that has major WiFi interference or signal blockers

You can bypass most of the issues related to phone performance by just using Wired Android Auto. I have a Samsung Fold 5 and have 0 issues using Wireless Android Auto.

Front Collision avoidance system, haven't had any issues with it yet. What issues are you having?

Auto headlights work great on mine again no issues, what issues are you having?

Cruise Control slamming on the breaks will be because it detected a car too close / thought it saw a car.


I've been having a great experience with my MGS5 so far no major issues. I turn off speed sign recognition as it keeps reading side road speeds rather than the road I am on. The auto wipers sometimes don't wipe often enough. Other than that everything else works great!

 

[Jazzyboy]

Wow I generally think this is the first ever proper negative forum post on a car that I love. It is always caveat emptor and do your research before you spend your hard earned Dosh. Yes there are niggles but I'm not prepared to spend 45k on a car to fix them.

 

[salty]

To be fair, you'd get negative posts, on a perfect car. Summut would be wrong. It's human nature.

 

[nem]

The auto headlights in our Skoda is flawless and ghost breaking is very rare. So I suppose it depends what your benchmark is.

Ghost breaking is super rare here, there is one spot on the motorway (E6) where there is a smaller road passing over where it happens and I've seen many other brands doing it at the same spot. First hand experience in Tesla model S doing the same.
As for headlights i have experienced them in the face rather often so there is that...

How much weight you choose to give each problem is up to the individual, my point was that these are not unique problems for the MGS5.

 

[LenEV2016]

Yeah but I've always been able to independently turn them on in other cars.

Independent toggle for heated mirrors is a VW group bit of kit.
As has been said you normally use the mirrors with the rear screen but I do use it on occasions when the mirrors are soaking wet/misted up.
The rear screen will clear with the wiper and I use the mirror heaters to clear the mirrors, it is handy to be fair

MG has temperamental software but it is far better than it was, although not perfect but as I said it is now far more stable than the early MG4s experienced.

I still prefer the software on the four other EVs I now drive regularly/semi regularly.