What is the point of the MG app?

[Sparky2]

Thanks Salty. All the old analogue pieces of equipment I own, from my 40+ years old audiophile hi-fi system to my classic cars from the 1940s and the 1990s, continue to work every time I turn them on. Admittedly, the old cars need regular maintenance to keep them running reliably but I can do most of that myself. In stark contrast, every piece of digital equipment I own stops working from time to time, either because the hardware or software is flaky from new or it stops talking to the Internet or some other piece of digital kit or the whole thing becomes obsolete. Planned obsolescence is rampant in digital tech with time-limited software support being the biggest contributor to our feckless waste of precious materials and the obsolete equipment buried in landfill sites. Just like my computer and smartphone, it is likely that manufacturer support for the software in my MG4 will be withdrawn after 10 years (or less) so the whole car will be become scrap. I can assure you that by then, if I am still alive and I can still buy petrol, my 1949 Alvis and my 1999 Jaguar will still be going

 

[JohnV6]

As will my Morgan assuming I can get in it.

 

[Sparky2]

I think we may be getting to the bottom of why almost all classic cars are increasing in value while a one year old EV can often be bought for half the price of a new one. However, we are straying off the subject of this thread (what is the point of the MG app?). Maybe we could extend the discussion to 'what is the point of having a computer controlling your car instead of the driver?'. Discuss

 

[W12Lad]

May I first respond, with the utmost respect, to Jto. I am not a "bad workman" and I do not blame "my tools". I have restored a number of classic cars over the last 40 years or so and have therefore learned not to blame my tools. I am 73 years old, an IAM Advanced Driver and held a racing licence for saloon cars for several years. I know how a car works and how to drive one. The IAM strapline is "skill with responsibility" which means that the responsibility for controlling a motor vehicle depends on the skill of the driver, not some badly-programmed computer. If the seriously-flawed front collision software has "saved you twice" I would respectfully suggest that you are not looking where you are going. Most vehicles on the UK roads today do not, thankfully, have cameras all over the outside designed to take the responsibility for looking out of the windows away from the driver and replace it with a useless picture on a screen inside the car. A reversing camera is useful and cruise control on the motorway is useful but everything else is just misplaced technology which does not work. Unlike the cruise control in my 1999 Jaguar XKR, the cruise control in the MG4 cannot be deployed with out all the other dysfunctional crap switched on. The cameras in my MG4 cannot read speed limit signs and cannot tell the difference between a stationary vehicle, a moving vehicle, a lamp post, a tree, a cyclist or a pedestrian. It cannot tell the difference between a patch of new tarmac, a puddle and a hole in the road so occasionally slams the brakes on for no reason at all

I am absolutely delighted that HStrophyPHEV20 derives "calmness and serenity" from having his car take over Zen responsibility for the control of his car. Perhaps the roads in Buckinghamshire are all smooth and wide with a white line down the middle and kerbs on each side. Up here in rural County Durham, the roads are narrow, potholed and most of them have no white lines and grass verges on each side, often with the added interest of grazing sheep and lambs. If you are daft enough to leave the wretched ELK system active, a drive along these roads is like a game of Russian roulette with the dysfunctional cameras and software unable to make any sense of the terrain and bombarding the driver with a succession of audible warnings accompanied by pulling the steering all over the place. How this setup has been allowed to be described as a 'safety feature' is beyond me. It turns what would be a good car into a dangerous piece of machinery controlled by seriously defective cameras and their associated software. There is no "skill with responsibility" at work here, it is a failed attempt to enable the car to be driven by blind idiots in order to obtain an NCAP 5-Star safety rating. There is no substitute for looking out of the windows and operating the car's controls yourself. The whole concept of a touchscreen replacing perfectly functional knobs, buttons and switches which can be operated without taking your eyes off the road is a totally bonkers retrograde step for safe control of the vehicle. Good luck with trying to convince me otherwise. Happy motoring folks

I wish you wouldn't beat around the bush, tell us what you really think

 

[Sparky2]

Well W12Lad, somebody has to tell it like it is because the worldwide car industry is being led by the nose down a digital rabbit hole from which there seems to be little escape other than to ditch these flawed 'computers on wheels' and revert to driving older (petrol and diesel) cars that allow the driver to have full control. I realise that this is environmentally a backwards step, especially for polluted towns and cities but let me reinforce my arguments with a few home truths. Firstly, EVs are too expensive and can only be afforded by those fortunate enough to be able to afford the monthly payments AND the who have the ability to install a home charger. The public EV charging network anywhere north of Watford in the UK is pants. I can't remember the last time I turned up at a petrol filling station to be told they had no fuel but I have lost count of the number of public EV chargers that are broken, occupied or refusing to talk to the app or take payment. I know London is awash with EV chargers but in North Yorkshire, for example, you can drive 50 or 60 miles along main roads without seeing one. The plummeting value of secondhand EVs tells you everything you need to know about what the car-buying public think of them. Our MG4 replaced a BMW i3 which was a safer car to drive because the driver had full control but the range was limited. The MG is a good car which is completely ruined by defective cameras, software and a seriously flaky touchscreen

 

[W12Lad]

Well W12Lad, somebody has to tell it like it is because the worldwide car industry is being led by the nose down a digital rabbit hole from which there seems to be little escape other than to ditch these flawed 'computers on wheels' and revert to driving older (petrol and diesel) cars that allow the driver to have full control. I realise that this is environmentally a backwards step, especially for polluted towns and cities but let me reinforce my arguments with a few home truths. Firstly, EVs are too expensive and can only be afforded by those fortunate enough to be able to afford the monthly payments AND the who have the ability to install a home charger. The public EV charging network anywhere north of Watford in the UK is pants. I can't remember the last time I turned up at a petrol filling station to be told they had no fuel but I have lost count of the number of public EV chargers that are broken, occupied or refusing to talk to the app or take payment. I know London is awash with EV chargers but in North Yorkshire, for example, you can drive 50 or 60 miles along main roads without seeing one. The plummeting value of secondhand EVs tells you everything you need to know about what the car-buying public think of them. Our MG4 replaced a BMW i3 which was a safer car to drive because the driver had full control but the range was limited. The MG is a good car which is completely ruined by defective cameras, software and a seriously flaky touchscreen

Many apologies, but I'm still not getting your actual feelings on the subject.

 

[Charlie the coach]

I looked at the photo and it may keep disconnecting because the app may still have the last owner details on the server. This was a problem at the start of the app and was covered by the MG podcast, you need to get your dealer to get MG to clear the server and you clear your pairing with the car. You can only pair with you car when MG has done their end.

Thank you Jto, will give that a try.

 

[Charlie the coach]

Many apologies, but I'm still not getting your actual feelings on the subject.

Love it W12Lad, made me laugh out loud.
I love my MG4, and through this forum I get advice on niggly things that cause me issues.
Sparky2 makes me wonder why someone who hates EV's and technology so much purchased one in the first place, and why he joined a community of MG Electric Vehicle Enthusiasts.

 

[Sparky2]

Thank you Charlie. We love our MG4 (apart from the dodgy cameras and flaky software) but I will take a moment to explain how we got owning one. For most of my life in the architectural profession I was devoted to creating and upgrading energy-efficient buildings while enjoying a passion for classic cars. I designed and self-built an EPC Band A passive house which is almost zero-carbon. We don't burn any fossil fuels in the house, we buy very little grid electricity, we don't fly and we don't eat meat. Conversely, our classic cars burn petrol although their embodied energy comes from eras when very few people cared about environmental damage. We were running two modern diesel cars when our son-in-law leased a Tesla. It was instantly obvious that the touchscreen control of almost every function was bonkers and dangerous, while the performance and running costs were very impressive. As our eco-house had solar PV and storage batteries and I had retired from working from home, it made sense to swap the two diesel cars for an EV and install a home charger.

Both our BMW diesel cars were 4WD but at the time, this was not an affordable option for an EV. We eventually chose a BMW i3 Rex and bought an extra set of wheels with snow tyres. The i3 was a hoot to drive and the 600cc Suzuki range-extender engine under the boot floor (actually a battery charger) and the 2-gallon petrol tank eliminated range anxiety. The electric range was only around 120-140 miles and sadly BMW decided to discontinue making this very successful model. With an extremely patchy and unreliable public charging network in the north of the UK, occasional long journeys were becoming a nightmare, often requiring the little engine to get us the last few miles to home. However, with night-time charging at 7p/kWh, our running costs had fallen off a cliff.

We then started looking for an all-electric car with a reasonable range (200+ miles) and an affordable price. The 4WD MG4 was tempting but out of our price range so we opted for a LR Trophy model, 2 years old with 9000 miles on the clock for £17k (half-price). As we bought this from a Peugeot dealer, they had no idea how to drive it so we bought it without a test drive. The journey home was a frightening experience with no idea how to switch the so-called 'safety features' off. A subsequent software upgrade at our local MG dealer has improved things a bit but I still consider this car, along with most modern EVs, as a good car ruined by a dysfunctional computer system

As for the MG app, it is crapp

 

[OriginalBigAl]

Sparky lad, to get the car you want , go into the pilot screen , down to bottom ( Scroll up ) its off the screen and turn on Towing Mode .... and enjoy! ..... No LKA, No emergency braking , No beeps and bongs . Just you , accelerator, brakes ( and regen )and a steering wheel. And it stays on as default.
I never bothered with the app crap, and never had any problems with the car ( apart from a few niggles which were easily fixed. ). And no complaining about losing your rear parking sensors. I have the SR so you might also lose other systems with it being the Trophy.

 

[Sparky2]

Thanks Big Al. That strategy would work OK but it is worth pointing out that 10 years ago the BMW i3 had front and rear parking sensors and a simple cruise control plus knobs and switches for everything else. No flaky touchscreen, lane assist or front collision crap. We are going forwards in terms of range but backwards in terms of driver control. If you are going to load up a car with so-called 'safety features' you better make sure they work properly and also make sure that a skilled and responsible driver can turn them off individually and permanently to ensure full control while retaining useful features like parking sensors and cruise control

 

[OriginalBigAl]

Thanks Big Al. That strategy would work OK but it is worth pointing out that 10 years ago the BMW i3 had front and rear parking sensors and a simple cruise control plus knobs and switches for everything else. No flaky touchscreen, lane assist or front collision crap. We are going forwards in terms of range but backwards in terms of driver control. If you are going to load up a car with so-called 'safety features' you better make sure they work properly and also make sure that a skilled and responsible driver can turn them off individually and permanently to ensure full control while retaining useful features like parking sensors and cruise control

Generally agree , but things is , what they are. I admit I've turned mine into a early 1990s cheap spec car , but apart from a bit of excess weight its the best car by a long way I have ever had in terms of enjoyment and drivability for the roads I drive on. Those systems are still there for long boring motorway journeys , available by a few buttons.

 

[Kenp1]

Thank you Charlie. We love our MG4 (apart from the dodgy cameras and flaky software) but I will take a moment to explain how we got owning one. For most of my life in the architectural profession I was devoted to creating and upgrading energy-efficient buildings while enjoying a passion for classic cars. I designed and self-built an EPC Band A passive house which is almost zero-carbon. We don't burn any fossil fuels in the house, we buy very little grid electricity, we don't fly and we don't eat meat. Conversely, our classic cars burn petrol although their embodied energy comes from eras when very few people cared about environmental damage. We were running two modern diesel cars when our son-in-law leased a Tesla. It was instantly obvious that the touchscreen control of almost every function was bonkers and dangerous, while the performance and running costs were very impressive. As our eco-house had solar PV and storage batteries and I had retired from working from home, it made sense to swap the two diesel cars for an EV and install a home charger.

Both our BMW diesel cars were 4WD but at the time, this was not an affordable option for an EV. We eventually chose a BMW i3 Rex and bought an extra set of wheels with snow tyres. The i3 was a hoot to drive and the 600cc Suzuki range-extender engine under the boot floor (actually a battery charger) and the 2-gallon petrol tank eliminated range anxiety. The electric range was only around 120-140 miles and sadly BMW decided to discontinue making this very successful model. With an extremely patchy and unreliable public charging network in the north of the UK, occasional long journeys were becoming a nightmare, often requiring the little engine to get us the last few miles to home. However, with night-time charging at 7p/kWh, our running costs had fallen off a cliff.

We then started looking for an all-electric car with a reasonable range (200+ miles) and an affordable price. The 4WD MG4 was tempting but out of our price range so we opted for a LR Trophy model, 2 years old with 9000 miles on the clock for £17k (half-price). As we bought this from a Peugeot dealer, they had no idea how to drive it so we bought it without a test drive. The journey home was a frightening experience with no idea how to switch the so-called 'safety features' off. A subsequent software upgrade at our local MG dealer has improved things a bit but I still consider this car, along with most modern EVs, as a good car ruined by a dysfunctional computer system

As for the MG app, it is crapp

I did a similar thing with my Purchase, got a 15 month old Trophy for £18k 6 months ago.

I can't believe the Peugeot dealer didn't know how to drive the car, it isn't exactly complicated.

The driving experience sounds completely different to mine, get the occasional nudge from the LKA, but not very often, everything else behaves itself. If they could improve the connection to the car in the app the car would almost be perfect.