Which MG4 used

[dave bliss]

I currently have EQA 250 so I understand Ev ownership and charging but I am looking for a used Small hatchback EV
The two cars I am looking at are MG4 and Capra born
Which MG4 would you recommend and any common faults I should be looking out for
I do about 25000 mile per year so range in winter is important
Thanks
Dave

 

[MG Clive]

I can see how range is important if you do 25k miles per year, I think you'd probably have to look at the Extended Range MG4 Trophy, this should give you up to 350 mile range, (officially up to 450), anything else in the MG4 line-up would be around 100 miles less.

 

[Tight Git]

If you are buying new then doing that sort of mileage then the warranty might make a difference.

MG warranty is 75,000 miles and Cupra 90,000 so you get almost an effective extra year with a Cupra.

The problem with any make is when you have researched on a forum all you get is negative points. I can't comment on the Cupra but personally have done 56k miles in my SE SR without any issues but the 2 dealers I have used for servicing have been truly dreadful.

 

[salty]

Dave. To the forum.
As MG Clive says for your milage it's gotta be a ER Trophy.
You get a 7 year 80,000 miles warranty with the MG4
It's 5 years 90,000 miles with the Cupra.
I'm presuming the MG4 would be cheaper. But it's still a fine car.
Good luck.

 

[LenEV2016]

I currently have EQA 250 so I understand Ev ownership and charging but I am looking for a used Small hatchback EV
The two cars I am looking at are MG4 and Capra born
Which MG4 would you recommend and any common faults I should be looking out for
I do about 25000 mile per year so range in winter is important
Thanks
Dave

I have a cupra born and an mg4 trophy (wife's company car) on my drive, both drive really well (rwd) the mg4 has been a pain in the backside though, it's not just the faults (all cars can have them) it's the fight with MG and dealers to get even the smallest things fixed. This hasn't been limited to her car the fleet has had various issues, so much so that they aren't renewing the deal when it expires.

My Born has been faultless, it is a more premium car/cabin and feels better put together.
It is more expensive but there are some cracking deals out there, it only needs serviced every two years and receives OTA updates, the MG4 is crying out for that function

 

[dave bliss]

I have a cupra born and an mg4 trophy (wife's company car) on my drive, both drive really well (rwd) the mg4 has been a pain in the backside though, it's not just the faults (all cars can have them) it's the fight with MG and dealers to get even the smallest things fixed. This hasn't been limited to her car the fleet has had various issues, so much so that they aren't renewing the deal when it expires.

My Born has been faultless, it is a more premium car/cabin and feels better put together.
It is more expensive but there are some cracking deals out there, it only needs serviced every two years and receives OTA updates, the MG4 is crying out for that function

Many thanks len some very good info

If you are buying new then doing that sort of mileage then the warranty might make a difference.

MG warranty is 75,000 miles and Cupra 90,000 so you get almost an effective extra year with a Cupra.

The problem with any make is when you have researched on a forum all you get is negative points. I can't comment on the Cupra but personally have done 56k miles in my SE SR without any issues but the 2 dealers I have used for servicing have been truly dreadful.

I plan to buy used and was leaning towards the MG4 but the there seems to be a common complaint that the dealers aren’t much good
I can do most things on a car myself (I used to build my own race engines years ago) but I assume that working on the car would invalidate the warranty

 

[Bam Bam]

I assume that working on the car would invalidate the warranty

What kind of work were you thinking of doing?

You don't need to go to the dealer for things like wheels and tyres after all, and reversable changes wouldn't be an issue.

You do need to get your servicing done at a dealer in order to retain the warranty and to get a further year of breakdown recovery.

 

[Martinonline]

@MG Clive, I thought the ER had a WLTP of 323 miles. The ev-database.org website gives it a 'real range' of 265 miles with the limits set as 190 to 390 miles dependent on weather, use of auxiliaries and type of driving.

The Cupra marque seem to have lots of options so you need to ask what is fitted to the car you buy. Whereas with MG the options go with the particular vehicle type.

Looking on a Cupra forum (my Son-in-Law has just got one) you seem to need to pay for the remote connection to the car after a certain length of time - £57 per year being quoted. MG offers iSmart for free (so far) to do the same thing, ie cabin preconditioning, changing charging parameters ...

 

[dave bliss]

What kind of work were you thinking of doing?

You don't need to go to the dealer for things like wheels and tyres after all, and reversable changes wouldn't be an issue.

You do need to get your servicing done at a dealer in order to retain the warranty and to get a further year of breakdown recovery.

If it’s only £150 for a service and that includes breakdown I get your point it’s not with doing yourself
Thanks for the info

 

[MG Clive]

@MG Clive, I thought the ER had a WLTP of 323 miles. The ev-database.org website gives it a 'real range' of 265 miles with the limits set as 190 to 390 miles dependent on weather, use of auxiliaries and type of driving.

Perhaps I was being optimistic with 350, but the MG website is all I have to go by, and it gives these figures:

Slow moving traffic . . . . 452
Towns and Cities. . . . . . . 439
Rural roads . . . . . . . . . . . 361
Motorway driving. . . . . . 239
Bit of everything. . . . . . . 329

 

[dave bliss]

My current car the EQA 250 has a book of 323 miles and that been more than enough
I very rarely charge at a fast charger about 4 times in the last 30000 miles
I am hoping a MG4 can be similar
I don’t like the idea of wacking 100kw a hour into the batteries
I am probably wrong with this it just my gut feeling

 

[LenEV2016]

@MG Clive, I thought the ER had a WLTP of 323 miles. The ev-database.org website gives it a 'real range' of 265 miles with the limits set as 190 to 390 miles dependent on weather, use of auxiliaries and type of driving.

The Cupra marque seem to have lots of options so you need to ask what is fitted to the car you buy. Whereas with MG the options go with the particular vehicle type.

Looking on a Cupra forum (my Son-in-Law has just got one) you seem to need to pay for the remote connection to the car after a certain length of time - £57 per year being quoted. MG offers iSmart for free (so far) to do the same thing, ie cabin preconditioning, changing charging parameters ...

The £57 covers live traffic updates, live charger location and use updates, all on the sat nav. I would imagine it also covers a year of OTA updates. At present the £57 is due when the warranty ends.
I don't think it should cost money but the live traffic and charger updates have saved me a couple of times and the OTA updates are definitely worth it.

 

[Martinonline]

From the Cupra forum a poster says their subscription came up for renewal after 3 years with the car, but they do not say if the car was bought secondhand.

When I search the internet for Cupra Connect the Snows Dealership website about the subscription was that it was only for the first year of ownership.

Another thing that @dave bliss should ask about.

 

[LenEV2016]

Well I've had mine for nearly two it's up in December when the car is 3 years old, as the original cars came with a 3 year warranty.
As I said it should be included but for OTA updates and live traffic/ charger info I'll pay it.
The hassle we have had getting updates done in the dealers for the wife's MG4, even the time taken to drive and drop the car of etc in comparison to getting them done OTA is worth every penny

 

[Bam Bam]

I don’t like the idea of wacking 100kw a hour into the batteries

If someone is driving on the motorway for an hour they might be using 100kw for consistent spells during that time.

Is there a big difference between power going in and power going out, given that it has a temperature sensor and will limit the charging speed when the battery gets too hot?

 

[gary333]

I’m doing 30,000 miles per year at moment and really don’t get along with the MG4 at all so it wouldn’t get a recommendation from me.

I’m charging using a 2.4Kw charger on a Trophy LR and battery is fine in size.

Its ACC is very poor. If you’re in motorways a lot it’ll drive you mad. It insists on keeping a set distance to the cm it seems no matter what rather than allowing pull in gaps buffer or a target range for distance control like most cars with ACC have. Thus when a car in front slows down a few mph for one second or a car cuts in front of you it’ll aggressive slow down and I can tell you this infuriates lorry drivers so you’ll see them flashing and getting wound up in motorway heavier traffic. It also doesn’t increase speed when you indicate to pull out and when gap opens up in other lane is docile until you are fully over the line. The other setting TKA or TJA (can’t remember its name is totally shocking) constantly moving left to right by tiny amounts and then fighting with itself with its lane keep assist.

HVAC / AC is poor, it simply can’t keep a set temperature properly. You get one temp at one speed and another at higher speeds, so constantly overriding blower speed and up down a degree or two in temp. To top the poor HVAC off the seat heaters are rubbish in that they won’t keep a steady temperature and instead get cooler as time goes on going from setting 3 to 2 to 1 so you have to open up menu often (as of course a button is too hard to fit).

The lack of an off button drives me mad too.

I’ve got more things, but for now these hopefully represent why driving lots of miles in an MG4 frustrates me. My previous Ioniq was far superior in every way apart from the charge speed and terrible auto wipers.

 

[salty]

Unfortunately you obviously got a dud.
Probably happens with all makes.

 

[Tuareg]

Brilliant cars, my Xpower has exceeded my expectations by a large margin. Can't wait to see what MG have on offer in around 5 years time.

 

[Tig170]

Very happy with our Sept 2022 MG4 SE, no issues to report todate, now at 38,000 miles (98% of journies are charged at home overnight - the rangeometer is very accurate, 200miles in summer 150miles in winter as a guide with aircon on), would I buy a MG4 again = Yes absolutely - there are some cracking deals on new MG4 SE's at around £18.5k advertised on carwow, which I'm sure you've seen?