Which MG4 used

[LenEV2016]

I only use the ACC in light traffic. In heavy traffic I use the speed limiter option as it gives more control and you don't get the sudden braking etc when a vehicle cuts in front and you can accelerate back up to speed when overtaking.

Check your HVAC isn't set to ECO as that can cause the heating problems you describe. I have the right-hand star button on the steering wheel set to HVAC so I can easily tweak the heating.

I'm not surprised you think the Ionic "was far superior" for an extra £10k I'd expect it to be.

I might be wrong but the criticism of the charge speed makes me think @gary333 is talking about the original Ioniq, which does seem to get really good reviews from people that have owned it

 

[Panther]

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).

Well my current Kia Niro PHEV, keeps too big a gap (IMHO) even on the shortest setting and brakes quite heavily if something pulls in front. Also if the car in front moves over it takes an absolute age to realise and start to speed up again, you end up just stomping on the accelerator to get it back up to speed.

Also if I leave the heated seats on for any period of time they will go from 3 down to 2 and then down to 1. Heated steering wheel also turns off after 30 minutes.

 

[Griffian]

@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 ...

I did Stafford to Heathrow and back in June. Our ER managed 328 miles and it was on 3% when I pulled back on the drive. That's all motorway and with AC on most of the time. I did manage the speed on the last part of the return to ensure I wouldn't need a charge.

 

[gary333]

I only use the ACC in light traffic. In heavy traffic I use the speed limiter option as it gives more control and you don't get the sudden braking etc when a vehicle cuts in front and you can accelerate back up to speed when overtaking.

Check your HVAC isn't set to ECO as that can cause the heating problems you describe. I have the right-hand star button on the steering wheel set to HVAC so I can easily tweak the heating.

I'm not surprised you think the Ionic "was far superior" for an extra £10k I'd expect it to be.

The Ioniq was significantly cheaper on the lease I had it on than this MG4, and as it’s design dates back to 2017 (although mine was a 2021) I’d have expected this much newer purpose designed EV to be better.

Speed limit option is like reverting to an early 2000 car. I’ve had ACC on my cars since at least 2012 and never had any bother so it being a cheaper car isn’t acceptable. People on here keep blaming being cheap as if that’s somehow acceptable for basic functionality being far inferior than cars a decade or more older.

HVAC is same in Eco or the normal setting I leave it in, inconsistent and uncomfortable.

 

[gary333]

I might be wrong but the criticism of the charge speed makes me think @gary333 is talking about the original Ioniq, which does seem to get really good reviews from people that have owned it

He is

 

[siteguru]

HVAC is same in Eco or the normal setting I leave it in, inconsistent and uncomfortable.

Has your car had the HVAC firmware update and the corresponding Infotainment update? I find that my HVAC works really well now since getting them - I now just leave the target at 21°C and Auto fan/vent/recirc control and the car handles things just right (for me).

 

[gary333]

Has your car had the HVAC firmware update and the corresponding Infotainment update? I find that my HVAC works really well now since getting them - I now just leave the target at 21°C and Auto fan/vent/recirc control and the car handles things just right (for me).

It’s had R69 infotainment but I’m not sure if they did the modules behind it, unfortunately.

It’ll be in for its service next month at this rate so I will push them again. I made it very clear to them I considered these issues as faults (and mentioned the modules methodically and in a way they could get MG to class as a warranty fault so they’d get paid for doing checks / updating software)

 

[salty]

The Ioniq was significantly cheaper on the lease I had it on than this MG4, and as it’s design dates back to 2017 (although mine was a 2021) I’d have expected this much newer purpose designed EV to be better.

Speed limit option is like reverting to an early 2000 car. I’ve had ACC on my cars since at least 2012 and never had any bother so it being a cheaper car isn’t acceptable. People on here keep blaming being cheap as if that’s somehow acceptable for basic functionality being far inferior than cars a decade or more older.

HVAC is same in Eco or the normal setting I leave it in, inconsistent and uncomfortable.

Don't think folk or saying it's cheaper, therefore acceptable. Just perhaps a little bit more, forgiving, of it. You've had a mare with yours, so don't blame you for getting rid. But others certainly haven't.

 

[aardvark5]

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

Where have you got this deal from (I'm in the UK)?
We will be paying around £200 for a service and £80 for a full breakdown package.

 

[ajs]

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.

Check this, because in New Zealand the MG warranty on new MG4s is 10 years or 250000 km/155000 miles. It was upgraded in August 2024.

 

[siteguru]

Where have you got this deal from (I'm in the UK)?
We will be paying around £200 for a service and £80 for a full breakdown package.

If your MG4 currently has a full service history then getting a service at any MG dealer means that you're eligible for a renewal of MG Assist (which is the full bhuna AA cover on a car-only basis) ... no need to purchase separate breakdown cover. You probably need to remind the dealer to renew the MG Assist cover though.

 

[Kevin Smith]

I see some going straight to advising long/extended range but their batteries are more susceptible to degradation than the short, sorry standard range. If your 25k miles a year is 100 miles a day on 250 commuting days or even more spread out then you don't need to go longer range than the SE SR which will get about 170 in winter into the wind and rain. With he best will in the world that is going to take you 3 hours to drive legally and you'll need a break to recharge you never mind the battery. The SE SR recharges at about 70kW when it's down to about 20% slowing above 60 and further above 80 so we don't tend to hang around public chargers past that point. The LFP which is only in the SR can be charged to 100% daily with minimal wear if you are travelling the next day. IN contrast it is recommended that the others are only charged to 80% normally with 100% reserved for long trips - effectively reducing the long range to the same as the standard, though the extended will go further on its 80%. The bigger batteries come with slower acceleration and lower m/kWh due to weight. I expect you to charge at home most nights so 100 a day is no bother. We have 2 SE SRs now as there is nothing at the price point with the boot space for our 40Kg dog. The older one we have done total 28k in including a 1370 mile road trip in. The newer one was one of the almost continuous new offers that seem to move around geographically - £18,595 new including £300 octopus credit and £300 electro verse credit. Best I've seen now is £17,995. Don't pay more than that sort of price for used! Check Car wow and then go talk to local dealers and wait for one to have the suitable offer or just get one from somewhere else in the country! End of the day I'd say any will work for you and the great thing with modern batteries is they don't seem to mind being used a lot with an LFP Tesla having done 666,000km before recommending a free warranty replacement in Australia (charged whenever needed as fast as possible.

 

[Rolfe]

I love my SE SR, but I have to say that in winter, belting down the motorway in cold weather and driving into rain and a brisk headwind, I have been known to feather the accelerator a bit to be sure of making Tebay, which is 110 miles from home. I think the longest I've ever gone before recharging is just over 160 miles, which was in warm weather but again involved belting down the motorway. I honestly don't think that 170 in cold weather in wind and rain is realistic.

I'm seeing longer ranges on the GOM at the moment, with temperatures in the low 20s and (more importantly I think) driving much slower country roads. I could probably do 180 miles fairly comfortably, but dotting around at a relaxing pace I tend to charge when I stop, which is sooner than 10%.

I think anyone buying an SE SR needs to be realistic about worst-case range. I'm happy enough with 110-120 in freezing weather (with the heating on) at motorway speeds in rain and wind, because that's all I'm likely to do in a day in the normal course of events. In fact 95 miles to Glasgow and back is my longest routine journey, and on the infrequent occasions I do longer journeys I'm happy enough to stop every 100 miles or so if need be.

But 25,000 miles a year is a lot, and I have a suspicion that with that sort of usage you could become frustrated by the SE SR. There's also the issue that it charges at about half the speed of the LR/ER on DC chargers if you're doing a long trip. I would second the suggestions about the LR, or indeed the ER which seems to be a lovely car. NMC battery degradation is really not the issue some people make it out to be, and there's even a thread somewhere round here speculating that LFP might not be any better than NMC in that respect.

 

[ReintjeWA]

I see some going straight to advising long/extended range but their batteries are more susceptible to degradation than the short, sorry standard range

The degradation on the NMC batteries has been demonstrated to be very low by users on this forum, so this is much less of a concern than it appears to be on paper.

. The bigger batteries come with slower acceleration and lower m/kWh due to weight.

This is incorrect, the SE SR has a 0-60 of 7.7 seconds, the Trophy 64 does it in 7.2 and the ER in 6.5.

The weight is also negligible as the difference between an SE SR and an ER is only 113kg based on kerb weights (in Australia anyway).

 

[Rolfe]

You sure about the Trophy 64 there? When I bought my SR there were only the three versions and the SR was the quickest by a hair. The LR was slightly slower due to battery weight and the Trophy slightly slower again due to these damn pointless spoilers.

 

[ReintjeWA]

Based on the Australian specifications from the Mg website. They could be different in the UK but that does seem unlikely to me. Your statement would be an accurate description of the WLTP range though, perhaps that explains any confusion? Or maybe the phase 1 was different?

 

[GaryMG4]

I think the SE has a lower power motor as LFP batteries cannot supply the peak current that an NMC battery can, likewise it cannot accept the higher charging rate.

 

[Kevin Smith]

I think the SE has a lower power motor as LFP batteries cannot supply the peak current that an NMC battery can, likewise it cannot accept the higher charging rate.

I understood from dealer when buying that the smaller motor in SR was due to not needing so much power for the smaller battery - but I guess we all now should know that dealers spout some sh** at times!

 

[GaryMG4]

I understood from dealer when buying that the smaller motor in SR was due to not needing so much power for the smaller battery - but I guess we all now should know that dealers spout some sh** at times!

The Lipo batteries I use for model flying are NMC chemistry I believe, they get a real hammering with discharge rate of 40C plus LFP batteries are not suitable for this as they typically peak at around 3C (where C is the battery capacity , so a 2aH battery at 40C can supply a peak current of 80 amps for a short period of time). LFP batteries are great for the transmitter as they have a very slow self discharge rate so you can charge them at the end of the flying season and not worry about them 'going off' over the winter.