MG 4

dotsie123

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120109084#Comment_120109084

Nice, did you do it yourself? What product did you use?

olympicweights

Did it myself, Autofiness caramics stuff from Halfords. I used it before and it's very long lasting.

Jonathan

About 350km done in the MG4 Exclusive so far. A few minor niggles but nothing major. Overall very positive and very happy with the purchase.

Positives:

• Inbuilt navigation system is very good (based on HERE maps). Particularly like the little 3D junction layout when approaching motorway exits. Superior to Google Maps/Android Auto.
• Heated seats + steering wheel are nice.
• Raised boot floor is great for storing type2 cable, granny cable (had to ditch the supplied bag which won't fit under the floor), umbrella etc
• GOM is pretty solid. It delivers what is says it will.
• Efficient. Averaging 19kWh/100km so far with AC/heated seats etc. Expect that will drop further in summer.
• Default 80% charge limit. Makes for easy top up when charging at home. No need to try to convert battery % to kWh in your head anymore. Can obviously raise to 100% when going on a long journey.
• Three phase AC charging is a nice upgrade over the spec sheet.
• Adaptive Cruise control (fixed speed) is very smooth. The Traffic Jam Assist mode is a further enhancement of that which will also steer. It worked reasonably well (tested on the M50 today. I suspect it would be better on a quieter stretch of motorway). It quickly detects and warns when your hands are not on the steering wheel.

Negatives:

• Automatic speed sign recognition works reasonably well up to 60km/h. It will not read signs beyond this speed. I suspect a bug relating to km/h and UK mph signs. The max I've seen it display is 70km/h, which would correspond with UK motorway 70mph limits. No reason why this cannot be fixed in a future software update though.
• FM radio is a bit fiddly. Seems to just scan up and down the band. While you can save favourites, you don't seem to be able to flick between them, at least using the steering wheel controls. The radio doesn't seem to be integrated with the media controls on the side of the screen either, so to launch you have to go back to main screen to launch.
• Rear collision warning can be configured to alert, or alert + brake. I had to turn off the alert + brake mode as it was false triggering when reversing out of the driveway with pillars (on to a main road). Works fine when just on alert mode.
• Agree with @Patser's comments on the HVAC. Found it to work reasonably well, but it is as if it is calibrated 3-4°C too high.

Other comments:

• Lots of commentary online about lane keep assist; I found it to be fine. A tad bit unsettling to have the steering wheel move on you, but you quickly get used to it.
• On the AC charging side, the onboard charger appears to have three charging units rated at 15.25A (not 16A) each. Two of these are combined for up to 30.5A single phase charging (7kW @ 230V) or 45.75A three phase charging (10.5kW @ 230V). As mentioned earlier in thread, the charging power reported by the infotainment system and the iSMART app are the net DC power (after inverter losses) and therefore will be lower.
• Keep forgetting to use the voice control. Any time I've used it, it seems to work fine though.

Vladi

Nice one Jonathan. Can't wait for mine. Ordered in October in Drogheda Mazda Fiat garage. Standard range in White

Cheers

JayeL

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120100671#Comment_120100671

I'm glad you're not too bothered with the LKA, I have that on my 2017 Kia Niro and it does the same thing, it wil physically steer the car back if it starts drifting. You'd swear the MG4 exerts a Hulk-like pressure on drivers to take control of the wheel, I know some who've driven my car think it's intrusive too.

Tbh I switched it off on my Niro a while ago for a different reason - staying between the lines is nigh on impossible with some R-roads I travel on. It concerns me that it defaults to on with the MG4 but from what I've heard, this is a legal requirement.

Kirnan

I ordered on the 4th of October at Frank Keane MG and just picked it up on Friday. I was expecting it to be sometime next summer, going by how long people said it took for ZS orders, so I was surprised when I got the call that it had arrived already!

I watched a lot of videos but it is even nicer in person :D I haven't driven it that much yet but so far it feels very solid on the road but also quite nimble, very fun to drive. I'm still experimenting with the LKA but it seems fairly similar to my previous car, it wasn't pulling too much when setting was on moderate. The dealer said they applied a new update just before I picked the car up so I assume it was the one that improved the LKA a bit. I'm not sure if LKA is conflicting with the TJA auto steering as the car seemed to be jerking around a bit at 60+ kph with it on but was fine when I turned off LKA. I'll need to experiment some more but it might be better to turn off LKA or set it to Emergency Lane Keeping instead of Lane Departure Assist when using TJA at higher speeds. Also, the name is confusing but TJA (Traffic Jam Assist) works at all speeds not just in traffic jams. It will use adaptive cruise and auto steering.

It came with a granny cable and a single phase type 2 cable. I don't have a charger installed at home yet so using the granny charger for now. It was charging 2kw. I also tried charging it briefly at a 22kw charger and it was charging at about 6kw which is about right with the single phase type 2. Apparently, the long range model can work up to 11kw with a 3 phase cable so I might pick one up at some point once it is been confirmed that it works. I used the MG iSmart app to schedule the charging during night rate which worked as expected. You can also set the schedule in the car but I haven't tried that yet.

Jonathan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120111169#Comment_120111169

Check the pins on the Type 2 socket on the car before splashing out on a three phase cable. Models with three phase have all pins populated. Single phase models are missing L2 and L3 pins.

Edit: added photo of three phase connector.

Kirnan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120111330#Comment_120111330

Just checked and it has all the pins. Thanks.

Drove a good bit today and really enjoyed it. A few small things that I have noticed though so far.

• Rear spoiler has some condensation stuck under the clear perspex on the left and right sides.
• Noticed the left front door window slightly open a couple of times (maybe I'm accidentally pressing the button on driver side when getting out, will have to keep an eye on it).
• Low beams are a little too low even on the max setting, may need adjusting.
• Auto high beam isn't great. Doesn't really react at the right time always and is a bit slow. (worked perfectly in previous car).
• Air con is very slow on auto. All the windows including the side ones were fogging up even after driving for a good bit. Had to put it on manual and crank up the fan. Hard to get the right temperature as well, goes from not warm enough to too warm. Not sure if that is just how it works in an EV or it's particular to this car.
• 3D camera is great but the reversing one is very fish-eye and hard to judge what's going on.

LasersGoPewPew

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120112830#Comment_120112830

@Kirnan I don't believe the slightly lowered window is driver error. When I test drive the car the front left window was also slightly lowered and the passenger seat was soaked. I seen this mentioned a few times on various MG forums.

The lights can be adjusted my MG. Although I thought led lights are supposed to be self leveling nowadays. Why is it manual on the MG?

Patser

New niggle - the preheat only comes on for 10 minutes, which even at high setting doesn't completely defrost the front windscreen. In fact car definitely wasn't as warm as I expected - the i3 would greet you with a warm blast of air when you opened the door, this was more a mild, half hearted effort

@Jonathan you're completely right about the Speed sign recognition- it must be set to UK spec, it really seems it can't understand why we'd want 120mph, 30, 50 and 70 are it's defaults

Also right about radio, you can set favourites but next time in car it'll say unavailable beside them, then you tune to them and it's 'ohhhh right, that favourite'

Miscreant

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120114397#Comment_120114397

Does the car preheat while plugged in? I know this was an issue brought up in the UK forums before. It seems that at the time, the cars would only preheat using the onboard battery and not the plugged in EVSE. I think there may have been a software update to sort that so I'm just curious.

coolbeans

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120112830#Comment_120112830

Ré the heating EVs do have a bit more bother keeping things warm and toasty when compared to ice cars because they're so efficient and don't suffer from thermal loss like a ICE. The MG in Ireland unfortunately doesn't have a heat pump so that means it's gonna be using a lot of energy just keeping the cabin warm. It's a real shame as I think that's a big weakness in an otherwise outstanding package. This weather won't last too long though so things should improve for you shortly.

Patser

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120114850#Comment_120114850

Had it plugged in and charged to 80%, set it to preheat but also selected start charging - so not sure if that affected results.

Definitely did some preheating, lower half of windscreen was completely frost free but upper half still frozen over, probably needs more than 10 minutes to get up to temperature and allow for frost to melt.

Also just to mention it took 3 attempts to start preheating - got 2 error messages at 1st, and when it scanned car showed an internal temperature of 18c at 1st before a second scan showing 6c and heating then engaging

Vladi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120115021#Comment_120115021

Wow. Looks like we are getting bugy cars. Thanks for the update

DownByTheGarden

Im not liking the amount of software bugs and mechanical issues im hearing about here :o

Patser

Ironically just had call from Frank Keane wanting car back for 30 minute update on system to tune Lane Keep Assist.

Car does have some bugs alright, but mostly small and almost regards drivers taste, and there are updates being rolled out. Very few mechanical issues I'm hearing of

Miscreant

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120115747#Comment_120115747

Don't read the UK owners' forum then.....

Every new vehicle has its foibles when released. I have seen that even the VW ID models are still suffering from software problems that are being actively addressed. As long as the manufacturer is acknowledging the issues and doing something about them, then that is the main thing.

Another thing to be aware of, in relation to Internet forums, is that you will almost always see the "problems", as these are what people are readily willing to talk about.

Despite what I have read in the owners' forums, I am still looking forward to getting my MG4 (at some stage this year). 😃

Patser

Also had car out for long spin on backroads to really try her out - really is planted but comfy. Suspension is just great, little roll in corners but can still smooth out potholes.

Proper EV acceleration too, maybe not as much smack in the head as the i3 but loads there to safely overtake.

Comfy seats even after 2 hours on road, and have found the sweet spot for A/C so had no fiddling with that today. Also got my cheap sill guard stickers from Ali express and fitted them.... they look ok, but they cost €2, so I shouldn't have expected greatness

https://ibb.co/mzbcNTP

https://ibb.co/S5SdFd0

https://ibb.co/kHMxsXH

Miscreant

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120116124#Comment_120116124

Looks great @Patser , for some reason I thought you were getting a red one... clearly I was wrong 🙂

I looked at ordering those sill covers but went with a different design that looks to be a little more substantial so we will see when they arrive in 3 or 4 months in the post.

Did the mats come with the car?

Patser

Yes mats included by FK,

They didn't have any of those wind deflectors I asked on this thread about last week, they never came into stock. Not sure how they could make car quieter than it is

Kirnan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120112830#Comment_120112830

I used the reversing camera some more today and had a lot more success with it. By default the display is set to auto brightness and when I checked the current brightness, even though it was sunny and very bright outside, the setting was on almost the minimum value. I changed it to manual brightness and set it to max instead and it was a lot easier to see everything in the reverse camera.

everlast75

Asked the salesman to quote us for the excite and the figures are much better.

What are the opinions on the difference in spec. Are they worth it?

Patser

Having bought the top spec - probably not worth it. Getting live navigation and wireless phone charging is a waste when you have to plug phone in anyway for Android Auto which gives you Google maps and charging anyway.

After that it depends on how much you like looks and comforts- heated seats are nice, but are they necessary. The spoiler is up to you to decide on, but I do love the redesigned indicators on front. And there are a few extra safety features, 360 camera being the big one

GTE

Patser, what's the road noise like? Do you travel the m4? The old tarmac at Maynooth to Dublin would be an interesting reference. I don't know if you know the stretch of new road between Maynooth and Clane. I've to do that road sometimes for work and it loud on my Passat.

How's wind noise too?

Patser

It really is incredibly quiet and sound proofed - even in comparison to my previous ev. Collected it on a stormy day last week and drove home on M4 and the quietness struck me - as well as not being buffered by wind as much as I was in my i3 (which tbf is a very high sitting, narrow car that did occasionally get blown about a bit)

Patser

Ok, at the risk of turning this thread into a personal blog, some more little things.

Preheated car again this evening only this time not plugged in to charge. Toasty warm afterwards - so whole not preheating properly while charging seems to be a thing, which is incredibly annoying. I can't preheat while lying in bed, without 1st unplugging car or else I can't charge overnight at nighttime rates.... Whole point of preheating was to allow you to warm up car off mains without affecting range. What engineer made that decision - no preheat while plugged in but we will get your tail lights to come on instead, brilliant, let's go to karaoke bar lads.

@bbk After another spin in M4 and conscious of your question, I'll downgrade road noise from brilliant to good. It was noticeable in the cab, but I could still hear heater fans over it while at 120kmh (and they weren't at full blast). Again wind noise negligible, and the speakers in Exclusive really are good.

jakfrost2

Standard range or long range? Care to share the updated figures?

Patser

More hints/tips/niggles:

Preheating solution - looking at UK forum and issue with preheating while plugged in, is that if car is at fully charged and it starts to heat, it turns on charging, realises it's full, turns off charging, loses a bit as it heats, turns on charging, gets full, gets confused and just struggles. Solution - set charge level to 80 or 90%, then as you go to preheat raise level to 100% so it has room to charge, then set preheat and off it goes happily.

Wing mirrors not defrosting - had this this morning, wing mirrors remained icy. Apparently it's linked to rear window defrost. Turn on rear window heater and wing mirrors heat up too.

Preheating driver seat - when you get preheat menu up, there's an option to select heat seats. The imagae of which seat to heat up is set to LHD car, so ignore that it says driver's seat and select to right hand passenger seat for warm arse. Reverse if you've a passenger that also wants heat

@jakfrost2 - Range this morning at 80% charge and -4c was 310km

Jonathan

Thanks for preheat solution @Patser. Makes sense as I couldn't get the preheat to work while plugged in. I'll try your solution next time.

GC27

Got a call from Frank Keane to get the new update on the car, Lane keep assist is the reason, hopefully some of the other minor bugs are included in it too. Have to say,1 week of driving the car has been a pleasure.