MG 4

pandabat

Yes, it's still extraordinary value in the current market and seems to stand on its own 2 feet ignoring price .. mostly, at least. Still it depends on your requirements - if you're looking at highest spec then it's still cheaper than other options .. but not by as much. It becomes a more difficult cost-benefit exercise up at those lofty heights 😉

celtic_oz

Interesting table on EVdb

Cost per mile ( or KM) of range : here

usual_suspect

Got my 15 minute spin in the MG4 today in Dublin (It seems I'm a deposit holder in the first 5! We chose the Excite long-range mainly as I want to hang a bike rack off the rear boot which the rear spoiler on the Exclusive would block - although we'd really like the 360 camera in the Excite...). First up, the car is a lovely size - very much ID.3 sized in physical form. But much 'nicer' (always subjective, of course) to me than the ID.3. I haven't seen the Cupra Born in the flesh but seems similar.

The demo car is an Exclusive (the top-spec). Leather seats are nice and supportive and 360 camera is useful (why oh why isn't this an option on the Excite!). The rear spoiler felt much less distinctive in the 'real' - I think because the car is 1.5m tall, and as the spoiler is essentially flat, you're looking down on it.. Honestly, I'm even more certain I'd like my car without it now (but with all the features of the Exclusive). I didn't even notice the 'rear-light-spoiler-aesthetic-thingy' of the Exclusive also (I'm sure that's more noticeable in the dark).

Another interesting one - the demo car is in blue. And it's much much nicer in the flesh than the website renders made out. Genuinely fab colour. (we've gone for the red).

Overall a very, very, nice drive, lovely steering and a nice bit of 'horse power' (as written on the MG screen when changing from eco/normal/sport 😂) to propel it along. Nothing too crazy, but makes for a nice drive - perfect for the car that it is. The drive was around Ballymount and hopefully the salesman didn't notice me purposefully drive it into a few of the rougher sections of the roads: it handles bumpy terrain nicely. Regen is very nice too - at its most powerful, you'll feel it pulling you to a stop, but it's not head-snappingly strong on the passengers.

On road noise, I'm not coming from another EV so hard to compare. All EV's feel crazy quiet after coming from an ICE.....

The back didn't feel too dark although I can see why people have mentioned a wish for the lighter interior. The back seat seemed like a very roomy 2-seater and a good cosy 3-seater.

One piece that was I went in with neutral expectations, was hoping to be pleasantly surprised by, but came out not too thrilled. The boot is officially 360 litres and that's a measured-to-the-millimetre 360 litres from observation. I.e. I was not over-whelmed and that was after dropping the floor to its lowest point: it felt tiny when it was the raised floor, to me personally. I'm driving an ancient/old Mazda 3 saloon into the ground now which has an official boot size of 345, and the MG4 appears to be 'jusssst' the same although slightly more 'square' in shape. Honestly, this makes me wish even more MG would sort out the roof rack load rating for the longer trips! 99% of my trips through the year can work with the smaller boot, but those long weekends and road trips, we notice it in our Mazda. Going back to the back seats, at least one positive is the back seat space is excellent - lots of space in the footwells when I had the drivers seat at my preferred setting (i.e. could store stuff there for a trip) if the back seat isn't full of people.

Other random notes, off-the-cuff thoughts:

• The dealer is also querying with MG about a roof rating (it seems I'm not the only one flagging it as an issue, having contacted MG Europe directly). Lets wait and see here as they retrospectively did it for the 5. One note: there is no attachment points for roof bars so it'll be the 'clamp' version of them whatever the outcome. The dealer says they had a (different) car in for service a while ago where the clamps had been over-tightened and it compressed the car shell: it's an unrepairable piece of damage. Be careful anyone out there (looking at you Nissan Leafs) if that type of mount! Yikes.
• I noticed the tiniest bit of lag in the main screen for menus but it's fine (and I suspect it's a software fix). Text is very small on the screen when deep in the settings (the main screen is fine) - you wouldn't want to be fiddling with settings too much while driving. At least the screen is very sharp/clear for text, etc. although ironically this makes the 360 camera look like you're staring through a mucky screen as it's grainy from the video.
• It's a bizarre reason for MG to software lock the Excite models so they can't put regen onto the shortcut keys on the steering wheel (see my reasons for upsell below).
• The menu is....MG's. i.e. it's no iPhone or Android quality but it's more than usable. I suspect most people just plug in CarPlay or Android Auto anyway.
• Note: I didn't get to play with the buttons/menu a huge amount (blame that short speed-dating/drive..) but initial impression was you'd get used to it.
• Nice amount of storage around the drivers seat. Great rear seat storage with the pouches for phone, etc. - sure an extra USB would have been nice, and also a rear air vent but these are the financial compromises....
• Starting and stopping without a button. Starting, it felt totally natural (unlock car, sit in, push brake, turn dial and go) and I'd instantly adapt - felt the same as a Tesla. Getting out (stop the car, push 'p' and get out) felt distinctly weird and would getting used to subconsciously - a lifetime of turning off engines and handbrakes!
• Range: obviously no idea from my point-and-go short drive.
• Tow bar install. Anyone able to recommend good companies for this? I was quoted €1500 for it today from the dealer - I wonder if it's a messy install.... Speaking of which, does anyone know if those tow-bar boxes (https://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehsel4_tab.php/car-specific-accessories/cruz_rear_cargo_carrier_system_base_platform_no_940_535/Qx%40w%2C6M42VAwp3%40Rb%7B~cC4ure_i02d) is better for efficiency anyway? (to add to this, does anyone know what the load rating on the tow bar is? I know the car can tow 500kg, however, what's the max you can hang on the tow bar if I got one of those boxes?)
• The dealer acknowledged he felt MG was doing their best to differentiate between the three specs, and in particular between the Excite and Exclusive. The rear twin spoiler and light bar feel like gimmicks (with a small loss of range from the spoiler!) so €3,500 really gets you a 360 camera, electrically adjusted driver seat, heated seats and steering wheel, wireless charging, built-in satnav, and....the ability to set regen as a shortcut on the steering wheel? My main takeaway here is they should have kept it simple and made a bottom and top-spec version in either long or short range......
• V2L: the dealer is getting asked about it a lot, but no one has ordered the cable yet.
• Pricing: the price I quoted in a previous post. That includes the optional extra red it turns out so delivery is more like €1000. Thumbs up here. The insurance to cover depreciation in the first few years can be bought separate to paint protection (€500 for three years) also which is also good to know.

All in all, it's still a thumbs up! Lovely car to drive, and I'm keeping my money down.

theinferior

Great review @usual_suspect! Do you remember when exactly you put in your deposit? I'm just wondering where I am on the list -- a lot further down, I suspect!

Thanks 🙂

DaveyDave

To be honest it doesn't really sound like there's much to dislike about the car, I know reviews might give the car a pass on some things because of the price but I don't really think there is anything to go wrong with it. If the fit and finish isn't as good or there's smaller details missing like a dampened glovebox or something it's fine because you're not paying a premium price and because it's an EV you're not stuck with a crap engine or terrible automatic gearbox like some cheaper cars (looking at you Peugeot putting a bloody automated manual in a modern car)

pandabat

Good level of detail there - thanks! Going for a test drive tomorrow myself.

I used to have a Mazda 3 saloon myself (2010 vintage) but I thought that the boot on that was fairly epic given the car's size. Could squeeze a surprisingly large amount into it ... and you get a roof box on too.

The MG4 will be a second car for us though (we'll troop on with the wife's Grand C-Max as the holiday-mobile for now) so boot not a huge concern once it takes the groceries and a few bags/etc for more local day trips.

Funny, the front of the MG4 reminds me hugely of my old Mazda. If it's as good a car as that one was then it'll be well worth it.

usual_suspect

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119757099#Comment_119757099

It was sometime in mid/late August from memory. I had a feeling this car was coming to shock the market and was going to be better than what the price deserved it to be (comparing it to others on the market)

usual_suspect

The boot on the 2010 Mazda (ours is a different year but the same model shape) is great alright. This boot looks smaller initially, but I think it’s the depth as it’s not as deep to look into, however, it’s taller in the MG4 (not including above the parcel shelf either). I’ll be interested to hear your thoughts - I didn’t have long with it, and I evidently couldn’t pack it with my usual junk (😂) so always hard to tell how big an empty space is….

we’ve dropped to a one-car family hence the (regular) comments about roof boxes, etc. day to day I can live with an MG4 boot, but there’s weekend and summer holidays to pack for….

pandabat

Yeah we considered dropping to one car but in the end decided to spread the bets, keep one bigger ICE and dip our toes in the EV waters with the value proposition of the MG4. I drive a high-spec Mazda 6 Skyactiv-G Tourer now so the MG4 is going to be a big change in many areas if I do go for one. It'll be interesting to see it in the flesh tomorrow and to drive an EV for the first time

usual_suspect

I’m looking forward to hearing your views 👍

tom1ie

Just had a spin in the frank keane ocean blue one that I seen on the m50 last week. It’s a top spec exclusive long range.

Ive never driven an EV before so I was amazed at the acceleration and ease of driving. The seats are very comfortable with plenty of adjustment.

Boot looks small (focus size?)but I’m coming from an insignia which is humongous!

Lots of gadgets which are on every video review so won’t go into it. I actually didn’t find the 360 camera too grainy which I’ve seen a few complaints about.

The finance agreements between MG and BOI are still being finalised so should be sorted by the end of November, which is when I’ll check things out again.

The exclusive LR = €36345

The excite LR= €32845

The excite SR= €29345

Arctic white and Ocean blue are included in price colours.

Black pearl and Urban grey (metallic) are €700 extra

Dynamic red (tri coat) €900 extra

volcano orange (exclusive only and tri coat) €900 extra

AMKC

It is a pity that there is not an Exclusive SR without the rear Spoilers but with everything else that is on the Exclusive LR.

Patser

I've a test drive booked tomorrow with Frank Keane, interested to see the blue in the flesh and how dark it is inside

pandabat

So drove the white Excite SR that JPMG Mahonpoint Cork have as their demo car.

Looks good in white as it accentuates the black design bits but don't know that I'd go for white myself ... dunno what colour I'd go for tbh. They mentioned that they'd be trying to get in painted metal samples of the colours but I don't know when that will happen if at all.

Sitting into the car, I found the seats ok. Coming from leather electric memory seats in my Mazda 6 so not quite as armchair-like as those but was able to find comfortable seating position quickly enough. I didn't find the cabin too dark despite having an off-white/cream/beige cabin in my Mazda. Switchgear etc seemed ok. Sound from the speakers seemed a bit tinny but didn't get to fiddle with equaliser or anything so that can probably be tuned to better suit.

Touchscreen seemed reasonably responsive and fairly legible when stopped but you'd probably need to learn what's where before trying to navigate it in anger while driving.

15 minute test drive so not long with the vehicle. Some slow-traffic suburban road driving and then fast dual-carriageway back to base at the end. Car felt fine to drive. The point-and-squirt is just WOW - first time driving an EV and it was good. Steering feel was quite light, can probably change that in the settings. Regen was on high for most of the drive - expected more of a "pull" on the car with that. It is stronger than most ICE engine-braking would be but nowhere near where I'd imagine one-pedal driving would be or should be. Not a deal-breaker though. Didn't get to have any twisties-type fun so can't comment there but speed and acceleration are much more than adequate for what it really just a family hatch. Would put a smile on your face - at least if you're an EV virgin like me.

I'm nearly but not quite 6ft (~180cms) and had no bother sitting behind myself in the rear, which seemed comfy enough with my feet fitting mostly under driver's seat. No armrest there but isofixes behind velcro flap.

Boot smaller than I'm used to but fairly in line with what I'd seen online and expected. Plenty big enough for the day-to-day (groceries, day trips, weekends away, etc.). You would probably want to be very disciplined on packing your luggage if heading off on longer hols in it though.

Overall a good-looking car (imo) that's fun to drive and doesn't break the bank (in EV terms).

Pricing given as €29345 OTR which means a huge €1850 in dealer charges, which I didn't realise until I got home and looked properly at the figure. €700 for metallic paint (grey/black) and €900 for tri-coat (red/orange with latter only available on Exclusive).

tom1ie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119760851#Comment_119760851

I’d prefer a bit of flexibility myself. The long range battery is a must with the higher charging rate plus the camera but no need for spoiler two tone roof or wireless charging - I’d just plug the phone in and use Apple CarPlay.

TitianGerm

Lads are they telling you it's €29,345 + €700 or €900 for paint?

tom1ie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119761712#Comment_119761712

So it’s €29345 and that includes white or blue.

Its €700 extra for black or grey.

Its €900 extra for red or orange.

That’s frank keane’s.

unkel

@tom1ie - Did you ask would they remove the paint protection nonsense from the price?

€29345 is a lot less of a budget car than €27495 in my book

tom1ie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119761826#Comment_119761826

No I didn’t ask that, but the €29345 includes:

3 years return to invoice/gap protection (what the hell is this?)

lifeshine interior treatment

lifeshine paint treatment

genuine MG carpet floor mats

genuine MG wind deflectors.

Unkel are you saying if the above 5 things are removed the price should be €27495?

zg3409

In terms of tow bar you should check the requirements from the manufacturer. Some cars it must be fitted at factory not dealer. Others can be fitted at dealer.

I recently investigated a towbar for a 2016 ICE. 2 non dealers towbar specialists quoted 600 euro. I priced the towbar itself at around 200 euro but electronics were an additional 180 euro and needed wiring from rear of car all the way to front if car. It also requires coding which is changing cars software so it knows when it's towing so safety features such as abs can adapt and things like reversing beepy sensors are disabled when you put car in reverse.

It's likely aftermarket kits may not be available for some time, so full dealer price may be only short term option.

Miscreant

€1900 over list for the non-metallic colours? Ah here, until people refuse to pay these extra charges then it'll carry on and get worse. Adding a few hundred for delivery is fair enough but some places are taking the mickey.

For almost 2k over list, I would expect delivery and metallic paint in whatever colours they have available.

This sounds like MG are not allowing the dealers much of a margin, so they're adding it on themselves.

pandabat

I don't know if anything is included in the €1850 other then delivery and prep - didn't do the sums on it until I went home tbh. Didn't order today but will certainly be asking about that fee, which seems quite high, but seems same in Cork and Dublin so might not be much shifting it either alas. Think MarkN/Nobby mentioned this in a recent post. It's a seller's market and they know it - if you don't take it then someone else will.

E30M3

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119761878#Comment_119761878

I was there this afternoon and in fairness I said up front I didn't want that package and it was repriced without it straight away with no drama whatsoever.

Grumpypants

I'd no idea what the 3 year gap thing was but according to Google it's a kind of insurance. If you finance the car and crash it, but the insurance will not pay off the finance you would be left footing the bill. This covers that gap.

Mats (came free in the ZS I think they might just be listing it) and wind protectors you can grab on Ali Express.

Paint protection I don't know much about. I was quoted €380 for superguard. I'd assume it's not necessary and likely not applied properly anyway.

I think they only make 1500 on a MG. So they are likely throwing in a bunch of "extras" to bump that.

tom1ie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119761931#Comment_119761931

Ah I see.

So you were given a price of €27495 for the excite SR? Or what was the price?

Markbro1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119761878#Comment_119761878

Going by that they are charging €595 for the 5 things above. I was given a price 3 weeks ago of €29,450 for the SR which includes grey metallic paint.

E30M3

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119761942#Comment_119761942

32,545 for the LR Excite, that's with metallic and delivery charges. So approx 850 for delivery and 700 for paint? Both fair enough in the current climate. Helpful salesman also who was polite and eager to help.

tom1ie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119762014#Comment_119762014

So I got a price of €32845 for the LR excite if it’s white or blue.

Add on €700 for black or grey and €900 for red or orange.

elgicko

The price I was given 10 days ago from Frank Keane was €29,450 including delivery and metallic. That was for entry level model.

If you are thinking of buying this car you need to read up and understand the difference between LFP and Lithium-ion.

LFP comes in entry level, which in my opinion is a better technology than Lithium-ion for many reasons including, less weight, zero maintenance, better charge and discharge characteristics and they have a much longer life (this means more charge cycles, without degradation of battery) to li-ion batteries.

Downside is lower energy density which means shorter range, also cold weather charging takes longer. Read up on it, to become informed to assist in making your decision.

I have had a good think about it. I have FOMO as it is an electric car for under 30k( it is still 30k). Depends what mileage you are doing and if you can charge at home, have to consider all factors including range, cost of electricity, very high at minute, compared to last year (to include rates for day/night, increased cost per KW during day and higher standing charge, etc..), factor that in with repayment to include interest and depreciation, is it worth it?

They are doing something to reduce grant next year, I suspect the car industry just adds the rebate of grant and vrt onto their profit margin, have a look at the cost of the car in UK and other cars in UK and other countries, which are comparable to here and in many cases cheaper,. Here as usual we are ripped at every opportunity.

I am going to sit tight in my 8 year old civic, that returns 900km+ per fill (costs €70ish) to fill from empty at the minute, but suspect that will reduce to mid €40 when things settle down. I don't do big miles and fill it up once every 4-6 weeks, so for me it makes sense not to jump as the whole car market is nuts at the minute, car dealers are shooting fish in a barrel. Once COVID, supply chain, chip supply and Ukraine war are behind us, things will be different (. Don't forget there is a recession on the way as well, so less money in pocket to spend on car payment.)

Also if Eamon Ryan wants 1,000,000 electric cars on the road in just over 7 years, I would imagine that there will be some serious incentives from Government to make the masses switch to electric, if we can get the cars (only a few countries drive on RHD).

I'll end with this anecdote, rang dealer in Kildare asking about a Kia Niro e. Had a chat with sales person. Towards the end of the conversation, he goes to me, "are you local", to which I replied, "no", he then said, "sorry we only sell to locals". Mad stuff!!

I'll leave it there folks. All the best to those who take the plunge, as far as ev cars go, this from my research is a good one for the price.

unkel

If you're unsure you want to spend what is a considerable amount of money, then don't spend it. Stick with your Civic

The incentives for EVs will soon be over though and they will never come back. So don't bank on them. They should have been gone already imho. I'm the opposite myself, I'll take the €5k grant again, just ordered a new EV as I reckon it will give me a substantial cushion against depreciation. It did before. But this will of course only work if prices aren't going to drop considerably in the short term. Which I reckon they won't as pretty much all incumbents struggle to make any profit on EVs at the moment. They only make them because they have to (Tesla excepted)