I just got back from my first road trip in our Essence 64 spec covering almost 1,000km in 3 days. We had four people on board and were loaded with luggage. The overall experience was great with only tiny nit picking faults. This car looks to have been a great decision for our 1st electric vehicle.
Picked up my MG4 Excite 2 days ago. Have Android Auto wireless dongle, has worked flawlessly. Ordered OEM wireless charger from AE. Dash cover mat, proper custom made V2L cable, Magnetic charge plug rain cover, also have 32a 7kw portable charger with 32a CEE plug. Modified boot with 80mm high ply infill, which to store charger under. This also makes boot flat when putting back seats down. In addition Electric Kiwi gives me an hour a day free electricity, this gives me 33km range, and most days do under 20km. Forum guys have tested V2L, and it tripped out at 6600 watts, makes sense since it comes with 6.6kw inverter.
Thanks for the review. One thing to add is that the 51 has LFP battery chemistry (as opposed to the bigger battery models which have NMC) - which in moderate to warm climates is a good thing! Apart from being cheaper to make, in theory they are rated for double the number of charge cycles (so should last longer) and also you can regularly charge it to 100% without worrying about prematurely ageing the battery.
While it's true that the LFP lasts longer, the expected life of the NMC batteries is still longer than the expected life of the car. You'd probably get between 200k - 300k out of the NMC, vs 500k for the LFP all things being the same. The other thing to consider is that since the NMC are larger capacity, losing a few % more than an LFP still leaves you with more real world range. Both chemistries will degrade over time regardless of use so the NMC definitely has a few things going for it. I personally find it quite hard to choose between the two but I wouldn't say no to a NCM at the same price but with a bit more range.
@@kiwijonowilsonCan I ask a question (because something in this review got me thinking)? I own a 4 year old Model 3 SR+ with the NMC battery so almost never charge it over 80% as recommended. When it is over 92% charged regen is either limited or doesn’t work. Given that it is recommended that LFP batteries are charged to 100% doesn’t that mean that you start most journeys without one pedal driving - as this reviewer said about the MG - and isn’t this an issue?
Always great reviews, so much better than most (all) others. I'm waiting for your comparison with the cheapest BYD Dolphin. Just a pity the BYD price is hiked so much here compared to other countries.
This is the car I hope to buy, in BRIGHT ORANGE!!! Base spec with the LFP battery for peace of mind. I know the risk of fire for all EVs is low, but this would be our second city car that never leaves suburbia, so I don't need NMC and 450km of range. LFP and ~300km real world range would be just fine. And granny charger can put in 70km in 9 hours, so overnight top-ups for me would be easily manageable.
LFP are not immune to catching fire. MG EV in general have one of the lowest battery fires of most EV regardless of battery chemistry. Get the model you need and relax about chemistry!
Thank you again Gav....always love your reviews. When you talked about bright colours and about carparks today, it is so true and some car companies have decided to use pastel colours along with their 1950's Eastern Block colours.
Hope we get the MG4 is South Africa soon. The BYD Atto3 has just become available. In South Africa the VTL will be very useful due to our regular "loadsheding".
I like watching these for many reasons, but one is that eventually, these vehicles will be coming to America once the Legacy Big 3 go bankrupt and the government realizes they have to end the Chinese import tax.
Great review. I agree that ac controls on the steering wheel are fantastic. My 2010 Prius has them and I have often wondered myself why every car doesn't have them.
They ALL use graphite no matter what the battery is made of. As a consequence, the manganese dissolution does not only lead to capacity and power fading at the cathode, but also influences the SEI composition at the anode. In fact, an analysis of aged LiMn2O4/graphite cells via EIS revealed that the increased impedance at the graphite anode is largely contributing to the capacity fading of such lithium-ion cells.
The plastic things covering the wheels are called Aero caps. They improve efficiency by a few percent. Under those are alloy wheels. Most EVs including Tesla have them
I'm curious how well they are going to hold up over the years because the MG genuinely feels quite cheap in the fit and finish department compared to the BYD and Ora.
Definitely a concern for these merging Chinese brands - we simply haven't had 10+ years of reliability data and owner feedback. But this particular model of the MG4 is currently top of my short list when I replace my old car.
Budget or premium finishing has nothing to do with reliability. Take Toyota and Audi for example. Some Toyota cars these days still have cheap in the fit and finish department but they hold up really really well compared to others.
The Atto 3 is nice, but the head rests are hopeless for short people like my wife. She really liked the MG4, not the Atto, and the drive is nice in the MG4. It arrives tonight
@nevillevaneerten Well that's odd as I am 188cm and I had the bottom of the headrest digging into the top of my shoulders and neck, the funny thing is the Dolphin does not! It must be ever so slightly longer backrest on the Dolphin??
As a retired chartered engineer, wouldn't a better measure for efficiency be km/kWh, so the larger the number the greater the efficiency? In the UK we have miles per gallon and it would be a metric and electric version of that.
Awesome review 😊 Now that you have driven both the 51 and 64 Essence, if you had $50,000 to spend, which one would you buy? Also if you put the BYD atto3 in the ring with them, which one would you buy? Thanks in advance 😊😊
‘Every time you sit in this MG you’ll be touching cloth’. The thirteen year-old Cockney kid in me is absolutely pissing myself (not touching cloth!) laughing.
Why do you do a acceleration test in normal mode? It is much faster when you put it in sport mode You do not get the maximum horse power in normal mode, just a heads up 😊 Good video though 👌
While the styling is, er, challenging, I am seriously looking at one of these to replace my aging leaf (gen 1, battery is shot). And it comes in bright orange!
Hi Gavin, I enjoyed this review of the MG. Looks like a great car. I do indeed have a puzzling query - what is your PAOC (potato apparatus of choice) for the PSC score? Furthermore, what time would a 12mm x 12mm cube of said potato require to boil? Kindly, James. PS Mark is curious if you are willing to undertake a PSC study of his yacht. Please respond.
Gavin can you test MG4 Excite at 80-90km on a long run, Bjorn Nyland got 11.6kwh/100km and 435km on a full charge at 80km/ph. Want to see if I can get from Whangarei to Auckland and back on one charge.
Gavin did the car come with those MG Electric floor mats? Mine came with bog basic non fittings third party ones. Will have a go at the dealer if supplied as standard.
Ok, great review, I enjoy them. I’ve been looking at Tesla 3 or Y. I saw these reviewed but quality issues and dealer problems seem to be quite bad. Please let me know what your advice would be on the best choice. We are retiring and I lug bikes around a lot. I will spend up to 70k but would rather not. Thanks.
If you can afford it, Tesla Y. If you don't need the boot space (tow hitch for the bikes), then the Tesla 3 is hard to look past. Cheaper, longer range, faster, nicer to drive.
@@johngordon9987it’s not about generating a lot of power. On average 3-5 miles a hour with a solar panel is so worth it, just leave my car parked in the sun while at work or out having fun….
@@1DonFF 3-5 miles an hour of added energy would imply at least 1kW from the solar panel. Rooftop solar panels on homes (larger than the average car roof) generate max 400W when angled perfectly. They are also 12-24V - a long way off the 400V needed for charging a traction battery. Most likely, you'd end up using an inverter to get 110V/220V AC and connecting to the car's AC charger - all of which incur losses. I would be surprised if you could get even 1 mile an hour from a rooftop panel on a perfect day (which is probably why the few I've seen that have added them use the power to cool the interior rather than charge the battery).
As EV adoption reaches past the early adopters phase into mass adoption, I wonder exactly how many people will ever bother with trip efficiency checks, at least after the intial 1-2 month new novelty of their new car because, well, it's just a - car; that is apart from the Gavin Geeks and Pedantic Potatos....😜🤪
