MG4 Long Range Trophy: the REAL range, efficiency, the good and bad 

This is how it's done. No ranting, raving or "all for the greater good" preaching.......Just a sensible, level-headed approach from someone who understands how to use an EV correctly.

Thanks for an interesting look at what is arguably the most important EV to hit the European markets this year. Here in France the MG4 outsold the Renault Megan e-tech last month and is climbing the sales charts as the year goes on. The pricing here is smack in the middle of ICE offerings like the Golf, Peugeot 308 and Ford Focus...generally in France the prices of EVs are about €10K above their ICE equivalents which is crazy. European manufacturers will have to get their prices down if they want to compete with very good products like the MG4

As usual an honest and thorough review of a car being used by normal people under normal condidtions. It was a pleasure to meet Richard at the recent Tesla meet in Bicester where he was as pithy as he is on his videos. Interestingly he had "conference throat" by 11am- he is a popular guy. Please keep up the good work.

Love the real world nature of your content. Thanks for posting. Best of luck.

THANK YOU for having an on-screen conversion for the consumption. It’s a real headache for me as a Swede having to stop videos all the time to convert figures for consumption. This video was a far better viewing experience.

A fair assessment of the car. I have the SE standard range car and find that reducing the speed and a bit of lorry following can give 4.5 mkWh on motorways. I use google maps from my phone plugged into the screen, that works quite well, and voice commands work a treat. The screen will display ABRP and that may fix the routing with ev charger problem but I have not put it to the test yet. Thanks for the video.

Great review and as an owner , one of the most accurate out there. Mentioned most of the annoying software bugs, if they were resolved it would be an absolute cracker of the car although still is a great one. As others have mentioned the charging can get up to 135Kw (or slightly more if you're lucky), shame you didn't get to put it to the test.

I got the same car and the charging speed now tops out at 137! very nice speed and it keeps that speed all the way up past 60% fully. I fast charge very seldom but i use only teslas supercharger network or the brand new MER 150kw chargers so i get the top speed. Superhappy after updating to software R46 and updating all the modules in the car and now it behaves great with the lane keep assist not trying to throw me in the ditch anymore. After the updates the car is now really nice but the real world range IS adjusted after my driving style so for me it is around 90km lower then the "shop range" they advertised but i like the car alot overall after getting the updates.

Motorway speed when cold and raining, also kills range if driving at 70 mph on motorways. The Air con and heating work well if out of Auto. I control it from the steering wheel buttons.However My car does most it trips around town, short local trips. Ive enjoying being a MG4 Trophy driver. Does what we need it to great car for us.

Just on a point of pedantry (and Tesla's Model Y manual notwithstanding), a system's ability to understand spoken input is "speech recognition". "Voice recognition" is when it can identify the speaker from their vocal characteristics. 🤓

Hi. Good review. I have the same car and pretty much agree with your conclusion. The car is supposed to be capable of over the air uodates, so hoping MG will startvthis soon. Shortcut buttons on the steering wheel can be configured for a/c, which is more convenient than the screen. I've briefly seen peak charge rate of 140kw. Overall very happy with the MG4

3.6 looks about right for motorways. I just drove to Madrid & back in my Trophy and I was getting the same, normal mode - aircon on - motorway speeds of130km/ph in France & 120km/ph in Spain

Good review, particularly highlighting the relative difference in efficiency between motorway and other driving. You did, however, undersell its rapid charging ability. It'll sustain 136kw up to 50% and charges as fast to 80% as Model 3 Standard Range.

No nonsense review. Pointing out the issues without drama. Thanks Richard. I think the inside of the car looks out of date now so in 3 or 4 years I would be well fed up with it. It is cheap and it looks it.

The MG4 was a serious consideration for me but then the price of EVs came down and a used Model 3 was in the same price bracket. The only pull the MG had then was the warranty. I went for a used Model 3 LR and it's brilliant, zero regrets.

Very interesting, Richard. The software looked a bit rubbish. Slow response and your quote of "laggy and buggy" seems to sum it up. BTW, it was great to meet you at the weekend!

Thanks, this is one of my options for next vehicle, appreciate the review, motorways won't be a problem, we don't have one within 130 miles of me, cheers.

Great review. Interesting majority of your comparisons are with a Model3. Illustrates how far MG have come, when it is priced lower than a Corsa E or even a Zoe👍

Thanks for another honest review Richard. Two things to say. Please give your passenger a microphone and normal driving is in normal mode with the climate control set to 20deg C. I was seriously considering this car but after your review and Bjorn Nylands I am now having serious doubts. My Corsa e does (summer) 3.7 m/kWh at motorway speeds, that’s 65 to 70. On B roads and country lanes I can get to 5. In cold winters it is very poor. Range drops to 120 miles. I am going to check out the new Kona when it is available and I have already sat in a Niro and it looked great. More expensive cars though.

Thanks for doing this video. Would probably give this car a WIDE berth

LR Trophy owner here, after about 2 months and 5000 miles on it, here's my take: -The GOM on the MG4 is notoriously overestimating but I do know what I can expect from it - now when it's warm I get around 250miles out of it in eco if I average less than 50mph, so around 4.2-4.3 mpKwh. At 70 mph I'm getting around 200miles (that's 70mph, not 60 or 65), so around 3.1 mpKwh or thereabouts. -The audio through radio is poor but if you stream music it completely changes the car, no idea why the radio isn't up to the task through the 3d sound... -The LKA is really dodgy so I normally turn it off, but the rest of the features are decent. Aside from the occasional panic braking while on ACC -Android auto and generally the connectivity SW and Bluetooth can suffer glitches but there are some updates available that would improve it. SW needs a bit of attention, feels like they did a similar thing to VW and released some beta versions instead of proper final versions -DC charging peaks at 142kW until around 52% which is fantastic -AC charging is 3 phase so close to 9.8kW on compatible chargers, otherwise 6.5kw on single phase so on IO tarrif you get about 63% within the 6hr window so plenty for daily usage -HVAC is really really really annoying! it's almost like you need to add 4C on top of what you need, I've also complained to the dealers. -very responsive and comfortable, unless you're in eco, where it's very tame Bottom line, I still absolutely love it. Would go for the xPower but don't want to sacrifice the range so will see what comes up in 3 years!

Software is the key to a good EV IMO.

Sounds a bit like my leaf not so efficient on motorways but good on back roads. Pity but great honest vlog. Thank you 🙏

Very interesting to get such a non bias review.

The mg4 being released in australia has a rear wiper and the climate control can be adjusted via the little joysticks things on the steering wheel. Just assign HVAC to one.of the user defined star buttons.

Great review. Thank you

I concur that single lane country roads and following tractors or getting stuck in holiday traffic is certainly real world here on the south west coast 😊

Another great video thnx Richard. Do you have the Byd atto3 in the UK and if so would be interested in your views on that vs the mg4

I've seen 142kW max in my trophy on both tesla & Ionity chargers each and every time, no problem connecting⚡ either 👍

Really good video and interesting as I'm getting one in 2024 for a company car. My only disappointment was that I thought you might have set off at 100% charge to get a real true estimation instead of starting the days journey at 94-93%. Good to see real world usage though with aircon etc

Hopefully, software updates will make the big difference, as they have with my first gen ZS.

16:00 The sound system is good 😂

Great video mate an the lads

Check Nav manual you can get it to show where expected range will get you and it can show places to charge.

As far as planning a route via charge-points it's like no other car manufacturers ever drove a Tesla. It always amazes me that they can't do a better job of this software, because it can make or break your experience of an EV. I'd be interested to know if MG are sending out updates to the software, to improve these "buggy" annoying things.

I have one of these, same spec and the driving experience is great, the seats are great, the steering wheel is really nice. It has lots of passenger space in the back - perhaps too much since I'd prefer a bit deeper boot. I haven't charged it from DC but it works fine from AC and it's pretty efficient - about 15kwh/100km the way I use it. I generally like everything physical about it. I think the software though is kind of glitchy in nuisance ways. Sometimes bluetooth / Android doesn't work without fiddling back and forth, the driver assistance (MG Pilot) stuff can be annoying, and the day/night detection is way too sensitive to shadows, flicking back and forth. I also hate that it never remembers some settings - i live in the countryside and I want lane keep turned off. I also want eco on by default. These are things that could be fixed with firmware updates and as I say the car overall is very positive. I just hope they follow up and make it perfect.

I'm looking forward to Richard reviewing the forthcoming X Power version.

Bjørn says the same about the climate. As I recall, he said you need odd settings on all Chinese cars.

these 'real world' films are great . no rubbish just honest opinions

Saw on Bjorn Nyland's review that this has handshake issues with some DC charging but otherwise it's amazing.

Hi. I’m driving an MG4 SE Long range as a courtesy car but own an MG5. The Climate control screen is a bit fiddly. You have to touch the Fan slider or Temp slider. Anywhere else adjusts where the air blows. ie Feet, screen or mid. You touch the area you want it to be directed. But the sliders need to be bigger.

Great video again. What makes it so good is the fact you have taken the car as you say real world driving, and not just a couple of miles around the area. You say about the buggy software, and videos I watch about the Tesla, is that they are always being updated, but how often do the likes of MG update their software? Once again thank you for a great video. 😃

Did you have the 3D sound and sub engaged in the settings? My MG4 Trophy sounded pretty average until I realised the sound system wasn't optimised.

Getting 2.9 per kwh at current temps. Very pleased with mine.

That car charges with 135 Kw to nearly 50% It charges fast guys…😊

200 miles at motorway speeds seems great to me. My e-208 is more like 130 miles from its 45 kwh usable battery. And similar priced car these days.

Richard, the AC on Chinese cars are all like this, the Smart #1 Brabus that I have ordered is the same ie set at 26 degrees and get 21.

I just bought an mg and I'm shocked at how amazing it is

Having recently, yesterday, test driven an MG4 Long Range, I’ve changed my mind. It’s not quite the Poundland option I thought it was. I’m very tempted to order one, purely on a financial basis.

Thanks, it seems "OK" is the best description, but it is a bargain in EV terms. I would worry about long term reliability, but who knows, it may be excellent, and long warranty anyway. The efficiency does not matter too much unless you regularly need to squeeze out those last few miles, as the initial cost savings will far outweigh the slight extra electricity cost.

In the real world, when you stopped for lunch you would have found a charging point nearby and topped up so you didn't have to stop on the return journey. In this case there is a Shell Recharge location half a mile away which has 175kW charging, so a few minutes there would have removed the need for the splash and dash.

Did you turn on the virtual sub? Did you turn off the silent in rear (or whatever it is called)? 4:10

Richard, are you planning to add the MG4 Xpower to the fleet? Love to hear your thoughts on that trim.

Great review , question would you rather buy a new mg4 standard (se) or a 2021 Tesla 3 ( made in China ) with around 80k on clock keeping it long term , cheers

Another example of the Tesla software advantage in the market. Also the MG4 Trophy will charge at 138kw - tested and confirmed myself

Thanks for the km and kWh

Does look nice in a dark colour

Fantastic car for the price. Nothing competes for the money.

Whilst the range is slightly less, I went for a Citroën E-C4 instead of the MG4. For certain the Citroën has better climate control and my satnat doesn't freeze. Monthly payments only, I actually got a better deal on the Citroën.

Now we know what the car is like, what I need to know is how I can plug it in at home, charge from solar, and discharge back to the house when it's dark or not sunny. I understand it's possible, but no-one has been able to prove it.

Really interesting video and comparing your real world driving MG website very close. I would pick the SE Long range as its £3k cheaper than the Trophy at £29495 (plus £695 if you want anything other than white). MG claim 216 miles motorway and 281 with a mixture of city rural and dual carriage way. So 3 to 4 miles per kwh the same as the ID3 and Born. Born a lot nicer inside than the MG4 but £6k to £8k more to buy.

Tried the MG4 xpower today, I am told it is the same size as the MG4 Trophy, found it was too small for my 6ft4 frame, legs had to be crunched up and knee was pushed up against centre console, so pleased I went in to check, I was about to buy this car today.

The main problem of MG4 is fatal crash result for rear passenger during frontal crash test NCAP. You can see red zone for cervical spine, it means fatal injury. So for me MG4 is good maybe for 2 front passengers :-)

Nice choice of background music

For around £35000, I went for a 5 year old model S. No regrets.

have you any reviews or comparison of the mg4 vs megane e tech

Good review. I would be interested in how the range changes between having just the driver or a full load -4 passengers and bags.

Thanks , great real life drive. If you were to compare cost per mile with a petrol car and this what would the journey cost. Pity the info system seems buggy.

Guys. Would this car be worth buying if I can’t charge at home? I have a BP 50kw charger close but it’s 63p per kw

Hi can you do review on the Renault Megane E tech

Are you sure the suspension is on soft and comfortable side 🤔

And, does it seem similar to the ID.3?

Map is freezing because within the settings you will need to switch off dead reckoning. That makes the maps glitch because it tries to search for a lot more GPS satellites that it needs for pinpoint precision which generally isn't needed.

Is the car on the latest update? These issues seem to have settled for us after updates. 14:20

M3 RWD existing inventory for 38.7k. I think I’d just go for that

It comes as no surprise that motorway speeds mean less range. The most economic performance of ICE cars is 56 mph which is a speed closer to that achieved on non motorway roads.

Did you have virtual sub and Arkamys turned on. I find the sound pretty good in the trophy. For some reason these arnt set to on from the factory giving the impression of poor sounding audio

Something to note You said the car has 117kw charging, that’s the base model LFP battery, the long range / trophy has 135kw as it is And the car has exceptional battery cooling. The charging curve is very flat at about 130kw to 70% from what I’ve heard

The braking to Regen actually doesn't make sense for the acceleration you then have to apply to regain momentum, less Regen will actually give you better range.

The actual useable battery size is 61.7kwh. Unlike EV like Kona that are actually what they say the battery size is.

Unfortunately the AC controls suffer from fat finger syndrome the interface was designed with style over substance. Thankfully the new MG4 AC controls have been improved with larger touch buttons that don't turn off other parts when changing fan speed.

😊 thank you. excellent test on the MG. here's to be a very competent electric vehicle.. not exciting! not outstanding... mmm 🤔 still love hour ,i3S .... 😊

It’s good ,but Model 3 is still the efficiency king,will we see over 5 miles per kWh with project highland?🤞,nice one guys 👍😉💪

The software or iOS is key to seamless driving & Tesla have set the bar 100%

😊

Planning is always advisable for longer journeys in an EV. On seeing your efficiency results I think the MG4 is no better than average, I've just done a round trip from South Yorkshire to the Scottish Highlands covering 685 miles over 3 days in my Nissan Leaf 40kWh and I averaged 4.8 miles/kWh, that's with 60-65mph on motorways and DCs, I think under 4 in the summer is rather poor, I was getting 3.6-3.8 in my Leaf in the winter weather. That messing about with the climate control would send me round the twist 🙁

Well done “Nice video about range ! But what about how much cost to charge it ?

Thanks for useful and honest review. Regarding the lack of a route planner: Is this something that you normally get in a lower end EV? What about The Leaf, Zoe, Corsa e, Peugeot 208 of even ID3, Seat Born etc? Is it fair to compare with a Tesla? My EV6 has only just had an update including a route planner, but it's not yet as good as the paid for version of ABRP.

Hello mate

Another confirmation with what I thought about Bjorn Nyland review too…: rubbish infotainment, wobbly lane keep assist, bad audio.. other bits ok. But it’s cheaper than most. Charging Nav system should be 100% priority on EVs (especially for novices!!)

Nice review and test, out of interest I know your wife has an ID3 which do you prefer ?

I'm more interested in the 77kWh version.

RU-vid, EV's and range testing always makes me smile. Highway code of UK. AUS & NZ recommend for solo drivers take a 15 min break ever 2 hrs. 15 min DC charge will get you another 2 hrs driving time. Insurance company oh you had an accident how long was you driving for before accident, oh driving for 3.5hrs range testing your ev, sorry claim denied.

7:28 & 11:20 & 16:50. I think you man the economy drops, not the efficiency. The efficiency of the motor doesnt change. Noted that you started at 94%. How often is the 80/20 or 80/10 rule being disregarded as this will effect long term battery life. 3.6-3.7 miles/Kwhr seems pretty standard for long journeys where m/ways are used, but if you apply the 80/10 rule you are going to get 227 - 267miles minus 30%.

Do you think a byd dolphin is better than the MG4 ?

21 reg Tesla Model 3 - 389 miles range - Less than 40k miles on clock - £30,500 currently on sale... I'd prefer this Tesla to the MG4 which to be fair, for a nearly new EV seems pretty good value, but a used Tesla every time for me at about £30,000 budget.

Great car, but the lane assist tries to kill me at least once a day. Very Dangerous car.

Do you find it more efficient to go out with someone else to take/collect cars instead of relying on public transport?

The screen is about the right size if, like me, you suffer from light-induced migraines. The one in the Tesla is terrible for stopping me in my tracks.

I think I'll stick with my Ioniq 38 getting 5.6 same speeds and weather.