Discussion
After a couple of years of projects, and a while of running 2 cars (mini and Subaru) it was time for a change.
Subaru.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Mini.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Now I know that the EV revolution is coming, but I really wanted to leave my hydrocarbon days with a bang. So started hunting for V8. I set myself a budget of £20k wanting something reliable, fun and capable of carrying 4 people in some sort of comfort.
Problem was I just couldn't find anything! VXR8 just seemed too unreliable. Anything decent AMG was out of reach, Mustangs were just out of budget and most everything else scared me off with potential bork factor (I needed to spend less time on the drive tinkering for a couple of years ideally)
So I decided to stop by on the way back from pistonheads anniversary at Bicester to test drive the MG4 EV. A complete u-turn on my previous goal, but it seemed like something to do for an hour or so...
My local dealer was pretty accommodating and gave me the keys to his personal car and to try and be back in around 30 minutes.
I've test driven a couple of EVs before and I've really liked the way they drove but it has been pretty high end stuff and I wasn't expecting to like the MG much despite the rave reviews. I was completely wrong. It just drove great!
After discussing with Mrs goat I started some more serious research.
I had always been intrigued by the MG4 x power since it was reported it would be released at some point when the MG4 first hit the scene and it had just about been released for sale a few weeks before my test drive. The dealer didn't even have one so I drove the regular car but even so it was x power or nothing. 0-60 in under 4 seconds and less that £37k list price. That's tempting!
I spoke to various dealers about PCP deals but they simply didn't stack up against a personal lease, and after lots of online research I managed to get a deal which was actually cheaper than my works salary sacrifice.
6 weeks or so later...
The kids have nicknamed it Gina. 10 imaginery PH points to the first one to get the link...
Subaru.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Mini.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Now I know that the EV revolution is coming, but I really wanted to leave my hydrocarbon days with a bang. So started hunting for V8. I set myself a budget of £20k wanting something reliable, fun and capable of carrying 4 people in some sort of comfort.
Problem was I just couldn't find anything! VXR8 just seemed too unreliable. Anything decent AMG was out of reach, Mustangs were just out of budget and most everything else scared me off with potential bork factor (I needed to spend less time on the drive tinkering for a couple of years ideally)
So I decided to stop by on the way back from pistonheads anniversary at Bicester to test drive the MG4 EV. A complete u-turn on my previous goal, but it seemed like something to do for an hour or so...
My local dealer was pretty accommodating and gave me the keys to his personal car and to try and be back in around 30 minutes.
I've test driven a couple of EVs before and I've really liked the way they drove but it has been pretty high end stuff and I wasn't expecting to like the MG much despite the rave reviews. I was completely wrong. It just drove great!
After discussing with Mrs goat I started some more serious research.
I had always been intrigued by the MG4 x power since it was reported it would be released at some point when the MG4 first hit the scene and it had just about been released for sale a few weeks before my test drive. The dealer didn't even have one so I drove the regular car but even so it was x power or nothing. 0-60 in under 4 seconds and less that £37k list price. That's tempting!
I spoke to various dealers about PCP deals but they simply didn't stack up against a personal lease, and after lots of online research I managed to get a deal which was actually cheaper than my works salary sacrifice.
6 weeks or so later...
The kids have nicknamed it Gina. 10 imaginery PH points to the first one to get the link...
fantheman80 said:
i was going to say Gina G, the ginger singer!
So come on....what's its like!? its been destroying loads on the old car wow drag vids..!
I did think that could also work, but not so relevant for the kids.So come on....what's its like!? its been destroying loads on the old car wow drag vids..!
I'll post some more later on early impressions but so far so good. And yes it's incredibly quick off the line!
fred bloggs said:
How did you work that out A Ls engine and t56 gearbox is about as reliable as your ever going to get. You went for a chinese made MG EV ? I heard about someone running an MG dealership. He couldnt sell the franchise fast enough !!
Anecdotal I will confess, I signed up to the relevant owners groups on Facebook asked a few questions, looked at what was getting discussed. I'm not talking about major engine failures more day to day niggles, stuff that would need the owners attention. They aren't young cars anymore so it's not entirely unexpected.Edited by fred bloggs on Monday 23 October 11:26
Niggles on a brand-new lease car are a very different proposition... Besides just because it's made in China doesn't necessarily make it unreliable, most electrical stuff is made in China after all. Time will tell I guess.
Wow, quite the response, thank you.
Let me try and give my first impressions and answer a few questions on the way.
Style
As a few have pointed out a bright orange EV could be considered a brave choice, but having seen a fair few mg4 out and about I always thought the shape suits the bright colours more. The orange or the sky blue being my personal favourites.
When the car arrived I was immediately impressed with it. Smaller than you may think, different without being too out there. It receives lots and lots of attention. I used to drive an orange/goldish evora and I would say the mg4 gets an equal amount of attention (although I can't say it deserves it!) A few nice little style touches that some may think OTT like the rear spoiler lighting up at night. (I do like that BTW)
Interior is relatively plain, nothing too shouty. Largeish infotainment screen and a digital dash as you would expect in an EV. Lots of black with red stitching (stitching is an x-power only thing) sorry no decent pics!
Build quality / materials / usability
There are no rattles or squeaks, everything seems reasonably well screwed together so far (but I've only had it 3 weeks). Interior plastics do show the budget nature of the car but they are well beyond acceptable and certainly a step up from the Subaru! Ergonomically it all works fine. Doors shut with a reasonably hefty clump and paint finish is good and a lot less orange peely than some "premium" cars I have seen. I have heard reports it chips very easily but no evidence of that yet. Only thing that jumps out as not being properly put together is the driver's door handle is a tiny bit misaligned. All the other doors are fine, I'm sure it could be fixed but I don't think I will bother.
Seats are reasonably comfy, the driver's one is electrically adjustable which is nice but a shame they don't have memory. Heated steering wheel is a nice to have which I've never had before!
Fits my family of 4 really well, boot is fine for day to day but would be small for a family holiday trip
Sadly no frunk
Stereo is pretty good up to normal everyday levels but shows it's lack of quality at higher volumes.
Tech and getting set-up
There is quite a lot of tech, lane assist, adaptive cruise, 360 cameras, built in Amazon music, Android Auto, phone app for charging pre heating etc. As mine is a lease the guy basically dropped it off on my drive and left me to it. It doesn't come with a paper manual (although you can access it through the infotainment) although it did have a quick start guide.
There is a lot to take in, I did some research before it arrived so knew roughly what to do. I'm generally ok with tech so I wasn't too phased but no way could my parents have worked it out...
In use is really where the lack of development/investment starts to show. Most things work, but the touch screens can be annoyingly slow. The driver assist is overly intrusive, it even put the brakes on for me the other day for no reason which made me jump! I turn most of the assistance off now...
I've used the active cruise and traffic jam assist a couple of times and it works quite well. A bit jerky on occasion but perfectly fine. Not something I intend to use a lot to be honest.
Driving and performance
The most important bit! Firstly let me say, this thing is properly quick, the instant torque and acceleration is amazing as it is in many EV.
I have only used the launch control once but it is mind blowing how quick it gets off the line. Left me with goosebumps! I've had some reasonably quick cars but this is another level. I love it! The only thing I can compare it to is those roller coasters that do fast starts (Rita queen of speed).
Ride is on the firm side of comfortable but no worse than my mini before it. Body roll is very controlled and it corners surprisingly flat. Grip levels seem really high and it is actually a lot of fun! I haven't given it a full on cross country blast yet so I will report back when I have but so far I am impressed. You can feel it's heavy but no worse than some other large cats I've had. At really low speed going over speed bumps and things it gets a bit harsh, I'm guessing because of the weight but it's fine at speeds over anything but a crawl.
Cost and efficient.
As others have said depreciation is obviously a concern but it is on most cars. I'm used to pre covid levels where a normal car loses 40-50% over 3 years. I don't believe the current trend for slow depreciation will continue, the signs are there the new car market is getting back to normal, sales and 0% finance deals all over the place.
So a lease made sense for a car I wanted to try and works for my current phase of life. It works out less than 30% of the car value over 2 years, which was by far the cheapest way to drive the car and no capital tied up on it. Worth 50p in 2 years? No worries I'll give it back.
As for efficiency somewhere just over 200 miles seems possible on a charge but this will change with the weather and time of day as well as driving style. Again one to keep an eye on. I got a charger (zappi) installed and changed my electric tariff to an eon EV one. 9p per kwh so a full charge from empty should be less than £6 at home....
Ethics
Ah yes, I'm sort of on the fence on this one. Yes it's made in China and sponsored by the Chinese government. Now unlike some I have no qualms about it being made in China, most things will have some Chinese element to them, just because it's Chinese doesn't make it instantly a poor product. Not sure this is different just because it's a car. The Chinese government are a long way from being nice folks though which is not so good. In my experience with anything Chinese the government is involved some way or another anyway. Is Geely stuff really that much different from SAIC? I honestly don't know. I'm sure someone will set me straight. It didn't stop anyone buying ladas back in the 80s and 90s...
Let me try and give my first impressions and answer a few questions on the way.
Style
As a few have pointed out a bright orange EV could be considered a brave choice, but having seen a fair few mg4 out and about I always thought the shape suits the bright colours more. The orange or the sky blue being my personal favourites.
When the car arrived I was immediately impressed with it. Smaller than you may think, different without being too out there. It receives lots and lots of attention. I used to drive an orange/goldish evora and I would say the mg4 gets an equal amount of attention (although I can't say it deserves it!) A few nice little style touches that some may think OTT like the rear spoiler lighting up at night. (I do like that BTW)
Interior is relatively plain, nothing too shouty. Largeish infotainment screen and a digital dash as you would expect in an EV. Lots of black with red stitching (stitching is an x-power only thing) sorry no decent pics!
Build quality / materials / usability
There are no rattles or squeaks, everything seems reasonably well screwed together so far (but I've only had it 3 weeks). Interior plastics do show the budget nature of the car but they are well beyond acceptable and certainly a step up from the Subaru! Ergonomically it all works fine. Doors shut with a reasonably hefty clump and paint finish is good and a lot less orange peely than some "premium" cars I have seen. I have heard reports it chips very easily but no evidence of that yet. Only thing that jumps out as not being properly put together is the driver's door handle is a tiny bit misaligned. All the other doors are fine, I'm sure it could be fixed but I don't think I will bother.
Seats are reasonably comfy, the driver's one is electrically adjustable which is nice but a shame they don't have memory. Heated steering wheel is a nice to have which I've never had before!
Fits my family of 4 really well, boot is fine for day to day but would be small for a family holiday trip
Sadly no frunk
Stereo is pretty good up to normal everyday levels but shows it's lack of quality at higher volumes.
Tech and getting set-up
There is quite a lot of tech, lane assist, adaptive cruise, 360 cameras, built in Amazon music, Android Auto, phone app for charging pre heating etc. As mine is a lease the guy basically dropped it off on my drive and left me to it. It doesn't come with a paper manual (although you can access it through the infotainment) although it did have a quick start guide.
There is a lot to take in, I did some research before it arrived so knew roughly what to do. I'm generally ok with tech so I wasn't too phased but no way could my parents have worked it out...
In use is really where the lack of development/investment starts to show. Most things work, but the touch screens can be annoyingly slow. The driver assist is overly intrusive, it even put the brakes on for me the other day for no reason which made me jump! I turn most of the assistance off now...
I've used the active cruise and traffic jam assist a couple of times and it works quite well. A bit jerky on occasion but perfectly fine. Not something I intend to use a lot to be honest.
Driving and performance
The most important bit! Firstly let me say, this thing is properly quick, the instant torque and acceleration is amazing as it is in many EV.
I have only used the launch control once but it is mind blowing how quick it gets off the line. Left me with goosebumps! I've had some reasonably quick cars but this is another level. I love it! The only thing I can compare it to is those roller coasters that do fast starts (Rita queen of speed).
Ride is on the firm side of comfortable but no worse than my mini before it. Body roll is very controlled and it corners surprisingly flat. Grip levels seem really high and it is actually a lot of fun! I haven't given it a full on cross country blast yet so I will report back when I have but so far I am impressed. You can feel it's heavy but no worse than some other large cats I've had. At really low speed going over speed bumps and things it gets a bit harsh, I'm guessing because of the weight but it's fine at speeds over anything but a crawl.
Cost and efficient.
As others have said depreciation is obviously a concern but it is on most cars. I'm used to pre covid levels where a normal car loses 40-50% over 3 years. I don't believe the current trend for slow depreciation will continue, the signs are there the new car market is getting back to normal, sales and 0% finance deals all over the place.
So a lease made sense for a car I wanted to try and works for my current phase of life. It works out less than 30% of the car value over 2 years, which was by far the cheapest way to drive the car and no capital tied up on it. Worth 50p in 2 years? No worries I'll give it back.
As for efficiency somewhere just over 200 miles seems possible on a charge but this will change with the weather and time of day as well as driving style. Again one to keep an eye on. I got a charger (zappi) installed and changed my electric tariff to an eon EV one. 9p per kwh so a full charge from empty should be less than £6 at home....
Ethics
Ah yes, I'm sort of on the fence on this one. Yes it's made in China and sponsored by the Chinese government. Now unlike some I have no qualms about it being made in China, most things will have some Chinese element to them, just because it's Chinese doesn't make it instantly a poor product. Not sure this is different just because it's a car. The Chinese government are a long way from being nice folks though which is not so good. In my experience with anything Chinese the government is involved some way or another anyway. Is Geely stuff really that much different from SAIC? I honestly don't know. I'm sure someone will set me straight. It didn't stop anyone buying ladas back in the 80s and 90s...
fred bloggs said:
I know 0-60 is good, how is say 50-100 ? Will it do over 100?
I have obviously never driven over 70 on the road. That would be illegal. But I would say it continues to push hard over 60mph and continues going. The ferocity does die down a little as you get to motorway speeds but it's still no slouch after that. I've obviously not done it but 1/4 mile has been recorded as low as 12s which would suggest well over 100 is possible.
One of the very few things MG have done to make the x-power stand out is to give you big orange calipers. Except they are not. They are covers. Being not entirely sure how I felt about covers (they look a bit cheap and it feels a bit like cheating) I decided to take them off on 1 side to see what is underneath.
Front cover
Comes off with the 2 visible Allen bolts you can see, and the wheel needs to be loosened off and car jacked up to wiggle them out.
Now I was hoping (not expecting) there would be something amazing under there. Unsurprisingly there wasn't.
Front caliper (and yes it's the other side of the car to the previous pic)
Back of from caliper
Same for the rear (except you didn't need to loosen the wheel)
Rear cover
Rear caliper
Not sure whether to keep them off or put them back on. If I wasn't leasing the car I would probably paint them black and put them back on... (Covers are made of steel in case anyone was wondering)
Front cover
Comes off with the 2 visible Allen bolts you can see, and the wheel needs to be loosened off and car jacked up to wiggle them out.
Now I was hoping (not expecting) there would be something amazing under there. Unsurprisingly there wasn't.
Front caliper (and yes it's the other side of the car to the previous pic)
Back of from caliper
Same for the rear (except you didn't need to loosen the wheel)
Rear cover
Rear caliper
Not sure whether to keep them off or put them back on. If I wasn't leasing the car I would probably paint them black and put them back on... (Covers are made of steel in case anyone was wondering)
Decided to do a tiny mod.
Order from AliExpress...
Before
After (all just held on with 3m tape)
Not really much other news to report, the ability to pre-heat the cabin is amazing this time of year.
Range has dropped because of cold weather and use of heaters. Particularly so on short trips. I've still managed to eek out 4m/kw on a long run but it's somewhere between 2 -3 on short runs.
Otherwise it's just a really good car. Fast, fun to drive, brilliant for popping the kids to their various after school clubs and the such like.
Infotainment is pretty awful in use but it doesn't bother me that much.
I still think it looks good too!
Order from AliExpress...
Before
After (all just held on with 3m tape)
Not really much other news to report, the ability to pre-heat the cabin is amazing this time of year.
Range has dropped because of cold weather and use of heaters. Particularly so on short trips. I've still managed to eek out 4m/kw on a long run but it's somewhere between 2 -3 on short runs.
Otherwise it's just a really good car. Fast, fun to drive, brilliant for popping the kids to their various after school clubs and the such like.
Infotainment is pretty awful in use but it doesn't bother me that much.
I still think it looks good too!
Maty said:
I just can't get past the fake calipers, regardless of how fast. I'd have to ditch those.....
Car looks good though, especially in that colour.
What's actually wrong with the infotainment?
2 caliper covers are currently off altogether....Car looks good though, especially in that colour.
What's actually wrong with the infotainment?
The infotainment has lots of bells and whistles (e.g. has Amazon music built in with it's own sim card) and sounds ok. But the interface is slow and buggy. Sometimes the radio refuses to turn on until you reboot it. The Amazon music is just painfully slow to search for stuff and the touchscreen keypad is comically small. Want to change radio station, well that's several button pushes away.
I don't think I am generally a fan of these full touchscreen interfaces, which is a shame as that's the way it seems to be going. Seem borderline dangerous to me....
_Rodders_ said:
I've just ordered one of these through our work scheme.
I'd be lying if I said the comedy of having 440hp in a Chinese hatchback wasn't very high on the list of reasons for ordering it.
Great choice, the acceleration is rather addictive. I'm sure you will love it. What colour did you go for?I'd be lying if I said the comedy of having 440hp in a Chinese hatchback wasn't very high on the list of reasons for ordering it.
Tlandcruiser said:
It’s a nice colour. How much is your insurance? Just intrigued because the reports of high EV insurance costs.
I was half way through a year so a bit hard to say exactly, think it worked out around £450 which is about 50% more than the Subaru that proceeded it.Not outrageous but certainly not cheap either.
Vtec-yo said:
Hey, think the car's fab. In fact, lined up to get one but not sure which to choose - normal or x-power. Decisions...
The kid in me says x-power, but reality is my (completely not interested in cars) wife will use it most of the time. Couple questions if you don't mind
- Does the novelty of the acceleration wear off? Still glad you you got the x-power? Does the extra make it a nicer car to drive?
- Is it a safe car to drive for the relatively inexperienced. In old days near 500hp in a hatchback would be terrifying. Is this the case here? My wife will use it too so need to think of both of us
Welcome your thoughts
Great choice. The shove in the back for me is totally addictive, it's not just the launch, it does it at all legal speeds. I don't think I will get bored of it.The kid in me says x-power, but reality is my (completely not interested in cars) wife will use it most of the time. Couple questions if you don't mind
- Does the novelty of the acceleration wear off? Still glad you you got the x-power? Does the extra make it a nicer car to drive?
- Is it a safe car to drive for the relatively inexperienced. In old days near 500hp in a hatchback would be terrifying. Is this the case here? My wife will use it too so need to think of both of us
Welcome your thoughts
My wife drives mine all the time, she doesn't do fast cars and generally has refused to drive most of my cars but she loves the mg. Throttle modulation is very easy and you really have to give it a good shove to get it to do it's party trick. It's super easy to drive round town at low speeds. Fast petrol cars I've had can be a bit harder to drive, getting throttle modulation right, or having to get the clutch just so. This is quite the opposite, it couldn't be easier. If you didn't tell her, she probably wouldn't know...
Having said that, I did test drive a standard car, it was plenty nippy, and the ride was a bit more forgiving (but not much). It was also very nice. The extended range trophy might just be the sweet spot, with ample performance and just a bit more range, but I would struggle to turn my back on the acceleration of the x....
nottyash said:
Just think. This car has already lost £10000 on its new list from last October. That makes these a bargain if it's your thing. ( I'll stick to petrol cheers)
I can pick up a 2023 golf r for £35k. They are £44.5k new so it's not that different. And that's a premium brand. It's to be expected and yes the market is also cooling off.But that's exactly why I didn't buy it!
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