Ive owned only an EV for four years. But my previous EV only started with 201m range and is now 185m. Not a problem as my longest regular trip is 90m but I wanted more. I had an opportunity to pick up a new MG4 Trophy LR 64kwh with upto 279m range. In winter it appears to be 240. Still that's an upgrade.
The car looks quite fetching in Camden Grey Metallic. First impressions what the actual F are all these buttons! I read the manual but that's not a huge help. Im not a technophobe as Ive had a Mokka-e and know it thoroughly. But sticking with it after two weeks I know my way around. There's a row of buttons under the central screen but say you want heated seats, yep that's on the HVAC screen. Two of the buttons on the steering wheel you can assign to actions the you'd like. It has four levels of regeneration and five or so driving modes.
Driving, yes its pretty much innocuous push on a bit and it has decent road holding. Its unusually for these days rear wheel drive. Im told its possible to unstick the rear. Maybe as its got 80 odd more horses than the Mokka-e. But for day to day stuff its comfy quick roomy and well designed.
Weirdness, there's no start button or ignition key. Once its unlocked, you sitting in the Drivers seat turns it on. Foot on brake, twist the gear knob to D or R and off you go. Weird but surprisingly easy to get used to. What is annoying and this is in common with all new cars. Incessant bonging overspeed and Lane keeping etc. Need turning off every time you get in.
And yes the boot er hatch is just big enough for a Labrador sized dog. You dont even need to install a dog guard with the three head rests there's simply no room for him to hop the seat back. He's tethered anyway so its safe.
If your a fan of Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca . He turns to Louis in the final scene as the plane takes off. " I think this could be the start of a beautiful friendship " which pretty much sums up how I feel about the MG after two weeks and 400miles.
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Sadly its no longer in production since October. An cosmetically enhanced version is destined for Europe and a FWD version for everywhere else. I think that's a shame but it's a cracking time and I got a good deal. Then Ms Thieves stuck her oar in. But that's 2028..so worry about it then. Enjoy the heck out of it now!
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The dealer in Colchester has them for £8000 off.
Now I know why.
Enjoy yours.
Pint before Christmas?
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MG aren't shy of discounting heavily to shift metal, as I know from my latest. The first MG5 was got a chunky discount on the NHS scheme , then the latest (facelift) MG5 Trophy was just a fantastic deal to shift the remaining ones. I think about £10k off but can't recall exactly now.
I did take a bright orange MG4 for a test and was impressed (except the colour and advertising all over it!) but was won over by the estate style of the MG5.
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What is annoying and this is in common with all new cars. Incessant bonging overspeed and Lane
>> keeping etc. Need turning off every time you get in.
I read that in all reviews of all models these days. It's seriously put me off changing my current car - which doesn't have all those 'extras'.
One of the first things I look for now in a review is to see how easy or not it is to switch off all the bonging and beeping.
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Don't they only bong if you exceed the speed limit or drift out of your lane?
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It may be possible to add a tolerance on the speed limit bonging, and/or to set the notifications to visual only. If that setting persists then it could be a more convenient option than turning the system off for every journey.
The chimes in the Mazda hybrid are very quiet and ignorable.
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>> Don't they only bong if you exceed the speed limit or drift out of your
>> lane?
Yes but even with speed limiter on the Taigo we had on holiday would creep over the limit on slight slopes. It seemed to be using a camera to 'see' the limits as it responded to temporary limits as well as the permanent ones. At one point it picked up a slip road limit on a 110kph motorway and beeped loudly.
Lane keeping is subjective. There's a situation locally where there's a bridge under the railway that's not over wide and with a bend after. Sort of place where you move onto the crown of the road to improve visibility. Beeeep and the wheel tugs.
Grrr.
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>> Don't they only bong if you exceed the speed limit or drift out of your
>> lane?
And yoou never exceed the speed limit?
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Exceed the limit by a couple of mph? Only if there's a vowel in the month. Otherwise you'd be doing 26mph everywhere.
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>> Exceed the limit by a couple of mph? Only if there's a vowel in the
>> month. Otherwise you'd be doing 26mph everywhere.
Lots of 20mph limits round here.
My friend got a ticket for doing 24mph in Coombe Lane Kingston. Did a speed awareness course. Very boring - he said.
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<< Lots of 20mph limits round here. My friend got a ticket for doing 24mph in Coombe Lane Kingston. Did a speed awareness course. Very boring - he said. >>
On my regular drive into N Wales I got a ticket at the only 20mph camera on the route, for doing 26. I would have thought 24 was within the permitted tolerance ? I also did the Awareness course, which was OK but didn't teach me much that I didn't already know.
The irritating thing was that the week after I was 'done' a TV programme featured a Welsh traffic plod who said they didn't bother prosecuting for any speed of 25 or less ... :-(
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>> I would have thought 24 was within the permitted tolerance
The non-legally underpinned "guidance" is that 10% + 2 is the point at which prosecution will take place (So just outside the "permitted" tolerance).
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Rarely, and usually only deliberately. That's what cruise control is for :-)
I used to, a lot, but when I realised all it did was get me to the next traffic holdup a little sooner I felt it not worth the risk (of points).
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>> Rarely, and usually only deliberately. That's what cruise control is for :-)
Speedometers are usually 3mph fast, 20 mph limits are becoming rife. I am not traveling at 17mph (real) when its clearly safe to travel faster.
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That is the annoying thing about my CC - it does seem to be a little under. Still, I get there in about the same time.
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>> That is the annoying thing about my CC - it does seem to be a
>> little under.
I think the Construction & Use regs state the Speedo must not under read, so they set them fast, and most seem to be 2-3mph fast.
I can tweak mine using a tool, its 3mph fast across the board (ie 5mph is 2, 70 is 67) according to GPS. I wont tweak it, just aware of its shortage in the MPH department.
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Tested my speedo @ 30 and 40 today against the gpsstats app over about 1/2 a mile of fairly flat road each. In both cases it was under 1mph - 30 was 47kph and 40 was 63 kph, with very minor occasional drift either way.
Last edited by: smokie on Fri 5 Dec 25 at 17:43
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Heaven forfend that your journey takes a couple of minutes extra,
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>> Heaven forfend that your journey takes a couple of minutes extra,
I'm sure it makes no odds on your two mile country road drive to the local Co-op.
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It’s just taken me 40 minutes on the bus to travel two mile from the city centre to my house mainly because of the number of cars blocking the roads, nearly all with one occupant. It’s not 20mph limits that are the problem in urban areas.
Last edited by: CGNorwich on Thu 4 Dec 25 at 17:47
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How long would it have taken you in a car?
Bicycle?
Mobility scooter?
Shanks's pony?
Last edited by: bathtub tom on Thu 4 Dec 25 at 22:25
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>> How long would it have taken you in a car?
>> Bicycle?
>> Mobility scooter?
>> Shanks's pony?
The point, I think, is about buses caught in traffic.
When I worked in London the ranking in travel time from Euston to Kingsway was:
1) Bike
2) Shanks' Pony
3) Bus
Bus improved a bit after the bus lane cameras kicked in.
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We go from Liverpool Street station to Union Street on the south bank for SWMBO to the Rcog office. Faster walking...
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There are no bus lanes yet on my local bus route, the 580 from Settle to Skipton, approx 15 miles. An hourly service, takes 40 minutes from Skipton bus station, 35 from the closest bus stop to the Boathouse.
Whilst waiting in the damp on Skipton High Street yesterday for the 16:45 departure I saw my first Renault EV5 in bright yellow. Nice.
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I've driven one several times. Seems reasonable, the driver aids need to be switched off as they are too annoying. Range is about 180 miles. Screen is a little on the small side.
Not particularly comfortable though the seats felt quite thin, unsupportive and weirdly shaped nearer the top. I felt around the shoulder area they just weren't comfy.
I'd have one if they were cheap enough, i wanted an ev and didn't travel particularly far.
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The point I was making that 20mph zones make very little difference to the speed of urban traffic. Thinking that driving at 17mph rather than 20 mph before you get to the next traffic light, junction or obstruction will make a difference is simply wishful thinking
The major cause of lack of progress in cities is traffic. The only way to improve this is wherever possible to get people out of their cars and use public transport, bikes or simply walking.
For the record In walked the 2 miles or so into the City yesterday It takes 52 minutes. I know precisely because that’s how I used to get to and from work for 30:years. The bus, when the roads are clear of cars takes 12 minutes
Last edited by: CGNorwich on Fri 5 Dec 25 at 15:51
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In urban traffic I agree. In empty villages, less so. 10 miles at 20mph takes half an hour, at 30mph, 20 minutes.
There's a fairly well known thing whereby yumans tend to underestimate time saved by speeding up at low speeds, and overestimate time saved by speeding up from high speeds.
In the above example speeding up by 10mph saves 10 minutes on a 10 mile journey.
Speeding up from 70 to 80 does not save 10 minutes, not surprising as it will take less than 10 minutes in the first place- it saves barely a minute!
Here's a speedo with a Paceometer round the edge:
www.spectator.co.uk/article/why-driving-at-80mph-wont-save-you-time/
Well, I think it's interesting!
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I'd think the problem mostly on the roads, well round here anyways, is you can't usually sustain a speed - there's either a learner, a bus stop, road works, roundabouts or lights, other traffic, pedestrians, any number of things conspiring against you.
In fact Wokingham right now is a nightmare while they rebuild what feels like the road infrastructure - long (many months) closures of one of the main roads in/out of town and consequently everyone herding down the remaining routes. Plus some fairly serious emergency roadworks (a couple of sinkholes, one for the second time in as many years) - all probably due to underinvestment probably.
I'm sure it'll be nice when it's done but it is very impactful.
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What empty villages have ten miles of 20mph limits?
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I bet I went through 10 miles of them in Oxfordshire last week!
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Quite a lot of 20 in Wales when I was there but not usually more than a few miles...
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You get used to them. There are a few silly ones, but most are where you're happy to just do 20 anyway.
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I recall the Suez crisis (1973?), when I was doing a regular M1/M6 120-mile journey. It felt awfully slow, cruising at 50MPH (especially in a 2-litre car that could go much quicker), but the additional travel time was only a few minutes and the improved fuel economy was remarkable.
I've still got the petrol coupons!
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Twice a week I drive down the A30 and rarely exceed 50MPH as I'm in no hurry and I enjoy the views over Bodmin Moor.
Literally everyone overtakes me ... including milk floats!
:o}
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The suite of electronic nanny state bonging we have now.
Well from 2021 to today its got even worse.. My 71plate whilst it read speed signs and relayed that info to the driver. Did so silently and that was tolerable. That was the reason I didn't update the software. Too much nannying.
Now the slightest infraction and it bongs away. A bong to advise you the imits changed. A bong and wheel grab should you cross the line and not have the indicator on. Etc
Its clearly an increasingly intrusive process.
But you can turn them off. For now. Its a five stage process in the MG that has to be done every time its started. Pretty quick since on the Vauxhall you had to press and hold the Lane Keep button. Took longer. But you have to give it to Renault. They've incorporated a single button on the R5 EV to disable the electro nannying. Kudos guys.
Last edited by: Ethanedwards on Mon 8 Dec 25 at 22:33
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>> But you can turn them off. For now. Its a five stage process in the
>> MG that has to be done every time its started. Pretty quick since on the
>> Vauxhall you had to press and hold the Lane Keep button. Took longer. But you
>> have to give it to Renault. They've incorporated a single button on the R5 EV
>> to disable the electro nannying. Kudos guys.
That's the kind of thing I like to see - turn it off in one move....rather than 5.
Based on reviews I've read, there's no way I'd even consider any MG at the moment with their ultra-bonging. But if Renault can get it right there's hope for us yet.
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I think I said earlier they only bong when you cause them to - here's a list from AI - which would you not want to know about (except maybe the "some users report" one).
- Lane Departure Warning Chime - sounds if the car drifts across lane markings without signalling
- Speed Limit / Overspeed Alert - bong when exceeding a set speed limit or detected road limit.
- Collision / Emergency Braking Warning - alerts if the system detects a possible collision and may trigger AEB.
- Fatigue / Distraction Warning - bong if driver shows signs of drowsiness or inattention.
- Adaptive Cruise Control Alerts - sounds when ACC disengages or requires driver intervention.
- Random Navigation / Traffic Alerts - some users report unexplained bongs linked to live map traffic data.
- General System Notifications - low battery, charging issues, or other system messages may trigger bongs.
Maybe there's a message there for those who think they'd be bothered by them going off all the time :-)
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>> Quite a lot of 20 in Wales when I was there but not usually more than a few miles... >>
The 20 I referred to above is on the A5104, in a smallish village, The approaches are very bendy and set at 30, the built-up part is Welsh 20 of course. The camera is on the only straight stretch (for the camera's benefit), visibility is good, there are no shops or school. Just a deliberate trap for the unwary which serves no real protection purpose.
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<< ... there's no start button or ignition key. Once its unlocked, you sitting in the Drivers seat turns it on ... >>
I hope the person-detection system is reliable. It's not unknown for earlier versions to need treatment occasionally ?
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MG - MG4 Trophy LR had it for two weeks. - Ethanedwards
