MG 4

@Patser Thursday, this week. I'll definitely have a look under the car for that bulge.

Great stuff. Will be interested to see how you get on. Very happy with my PHEV but if I get the right deal on an EV I will make the jump. Similar to yourself, we keep only one car.

The MG4 reviews I have seen have been very positive.

Anyone any idea will the MG4 will hold its value compared let's sat an ID3 or something similar. Also on the batteries... how long does anyone think they will last ? Lastly can a towbar be attached easily or is it something you need to say if you order it from a dealer who has then has to say to MG ?

I wonder why they were rejected though. :)

Going for a test drive on the excite model on Friday in galway. Never driven electric before so looking forward to it..

So, you can fit a towbar. MG are looking to supply & fit them for around the €1500 mark.

I can't see this being a significant factor. People will look at brand rather than made in China/not made in China. Citroen, Opel and Renault are all built in Europe. You could also put Fiat in the same category, again built in Europe.

The Tesla Model Ys arriving in Feb/March are coming from China with better build quality than the earlier (and even current) ones from the US.

I am sure a sales tactic from the more established brands will be to use the 'poor quality as made in China' line to encourage sale of their product versus an MG.

However, as MG will be making a big effort with the MG4 to establish themselves (including matching Kia's 7 year warranty), they will be ensuring everything is good with the first batch of cars to each market.

So, I meant to put this up last Thursday, but life got in the way 🙂

I took the MG4 for a quick spin and found it very impressive. Space-wise, it is just right for my needs so that was one tick mark done. The car drives very well and is comfortable over lumps and bumps. It has a surprising turn of speed as well, which I found a pleasant surprise (although it did not seem as quick as the Kona I had for few days about 2 years ago).

For those asking about the bulge to the undertray; I had a look and there was none visible on the test car. The salesperson was not aware of it as an issue but did mention the overfilling of the diff and subsequent leak (which is an easy fix). The software seemed to function just fine for the time I had, with one quirk..... the driver alertness warning was on permanently (shown as a coffee cup in the instrument cluster), but this did not affect the car in any way. Apparently, there is a new software update coming in the next month.

Unfortunately, I didn't have the opportunity to test the Cruise Control or lane assist as the route and traffic conditions did not allow.

The car will take a towbar, and this can be supplied & fitted by MG for around the €1500 mark. It will only be rated for a small trailer, so I imagine this will either be for 500kg or perhaps 750kg max... There will be no towing of horse boxes with this car.

2 cables will be included with the car: the granny lead and a type 2. If you want the V2L adapter, you will have to pay an extra €300 from MG but I imagine there may be cheaper options out there.

Deliveries are some time after March if you order now, with the possibility that it could be kept over until July (as per the post above from HS99). I would be wary of this in case the Government remove or reduce the current grant, as I know there was a comment during the budget that this may happen.

Overall, I was impressed enough to put my money on the table for the Exclusive trim. I got a good trade in estimate for my PHEV and my usage pattern is now sufficient to take the full EV plunge. The Excite trim would probably have been enough if there was a list of paid options to add but there are a couple of extra toys on the Exclusive that I can't be without. The only choice you get on the car is the trim and the colour.

He mentioned both cables for sure.

The trade in its an estimate, based on my rough usage pattern for the car and the projected mileage at trade in. It could change when the time comes.

Tesla Has Made 3 Million Cars, Elon Musk Says, With a Third Produced in China | Barron's.15 Aug 2022.

Over on the Model Y forum that was the working theory for a period in October/Early November. However, the general consensus now is that the Model Ys coming to Ireland will be from the Shanghai plant. Have a deposit on one and it really doesn't make a difference to me whether it comes from Shanghai or Berlin. Build quality from either plant is said to be better than the US built models. The biggest concern in the Model Y forum you will see is whether it will come with the upgraded softer suspension (it has now also been confirmed that both plants are now fitting the new suspension). So no drawback on them being manufactured in Shanghai. I understand that Model Ys going to Australia and NZ are also being built in Shanghai.

Neither of us know for certain, but you could well be right that eventually EVs built today will be worth little in future. That however, will be more likely due to big leaps in technology rather than where the EVs are built.

Given that there is still a relatively small number of new EVs being sold and that the public charger situation can really only improve, there will be a big demand for second hand EVs.

Also, you have to factor in that given the level of change and disruption that new technology brings, there will be winners and losers resulting in a different landscape. The Chinese appear to be well ahead of Europe and much of the rest of Asia when it comes to EVs. BYD for example are the 'go to' in battery tech and are now starting to manufacture very attractive EVs. BYD appears to be the company best equipped to rival Tesla but traditional manufacturers said to be still way off as they are struggling to produce EVs and sell them at a sufficient margin. Like myself, you probably once owned a Nokia phone and thought it was brilliant, but Nokia would unlikely to be anywhere near the top of most people's list now when looking for a smart phone.

For those more cautious people who don't like change (and for example think Toyota, VW or Ford are great because they always had one and/or parents also had that brand), they are unlikely to be looking at purchasing an EV anytime soon anyway. So won't matter whether they tend to stick to the European or established brands.

My prediction is the MG4 will do for MG what the Kia E-Niro did for Kia. The one caveat I would put in there is that rising interest rates may impact on this, if interest rates become very high, the price of a used (or new) car will have to drop as people won't be able to afford them. This will however impact on all new cars sold and not just on MG4s. Funnily enough, MG4s may even fair better in this scenario as they are more affordable than say an ID3 to begin with and therefore are potentially more attractive in the used market during recession.

Apologies for the long post, attempted to keep it as relevant as possible to the future value of an MG4.