Very disappointed

[davz]

Had a look at a white sr today and it’s not for me, which is a great disappointment.

Firstly I’m not impressed with the two dealers I left my details with as they couldn’t be bothered to inform that they had taken delivery of the demo.

I liked the look of the car but it does need larger wheels to fill the arches better. It also needs the roof spoiler from the trophy model but I could live with it. The rear fake light bar was a bit heavy handed, I would have preferred it to be slimmer, but again not enough to put me off.

The interior…… dear god you could not make a darker, gloomier interior if you tried! I could not live with that interior. Who ever thought that a black roof lining is cool needs to be hung, drawn and quartered!

The quality was very mixed, the dash is very nice in soft touch plastic but the door cards are hard plastic, the speaker grills were made of plastic that looked as if they were intended for Toysrus.
The seats were appalling, the quality of the material is coarse and cheap but the manufacturing was terrible with material rucked up on the side bolsters…..if your car turns up with poorly assembled seats I’d be making a real fuss!

When I left the showroom and sat in my A3 the difference in quality was night and day. MG are going to have to try much harder if they want my money.

 

[Whiskey Foxtrot]

Thanks for this. Not much of what concerns you bothers me except for the seats. Every YouTube upload of the SE seats appears to show side bolsters in distress. ? I had a big deal with Ford a few years ago with failed seat covers on an ST. They looked even worse when the dealer tried to retrim them...... That said. It's a pcp'er and I don't tend to keep cars long...

 

[KeithB]

I sat in a Red SE today at the dealers as they are still waiting for their demo Orange Trophy. I think the interior was fine for the price point it will never be at the level of the more expensive brands. I currently have a Mercedes C Class Premium Plus and have not been put off by the interior. The main things for me is the draw of an electric with good range and a reasonable price point and the Mercedes ones I looked at where far to expensive and I don’t think the extra cost is warranted for a better interior when I will actually be using the car to get me from A to B. My must have is the 360 camera which I have on my Mercedes which is invaluable so this is why I have gone for the Trophy, it would have been nice to have a heads up display but the display is fine and I can do without this.

My take aways from the viewing was that the grey and black versions will not show the trims, detailing and black mirrors as well as the other colours and look very good on the red car. I do agree with the seats but will wait to see the Trophy with the part ‘leather’ finish at the sides which might be more hardwearing. What my wife did not like was that there is no lumber support on the seats and it was difficult to get out the car with the plastic protrusion for the door as she is 5’ 4“ I did not have an issue and I am 5’ 9”. I should be having a test drive this week so will have longer with the car to see if there are any other niggles that I notice.

 

[davz]

Trouble with the trophy is the price at over £32k, I would expect a much nicer interior plus it puts it into Kia territory which have really good interiors. The new sportage phev can be had for £31500 at drive the deal, which is next on my list to look at. There is also the e-Niro at £36k list, I did get a quote of £34400, which is not a lot more than a trophy but a lot more car. In my opinion the Trophy is way over priced.

 

[D1no]

When I left the showroom and sat in my A3 the difference in quality was night and day. MG are going to have to try much harder if they want my money.

Were you really expecting the MG to be Audi quality? EVs still have about a £10k premium, so the SE is a £16k car if it had a petrol engine, as the ZS is.

The seats don't sound great, but I think people are being unrealistic in what they're expecting. Have a look at what else you can get for under £20k that's family car sized and outside MG it's Dacia or some very basic Citroens.

 

[Kamil]

I don't think this is fair comparison you listed top spec MG versus lowest spec Kia, to get similar tech for Niro ev you have to compare to 3 and that's nearly £40k and same for Sportage.

Obviously if you are not interested in tech then go for SE SR or LR this give comparison to entry level of Kia however again it's nearly £10k difference

 

[KeithB]

For me it’s the cost on a PCP not just purchase price, which for the MG4 in my opinion is a bargain with the guaranteed future value. To get the equivalent Kia E Niro equipment level you would need at least the version 3 which is circa 6k more and PCP is far more expensive.

For me a PHEV is a non starter as the servicing costs are more and the electric range is too low, I want to go all in for electric and so a PHEV is not on my radar. The other reason for me opting for a PCP is the electric technology is still moving rapidly so don’t want to purchase in a market that is still evolving. The only issue I have with the MG PCP is the excess mileage charge which is 15p when Kia is 9p so more likely to err on the safe side for the projected PCP mileage.

 

[Whiskey Foxtrot]

For me it’s the cost on a PCP not just purchase price, which for the MG4 in my opinion is a bargain with the guaranteed future value. To get the equivalent Kia E Niro equipment level you would need at least the version 3 which is circa 6k more and PCP is far more expensive.

For me a PHEV is a non starter as the servicing costs are more and the electric range is too low, I want to go all in for electric and so a PHEV is not on my radar. The other reason for me opting for a PCP is the electric technology is still moving rapidly so don’t want to purchase in a market that is still evolving. The only issue I have with the MG PCP is the excess mileage charge which is 15p when Kia is 9p so more likely to err on the safe side for the projected PCP mileage.

Excess mileage only comes into play if you intend to hand the car back at the end of your agreement. Should you trade or part ex, mileage doesn't matter.

 

[leafowner]

Had a look at a trophy and an SE now.
The seat base is a concern. Even on the trophy. The side squabs on the seat back are ok, but the seat base isnt anything like firm enough.
I note that the electric seat doesn't seem to give slope adjustment for the base- its up and down only. I'm used to being able to alter the angle of the seat base. tbh the electric seat adjustment is a bit of a waste of time/money without memory. Again I'm used to the car automatically setting theseat depending on which key opens it.

It drives well though.
I'd be happy with the SE if it had the 360 camera. For me thats the thing that means the trophy is the only one to buy.

 

[Whiskey Foxtrot]

Were you really expecting the MG to be Audi quality? EVs still have about a £10k premium, so the SE is a £16k car if it had a petrol engine, as the ZS is.

The seats don't sound great, but I think people are being unrealistic in what they're expecting. Have a look at what else you can get for under £20k that's family car sized and outside MG it's Dacia or some very basic Citroens.

I don't think I'm being unrealistic in expecting seats in a brand new car not to look like they've been sat in for 30k miles.

Citroen make some of the comfiest seats going. I love sitting in my mates boggo spec C4.

 

[KeithB]

Excess mileage only comes into play if you intend to hand the car back at the end of your agreement. Should you trade or part ex, mileage doesn't matter.

Thanks for the heads up never done PCP before.

 

[Harry 17]

I don't think I'm being unrealistic in expecting seats in a brand new car not to look like they've been sat in for 30k miles.

Citroen make some of the comfiest seats going. I love sitting in my mates boggo spec C4.

It is funny you should say that!!!

I had the misfortune to have to own a Citroen BX back in the early 90’s… car was utter Pump-a-knacka!! And caused me no end of grief! , but the seats were magical!!! Best ever…and I have had many premium marques since, fortunately.

 

[Whiskey Foxtrot]

Thanks for the heads up never done PCP before.

I've had a few PCP deals now. I've never had an issue with mileage. I've part ex'd each one of them before the end of the agreement. All with equity, albeit some more than others. You just need to watch the value of your car overtime. The expectation of MG4 is to maintain a high residual value (crystal balls not included).

We had one issue with a little Citroen C1 years ago. It was worth less than it's GMFV at the end of our term. We'd looked after it and as the boss used it to pootle to work and back the mileage was well below contract allowance. It became the banks problem. Not ours.

 

[JimB]

I don't think this is fair comparison you listed top spec MG versus lowest spec Kia, to get similar tech for Niro ev you have to compare to 3 and that's nearly £40k and same for Sportage.

Obviously if you are not interested in tech then go for SE SR or LR this give comparison to entry level of Kia however again it's nearly £10k difference

Reading some of the posts on the forum reminds me of the old maxim ' The quality is remembered long after the price has been forgotten'.

Hopefully inapplicable to this car.

 

[Collected]

Thank for the honest reviews. These are certainly pointers to weigh between the Trophy and the Bornv2 at around £5k more, but by the sounds of it much better interior quality.

 

[Racer7]

Thank for the honest reviews. These are certainly pointers to weigh between the Trophy and the Bornv2 at around £5k more, but by the sounds of it much better interior quality.

Do you know what the residuals look like on the Born? This is my plan B car choice. In reality I prefer the outside look of the Born and the open plan interior (front) of the MG4.

Thinking I might go look at a just for quality comparison.

The Cupra Urban rebel looks really nice. Too bad it's 2 years away from production!

 

[Racer7]

@davz thanks for the honest feedback. It's driven some good debate on this thread. It's always hard to come off the kool aid and/or potentially put a dampener on others who have ordered. Credit to the forum members that it's been a good discussion and a reminder that £32k is still a lot of money!

 

[Call Me Mr Tibbs]

I think your diappointments are valid. Personally this is why I stick with cheaper cars because you'll never be disappointed when seating in newer cars. Audi, BMW, Merc are premium cars so feeling a step down is understandable.

 

[Tweed98]

Thanks for this. Not much of what concerns you bothers me except for the seats. Every YouTube upload of the SE seats appears to show side bolsters in distress. ? I had a big deal with Ford a few years ago with failed seat covers on an ST. They looked even worse when the dealer tried to retrim them...... That said. It's a pcp'er and I don't tend to keep cars long...

I thought the ST had Recaro seats rather than ford seats?

 

[Whiskey Foxtrot]

I thought the ST had Recaro seats rather than ford seats?

It did, recaro badged and ford made? (just like the B&O sound system) who knows. Bolster failed, trim went saggy. Warranty claim.