Default settings

[SteveEV]

I’ve had my hybrid for ten days and mostly love it…two questions of the many I have: how can I make the Far version of the Satnav, and the high battery recharge mode, defaults? A nuisance having to reset every time I drive. Thanks!

Another question, is there an on/off switch for the radio (other than mute)?

 

[Jto]

Hi
Do not use the high battery setting as you will use more fuel that need, better to set up charging point at home and charge each day. This will always reset each time the car is turned off. Not sure what you are asking about the sat nav but I don’t use the car one but correct my phone and use one on that. As to the radio you again can only mute the radio.there is no off switch that I know of.

 

[SteveEV]

Thanks Jto, I’ve been using EV mode on short trips and was planning on switching to automatic for an 800km drive I’m doing next week. Does that sound right? I charge up at home, normal three point plug, every 2-3 days. Have you ever used an extension lead to increase the reach of the cable supplied by MG?And thanks for your advice on the Satnav and radio.
Cheers, Stephen

 

[Jto]

I would use the ev switch to drive ion short journey
On your long journey leave in auto and normal battery charge do not switch to high.
I have used a extension but got fed up rolling up so did a permanent extension to a waterproof socket that a can control by wi-Fi and the granny charger, sit in a cradle, which I got off eBay in the UK

 

[ronmaz]

Hi Steve,
I'm in Australia too. I agree with Jto, don't use the high battery setting as that uses a ton of petrol as the engine has to work hard to keep the battery charged. Just leave the setting on Auto. An extension lead could be used but not a cheap one, it'd have to be a good quality one otherwise it could overheat with all the electricity running through it for hours on end.

My satnav has the far setting set on the display and for me it keeps to that setting, but I've noticed it tends to zoom in and out automatically depending on if I'm in a city or suburban area as opposed to on a freeway at 100kph.

The radio can sort of be turned off if you hold down the home piano key for about 4 or 5 seconds, it will switch the radio off and turn on a digital clock on the screen. The radio will stay off until you press the home key again.

 

[SteveEV]

I would use the ev switch to drive ion short journey
On your long journey leave in auto and normal battery charge do not switch to high.
I have used a extension but got fed up rolling up so did a permanent extension to a waterproof socket that a can control by wi-Fi and the granny charger, sit in a cradle, which I got off eBay in the UK

Thanks again Jto

Hi Steve,
I'm in Australia too. I agree with Jto, don't use the high battery setting as that uses a ton of petrol as the engine has to work hard to keep the battery charged. Just leave the setting on Auto. An extension lead could be used but not a cheap one, it'd have to be a good quality one otherwise it could overheat with all the electricity running through it for hours on end.

My satnav has the far setting set on the display and for me it keeps to that setting, but I've noticed it tends to zoom in and out automatically depending on if I'm in a city or suburban area as opposed to on a freeway at 100kph.

The radio can sort of be turned off if you hold down the home piano key for about 4 or 5 seconds, it will switch the radio off and turn on a digital clock on the screen. The radio will stay off until you press the home key again.

Hi ronmaz, thanks for this. To clarify, there are three recharge settings, default, medium and high. So use medium on the open road? I haven’t been out of Adelaide in it yet so it will be interesting to see the Satnav on the way to Melbourne. Thanks for the radio tip too. And have you ever used an extension lead with the supplied cable? Cheers

 

[ronmaz]

I leave my recharge settings on default. Even medium will use petrol to keep the battery charged to around 50%. Petrol costs more than electricity so it seems a waste of money to burn a lot of expensive petrol just to charge up the battery when you can do that at home much cheaply, so charge it at home. I can't think of any reason to use medium or high unless you don't care about the cost. The car has a 16.6 kwh battery. At home I pay 23 cents per kwh for electricity, so from a flat battery it costs me $3.81 to charge it which is about the same cost as 2 litres of petrol. You'll probably use more than 2 litres of additional petrol if you use medium or high which is why I leave mine on default.

No I've not had to use an extension lead. My garage where I park the car has a power point so I don't need an extension lead at home. You could use one if you're staying overnight in a motel for example, so you can charge the car from the room, I've not had to do that yet.

 

[TWbm]

As said, don't use high recharge rate, it drinks petrol. Even on zero battery car will still use the electric motor at low speeds in congestion.

Re extension lead: on the UK three pin charger it actually says 'do not use extension lead' and I've found the unit to be sensitive to the quality of the electricity delivered. I have used an extension effectively, but in France where they're rated at 16amp not 13 as per UK. Most consistent successful charging is via an external waterproof socket run direct from a breaker on the distribution board.

 

[ronmaz]

As said, don't use high recharge rate, it drinks petrol. Even on zero battery car will still use the electric motor at low speeds in congestion.

Re extension lead: on the UK three pin charger it actually says 'do not use extension lead' and I've found the unit to be sensitive to the quality of the electricity delivered. I have used an extension effectively, but in France where they're rated at 16amp not 13 as per UK. Most consistent successful charging is via an external waterproof socket run direct from a breaker on the distribution board.

In Australia our standard is 10 amps. I charge my car from a standard 10 amp power point that is in millions of homes around the country.

 

[SteveEV]

Thanks everyone, I’ll be using EV setting around the suburbs, charging at home, and using the Medium charge mode on longer trips. May use a heavy duty extension cable occasionally on trips if I’m at a motel or a friend’s house. Appreciate your help.