Hello Everybody

[maskull]

Hi Everybody ,
I have finally taken a dip into the EV pool .
I purchased a used MG5 on Tuesday , it was one day under a year old with 7500 miles on it . Initially I had a look at the MG4 and was impressed even if I had doubted it to be a true family car . But , frankly , it was too rich for my pocket with a reasonable mileage allowance ...even with the Affinity discount .
I had intended to move to EV in 2016 , but the price , range and , bearing in mind that I can't charge at home , charging infrastructure in my area was pathetic at the time . I settled for an Ioniq hybrid and than a second one in 2020 , still waiting for prices to come down , range to increase ( hopefully 300 miles ) and charging infrastructure . Loved the Ioniq , by the way .
The charging infrastructure is beginning to take shape here now ,though still not ideal so I thought it's now or never .
Tried to charge my car on the way home at an Ionity charger which didn't seem to recognize my card on either terminal so I drove home and used a rapid charger about 5 miles from my house ( Pod Point) . I had a few issues initiating the charge ( probably my fault ) . When the charge finished it wouldn't release the cable . At this point I was thinking "What Have I Done ?" ?. No problems to report since .
The User Interface is a bit quirky but I finding my way around it . I prefer the Paddles on my Ioniq to the KERS switch , but not a deal breaker . Other than that pretty happy .
I think I'll find my way around it in the next week or two , but if anyone has any tips or advice please feel free

 

[RogerWill]

Our LR will be a year old in mid May- for our only car tis fine,VERY rare to need to go beyond the winter 200, summer 250 miles.
SO not many miles @ the £0.60+/ kW - but even so still 1/2 cost to ICE engine(s)
3.6m/kw average in 4000 miles, first 5 months AVG 4.2m/ kw
Clearly one could do a bit more or a bit less.
Anyway suits us fine as the only affordable estate.
Seems only issues are software when new( dealer SAY latest software when collecting, clearly they lie, as a few months into ownership it took 2 days 5 attempts to " update".
Three good points( besides the good running cost)- steering, suspension and load capacity ( even if you have to take out the ratherp uneccessry non fully folding rear back rest .

 

[Fokmg]

Great little/Big car the dogs love it.
Had mine from new, its now 20 month old (ordinary 53.KW model)
Nothing major only the rear screen washer pipe blown of due to heavy frost in the winter
Range varies from 2.9 - 5.4 miles/ KW very dependant on external temperature.
In my case I have never had worsethan a real 155 mile range and a best 234 mile range so I suspect in the summer you shoud break the 250 mile barrier.
Remember if all else fails always turn the car off and lock the doors.
When you unlock the doors and re satr every thing it usually is ok

 

[sparrow]

Just a note on my MG5 LR just checked my hyper volt charger and my milage for last 12 months total milage for 12 months 9400 and cost £149.27 have only charged at home as longest trips 135 miles' cannot fault the car longer trips this summer.

 

[Jomarkh]

I had a test drive in a MG4 but still prefer my MG5 SR.
I haven't tried an Ionity charger but works great on PodPoint, Osprey and Instavolt.
What model Ioniq did you have?

 

[maskull]

I had a test drive in a MG4 but still prefer my MG5 SR.
I haven't tried an Ionity charger but works great on PodPoint, Osprey and Instavolt.
What model Ioniq did you have?

I had two Hybrid Premiums . Couldn't fault them , great cars . They both averaged 69 mpg over. 50,000 miles . Only little niggle with them is that it wasn't a very pleasant ride over the ferocious speed bumps that have popped up around here in the last year . The MG5 handles them much better . I was happy with Hyundai but I think their cars are becoming too expensive . The Kona is too small and the Ioniq 5 is £42,000 worth of butt ugly . MG seem to be the only ones making reasonably priced and practical cars

Just a note on my MG5 LR just checked my hyper volt charger and my milage for last 12 months total milage for 12 months 9400 and cost £149.27 have only charged at home as longest trips 135 miles' cannot fault the car longer trips this summer.

Unfortunately I can't charge at home , but there is a 7Kw charger opening up in a local car park about 100 yards from my house . So I should be sorted for overnight charging soon ...hopefully

Great little/Big car the dogs love it.
Had mine from new, its now 20 month old (ordinary 53.KW model)
Nothing major only the rear screen washer pipe blown of due to heavy frost in the winter
Range varies from 2.9 - 5.4 miles/ KW very dependant on external temperature.
In my case I have never had worsethan a real 155 mile range and a best 234 mile range so I suspect in the summer you shoud break the 250 mile barrier.
Remember if all else fails always turn the car off and lock the doors.
When you unlock the doors and re satr every thing it usually is ok

Had to lock and unlock the doors a few times to release the charging cable this week

 

[Gomev]

...
Tried to charge my car on the way home at an Ionity charger which didn't seem to recognize my card on either terminal so I drove home and used a rapid charger about 5 miles from my house ( Pod Point) . I had a few issues initiating the charge ( probably my fault ) . When the charge finished it wouldn't release the cable . At this point I was thinking "What Have I Done ?" ?. No problems to report since .
...

Hi and welcome.
Ionity are not contactless, you have to use their app or web. So that's why it wouldn't work if that's what you meant by recognising your card.
Podpoint just remember their plugging / unplugging sequence. Plug into the charger first then car, and reverse for unplugging. If you try unplugging the charger first it just won't. Seen a couple of people get really mad and start yanking the thing out.
You will get used to your new car and it's little quirks as well as the quirks of various chargers and other EV drivers.

 

[dragon2611]

I've had a couple system fault errors caused by CCS negotiation issues when trying to rapid charge which then caused the car to be stuck (Leaving it off for about 10mins or so cleared it).

I think hitting the unlock button on the keyfob releases the charge cable but maybe it's just a co-incidence

 

[Lguk]

As I learned. On a Rapid if you initiate a charge by the app, you stop it by the app, if you start it with a card, you stop it with a card. Makes sense in hindsight, but caused 5 minutes of 'oh crap, im stuck'

 

[maskull]

Hi and welcome.
Ionity are not contactless, you have to use their app or web. So that's why it wouldn't work if that's what you meant by recognising your card.
Podpoint just remember their plugging / unplugging sequence. Plug into the charger first then car, and reverse for unplugging. If you try unplugging the charger first it just won't. Seen a couple of people get really mad and start yanking the thing out.
You will get used to your new car and it's little quirks as well as the quirks of various chargers and other EV drivers.

My error it was an Instavolt charger which purports to accept contactless payment ( Isn't it law in the UK now ? ) . Anyway I've opened an Instavolt account and will try one of their stations in Cardiff tomorrow , mainly because the local Pod Point is throwing up a communication error for the last two days . Maybe the station point is faulty ( though I have used t before ) , maybe it's me or the car ?

 

[Gomev]

My error it was an Instavolt charger which purports to accept contactless payment ( Isn't it law in the UK now ? ) . Anyway I've opened an Instavolt account and will try one of their stations in Cardiff tomorrow , mainly because the local Pod Point is throwing up a communication error for the last two days . Maybe the station point is faulty ( though I have used t before ) , maybe it's me or the car ?

Yep Instavolt definitely use contactless and I have used several without any problems. They are usually regarded as one of the most reliable brands, but, as we know there can always be individual problems with chargers.
P.S. It has been recommended by others and it makes sense to try a different card if the first doesn't work. Sometimes after so many goes my card fails contactless and asks for the pin instead (anti-fraud if nicked) and if it was that occasion on the charger wouldn't work.

 

[dragon2611]

Yep Instavolt definitely use contactless and I have used several without any problems. They are usually regarded as one of the most reliable brands, but, as we know there can always be individual problems with chargers.
P.S. It has been recommended by others and it makes sense to try a different card if the first doesn't work. Sometimes after so many goes my card fails contactless and asks for the pin instead (anti-fraud if nicked) and if it was that occasion on the charger wouldn't work.

Applepay/GooglePay.etc should also work on contactless readers for the chargers.

 

[maskull]

Yep Instavolt definitely use contactless and I have used several without any problems. They are usually regarded as one of the most reliable brands, but, as we know there can always be individual problems with chargers.
P.S. It has been recommended by others and it makes sense to try a different card if the first doesn't work. Sometimes after so many goes my card fails contactless and asks for the pin instead (anti-fraud if nicked) and if it was that occasion on the charger wouldn't work.

Yep tried Instavolt today with the app . Absolutely no problem and good charging speed . So I'm guessing that the local Pod Point was the problem . Had an email off Pod Point today and they are going to investigate the charger .
Makes me more comfortable with the car ,which I.m enjoying very much . Two negatives though . The SatNav is probably the worst I've ever used . Android Auto is is then , which comes to my second little niggle . Why did MG think a smartphone would fit in that tiny cubby by the front USBs ?
No deal breakers though

 

[dragon2611]

the v4 carlinkkit dongle can supposedly do wireless android auto and there are a few alternatives about.

I have a v3 for apple carplay and its okay most of the time but sometimes it just decides it's not going to connect to the car for some reason only known to itself.

When it is behaving itself though it's quite nice as I just get in the car and my phone connects even if it's still in my pocket.

 

[jackois]

Yep tried Instavolt today with the app . Absolutely no problem and good charging speed . So I'm guessing that the local Pod Point was the problem . Had an email off Pod Point today and they are going to investigate the charger .
Makes me more comfortable with the car ,which I.m enjoying very much . Two negatives though . The SatNav is probably the worst I've ever used . Android Auto is is then , which comes to my second little niggle . Why did MG think a smartphone would fit in that tiny cubby by the front USBs ?
No deal breakers though

I stick my phone in the side pocket on the centre console... that way you can't be tempted to use it. On the downside, I often have to go back to the car to retrieve the phone... out of sight, out of mind!

 

[Lguk]

I stick my phone in the side pocket on the centre console... that way you can't be tempted to use it. On the downside, I often have to go back to the car to retrieve the phone... out of sight, out of mind!

I do the same. Slot it in the passenger side one if I'm solo, knocking the cable in anyway can cause a tiny hiccup in the connection to AA and will make the infotainment unit reboot, and drivers side if I have a passenger. Also the same on forgetting it 25% of the time.

 

[rjb1970]

Had mine from new, just realised it was one year old yesterday, so happy birthday!

I had a used Kia Niro PHEV for a year beforehand to get used to the whole plugging in thing, intended to keep it longer but then trade in values worked in my favour for once.

I was obsessed with range to begin with, and find I only get 250 miles in the summer if I use eco mode, kers 3, and keep the heating on low. But then I find it steams up easily in eco mode as the ventilation is less efficient. So now I just get in and drive and don't worry about it.

My top tip for releasing charging cables, unlock the car then you have 15 seconds to remove the cable from the car before it locks it in again. Usually works on the 7kw chargers I use, and also works on rapids if the charge has finished.

Instavolt or Osprey are the way forward for rapids in my experience, more expensive but also the most reliable. Podpoint rapids are ok but often get snapped up first as they're a bit cheaper. If you can get into that regular slow overnight charging habit you were talking about it will be better for the battery in the long run, but generally just add some charge when you can and enjoy it ?

 

[maskull]

Had mine from new, just realised it was one year old yesterday, so happy birthday!

I had a used Kia Niro PHEV for a year beforehand to get used to the whole plugging in thing, intended to keep it longer but then trade in values worked in my favour for once.

I was obsessed with range to begin with, and find I only get 250 miles in the summer if I use eco mode, kers 3, and keep the heating on low. But then I find it steams up easily in eco mode as the ventilation is less efficient. So now I just get in and drive and don't worry about it.

My top tip for releasing charging cables, unlock the car then you have 15 seconds to remove the cable from the car before it locks it in again. Usually works on the 7kw chargers I use, and also works on rapids if the charge has finished.

Instavolt or Osprey are the way forward for rapids in my experience, more expensive but also the most reliable. Podpoint rapids are ok but often get snapped up first as they're a bit cheaper. If you can get into that regular slow overnight charging habit you were talking about it will be better for the battery in the long run, but generally just add some charge when you can and enjoy it ?

Already worked out the lock /unlock method . I've had no problems with the cable sticking on 7Kw though . I intend to adopt the slow overnight charge method . I can't use a home charger as there's no off street parking where I live and double yellow lines outside my front door . There is a charging post at my local library about 100 yards away though it's not active yet . So that will be my go to , as long as nobody ices it . Checked with my local council about its launch date and an answer yesterday " Soon ,but we don't know " .....political organisations eh?

 

[rjb1970]

Hopefully not too long. I'm in a similar situation, but there's a 7kw near where I work where you can park all day, so I tend to do a slow all day charge there every so often. Still half the cost of petrol even after including parking fees.

It's worth downloading an app called ZapMap if you haven't already, then with any luck your new local charger will appear on there when it's ready.

Hopefully not too long ?

 

[maskull]

Hopefully not too long. I'm in a similar situation, but there's a 7kw near where I work where you can park all day, so I tend to do a slow all day charge there every so often. Still half the cost of petrol even after including parking fees.

It's worth downloading an app called ZapMap if you haven't already, then with any luck your new local charger will appear on there when it's ready.

Hopefully not too long ?

Yep I've got Zap Map . Most , if not all , of the planned 7Kw and 22Kw chargers locally are Connected Kerb so I've also got their app amongst others . Yesterday I charged my car from 45% to 88% at an Instavolt station and then drove to the nearest Connected Kerb to charge the remaining 12% . So I got there and found the two available posts had been iced . Went into the centre and informed them . 20 minutes later a woman came out out gave me a filthy glare and vacated the bay . The other one was still there when I left though