MG4 Australia.... which one is best value?

[Storm]

So, it's being released in Australia in September, and they've just added to the lineup. Originally, only the 'Essence' (pretty much a Trophy) was going to be available, for $48k AUD.

Then, they just said they'll also be bringing in the Excite 51 (51kwh battery) for $39k. And all variants will be available in Orange

I'm torn between the two. Is the Essence worth $9k AUD more than the Excite 51? Range difference would be 100km in the real world.

Variant	Transmission	Cost
Excite 51kWh	Automatic	$38,990
Excite 64kWh	Automatic	$44,990
Essence 64kWh	Automatic	$47,990
Essence 77kWh	Automatic	$55,990

MG Motor Australia

Excite 51 has:

Whereas the Essence has the above, PLUS:

So, what is/isn't essential for me on the Essence:

• two tone roof/wheels. Nope. I can get the car 'dipped' to have the two-tone roof and different wheel covers (for less than $2k)
• the 360 camera is great (I have this in my Leaf). Very nice to have, but not essential.
• extra battery, but it's Li-Ion so I can't charge to 100% all the time without worry like on the cheaper version. Undecided about this. It's the main feature now for that extra $9k.
• electric seat is nice (not a deal maker though). My partner has a Tesla, and having the seat position set to whoever is driving is a great feature. Undecided. My Leaf is manual.
• Auto climate control (I saw a YT reviewer who said the climate in the base can only be accessed via the infotainment unit.... not exactly great design for drivers (who are driving). Weird. Is there a way around this on the Excite? Would be very useful, but should be standard.
• Sat Nav.... useful, but I could use Google Maps on my phone or even via Android Auto?
• I do (I'm one of the few) who likes the split rear spoiler. Not essential though, certainly not worth $Xk more (especially as it decreases range on the freeway)
• Seat material? Meh.
• 6 speakers? Meh.
• Wireless charging? Meh.

Would love your opinions? Which one should I get?

I should add that this will be a stop-gap car (between Leaf and Tesla (CT/Compact)) for the next 3 - 5 years.

Also, I'd be getting it on salary sacrifice, which thanks to a new Govt incentive, all EV's are GST and FBT free (so 40% or so of the cost is coming out of my pre-tax earnings, which then reduces my taxable income (so I don't get taxed as much, thereby saving money each tax time). Not sure if that affects your thoughts, but for me, the more I spend, the more tax I save. I'm still trying to get my head around all that. If true, maybe I should just get a Model 3

 

[bear1]

First, what almost all reviews misunderstand, is that the two custom buttons let you do a lot of those things that they say have to be done through the infotainment system, including the climate control. I'm not sure what it means by automatic, as I'm certain my SE has what I consider to be automatic climate control.
For me, except in the depths of winter, the SE battery passes the all-important bladder test so is large enough. The main downside is the lack of love given to rear passengers: no light, no speakers, no vents.
I'm happy with parking sensors, wired charging, etc.
I'm not a fan of the spoiler - especially as it actually reduces efficiency - but then I'm not really fond of the look of the SE alternative either.

I went with the SE SR because that was already extending the budget and we couldn't justify more. If I had the money I might have gone with the SE LR but with hindsight I'm happy with the SR. If I had the patience and the money I'd wait for the high performance model and really spoil myself.

 

[JuziWomble]

I have the UK 64 kwh Trophy - I charge to 100% regularly via a granny lead - Some days it only gets to circa 90% before I'm ready to leave (depends on how low it was prior to plugging in) - other days its reached full ! Simples ! - & I've had a 40 Leaf .. All the toys I had on my Leaf I have on the 4 .. Leaf toys worked better in some regards - But thats s/w bugs being sorted by MG as time goes by - So no biggy - just annoying - Don't forget that Nissan have had years to iron out the Leaf s/w ..

What I don't follow in MG is that the S/W for their EV cars is 'fundamentally' the same across the different cars, yet the bugs on the 4 ver the newer ZS for instance are clear to see that the ZS has had them ironed out

Now the AU market has the 18" wheels ... Nice - BUT... The mg4 is NOT that efficient in my book as the UK MG5 - So increasing the wheels from 17" to 18" surely must reduce the efficiency a smidge or have they re-written the S/w to compensate ... But as you say you can get aftermarket wheels..

As to what do you get - Well thats a personal / financial question - But for my money I think the same costing version as the UK Trophy is enough (range is easy in our LR - it goes past my bladder range without issue if I'm being blunt) if you want to go MG - OR look elsewhere - Me If I was looking for a new car that had the features I wanted and I had circa £38k UK to spend - I honestly cannot say if I would buy an MG or look at what else is available now - choice has increased further here EVEN in the last 6 months ..

Hope that helps

 

[Rolfe]

So, it's being released in Australia in September, and they've just added to the lineup. Originally, only the 'Essence' (pretty much a Trophy) was going to be available, for $48k AUD.

Then, they just said they'll also be bringing in the Excite 51 (51kwh battery) for $39k. And all variants will be available in Orange

I'm torn between the two. Is the Essence worth $9k AUD more than the Excite 51? Range difference would be 100km in the real world.

Variant	Transmission	Cost
Excite 51kWh	Automatic	$38,990
Excite 64kWh	Automatic	$44,990
Essence 64kWh	Automatic	$47,990
Essence 77kWh	Automatic	$55,990

MG Motor Australia

Excite 51 has:
View attachment 18413
Whereas the Essence has the above, PLUS:

View attachment 18414
View attachment 18415

So, what is/isn't essential for me on the Essence:

• two tone roof/wheels. Nope. I can get the car 'dipped' to have the two-tone roof and different wheel covers (for less than $2k)
• the 360 camera is great (I have this in my Leaf). Very nice to have, but not essential.
• extra battery, but it's Li-Ion so I can't charge to 100% all the time without worry like on the cheaper version. Undecided about this. It's the main feature now for that extra $9k.
• electric seat is nice (not a deal maker though). My partner has a Tesla, and having the seat position set to whoever is driving is a great feature. Undecided. My Leaf is manual.
• Auto climate control (I saw a YT reviewer who said the climate in the base can only be accessed via the infotainment unit.... not exactly great design for drivers (who are driving). Weird. Is there a way around this on the Excite? Would be very useful, but should be standard.
• Sat Nav.... useful, but I could use Google Maps on my phone or even via Android Auto?
• I do (I'm one of the few) who likes the split rear spoiler. Not essential though, certainly not worth $Xk more (especially as it decreases range on the freeway)
• Seat material? Meh.
• 6 speakers? Meh.
• Wireless charging? Meh.

Would love your opinions? Which one should I get?

I should add that this will be a stop-gap car (between Leaf and Tesla (CT/Compact)) for the next 3 - 5 years.

Also, I'd be getting it on salary sacrifice, which thanks to a new Govt incentive, all EV's are GST and FBT free (so 40% or so of the cost is coming out of my pre-tax earnings, which then reduces my taxable income (so I don't get taxed as much, thereby saving money each tax time). Not sure if that affects your thoughts, but for me, the more I spend, the more tax I save. I'm still trying to get my head around all that. If true, maybe I should just get a Model 3

I'm going to go with Bear1 here, although with the caveat that Scotland is a smaller country than Australia and maybe there is a better case to be made for the longer range battery depending on where you live and how far you commonly travel in a day.

I'm happy without the camera, but then I've never had one of my own, and when I've had a hire car with one I've found it confusing. I absolutely LOVE the rear parking sensors on the SE, I just wish we had the same on the front.

The SE SR battery is very easy to live with. Just let it charge to 100% and do its balancing act. Rinse and repeat whenever you drop down below the range you feel you need to keep on the car in case of emergencies. And the battery is supposed to be a lot more durable, and it doesn't have any cobalt in it. If you seldom do more than 180 miles in a day (maybe 140 in winter) and you're charging at home, I think it's hard to justify the longer range.

The manual seats are easy to adjust, I wouldn't worry about electrically adjusting seats.

The climate control is fine. You can adjust it from the right steering-wheel joystick without even taking your eyes off the road. I don't know that the Trophy has anything more sophisticated than the SE to be honest, and the SE is fine. The only caveat is that you have to set the temperature about five degrees higher than you want - it's as if the scale is 5 degrees out!

Some people say the inbuilt satnav isn't as good as Google Maps, so there's that.

I think the spoiler is ugly, you do you!

The seat material on the SE is quite nice, with smart blue stitching. It seems robust enough, although some people have questioned its long-term durability. The dark grey does darken the inside of the car, although the same goes for black leather. I have just (this morning) taken delivery of some very nice beige-coloured made-to-measure leather (or at least leather-look!) seat covers from Aliexpress and photos will be posted when I've manoeuvred them on to the seats. I've got them (cost just under £170 the set) to guard against long-term wear, and to be easier to clean if (perish the thought) the cat pees on the seat or something. The look seems to be a bonus.

I find the sound in the SE fine although you might get different opinions on that. If you take back-seat passengers a lot then the lack of speakers there (and a rear cabin light) might be an issue.

Some people say the wireless phone charging in the Trophy is no great shakes anyway, not keeping pace with battery usage when the phone is in use.

I think the SE SR is the sweet spot in terms of bang for your buck. You won't get anything else like it in the same price range. On the other hand if you're spending Trophy money there are some distinctly tempting alternative runners.

 

[Storm]

Thanks for the replies so far. Looking forward to more.

I did a quickie video tonight about this:


Who cares about passengers and their sound quality? Meh, not me. They should buy their own car

Great that the AC can be easily controlled in the Excite.

They included a rear wiper for Australia.... And also reversing camera (on all versions).

The software is something that really worries me.... Certain bugs, bad UX, not being able to store settings (e.g. drive modes), and no OTA updates (?!?).

 

[Storm]

Oh, the reason I said "Shots Fired!" In the video is because BYD are releasing the Dolphin pricing in Australia tomorrow, and BYD jumped in with this Excite announcement a few days before and it's now the cheapest EV in Australia....

What will BYD do??? Better be a lot better than the expensive Dolphin price in NZ.