MG5 EV Poor Range

I don't think the hypermiling talk was that far off the original topic (OP says car has less range than he expected, someone else suggests a way to achieve greater range).

Personally I'm looking forward to seeing how the range improves with the time of year.

If I can match the 3.7 mi/kWh average that I got during three years in my i3, I'll be happy. I guess it hinges on whether the MG5 will be able to get a lot more than 4.0 during the warmer months - and none of us can know that yet because the car is so new.

I got my i3 in 2018. It had been at market, essentially unchanged apart from a couple of battery capacity hikes, since 2013. That meant there was a lot of very good, well-supported intelligence about the i3 by the time I got mine. We don't have that luxury in MG EV land - we're all learning as we go.

Hopefully in another five years, everything about the ZS EV, the MG5 and whatever they bring out next will be well understood and documented, ready to welcome the enthusiastic new MG convert.
 
I am looking forward to getting an EV for many reasons, but I am looking forward to trying to wring as much range out of it as possible. Don’t get me wrong, I won’t be running it until it dies at the roadside, but I want to see just how many miles/kWh I can achieve.

I am exceptionally frugal with my old Mk 1 Honda Jazz. I have averaged a calculated fuel consumption figure of 55.3 mpg over almost five years of ownership and coming up for 48,000 miles of mixed driving. Though I realise that driving an EV is slightly different from an ICE vehicle, I want to see how much of my technique I can bring over. I currently use coasting in Neutral and Deceleration Fuel Cut Off to stretch my fuel, depending on what the road conditions warrant, and I liken those to KERS 1 and KERS 3.

I also use anticipation instead of brakes, wherever I can, and all these skills should extend an EV range. Hopefully, I will have mine at least ordered by the summer.
 
From what I can tell, economy seems to be much worse for the first part of each journey. It might just be the initial boost to the cabin temperature, but I suspect there is either an amount of battery conditioning happening, or the battery is significantly less efficient until it warms up a bit.

This is compounded if you start with 100% SOC because no regen is available so all your momentum is lost to friction.

I drove a 43 mile round trip yesterday on minor roads. On the way out I was sitting at 3.2 miles per kWh for the first 6 miles and used 4% battery in this time. Then it started creeping up and was showing 3.6 by the time I arrived having used 12% of the battery.

After a 30 minute stop to sort out some IT issues I turned round and re-traced my route. Over the return journey the economy kept increasing and said 3.8 miles per kWh by the time I arrived. The return leg used 10% of my battery for 21.4 miles.

On another long trip, the efficiency seemed to massively improve after the first rapid charge. When temperatures hit 15 degrees a week or so back I got 4 miles per kWh on a 10 mile journey. The battery really likes to be warm.
 
Makes perfect sense, and is another reason I dearly miss the pre-conditioning (both cabin and HV battery) that my i3 had.

Still bodes well for longer journeys though, possibly better than I had expected.
 
Yes - very temperature sensitive. Don’t forget the impact of altitude on a journey too - that can make the same route there and back show different efficiencies.
 
Cocijo said:
Yes - very temperature sensitive. Don’t forget the impact of altitude on a journey too - that can make the same route there and back show different efficiencies.
Click to expand...
True, but we don't really have altitude changes here in Norfolk.
 
Is it not possible to heat the car and battery up whilst plugged in at home before you start the journey? I think I saw Tesla you can do that? Is there anything similar for MG so you can use the power as its plugged in?
 
AdamMGEV said:
Is it not possible to heat the car and battery up whilst plugged in at home before you start the journey? I think I saw Tesla you can do that? Is there anything similar for MG so you can use the power as its plugged in?
Click to expand...

That would be the preconditioning we’re talking about. Sorely lacking from the MG5.

Someone (I forget if it was here or on one of the Facebook groups) did an experiment where they ran an electric heater under their MG EV for a while prior to setting off, and saw a >10% improvement in consumption. They got chastised a bit for the non-greenness of it all, but if money is no object and you just want the most possible range out of your next journey, warming the batteries up from the outside appears to work.
 
jonathanhoey said:
That would be the preconditioning we’re talking about. Sorely lacking from the MG5.

Someone (I forget if it was here or on one of the Facebook groups) did an experiment where they ran an electric heater under their MG EV for a while prior to setting off, and saw a >10% improvement in consumption. They got chastised a bit for the non-greenness of it all, but if money is no object and you just want the most possible range out of your next journey, warming the batteries up from the outside appears to work.
Click to expand...
That's a big shame. I thought you could still put the heaters on to warm the car with it pluggd in? Might not warm the battery but I guess would the car?
 
AdamMGEV said:
Is it not possible to heat the car and battery up whilst plugged in at home before you start the journey? I think I saw Tesla you can do that? Is there anything similar for MG so you can use the power as its plugged in?
Click to expand...
It’s a shame but there is currently no app to pre-warm your car before you get in. You can manually switch the heating on and there’s a couple of videos on this floating around. Pre-conditioning the battery pack is usually a term used for preparing the pack for charging - by Tesla anyway. With their cars it recognises when a supercharger is the destination in the satnav and a few miles before you get there starts to precondition the battery pack ready for supercharging. A battery pack will usually warm up during charging anyway. Some EV’s have quite sophisticated battery management, heating and cooling systems and apps with remote functions for things like setting a charge to end as you leave home in a nice warm car! It will come to MG I’m sure in future models.
 
Jocko said:
I am looking forward to getting an EV for many reasons, but I am looking forward to trying to wring as much range out of it as possible. Don’t get me wrong, I won’t be running it until it dies at the roadside, but I want to see just how many miles/kWh I can achieve.

I am exceptionally frugal with my old Mk 1 Honda Jazz. I have averaged a calculated fuel consumption figure of 55.3 mpg over almost five years of ownership and coming up for 48,000 miles of mixed driving. Though I realise that driving an EV is slightly different from an ICE vehicle, I want to see how much of my technique I can bring over. I currently use coasting in Neutral and Deceleration Fuel Cut Off to stretch my fuel, depending on what the road conditions warrant, and I liken those to KERS 1 and KERS 3.

I also use anticipation instead of brakes, wherever I can, and all these skills should extend an EV range. Hopefully, I will have mine at least ordered by the summer.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't free wheel in neutral in the MG, it may damage something. The manual says not to go over 5 mph when pushing or loading it onto a flat bed and if towed the driven wheels must be off the ground.
 
Jocko said:
I am looking forward to getting an EV for many reasons, but I am looking forward to trying to wring as much range out of it as possible. Don’t get me wrong, I won’t be running it until it dies at the roadside, but I want to see just how many miles/kWh I can achieve.

I am exceptionally frugal with my old Mk 1 Honda Jazz. I have averaged a calculated fuel consumption figure of 55.3 mpg over almost five years of ownership and coming up for 48,000 miles of mixed driving. Though I realise that driving an EV is slightly different from an ICE vehicle, I want to see how much of my technique I can bring over. I currently use coasting in Neutral and Deceleration Fuel Cut Off to stretch my fuel, depending on what the road conditions warrant, and I liken those to KERS 1 and KERS 3.

I also use anticipation instead of brakes, wherever I can, and all these skills should extend an EV range. Hopefully, I will have mine at least ordered by the summer.
Click to expand...
Interested to see how you get on. And don’t forget to have a blast now and then - it’s good fun!
 
I kept a record of my 5's consumption after the last charge to100 per cent for battery balancing. Almost entirely short journeys below five miles, just a couple around ten or a little more. The temperature outside was often just above freezing, although a few days it was 10 deg or so. Heating on a couple of notches when needed.

Overall, down to 10 per cent remaining, the car covered 173 miles, which suggests a potential range of 190 miles of urban driving in the colder months. Pretty good, I reckon, but roll on the warmer weather and longer, more interesting trips.
 
Jocko said:
That is not what I suggested. I said that KERS 1 - the minimum amount of regeneration - was the equivalent (almost) of freewheeling in Neutral, in an ICE car. If I am wrong, then someone, please correct me.
Click to expand...
You can achieve effective coasting through precise control of the accelerator, being in KERS 1 helps. Just get the power meter to be as close to zero as you can.
 
Valiant5 said:
I kept a record of my 5's consumption after the last charge to100 per cent for battery balancing. Almost entirely short journeys below five miles, just a couple around ten or a little more. The temperature outside was often just above freezing, although a few days it was 10 deg or so. Heating on a couple of notches when needed.

Overall, down to 10 per cent remaining, the car covered 173 miles, which suggests a potential range of 190 miles of urban driving in the colder months. Pretty good, I reckon, but roll on the warmer weather and longer, more interesting trips.60
Click to expand...
That's better than I'm getting, but I do like to put my foot down and we've done one long journey at high speeds. I'm averaging 160 miles to a full charge and just about 3 miles per kWh of energy measured at source (so including the energy lost when charging and balancing the cells).
 

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