Apple map very bright screen, and other observations

[Noel]

Hi.
(1) When driving at night I’ve noticed that the Apple navigation screen is very bright, and dimming it appears to require a multi-screenn operation, not really safe.
(2) The auto dipping function dips very quickly. However, retuning to main beam takes 4 seconds, which is a long time to be driving along a winding dark road.
(3) The heating takes a long time before any warm air appears
(4) Only the top half of the rear de-mister works.
Has anyone else noticed any of these, and if so found a solution.
Many thanks Noel.

 

[Deleted member 18108]

Hi Noel,

Coming from the MG3 Hybrid side of the house.

1. In relation to the screen, I have had no issues on the MG3 as I have it set to dark mode and adjusted the brightness to a level that is acceptable day and night for Andoid Auto. Not sure if it is the same for Apple and the ZS Hybrid screen.
2. The auto dipping on my MG3 Hybrid works the other way and doesnt dip as fast as I would like, so I just work it manualy as I have done for years in every other car.
3. Heating wise, this would appear to be a characteristic of the Atkinson cycle engines as they are more thermo efficient which means that they give off less heat during the combustion cycle, hence take longer to heat up. I combat this with the pre-heat functiuon on the App, now that I have got it to work. The following article briefly explains why this type of engines is used for hybrids:
   

   What is an Atkinson cycle engine? Pros, cons and how it works | Auto Express

   All you need to know about Atkinson cycle engines and why you might want a car that uses one

   www.autoexpress.co.uk
4. The half demister doesnt sound right and would need to be looked at by the dealer.

 

[Noel]

Hi Declan.
Thanks for the comprehensive reply.
Further research reveals, on the MG3 forum, that my suspicion that the bottom 3 bars are, in fact the aerial. Which when you think of it explains why there’s no sharks fin on the roof.
The poster said that he looked for it on the MG3 hybrid+ manual, didn’t find anything about it and then added lol. So it appears that it’s not just the Zs hybrid+ manual that’s pants.
Cheers Noel.

 

[Deleted member 18108]

That explains that all right.

 

[mick78]

Hi.
(1) When driving at night I’ve noticed that the Apple navigation screen is very bright, and dimming it appears to require a multi-screenn operation, not really safe.
(2) The auto dipping function dips very quickly. However, retuning to main beam takes 4 seconds, which is a long time to be driving along a winding dark road.
(3) The heating takes a long time before any warm air appears
(4) Only the top half of the rear de-mister works.
Has anyone else noticed any of these, and if so found a solution.
Many thanks Noel.

Hi

I will say that I can confirm most of these observations;

Concerning the auto dipping, its not the best I have experienced, but it is in what I'd call the class norm. Not great, but I have also experienced way more unreliable systems, where dipping would simply not happen every 2nd - 3rd time and people would constantly flash. Here at least that doesn't appear to be the case so far.

The heater is not the quickest, but that is probably due to how the Hybrid system seems to be set up. in urban driving, it will mostly remain in what I'd call higher idle (1.3000 rpm), charge the batteries and the electric engine will do the driving, idle is however not the most efficient way to heat up the cabin; Having owned a Toyota hybrid, there the general tune was more assisting the petrol engine than MG'S (and Honda and Nissan's) philosophy of an electric drive with a generator below say 80km/h, and as a result it would heat up as quickly as every NA petrol engine; That said, it's still a lot better than some EVs and super efficient Diesels I have driven, or put it that way: whilst I do not think it qualifies as a Sauna car, I didn't find my self readjusting the A/C in auto mode so far. I have however often heard that Chinese cars seem to love higher temp. settings, especially EVS, like more 24-27 degrees than 21-23, and then heater will work fine. Maybe worth a try.

Finally thanks for the info with the lower pat of the heated window not working, I was already planning to visit my dealer. If it is indeed the aerial, kind of weird decision, as even being a tall driver, I can see sh*t out of the upper half with the lower still being frozen up, and other cars would have this heater style aerials usually in a rear side window (or in the rear bumper, e.g. convertibles). If that solution in the C-pillar window is too expensive, I would have much rather chosen a shark fin tbh.

I will add an observation myself: The car seems to rev much higher when MG pilot is engaged, especially notable on Austrian Autobahn, where cruise set to 140-145km/h (legal limit plus VAT ), with driving yourself the car will rev at an appropriate 3.000 rpm, whilst engaging ACC (LKA is not available above 130) will immediately shift back a gear to a trashy sounding 5.000 rpm and happily stay there. As soon as I press the "steering wheel button", bang, it shifts up again; Also I did notice that on urban motorways between 80 and 100 km/h, MG Pilot again is happier to stay a gear below what the automatic gear box chooses without cruise. Whilst at the lower speed bracket I first thought that it charges the battery (but then again, it will do it no matter the charge state), from what I have seen above 120 km/h, driving (as in many non PHEV hybrids) is done by the petrol engine alone, as the electric motors gearing would out of its comfort zone (and probably overheat everything), so likely this is more of a fine tuning thing than keep a SOC thing.