Economy driving on a long journey

[Deleted member 14627]

I have an MG HS plug in, I notice that I have to choose manually what setting to use for battery usage default Low, medium, high .
Any idea which setting is best for a long journey? Going to Southampton about 350 miles from me don’t really want to stop for a few hours to recharge en route.
I understand that you can’t fast charge these batteries.

 

[Jto]

Do not use these setting, if you use medium or high your MPG will go down just leave in default. When you get to Southampton charge the if you can.

 

[Deleted member 14627]

Many thanks, when would you use the other settings?

 

[Jto]

Never use them

 

[ronmaz]

If you have unlimited funds and you don't care about the price of petrol then by all means use those settings but they will charge your battery from the petrol engine and you will use a LOT of petrol to do this. Medium setting will charge the battery up to approx. 50%. High will charge it to 100%. Both settings will use a lot of petrol so best to leave it on Auto and charge it when you get back home.

 

[Deleted member 14627]

Many thanks for the info can’t see the point of the other settings then!
Can I fast charge at a charging point? I’m travelling to Southampton from Norwich and will need to re charge for the return journey but don’t fancy sitting in a garage waiting 5 hours to re charge!

 

[ronmaz]

No fast charging is possible with the MG PHEV. The PHEV can only accept up to 3.6kw charge so the 16.6kwh battery will take a minimum of over 4.5 hours to charge from 0%. The car is capable of driving with 0% battery power so you don't have to charge it for the return journey. 0% electric charge doesn't mean the battery is totally flat. Some charge is kept in reserve to assist in accelerating and hill climbs etc.

 

[Deleted member 14627]

I see, many thanks for the info, I assume that deceleration etc will put some charge back. Yet another disappointment with this car!

 

[Kerno]

What I can say of the charging options is they do work very well, at a cost. I was recently in the lakes and due to not being able to charge the car at the hotel I decided to try the high option as I was going to be in Bowness which is stop-start and wanted to use EV mode. The drive to Bowness was about 45 mins and I got a good level of charge that enabled me to potter around the town in EV mode. However I agree with the others on here it is a very expensive way to charge the battery my fuel consumption went from 40ish down to 33 and would have dropped even further if it was a longer journey. Battery charges quick though

 

[Cafeg]

Havent touched the default settings.If we go away on a trip I leave it in auto hybrid, Then on the way back I watch how far from home we are and put it into EV mode then when I can get home on EV Mode. Around town I stay in EV mode all the time unless it starts the petrol motor in the morning for a couple of mins to charge the 12V battery.'I've only filled up 3 times since I have had the MG over 6 months now. It stays at a constant
0.9 L /100kms which is great.
I've done 1370kms since the last fill so i'll leave it to 1500 kms before I fill this time as I will be doing all around town in EV mode until then..
Accumulated total says different as I zeroed it by mistake other wise it would be saying 1370kms
I'm really happy with the 0.9 L /100kms economy from my MG HS phev, We also have a Prius hybrid and that runs at 5.2 L / 100 kms.

 

[Deleted member 14627]

That’s really interesting thank you for your response, , have not used the EV mode yet as don’t understand how it works but will try your suggestion on my trip to Southampton. I was worried about charging the battery for my return as won’t have a chance to wait 5 hours to charge with ‘granny’ charger, however I have bought a type 2 to type 2 charging cable and hope I can fast charge somewhere.

 

[Cafeg]

That’s really interesting thank you for your response, , have not used the EV mode yet as don’t understand how it works but will try your suggestion on my trip to Southampton. I was worried about charging the battery for my return as won’t have a chance to wait 5 hours to charge with ‘granny’ charger, however I have bought a type 2 to type 2 charging cable and hope I can fast charge somewhere.

Once the MG gets down to zero EV it will still keep on running on the petrol motor np. Regenerative braking also puts a little bit of a charge in. Travelling in auto hybrid mode doesn't exhaust the battery right down to zero I've found anyeway.

Also ifyou are just running around town you have 62kms in EV mode. I normally plug it in when I come home and let it charge back to 100% everyday. I also have a 6.5kw solar system with a Tesla Powerwall2 battery attached. So I can also use the solar system to charge it as well just by plugging in the supplied granny charger. We also have free electricity from 9pm to Midnight 7 days so most of my charging is done then for free or if I have a full powerwall battery I can use that until 9pm when the free power kicks in. We have a few different options.
I dont know if you have them there but we have free charging points in the shopping centres so you can charge while doing your shopping for free

 

[Deleted member 14627]

Thanks again for the info I will certainly try the EV out now. Where are you where you get free electricity?? I’m in UK and get nothing for free here

 

[ronmaz]

have not used the EV mode yet as don’t understand how it works

EV stands for electric vehicle mode, it simply means driving on battery power. It's what you do when not running the petrol engine, so you use EV mode when you push the EV button down near the gear selector.

I have bought a type 2 to type 2 charging cable and hope I can fast charge somewhere.

I mentioned in post 7 that fast charging is not possible with the PHEV so I think you've wasted your money buying the cable. The type of charging is not based on how fast the charger can deliver the charge, it's how fast the car can accept charge and the PHEV can only accept 3.6KW so 4.3 hours is the absolute minimum time needed to charge from 0 to100%. You'll find this out when you try to use a public charger. I guess MG thought there's no no need to have fast charging capability in the PHEV as you can always drive it using the petrol engine. Having fast charging capability in the PHEV would have made it a more expensive car.

MG HS Plus EV: 2025 Guide to Charging Options

Explore the MG HS Plus EV: Boost efficiency with JET Charge's Level 2 station. Plug in overnight or upgrade for solar-powered charging.

jetcharge.com.au

 

[Cafeg]

Thanks again for the info I will certainly try the EV out now. Where are you where you get free electricity?? I’m in UK and get nothing for free here

I'm in New Zealand.

 

[GaryMG4]

Thanks again for the info I will certainly try the EV out now. Where are you where you get free electricity?? I’m in UK and get nothing for free here

There are couple of free chargers in Kings Lynn, try the filter in zap map to locate any near you.

 

[Deleted member 14627]

I'm in New Zealand.

I'm in New Zealand.

Wish I was, what a lovely country to live in been there once for 4weeks and will definitely return!
Thanks again.

 

[Cafeg]

EV stands for electric vehicle mode, it simply means driving on battery power. It's what you do when not running the petrol engine, so you use EV mode when you push the EV button down near the gear selector.


I mentioned in post 7 that fast charging is not possible with the PHEV so I think you've wasted your money buying the cable. The type of charging is not based on how fast the charger can deliver the charge, it's how fast the car can accept charge and the PHEV can only accept 3.6KW so 4.3 hours is the absolute minimum time needed to charge from 0 to100%. You'll find this out when you try to use a public charger. I guess MG thought there's no no need to have fast charging capability in the PHEV as you can always drive it using the petrol engine. Having fast charging capability in the PHEV would have made it a more expensive car.

MG HS Plus EV: 2025 Guide to Charging Options

Explore the MG HS Plus EV: Boost efficiency with JET Charge's Level 2 station. Plug in overnight or upgrade for solar-powered charging.

jetcharge.com.au

on my granny charger its going at 1742 watts or 1.7 kw. If it can do 3.6kw from a public charger its a lot better ?

on my granny charger its going at 1742 watts or 1.7 kw. If it can do 3.6kw from a public charger its a lot

TrevH - I went to the shopping centre today and plugged into one of the free Type 2 chargers there. It was charging at 3.6kw so your type 2 cable you bought wont be wasted The free chargers here already have the cables attached.

 

[Yeldarb]

Hi all, I’m new to the group (first post my silver HS arriving in Jan) but what are your thoughts on this scenario; Long drive like @TrevH is proposing, say 400 km. Start your journey on EV. Exhaust the battery, switch to ICE. Put the recharge into HIGH for the next 200-300 km, but once 100% charge, switch back to Auto. When your 50 km out from your destination, switch to EV. Would this save fuel or use more over the journey?

In this scenario I wouldn’t be stopping anywhere longer than 60 min for a break, could plug it in at a rest stop, but would you expect much charge over that time?

 

[Jto]

Do not use all the EV then go in to high to recharge the battery as you will use more petrol and not get good MPG. Just set off in normal mode (AUTO) and if possible top up the HV battery at your stop. I did what say in your post on the first long journey I did in my car to see and have not done it again as cost is too much in petrol.