MG 5 - Potential owner questions

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Geon106

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Hello all,

I currently have a Hyundai Ioniq 2021 BEV and I'm looking at switching due to the subscription the car is with going up in price

I've seen I can get the MG 5 61kWh(think it's 61?) Exclusive for £314 a month over 43 months.

This seems a good price for the amount of car you get. I have a few questions though that I thought the SpeakEV community might be able to help with:

- How does the MG5 compare with the Ioniq? I appreciate it won't "feel" as premium and that is fine. But is it as well kitted out, similar driving experience etc?

- The Lane Keep Assist, is it just a lane pinball system or does it steer to keep you centered? My old Ioniq Hybrid had the latter, my Ioniq Electric has the former

- Does the Active Cruise Control have Stop & Go in traffic?

- Is there an app to remotely lock/unlock the car, get notified when charging has stopped, pre-condition the car etc?

- What's the infotainment system like with Android Auto? I've heard it's terrible just by itself but not bad with a phone?

- How quiet is the car? Does it have any form of VESS and if so is it one that can be toggled on/off?

- What sort of real world range are people getting at the moment? My Ioniq is getting around 150-160 in the Winter so I'd hope the MG 5 can do 200+ in Winter

- How much roughly have people paid for servicing?

Anything else I should be aware of and what everyone's general opinions are of the car? Again it's looks don't bother me nor if it feels a bit cheaper due to the cost saving.

I have a test drive booked tomorrow but don't want to rely on the dealer to answer the above questions as they'll probably say anything to get me to buy right now and there isn't a ton of YouTube videos for this car

Thank you all :)
 
I can answer a few, this applies to the long range only...

It has traffic jam assist yes
No app at all (wait for 2023 model for that or the ZS 2nd gen)
Android auto is ok once you find a stable cable
No VESS toggle
180 winter motorway, more in summer and off the motorway
£45-60 off the top of my head 1st year service

It's a great car but be aware it won't have the parts availability, quality or as many toys as the Hyundai.
 
Last edited:
Ozzie1989 said:
I can answer a few, this applies to the long range only...

It has traffic jam assist yes
No app at all (wait for 2023 model for that or the ZS 2nd gen)
Android auto is ok once you find a stable cable
No VESS
180 winter motorway, more in summer and off the motorway
£45-60 off the top of my head 1st year service

It's a great car but be aware it won't have the parts availability, quality or as many toys as the Hyundai.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the reply. I wasn't expecting the same quality as the Hyundai as it's a fair bit cheaper. That said I'm disappointed in there being no app.

I have a handful of USB-C cables so shouldn't be an issue finding one that works hopefully..

Servicing seems very cheap. My previous Ioniq was about £250 to service so sub £100 is really good.

No VESS is kind of a good thing, even if it means pedestrians don't hear you
 
I love the mg5 but it is quirky.

1. Seat doesn't go low enough for my liking. So I have raised it but that feels strange as well.
2. Seat is quite narrow. Surprised more people don't comment on this. Also the seat isn't as comfortable as my old astra.
3. Infotainment system often doesn't do anything when you touch the screen. After a few attempts it works.
4. Adaptive cruise control on winding lanes is a bit overly sensitive. Might be my settings.
5. I find the boot a bit small. I had an astra Estate before which was massive.
6. No app is a pain when away from the car and charging.
7. No ability to limit charge to 80%
8. Likely plenty of other niggles.

Now for the good stuff....
1. It is super cheap for an ev with 61kwh battery.
2. It is very fast. No tesla but off the lights it is amazing.
3. Super smooth ride. Often feel like I am floating.

If you want cheap this is your car. If you want refinement and to spend more.... Look elsewhere.
 
Oh, all EU cars make a sound now. Mg5 is no different at low speeds. It is the law now.... And has been for a while.
 
LongRangeDave said:
I love the mg5 but it is quirky.

1. Seat doesn't go low enough for my liking. So I have raised it but that feels strange as well.
2. Seat is quite narrow. Surprised more people don't comment on this. Also the seat isn't as comfortable as my old astra.
3. Infotainment system often doesn't do anything when you touch the screen. After a few attempts it works.
4. Adaptive cruise control on winding lanes is a bit overly sensitive. Might be my settings.
5. I find the boot a bit small. I had an astra Estate before which was massive.
6. No app is a pain when away from the car and charging.
7. No ability to limit charge to 80%
8. Likely plenty of other niggles.

Now for the good stuff....
1. It is super cheap for an ev with 61kwh battery.
2. It is very fast. No tesla but off the lights it is amazing.
3. Super smooth ride. Often feel like I am floating.

If you want cheap this is your car. If you want refinement and to spend more.... Look elsewhere.
Click to expand...
Boot size is fine. I'm not specifically after an estate just the best value EV happens to be one. It's 100 litres bigger than what I have.

Yeah the infotainment was my biggest concern as the few decent trustworthy reviewers on YT have all pointed it out as being terrible. I don't mind if Android Auto solves many of the issues mind you.

The lack of the app and ability to limit the charge is another big issue for me. On a few occasions my Ioniq has notified me via the app when a public charger at services has stopped after 5 minutes plus being able to pre-heat the cabin and defrost the windscreen remotely in the morning is joyous. I hope MG are going to fix this.

I've heard there is a facelift version due out imminently, by the time I order in a few months that one might be out and might address a lot of the niggles hopefully
 
I think as regards the app I guess you don’t miss what you’ve never had! On the couple of frosty mornings there have been since owning the car, I have nipped outside, turned it on and put all heating/ blowing on full blast and after 5 minutes it was more or less completely defrosted. I have done just over 1000 miles in mine and I think it’s a brilliant car for the money. I use Apple car play which works fine with a good cable, but I do have to say I find the infotainment system pretty responsive in general- I may just have been lucky with my car though! Also re limiting the charge, I know my Wallbox pulsar plus will add about 10% charge per hour so it is incredibly easy to work out how long it will take to charge to 80% and then I just schedule a charge using the Wallbox app.
 
Android Auto / Apple Car Play somewhat negate the downsides of the infotainment system. As I have used my phone in a cradle for the last 5-6 years with Bluetooth for audio and the phone as sat nag Android Auto is a step up.

Lack of app initially concerned me, however never having had an app for a car I don't miss what I've never had. At home I (will) have a smart charger that allows me to tell it the SOC when I plugged it in and set my target % during my cheap Octopus Go window. As others have stated at 7kw it will charge 10% an hour, pretty easy to calculate it you can't remotely stop it, unless the charged has an app where you can stop the charge.

The left hand drive facelift 5 has an app and better infotainment system. Despite much speculation, noone knows when it will be made for the rhd market, I however suspect it won't be as early as this year. They will delay it until the rhd models they've already built and have sitting in China are at least close to all being shipped to the UK, they're not going to announce a facelift and have 50k cars sitting in a car park waiting on chips drop in value.
 
I have a 69 plate Ioniq 38Kw se and an MG5ex Lr (bought Nov 21) I love them both. You will miss some of the bells and whistles, (but you will have a rear wipe/wash and the MG will charge faster) but the MG5 is a great car, it has surprised me how good it is, as I bought it with cost being the main criteria. When the wife and I go any long distances we go in the MG, it is that good. You would have to drive the Ioniq in 'sport' to try be any where near the MG in 'eco', frugal cars are not the fastest. The MG is very fast believe me, its a pleasure to drive, comfy, nice high seating for easy access and is very roomy. I only really listen to my own music, films etc via a usb stick or the radio and find no problems. If you want extras wait for the face lift MG5 you will get a lot of the extras the Ioniq has, but you will pay more. I got my MG5 for under £25000 and a great pt ex price for my previous MG ZS EV. For timed charging we use an Ohme wall box which has an app.
 
Malcolm Anderson said:
I have a 69 plate Ioniq 38Kw se and an MG5ex Lr (bought Nov 21) I love them both. You will miss some of the bells and whistles, (but you will have a rear wipe/wash and the MG will charge faster) but the MG5 is a great car, it has surprised me how good it is, as I bought it with cost being the main criteria. When the wife and I go any long distances we go in the MG, it is that good. You would have to drive the Ioniq in 'sport' to try be any where near the MG in 'eco', frugal cars are not the fastest. The MG is very fast believe me, its a pleasure to drive, comfy, nice high seating for easy access and is very roomy. I only really listen to my own music, films etc via a usb stick or the radio and find no problems. If you want extras wait for the face lift MG5 you will get a lot of the extras the Ioniq has, but you will pay more. I got my MG5 for under £25000 and a great pt ex price for my previous MG ZS EV. For timed charging we use an Ohme wall box which has an app.
Click to expand...

Thank you. It's handy to hear from someone else with an Ioniq. I might potentially get the MG 5 on a subscription service to change to the facelift or if not see if the dealer is happy to part ex the current MG 5 for the face lift version albiet with a potential deposit and restart of PCP period.

It's purely a cost saving reason for potentially switching. The Ioniq Premium will cost me £499 a month all included from August where as the MG 5 Exclusive LR all in (PCP, Insurance, Charging etc) for about £457
 
I also drive an Ioniq at the moment,best car I've ever had by far. I'm leasing it through work and I'm retiring in August so it has to go back. I've just ordered an MG5 LR Exclusive on the Affinity scheme.

I've only had a short test drive in the MG5 but it's just as quick as the Ioniq, easy to spin the wheels.

I like the bigger boot, the roof rails, charging point at the front, spare wheel, rear wiper and 50miles extra range.

I don't like the lack of an app and non-LED headlamps.

Hope I've made the right choice!
 
Ping said:
I also drive an Ioniq at the moment,best car I've ever had by far. I'm leasing it through work and I'm retiring in August so it has to go back. I've just ordered an MG5 LR Exclusive on the Affinity scheme.

I've only had a short test drive in the MG5 but it's just as quick as the Ioniq, easy to spin the wheels.

I like the bigger boot, the roof rails, charging point at the front, spare wheel, rear wiper and 50miles extra range.

I don't like the lack of an app and non-LED headlamps.

Hope I've made the right choice!
Click to expand...
The dealer has told me the affinity scheme ends this month so I'll probably miss out on it sadly.

The lack of app is a bit downer, mostly because the Ioniq BlueLink app has saved me on a long trip with the wife and baby when the Ecotricity charger stopped charging after 5 minutes. Without the app we would have returned after 45 minutes with still 20% or so of charge.

It's difficult as the Ioniq is an amazing car to beat but money is tight and the MG seems to give a better bang for buck.

I'm definitely considering getting it on a short term subscription though right now so if the facelift version arrives I'm not tied in.

The only other car that's tempting me is the Leaf, but that's a bit more money for the longer range one with the same level of kit and it uses Chademo which I'd rather avoid.
 
I ruled out the Leaf immediately because of the chademo.

I may have to buy a cheap oil-burner as an interim - the Ioniq goes back in June and the dealer reckons the MG5 is due April/May but I'll take that with a pinch of salt
 
The MG dealer said they had 1 vehicle and can have it ready by the end of the month otherwise it'll be October / November time. Sounds dodge but I know the car market is all over the place.

Went and viewed the Leaf too and very impressed but the real world range is about 120. Chademo is also a risk as it may dwindle over the next few years
 
I switched from a LEAF Tekna will all the bells & whistles on to a MG5 LR exclusive.

Apart from a flashing light when charging, pre heat & the app to say charging stopped, I have not missed the LEAF
 
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