MG4 virtual engine sound?

Mark Hewitt

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Location
Chester-le-Street
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MG4 SE LR
As I understand the Virtual Engine Sound System is supposed to be on EVs. On my Hyundai it was called VESS, although I could barely hear it from inside the car.

My father in laws KIA Niro is really loud - like hear it from inside the house!

Does the MG4 have this system as I haven't heard anything; and I have noticed pedestrians don't seem to notice I am there - or they could be ignoring me, which is their right.
 
Ours is pretty well silent at low speed, and gives us a huge amount of fun allowing us to glide up behind walkers in the road and either blasting the horn, or flooring it just as we pass them, and watching them "jump out of their skin"!
 
When I was out cycling last month I was being passed by both ICE cars and EVs, and they sounded about the same to me. Tyre noise, mainly. But having said that, there is something about the MG4 that prevents sheep from panicking and running away (or running under my wheels) as they have done when I approached in any other car I have ever known. I think it must seem quieter to them.
 
Haven't noticed it but I've seen info on it in the documentation

When the vehicle is in motion, the pedestrian alert
control system can give appropriate prompt sounds
to pedestrians, to serve as a warning to them.

When the vehicle is operating in low speed mode,
it uses the pedestrian alert module to control the
pedestrian alert speakers to send audible alerts
to surrounding pedestrians and vehicles, thus
improving the driving safety.
Screenshot_20240911-223357.png
 
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When I was out cycling last month I was being passed by both ICE cars and EVs, and they sounded about the same to me. Tyre noise, mainly. But having said that, there is something about the MG4 that prevents sheep from panicking and running away (or running under my wheels) as they have done when I approached in any other car I have ever known. I think it must seem quieter to them.
They obviously like the MG4. They must think, "not gonna throw meself under that, it's too nice" ??????

I still say, if you're relying on pedestrians hearing your car approach and jumping out of your way to avoid killing them, you're doing it wrong.
Yep, mount the pavement that's best, make sure. ???
 
Have noticed the same as Rolfe, sheep do not get startled by the MG4. Roe deer and deer do not get spooked as they do when driving my ICE car. Horses are calmer too. Of course all this is depending on the speed one approaches the animals.
 
Certainly very quiet on the MG4, in the wife's Mini you can just about hear it from the drivers seat and the neighbours Taycan is also pretty distinctive.

I thought choosing one of the brightest colours in the universe would help to make other road users aware of the car but the number of times people just act like it is an F-117 Nighthawk still amazes me
 
Have noticed the same as Rolfe, sheep do not get startled by the MG4. Roe deer and deer do not get spooked as they do when driving my ICE car. Horses are calmer too. Of course all this is depending on the speed one approaches the animals.
And yet as I drove through Mull last week I encountered dozens of wild creature watchers. They all wore camouflage clothing and fairly looked the part EXCEPT they were accompanied by cars , vans, camper vans and buses all of every hue in the spectrum. And the majority of them were diesel ?‍♂️ hardly stealthy. Then they’re standing in the middle of the single track road when me and my bright red car with large black tent on the roof comes whispering along and they don’t notice a thing. Honestly if it had been skittles my scores had been unsurpassed- they never heard me coming ?
 
I found a much simpler way of checking whether the pedestrian alert module is working having watched the posted video on the subject.
On a safe or private quite road, Open the driver and passenger windows, turn the infotainment volume down, and the HVAC off. Pull away to a low speed by selecting D, and you'll be able to hear the pedestrian alert humming away outside the car, but now audible in the car through the open widows. Then while driving at the same low speed turn the selector to N. You'll immediately hear the alert system go silent. Brake to a halt, re-engage D and it will sound again when you pull away. That's the way I checked mine.
 

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