MG5 EV Poor Range

[Cocijo]

I don't think mpg matters so much though when you have a 10+ gallon fuel tank.
My Prius was advertised at 89mpg under the old NEDC figures, with a 43 litre tank theoretically I could go 840 miles. Real world short trips (or 70 on the motorway) made my actual mpg figure nearer 55mpg so real distance on a tank full was 520 miles, a 40% difference.
40% difference only becomes a problem for us EV owners because we don't have the large capacity like an ICE car does. If the figures quoted are 160 miles range then -40% would be less than 100 miles hence the worry.

I agree - having a relatively small battery pack leaves little room for manoeuvre.

 

[AbuG]

So - I have a Model 3 performance. it struggles to get 200 usable miles at 70mph (ish). No EV at the moment likes sustained high speed or cold temperatures.

Is that in summer too?

 

[Jocko]

No EV at the moment likes sustained high speed or cold temperatures.

The same can be said for an ICE. The difference is the range is greater and if push comes to shove five minutes will return you to 100% range.

 

[Cocijo]

I used to have a regular Kent Journey of 204 miles door to door. My car fully charged usually shows around 315miles range - Tesla do not use the same calculation as MG. It’s motorway nearly all the way. If I drive at 70mph all the way I will get realistically 220 range in summer and 190 in winter. If I drop speed by 5 to 10 mph it makes a significant difference and summer range to 255ish+. I’m not going fully empty. There are not many EV’s out there that can comfortably cover 200 miles constantly at 70mph in my experience. The supercharger network is fantastic though and makes long journeys so much easier to accomplish.

 

[Valiant5]

And yet huge batteries are not the answer for the majority of drivers who rarely do more than 50-100 miles a day and often far fewer. With a son in Edinburgh and friends in Sussex these are journeys we'll do maybe three or four times in a more normal year, each being in excess of 200 miles. But the rest of the time we'll probably probably be within the car's range without a top up.

I realise that's by no means the case for everyone, but you do begin to wonder whether the 5 is the right car for doing long distance motorway drives at illegal speeds, day in, day out

 

[Cocijo]

And yet huge batteries are not the answer for the majority of drivers who rarely do more than 50-100 miles a day and often far fewer. With a son in Edinburgh and friends in Sussex these are journeys we'll do maybe three or four times in a more normal year, each being in excess of 200 miles. But the rest of the time we'll probably probably be within the car's range without a top up.

I realise that's by no means the case for everyone, but you do begin to wonder whether the 5 is the right car for doing long distance motorway drives at illegal speeds, day in, day out

I agree - good points raised. I am still of the opinion that with a small number of exceptions (and even they can be challenging) if you do regular long motorway journeys and need to run to a tight schedule an EV is not for you at the current time. The whole EV era will involve a shift in our thinking and examining exactly what we need from a car - eventually it will be cost that will finally swing the pendulum fully towards EV ownership for most - that’s where MG have made a great start.

 

[Richie]

N

Interesting viewpoint. I may have missed this but Dean doesn’t actually say that his dealer misled him or told him he would categorically get the range - I’m not sure where his range expectations came from - perhaps the published figures? But his dealer may be blameless here. As far as seeing Dean as naive and ‘stitching him up’, well that again is a huge assumption to make. I do think that the current benchmark that the industry uses to get range needs looking at but it is a benchmark that all manufacturers currently use and Dean also alludes to this. I have never encountered a dealer that has categorically told me that I will get the published range figures come rain or shine but others may disagree. I do feel for Dean and I hope he perseveres with his car which he says he really likes - they are a good car. As far as being a beta tester for EV cars - I’ve had EV’s for 5 Years now and really enjoyed the beta testing experience so far. ?

So he was not misled. Maybe the lack of information or ovoidence of makes me believe he was. Bit like politics you need to hear what they are not saying, so what they do say can't be accused of lying. Frugal with the truth so to speak. If you have been in any level of politics you'll know clearly what that means.
Still say get rid until later at least to when charging infrastructure is better.

 

[Marcad]

EV Data base is a good resource for EV real world figures.
For the MG5 this is what they say

Real Range Estimationbetween 125 - 270 mi​

City - Cold Weather *	175 mi
Highway - Cold Weather *	125 mi
Combined - Cold Weather *	150 mi

City - Mild Weather *	270 mi
Highway - Mild Weather *	160 mi
Combined - Mild Weather *	205 mi

Indication of real-world range in several situations. Cold weather: 'worst-case' based on -10°C and use of heating. Mild weather: 'best-case' based on 23°C and no use of A/C. The actual range will depend on speed, style of driving, weather and route conditions.

And for the ZS

Real Rangebetween 95 - 210 mi​

City - Cold Weather	140 mi
Highway - Cold Weather	95 mi
Combined - Cold Weather	115 mi

City - Mild Weather	210 mi
Highway - Mild Weather	120 mi
Combined - Mild Weather	155 mi

And I love the Rated Fuel Equivalent they give for all their cars reviewd, this one is taken from the ZS data.

Rated Consumption	295 Wh/mi
Vehicle Consumption	260 Wh/mi

CO2 Emissions	0 g/km
Rated Fuel Equivalent	135 mpg
Vehicle Fuel Equivalent	156 mpg

 

[Jocko]

Unfortunately, these are all just estimates. As they say, "Real-life values may differ significantly.".

 

[Richie]

EV Data base is a good resource for EV real world figures.
For the MG5 this is what they say

Real Range Estimationbetween 125 - 270 mi​

City - Cold Weather *	175 mi
Highway - Cold Weather *	125 mi
Combined - Cold Weather *	150 mi

City - Mild Weather *	270 mi
Highway - Mild Weather *	160 mi
Combined - Mild Weather *	205 mi

Indication of real-world range in several situations. Cold weather: 'worst-case' based on -10°C and use of heating. Mild weather: 'best-case' based on 23°C and no use of A/C. The actual range will depend on speed, style of driving, weather and route conditions.

And for the ZS

Real Rangebetween 95 - 210 mi​

City - Cold Weather	140 mi
Highway - Cold Weather	95 mi
Combined - Cold Weather	115 mi

City - Mild Weather	210 mi
Highway - Mild Weather	120 mi
Combined - Mild Weather	155 mi

And I love the Rated Fuel Equivalent they give for all their cars reviewd, this one is taken from the ZS data.

Rated Consumption	295 Wh/mi
Vehicle Consumption	260 Wh/mi

CO2 Emissions	0 g/km
Rated Fuel Equivalent	135 mpg
Vehicle Fuel Equivalent	156 mpg

Good post, yes estimates but something to work with even before you buy.

 

[mj224]

Personalty, I think 60mph is the slowest you can safely do on the motorway. You see *i*s doing 50 -55 mph , they are dangerous IMHO of course.

I set the CC to 65mph, and accept its not the optimal speed, but it make the motorway safer...

 

[Jocko]

Our motorways here in Scotland are virtually all dual carriageway. I just sit in lane 1, along with the trucks, and potter along with them at 53 mph (that seems to be their speed here). If that makes me a ti* then I am happy to be one.

 

[macd2401]

On the motorways, should at least be moving as fast as the trucks (in normal, free-flowing traffic). If not, you're just a mobile roadblock, and nobody wants to deal with those.?

 

[BillyWhizz]

Personalty, I think 60mph is the slowest you can safely do on the motorway. You see *i*s doing 50 -55 mph , they are dangerous IMHO of course.

I set the CC to 65mph, and accept its not the optimal speed, but it make the motorway safer...

I have driven HGV for the past 30 years you can happily sit at 50 to 55 all day long on a motorway

 

[mj224]

Our motorways here in Scotland are virtually all dual carriageway. I just sit in lane 1, along with the trucks, and potter along with them at 53 mph (that seems to be their speed here). If that makes me a ti* then I am happy to be one.

I did not mean to be critical really, speed is relative. Going with the flow is important. There are motorways in the Midlands where the average speed seems to be 80mph. Great in my old RX8, but would be very dangerous doing 60mph. There are few lorries on this patch.

 

[Valiant5]

Sorry, mj, but driving at 80 and above is dangerous in itself. Less time to take evasive action, less time to brake. I've sat through enough inquests to know that excessive speed can be a factor in road deaths.

It's also very damaging to the environment. Many of us have switched to EVs to reduce our carbon footprint but if our cars, EVs and ICE, are using 25-30 per cent more fuel because of the way we drive, that's not helping.

 

[mj224]

No I agree with you to a point. Forget the RX8, what my point was/is that speed is relative. We all know what its like on a motorway in the snow, 99% of the traffic is being careful, driving at 50mph, but there is always the Range Rover in the fast lane doing 80mph..

Again would any sane person drive at 50mph in a high street of a small town, where all other traffic is doing 20mph.

I am not being controversial, and this thread is probably not the place to talk about driving speeds and safety..

PS. Not getting at Range Rover drivers before one takes offense .....

 

[Jocko]

Speed certainly is relative. I have done track days at Knockhill, and 100 mph feels slow in a single-seater.

 

[Stuart Wright]

My tip for hypermiling on the motorway, (assuming you have autonomous emergency braking so that you can brake faster than the vehicle in front) is to slipstream behind a lorry. That's driving several feet behind to reduce wind resistance. It also means you're doing 55-60mph.
If a faster lorry overtakes, slot in behind them.
If a coach overtakes, slot in behind that. A coach is the best option because it has a speed limit of 70.
I'd go at 60 without a vehicle in front or around 70 with a coach in front.
I don't use cruise control because it tries to stay a fixed distance behind the vehicle too aggressively, whereas having some flexibility to get slightly closer and further away means less accelerating and braking.
I made a video about slipstreaming two years ago.

 

[Amun]

My tip for hypermiling on the motorway, (assuming you have autonomous emergency braking so that you can brake faster than the vehicle in front) is to slipstream behind a lorry. That's driving several feet behind to reduce wind resistance.

Several feet behind? I have seen people do that and thought that it was incredibly dangerous and relies on your brakes being better than his air brakes...