Picked up my MG4 Trophy today! Some thoughts...

[Kentboy]

It's funny picking up a car you tried briefly on a test ride, bought, then spent a couple of weeks waiting for reading posts here and watching Youtube videos. One day in here, fwiw, are my thoughts...

1. It's a delight to drive. Having been behind the wheel of a diesel SUV for much of the last two decades this is a real breath of fresh air.
2. There's a learning curve here. This isn't just an ICE automatic with a big battery. I'm going to have to learn a whole new approach to the way I drive (which is good because the habits I need to adopt are I think worthwhile ones).
3. There's a lot of tech here and tech can go wrong. I briefly got a yellow triangle and SOS error message while I was fiddling about with the preferences when stationary. The old turn it off turn it on technique worked fine. Hope that doesn't come back. Also the binding process with your phone isn't as easy as it should be.
4. It's a head turner. People do remark on it.
5. Even after reading all the posts here I still don't understand what's going on with adaptive cruise control. I thought I had Lane Keep Assist turned off on the motorway but I still got the thing taking control of the steering from time to time, once in a way that had me drifting over the (rather faded) lane markings. Is there really no way to have AAC without the robot steering thing?

In short -- a great drive, a comfy car, and wife seems to like it too. Just hope it turns out to be a good buy as well ?

And thanks so much to all the people here who've offered so much selfless advice in preparation for my launch into the world of EVs. Don't know how I would have coped otherwise...

 

[FiferMG4]

1. It's a delight to drive. Having been behind the wheel of a diesel SUV for much of the last two decades this is a real breath of fresh air.
2. There's a learning curve here. This isn't just an ICE automatic with a big battery. I'm going to have to learn a whole new approach to the way I drive (which is good because the habits I need to adopt are I think worthwhile ones).

It certainly is. Quiet, smooth, good acceleration, handling and fun!

Yeah, personally I’m learning to feather the accelerator pedal, keeping the power % down, but speed constant, thus increasing the range. I tend to look at my remaining battery % rather than miles/range left. Do you find yourself doing that?

 

[Kentboy]

Well it's day one but I certainly think I was starting to go easy on the pedal and think ahead to get the regenerative braking. All good driving habits I'd say, rather than flooring it then pouncing on the brake pedal shortly after. A whole new way of driving it seems to me. I wonder what driving instructors will make of this because a standard manual driving lesson seems to cover very little that's real of this experience.

Oh... and that word FUN! It is. And I haven't had that from driving for ages.

 

[Eber]

Oh... and that word FUN! It is. And I haven't had that from driving for ages.

That was my reason for choosing it as a daily driver as well. Many will disagree, but it was an original Golf I GTI moment for me. A quick, nimble and playful car to throw around some bendy B roads. I really don't get people commuting in obese SUVs. Alone.

 

[Kentboy]

I don't get people commuting alone in SUVs either. I had one because we are way out in the country on roads that are mainly potholes with a bit of tarmac in between, and I had offspring and their property to ferry to and fro. They have their own vehicles now and I just don't need something of that size. Also SUVs seem to be the standard for everyone round here now so driving isn't as easy as it was, especially for those whose leased Discoveries don't have reverse gear or want to pull into a hedge. Happy to have something smaller and I hope it can cope with the potholes.

 

[JuziWomble]

Fun is the correct word - If you drive safely but have fun then its a win win

I've been an EV convert for some 6 years now & on my third EV - Yet I'm still having Fun ...

With regards to the Land Keeping Assistance - Hmm yeah ... there are various topics in here re this - I recently had a s/w update that addresses some of the original harshness of the LKA system - I find before I set off I set specific things to my liking - as the car has reverted to the Manufactures settings (Eco and LKA for instance) - Best advise - have a read here - Then have a look around the cars system ..and set it as you like

& welcome to the EV world

 

[Kentboy]

My plan is to ask myself what kind of journey I'm about to embark on before setting off then set up the car for the task. No big deal. Am puzzled why the LKA was kicking on when I set the adaptive cruise - don't think the two are supposed to be linked. But will keep exploring. It did seem to work quite well but I did catch it wandering across a dotted line at one point which was slightly alarming.

 

[timeades]

I don't get people commuting alone in SUVs either. I had one because we are way out in the country on roads that are mainly potholes with a bit of tarmac in between, and I had offspring and their property to ferry to and fro. They have their own vehicles now and I just don't need something of that size. Also SUVs seem to be the standard for everyone round here now so driving isn't as easy as it was, especially for those whose leased Discoveries don't have reverse gear or want to pull into a hedge. Happy to have something smaller and I hope it can cope with the potholes.

I'm with you on this. tfl did a breakdown on car use in London and it's not surprising the place is so congested, some of the headline findings are:

• Six in ten car trips are made for shopping, leisure and personal business purposes and a fifth for work purposes. A third of car trips are shorter than 2km.
• There are more car journeys on Saturdays and Sunday than during the week, and the peak time periods for car travel and the inter-peak (10am-4pm) and afternoon peak (4pm-7pm).
• Around six in ten car driver trips are made alone, without any passengers, a quarter include one passenger and the remainder have two or more passengers

When my MG4 arrives it will be the first car I have owned in 5 years. I have found it perfectly easy to live in London using tube, bicycle and feet. When I need to pick something up or if I go further afield I just use zipcar or enterprise car club who charge by the hour.

Now my work has gone fully remote, it's time to leave London again and go back to rural living where I will need a car

 

[Pianoman]

Pretty much agree with y’all. We’ve already got into the habit of setting the system up before we set off, it’s very quick once it becomes a routine. ?

 

[Kentboy]

I've seen people in the local village get in their car to go to the shops a quarter of a mile away. School traffic is a nightmare, mostly SUVs with one adult and one child inside. If I went back to living in London I'd never own a car. No point.

 

[Kentboy]

Pretty much agree with y’all. We’ve already got into the habit of setting the system up before we set off, it’s very quick once it becomes a routine. ?

Thinking about the journey ahead doesn't bother me at all. It won't take long and I think it's important I accept this isn't like a petrol vehicle where you hop in, head off and work out what you're doing on the road. That was a bad habit picked up over years. Happy to lose it. Seems to me anyone who picks up an EV and expects it to be just like an ICE vehicle but with a big battery inside is missing the point and likely to be disappointed.

 

[timeades]

I've seen people in the local village get in their car to go to the shops a quarter of a mile away. School traffic is a nightmare, mostly SUVs with one adult and once child inside. If I went back to living in London I'd never own a car. No point.

Seen the same here in Hammersmith and in a village I spend a lot of weekends in, walking to the shops is so much quicker especially when you see people sitting in their cars for 5 minutes plus just waiting for a parking space and in the case of Hammersmith then spending £5 p/h for parking (£6 if it's a diesel)

 

[siteguru]

Re. point 5 ... you've probably got the Cruise setting on TJA (Traffic Jam Assist) rather than ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control). If you can see a steering wheel icon at the top-left of the driver display then that will confirm it.

Alternatively - you're turning off LKA before you've pressed the brake pedal to put the car into READY mode. A clue for this is if LKA turns off without giving you a Confirm prompt.

 

[Kentboy]

Re. point 5 ... you've probably got the Cruise setting on TJA (Traffic Jam Assist) rather than ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control). If you can see a steering wheel icon at the top-left of the driver display then that will confirm it.

Alternatively - you're turning off LKA before you've pressed the brake pedal to put the car into READY mode. A clue for this is if LKA turns off without giving you a Confirm prompt.

Sounds about right! Thanks so much.