So many questions about the MG5!

[Olivarus]

Hi

The MG5 is top of my list of EV’s to replace two aging Volvos once we can go and look at/test drive the MG. But I have a few queries to which I can’t find a definitive answer, or to which I have received conflicting answers.

First of all, many dealers’ websites refer to a ‘Heated Windscreen’, which I take to mean heating elements in the glass, and I don’t think that the MG5 has this, or am I wrong?

Secondly, many dealers’ websites refer to ‘iPod compatibility’, is that correct and what is the connection, Aux In or USB? I have a Classic iPod if that makes a difference.

Third, what is the max charging rate? Is it 80kW? Has anyone achieved anything close to that?

Fourth, as I understand it the ZS EV had a software update last August to allow charging with the doors unlocked. Can you charge the MG5 with the doors unlocked? MG tell me that you cannot do this, whilst one dealer has told me that he has managed it. I believe him, but was this a one-off?

Fifth, can a Smart domestic charger be used to control the timing (say 00:30-04:30) of a charge? Presumably this timing could also be overridden at any time if the 4 hrs set was insufficient to achive an 80% or 100% charge level?

Sixth and thanks for reading this far, has anyone had a spare wheel fitted in place of the repair kit?

Can you tell that I’m a novice? I think that will do for now!

 

[NellieEV]

Own a MG 5EV... and 'my' answers are:

No heating elements in the windscreen... just a very effective hot air blower.

I don't believe an iPod is compatible unless it is set in 'Storage Mode' i.e. acting as a USB drive... I say this because (as far as I know/ have researched myself) the iPod is not 'Car Play' capable... So in short for a long answer... the ipod would have to connect via USB and act as a USB hard drive..

Yes, supposedly 80kW capable... under very limited conditions... battery state, temperature, DC charger capability... I believe in one of the early YouTube Videos 'Miles' from the Chorley group got a charge rate of around 75kW.

My car happily charges whilst unlocked . I too was told by my dealer (and the manual) that it had to be locked, but I think it had the 'upgraded' charging profile implemented at manufacture (as the ZS problem was solved last summer) and they didn't bother updating the manual.

Yes, can do timed charging... have done so with my Zappi.

Yes, have fitted the spare-wheel kit myself in place of the repair kit.

Hope that helps.

 

[Olivarus]

Own a MG 5EV... and 'my' answers are:

No heating elements in the windscreen... just a very effective hot air blower.

I don't believe an iPod is compatible unless it is set in 'Storage Mode' i.e. acting as a USB drive... I say this because (as far as I know/ have researched myself) the iPod is not 'Car Play' capable... So in short for a long answer... the ipod would have to connect via USB and act as a USB hard drive..

Yes, supposedly 80kW capable... under very limited conditions... battery state, temperature, DC charger capability... I believe in one of the early YouTube Videos 'Miles' from the Chorley group got a charge rate of around 75kW.

My car happily charges whilst unlocked . I too was told by my dealer (and the manual) that it had to be locked, but I think it had the 'upgraded' charging profile implemented at manufacture (as the ZS problem was solved last summer) and they didn't bother updating the manual.

Yes, can do timed charging... have done so with my Zappi.

Yes, have fitted the spare-wheel kit myself in place of the repair kit.

Hope that helps.

Thanks #NellieEV that's really helpful!

The 'charging whilst unlocked' was almost a deal-breaker as it would make en-route charging a nonsense. So that's very good news. The iPod use is disappointing, but there's always Spotify, I suppose.......

As a matter of interest, do you still carry the tyre repair kit?

 

[Cocijo]

I think you’ll find both the ZS and 5 charge unlocked on rapid DC chargers. It’s the AC chargers that seem to show up the differences across individual cars.

 

[NellieEV]

I think you’ll find both the ZS and 5 charge unlocked on rapid DC chargers. It’s the AC chargers that seem to show up the differences across individual cars.

For what it's worth my 5 definitely will charge unlocked on AC Zappi charger.

 

[Jake]

Charging at a rate of 75kWh would only happen (if you are lucky) if the SoC is very low and even then would tail off by 20% SoC to about 47% where it would be around 37kWh until the cliff edge at 80% SoC and then down to 15kWh if you continued beyond 80%. Figures based on ZS and assuming the 5 would be similar.

For the purposes of estimating Rapid charge times it is more realistic to use 35kWh as an average rate of charge then anything above that will be a bonus. If you're stopping for a comfort break and coffee etc. then by the time you have finished that you will probably be up to 80% even from very low SoC.

 

[Stuwit46]

Own a MG 5EV... and 'my' answers are:

No heating elements in the windscreen... just a very effective hot air blower.

I don't believe an iPod is compatible unless it is set in 'Storage Mode' i.e. acting as a USB drive... I say this because (as far as I know/ have researched myself) the iPod is not 'Car Play' capable... So in short for a long answer... the ipod would have to connect via USB and act as a USB hard drive..

Yes, supposedly 80kW capable... under very limited conditions... battery state, temperature, DC charger capability... I believe in one of the early YouTube Videos 'Miles' from the Chorley group got a charge rate of around 75kW.

My car happily charges whilst unlocked . I too was told by my dealer (and the manual) that it had to be locked, but I think it had the 'upgraded' charging profile implemented at manufacture (as the ZS problem was solved last summer) and they didn't bother updating the manual.

Yes, can do timed charging... have done so with my Zappi.

Yes, have fitted the spare-wheel kit myself in place of the repair kit.

Hope that helps.

You can also rapid charge with the lights on and doors unlocked (in error of course)

 

[Petriix]

The 5 will charge at well over 40kW over 50% SOC:

That's about 43kW on a Podpoint 50kW rapid. Note how the car is switched on while charging.

It will also charge on AC whilst unlocked and will run the heater from the charger if you switch to 'ready' after charging begins. It will 'pause' charging if unlocked from locked during charging and resume again after around a minute.

It will do scheduled charging, but it's not totally compliant with the standards and definitely has problems on some smart EVSEs. I can confirm that it works with my Zappi; predictably but not perfectly.

Apparently the wheels are the same size as a mk5 golf if you're looking for a cheaper spare wheel kit.

 

[Fluffykins]

Apparently the wheels are the same size as a mk5 golf if you're looking for a cheaper spare wheel kit.

Tyre size is an obvious thing to match but do the mounting stud dimensions and pattern, the centre hole size and the offset all match as well?

 

[Petriix]

Tyre size is an obvious thing to match but do the mounting stud dimensions and pattern, the centre hole size and the offset all match as well?

I believe they're all the same. It's the same pattern as the ZS EV. Someone on Facebook bought a golf space saver from ebay and test fitted it.

 

[jonathanhoey]

Secondly, many dealers’ websites refer to ‘iPod compatibility’, is that correct and what is the connection, Aux In or USB? I have a Classic iPod if that makes a difference.

I don't believe an iPod is compatible unless it is set in 'Storage Mode' i.e. acting as a USB drive... I say this because (as far as I know/ have researched myself) the iPod is not 'Car Play' capable... So in short for a long answer... the ipod would have to connect via USB and act as a USB hard drive..

There's no audio input on the MG5, only a pair of USB sockets in the centre console. One is marked with an icon of a mobile phone, the other just has a USB logo.

I've regularly been using my iPhone via Apple CarPlay, connected to the phone socket. No issues there.

Just tested a few other devices in my MG5.

iPod Classic: no dice. Doesn't work in either socket. It will charge from either of them, but it never goes into USB storage/data transfer mode. I guess the head unit doesn't ask it to when they do their handshake.

iPod Touch: doesn't support CarPlay so if you plug it in, it will charge but not pass audio. However you can pair it via Bluetooth and play audio via the car system that way. Works just like Bluetooth in any other car.

iPhone with no SIM: CarPlay appears to work fine, although limited to content that is saved on the device for obvious reasons. This is slightly different from what Apple says in its Knowledge Base (it says that CarPlay requires a cellular connection to work). Of course some of the functions, like live mapping/sat nav, would require a data connection. Now that I think of it, I didn't test whether it would be possible to tether the SIM-free device to a Wifi hotspot and use all CarPlay functions. I suspect probably not but I might try it some time. Went back and tried this and it works just fine. Exactly as if the data SIM were in the phone itself.

I didn't try an iPad but, like, iPod Touch, those do not support CarPlay so you would be limited to Bluetooth audio.

You could always get a Bluetooth transmitter for your iPod, but you wouldn't be able to browse or control anything except the most basic functions (play/pause and track skip) from the car controls so it might not be the safest thing.

 

[Fluffykins]

I just use a decent sized microSD card in a tiny USB adapter and pop that in one of the "ashtray" sockets.

Summat like this:

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/32645673140.html

 

[NellieEV]

I just use a decent sized microSD card in a tiny USB adapter and pop that in one of the "ashtray" sockets.

Summat like this:

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/32645673140.html

Ditto... took a while to transfer 48GB of music across from my PC library, but now all good .

 

[thefunkystoat]

Tried on mine, but it was very hit and miss over what it would play, even though it was all in the same file format. It even got as silly as playing some songs from an album but not others. Will be using apple play or bluetooth, so not really a problem but it was rather random.

 

[Fireman frog]

Good evening everyone,

I'm close to ordering an mg 5 even without being able to do a test drive. I'm a bit concerned about the lip on the boot as I want to make sure my Labrador will be able to get in the boot without scratching the bumper as he gets older.

Could someone please measure the height from the ground to the top of the lip on the boot so I can compare it to my current car. Sounds ridiculous but these things matter!

I asked my local dealer in Horsham but they obviously don't want the sale!

Thank you

 

[jonathanhoey]

Good evening everyone,

I'm close to ordering an mg 5 even without being able to do a test drive. I'm a bit concerned about the lip on the boot as I want to make sure my Labrador will be able to get in the boot without scratching the bumper as he gets older.

Could someone please measure the height from the ground to the top of the lip on the boot so I can compare it to my current car. Sounds ridiculous but these things matter!

I asked my local dealer in Horsham but they obviously don't want the sale!

Thank you

 

[thefunkystoat]

70cm to the top of the bumper another 4 or 5 cm on top to clear into the boot. Boot floor is about 18cm drop at the other side. Would probably want a firmer landing than the somewhat flimsy boot floor it arrives with.

 

[SimonomiS]

Good evening everyone,

I'm close to ordering an mg 5 even without being able to do a test drive. I'm a bit concerned about the lip on the boot as I want to make sure my Labrador will be able to get in the boot without scratching the bumper as he gets older.

Could someone please measure the height from the ground to the top of the lip on the boot so I can compare it to my current car. Sounds ridiculous but these things matter!

I asked my local dealer in Horsham but they obviously don't want the sale!

Thank you

I can do this tomorrow but just letting you know that our 12 yr old labrador jumps in and out fine. Got a rug that stays in there and I pull it over the lip/bumper which means (in Labrador) 'Jump!'. Then just a question of tucking in the rug before closing the tailgate and all good.

 

[Fireman frog]

Fantastic. Thank you so much ,?

 

[NellieEV]

Could also add a bumper guard/paint protection film/ helicopter tape to the bumper to give extra protection to the paintwork.