MG4 EV 2023 electric car owner review

Gary G drives an MG4 EV Trophy 64kWh 2023.

This is Gary’s first electric car, he’s owned the MG4 EV from new and drives 5,000-10,000 miles annually. The current mileage of the car is between 1,000-5,000 miles and he achieves 220 miles from a full charge.

Why did you choose the MG4 EV?

Number of features and drive quality.

Positives

Great drive
packed with features
good range.

Negatives

Software is a bit flaky
Lane Keep Assist doesn’t turn off.

Have you experienced any faults with the car? If so, what have they been?

What are the standout technological features of the car?

Coming from a 2017 SEAT Leon which had a nice number of features, the MG4 completely out features it! The main thing that I like is the regenerative braking. I was taught to drive using the gears to slow the car down, the regenerative breaking mimics this and although I’ve never driven an automatic I feel very comfortable with the brakes operating this way.

I also like all of the safety features although lane keep assist is something that I prefer to set to warning only. My car hasn’t suffered the problems that some of the earlier released models have, so I haven’t had any real issues but I prefer to trust my own judgement!

Tell us something people wouldn’t readily know about this electric car

I don’t think that there’s anything that isn’t already out in the public domain about the MG4!

What electric car(s) are you interested in next and why?

Have only had the MG4 just over a month so won’t be considering another one for another 3 years.

Home charging unit

MR CARTOOL S310 – this is a dumb charger but as I’m only fully charging once every 10 days or so I don’t really need a smart charger. We use over 6,300kWh in a year (3 people WFH almost full time) and switching to a smart tariff would save me £25 a year.

Electricity supplier & tariff

I’ve been with Scottish Power/E.ON for many years and have never looked to change.

What public charging networks would you recommend to others and why?

I’ve used bp pulse, Shell and Pod Point. My best experience has been with bp pulse, it probably helps that the charger is in a pub car park and each time I’ve used it it’s been available. I have a bp pulse subscription and that provides a reduced price.

I have found Shell to be the worst experience, the charger is very unfriendly. The first time I used it I got charged 6 times the pre-authorisation amount because it doesn’t tell you what to do after the pre-authorisation has been accepted. I did get the 5 non-used authorisations back but it’s not at all user friendly. It’s also expensive.

Insurer

Admiral – I had an accident in a previous car which was my fault and resulted in that car being written off. The whole claim process from reporting the accident through to settlement was very smooth. I insured my next car with them and just changed the car when I bought the MG4.

Please itemise where you’re saving money (or not) owning & running an MG4 EV

Difficult to say as I’ve only had the MG4 for a month. I’m not a high mileage driver but would estimate that I was putting around £80 diesel in the Leon. I estimate that in normal circumstances I would charge fully from home twice a month, which works out at around £42. I’ll have to wait and see how my electricity works out. I have a smart meter but don’t read it!