Cheap EV, have i missed anything? MG4?
Discussion
I currently have had a Nissan Townstar EV van for the last near 2 years on lease. Its been a good intro into EV's, but would like something with a little more range and comfort, and small EV van's don't seem available with larger than 45KW battery. I don't need a van, it was just convenient as i do a lot of mountain biking, and it was a very cheap lease.
This goes back soon, and looking at buying used with the following criteria.
£10-£14K
up to 3 years old, still in manufacturer's warranty.
Up to 40K miles
200 mile range (real world range)
Be able to fit a mountain bike in boot with seats down (don't mind removing front wheel).
Nice (ish) to drive.
Minimum 200BHP
It will be doing a daily commute of 67 miles, so a nice (ish) cabin would be nice.
I am thinking of a MG4, preferably in Trophy long range. Which i can get a 23 plate for £14K with low miles.
I was looking at PCP'ing a EV6 at around £25K, but i can't really justify the monthly expense to put 20K+ miles a year on.
Looked at The Leaf, but i think the MG4 looks better, and Chademo puts me off.
So is there anything i have missed? or is the MG4 my best bet?
This goes back soon, and looking at buying used with the following criteria.
£10-£14K
up to 3 years old, still in manufacturer's warranty.
Up to 40K miles
200 mile range (real world range)
Be able to fit a mountain bike in boot with seats down (don't mind removing front wheel).
Nice (ish) to drive.
Minimum 200BHP
It will be doing a daily commute of 67 miles, so a nice (ish) cabin would be nice.
I am thinking of a MG4, preferably in Trophy long range. Which i can get a 23 plate for £14K with low miles.
I was looking at PCP'ing a EV6 at around £25K, but i can't really justify the monthly expense to put 20K+ miles a year on.
Looked at The Leaf, but i think the MG4 looks better, and Chademo puts me off.
So is there anything i have missed? or is the MG4 my best bet?
ChocolateFrog said:
The software is ok. Personally I thought the software in the ID3 is orders of magnitude worse than that used in the MG4.
Apart from LKA being a bit random and aggressive ( supposedly fixed in newer updates) it certainly wouldn't feature in my list of gripes.
Ah OK, perhaps I've done it a disservice. As an early id3 owner I can concur it was pretty bad. My biggest gripe was the haptic steering wheel buttons and recently took the cupra vz off my list for the new yearApart from LKA being a bit random and aggressive ( supposedly fixed in newer updates) it certainly wouldn't feature in my list of gripes.
I've got a 2024 MG4 LR Trophy as a runabout/commuter on a cheap lease and I've been really impressed with it. Never less than 200 miles range in winter but it'll do the quoted 280+ miles given favourable conditions.
It drives better than it has any right to. 200bhp, RWD, low centre of gravity and 50/50 weight distribution means MG have stumbled across a genuinely fun little car to throw around. It's also a really nice size for UK roads.
It's got it's compromises - some of the materials are rather cheap and the software can be frustrating and glitchy. The "safety" systems are a pain. But all of those criticisms can also be applied to more premium new cars these days. It should also be pointed out that subsequent software updates have improved things significantly from the original cars.
Most people will never look past the badge but I dont think there's a better EV for the money.
It drives better than it has any right to. 200bhp, RWD, low centre of gravity and 50/50 weight distribution means MG have stumbled across a genuinely fun little car to throw around. It's also a really nice size for UK roads.
It's got it's compromises - some of the materials are rather cheap and the software can be frustrating and glitchy. The "safety" systems are a pain. But all of those criticisms can also be applied to more premium new cars these days. It should also be pointed out that subsequent software updates have improved things significantly from the original cars.
Most people will never look past the badge but I dont think there's a better EV for the money.
V8 Stang said:
I currently have had a Nissan Townstar EV van for the last near 2 years on lease. Its been a good intro into EV's, but would like something with a little more range and comfort, and small EV van's don't seem available with larger than 45KW battery. I don't need a van, it was just convenient as i do a lot of mountain biking, and it was a very cheap lease.
This goes back soon, and looking at buying used with the following criteria.
£10-£14K
up to 3 years old, still in manufacturer's warranty.
Up to 40K miles
200 mile range (real world range)
Be able to fit a mountain bike in boot with seats down (don't mind removing front wheel).
Nice (ish) to drive.
Minimum 200BHP
It will be doing a daily commute of 67 miles, so a nice (ish) cabin would be nice.
I am thinking of a MG4, preferably in Trophy long range. Which i can get a 23 plate for £14K with low miles.
I was looking at PCP'ing a EV6 at around £25K, but i can't really justify the monthly expense to put 20K+ miles a year on.
Looked at The Leaf, but i think the MG4 looks better, and Chademo puts me off.
So is there anything i have missed? or is the MG4 my best bet?
Does the MG4 have 200BHP? I'm sure the Leaf doesn't.This goes back soon, and looking at buying used with the following criteria.
£10-£14K
up to 3 years old, still in manufacturer's warranty.
Up to 40K miles
200 mile range (real world range)
Be able to fit a mountain bike in boot with seats down (don't mind removing front wheel).
Nice (ish) to drive.
Minimum 200BHP
It will be doing a daily commute of 67 miles, so a nice (ish) cabin would be nice.
I am thinking of a MG4, preferably in Trophy long range. Which i can get a 23 plate for £14K with low miles.
I was looking at PCP'ing a EV6 at around £25K, but i can't really justify the monthly expense to put 20K+ miles a year on.
Looked at The Leaf, but i think the MG4 looks better, and Chademo puts me off.
So is there anything i have missed? or is the MG4 my best bet?
The Ioniq is one that remains in contention for me. This ticks most of the boxes:
https://used.hyundai.co.uk/en/used-car-search/hyun... - Not the prettiest things but the SE model (which that one is) has a lot of kit and I imagine a decent bit of warranty left. I'd expect the interior quality to be better than the MG4.
Just be aware that the 7 year MG warranty starts adding in more exclusions after 3 year old:
https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=https%3A%2F%2Fw...
https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=https%3A%2F%2Fw...
Turtle Shed said:
Does the MG4 have 200BHP? I'm sure the Leaf doesn't.
The 64kWh (and more) models do. The lower capacity model wouldn't manage the OP's range requirements anyway. Although actually 200 miles is marginal for a 64kWh MG4 in poor conditions at high speeds. We've seen as low as 190 out of ours on the motorway when it's very wet and hovering around freezing. Personally, I'd be a bit wary of buying a pre-facelift MG4 not because any of the (very minor) facelift changes are particularly important, but because MG never released the "MG pilot" updates which made the LKA anything other than dreadful. I don't think you'd get a post-facelift one for £14k yet.
Edited by kambites on Sunday 20th July 16:31
SpamDisco said:
Just be aware that the 7 year MG warranty starts adding in more exclusions after 3 year old
From what I've seen, this is true of pretty much all of the 5+ year warranties. There's certainly plenty of stories of Kia refusing to pay out on some thing towards the end of the warranty period (although my parents had a Picanto and never had an issue claiming off the warranty). I think MG had the worst reliability and the highest out of pocket warranty costs of any manufacturer in the most recent Whatcar reliability survey.
https://www.whatcar.com/news/reliability-survey-mo...
https://www.whatcar.com/news/most-reliable-cars/n2...
The MG4 always is near the bottom or at the bottom. The percentage score is lower than stalwards of unreliability such as JLR and Alfa Romeo. Whatcar said 68% of cars needing to be fixed are off the road more than a week.
Wouldn t buy one myself.
https://www.whatcar.com/news/reliability-survey-mo...
https://www.whatcar.com/news/most-reliable-cars/n2...
The MG4 always is near the bottom or at the bottom. The percentage score is lower than stalwards of unreliability such as JLR and Alfa Romeo. Whatcar said 68% of cars needing to be fixed are off the road more than a week.
Wouldn t buy one myself.
Edited by wyson on Sunday 20th July 18:42
The LEAF software is well sorted and works well. The Android/Apple Carplay, ProPilot, lane keep (which can be turned permanently off on most model years) are all reliable and work well.
The stereo is also very good. The only let down with the leaf is the driving dynamics at speed leave a little to be desired but overall it is a well sorted and well built car.
For £14k though id just buy a Model 3 LR 2021 onwards with 120k on It which is better than all of them.
The stereo is also very good. The only let down with the leaf is the driving dynamics at speed leave a little to be desired but overall it is a well sorted and well built car.
For £14k though id just buy a Model 3 LR 2021 onwards with 120k on It which is better than all of them.
Teem50 said:
confused_buyer said:
For £14k though id just buy a Model 3 LR 2021 onwards with 120k on It which is better than all of them.
Fitting a mountain bike in the boot is going to be tricky though.Thanks guys, i hadn't realised the MG's had such reliability problems, which is a shame.
Tesla, I would like a tesla, i was originally looking at a model Y, However the insurance on these seems ridiculous. £1200 for a Y AWD, even £900 for a RWD model 3. Everything else EG Leaf seems around £500.
So i am now looking at 2 options:
Leaf - Can get a 22 plate 59KW Tekna, with less than 40K miles for less than £14K. These have 214BHP which should be sufficient. (my Townstar has 120BHP and does not feel exactly slow. And im sure the driving dynamics are light years above that wobbly box on wheels!
They are also loads on autotrader, so should be able to find one local.
I assume these are pretty reliable?
The downside i can see is only 50KW charging when out in the wild. Charging outside of home or work is a very rare thing, probably 2 or 3 times a year, so could probably put up with this on a rare occasion.
Do these charge reliably at 50KW?, or is this just the peak figure and its more like 20KW for most of the charging curve?
Or i put a £10K deposit down on a PCP on a EV6 AWD, at around £25K, which should bring the monthly around £200/ month. Which is doable.
However, as much as i like the EV6, i cant help thinking - is it worth near twice the price? whilst putting lots of miles on it.
So my current thoughts are get a Leaf for a year or 2, then see where the used EV market is at?
Tesla, I would like a tesla, i was originally looking at a model Y, However the insurance on these seems ridiculous. £1200 for a Y AWD, even £900 for a RWD model 3. Everything else EG Leaf seems around £500.
So i am now looking at 2 options:
Leaf - Can get a 22 plate 59KW Tekna, with less than 40K miles for less than £14K. These have 214BHP which should be sufficient. (my Townstar has 120BHP and does not feel exactly slow. And im sure the driving dynamics are light years above that wobbly box on wheels!
They are also loads on autotrader, so should be able to find one local.
I assume these are pretty reliable?
The downside i can see is only 50KW charging when out in the wild. Charging outside of home or work is a very rare thing, probably 2 or 3 times a year, so could probably put up with this on a rare occasion.
Do these charge reliably at 50KW?, or is this just the peak figure and its more like 20KW for most of the charging curve?
Or i put a £10K deposit down on a PCP on a EV6 AWD, at around £25K, which should bring the monthly around £200/ month. Which is doable.
However, as much as i like the EV6, i cant help thinking - is it worth near twice the price? whilst putting lots of miles on it.
So my current thoughts are get a Leaf for a year or 2, then see where the used EV market is at?
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