The MG4 – Tech Focused Review

So stick around for that make sure you hit subscribe if you havent, if you have hit that notification Bell, so you are notified the next time we upload another EV Tech focused review. Im Luke, and this is the future – is electric so mg. A former British brand is now a hundred percent owned by the Chinese, auto manufacturer saic, and let me tell you that could be a sign of things to come in the Auto industry. If we were to look at the top 20 models, electric vehicles sold last year in 2022 and you are to quantify them in a list of the top 20. Only six cars were not Chinese. Let that sink in so mg already offer three full electric vehicles in their lineup hover. This is the first one, the mg4 which is making use of their new modular scalable platform. This is a vehicle platform theyve developed for full electric, where the battery pack is in the middle motor, predominantly in the rear of the vehicle. However, they will allow all wheel drive solutions with the motor in the front as well. Now this platform is good for small sedans like were in today, larger SUVs and even multi purpose. Large Vans can make use of this platform now. Another interesting thing is: the platform is predominantly a 400 volt architecture in regards the electrical system, which is commonplace nowadays. However, critically it is going to be upgraded to an 800 volt architecture very soon, and this is important because the More Voltage you have the faster you can charge that battery in an 800 volt architecture is essentially going to bring charging times down to the level where We are nearly at par with the time it takes to refill a gas powered vehicle today.

So there are four energy regeneration region modes in this vehicle, the selection of which is done not from the steering wheel but from the infotainment system. Here in the center console. Now the four modes – weak medium, strong and adaptive now Ive had it on strong on our way here this morning, and I have to be honest, its even if its in its strongest setting it is generally weaker than much of the other electric cars available. So this is definitely not a case of a one pedal driving vehicle, although it is an electric car. After all, so you might get away with these instruments – businesses here and there, where you just use one pedal, but then definitely not a one pedal driving car like weve seen in other electric vehicles. We have a permanent magnet synchronous, electric motor and there are two motor options depending on which level of car you get. The more base model gets you 125 kilowatts of power for 250 newton meters of torque. The higher end of the model is a 150 kilowatt motor. Also for the same 250, newton meters of torque, now, interestingly enough, the smaller model having the smaller battery and the different battery chemistry is lighter and thus accelerates a bit faster. So 0 to 16 is in the lower end model 7.5 seconds and the higher end model. 7.7 seconds, which is quicker than most of its competition around, so it does give you a good amount of power if you come to overtake or if you want to have a bit of fun at the traffic lights.

So the efficiency here depends on which vehicle you go for so the lower end version actually gets an efficiency of 11.9 kilowatts per 100 kilometers or 12.4 kilowatts per 100 kilometers in the higher end heavier version. Now I am not seeing those range, those efficiency figures yet in the little Ive driven this car so far, but I will be doing a driving video where we will be driving this car for a longer period of time and Ill be comparing what Im getting here In the river on a very rare cold day here in Malta, because that the weather definitely affects the efficiency and well be comparing to what the company is stating versus what were getting here in the real world, because the claimed figures are actually very very good. So your smaller battery pack will charge on AC at a maximum 6.6 kilowatts which charges this car in 9.15 hours. That is maximum speed on type 2.. If youre going to use a rapid DC charger, you get 117 kilowatts of power which charges the car on CCS connector at in 37 minutes. Now, what Im going to start doing in these reviews and is youre now going to see on screen a table which is going to show you the different charging times you get depending on where youre plugging in the vehicle? Because I hear this so many times at this point that you go plug in the vehicle at home and you do not get the charging time, I tell you in the review.

Well, the charging guy might tell you in the review is the best case scenario. If youre doing everything correctly in terms of getting the highest possible power to the car, now, if you plug in at home, you definitely wont charge in in nine hours, especially if youre, using a normal three pin plug Im, also showing you the DC charging options for The lower end spec model here and again that varies depending on which speed charger you get currently Malta, the fastest speed, is 50 kilowatt. So, despite this car being able to charge at 117 fastest Chargers available 50 kilowatts at the moment, so wltp of this vehicle, you have 350 kilometer range in the smaller battery size option larger battery size option gets 100 kilometers more wltp at 450 kilometer years. So interesting choice here by mg, offering the two battery packs, which I think is a fantastic idea. However, the difference between them, isnt so large as just just 100 kilometers, which means in reality, if you are an average driver, the difference between the two vehicles is going to mean that maybe for the smaller battery pack, youre going to charge once a week and for The larger battery pack youre going to charge every nine days, that is, if youre driving the multis average of 10 000 kilometers per year, so not a huge difference. I think the decision there has to be based on what Im about to tell you for the battery pack.

So I think this is great and one of the few cars weve seen on the channel, which is going to give you a choice of battery pack. So the smaller battery pack 50 kilowatts larger battery pack 64 kilowatt hour, but whats important here, because most reviews stop there is that youre not only getting a selection of battery size, what youre actually choosing indirectly without knowing battery chemistry, which is so important so that smaller Battery is an lfp battery lithium ion phosphate. Battery larger battery pack is a nickel. Is an NCM nickel, Cobalt manganese battery weve seen more of the ncms on this channel because they are more commonplace. Now, here is the thing. Lfp batteries actually offer double the cycle. Life of NCM batteries, which means youre charging this charging charging discharging the car lfp actually through science, has shown us that they lost double the amount of time. So the fact that you have two battery packs to choose from where the difference isnt really so large. A hundred kilometers range difference, wltp and the fact that youre choosing between these two battery chemistries, my money is on the lfp smaller battery, especially if this car is going to be used in a city like driving field, where you have a very easy access to charging. Perhaps if youre going to be doing longer trips with this vehicle – and you do need those 450 kilometers of range, then you should, then I guess you consider the the higher end battery but from a battery chemistry point of view.

I am personally more in favor of the lfp, so lfp is also better in colder conditions. So, if youre not Immortal and youre watching this review of abroad and its from a colder country, that lfp is going to give you better performance and better efficiency thats. In fact, what were seeing then the the NCM battery, it is also remarked as being safer than the NCM battery, so batteries are being supplied also by Chinese manufacturer c, a t l in a partnership they have with with saic battery pack found under the passenger compartment And Ill be honest, you wouldnt be able to tell, because the Headroom here is fantastic and even the the height of the floor of the vehicle is pretty good thats, because in this one pack design they actually have a battery pack, which is just 4.3 inches tall, Which compares to the other electric vehicles around is actually one of the smallest battery packs available that battery pack is separated into a number of modules which are being liquid cooled. We have a liquid cooling plate along the bottom of the vehicle just below those modules to make sure they keep this battery, be back at 21 degrees Celsius, thats important as Ive said so many times in the channel, the temperature or the operating temperature of the battery. When it is charging when it is being used is important, because that makes a huge difference on how long this battery lasts in the long term.

So the fact that its being liquid cool does get a thumbs up or a check mark. I guess from me now another interesting thing: with this battery pack and more or less more, the platform of the vehicle is that the battery pack is designed to be swappable. It doesnt mean its swappable in this vehicle, but it is designed to be so in a market where you can do a a battery swapping option. Well, this architecture does allow for that and can be used like that in market conditions. Where that is allowed, I mean: do I agree with it I mean yes, it will a car which is sold without the battery, gives you a a cheaper price for the vehicle, but weve seen this in the past, the European automators have gone through this. You sell the battery, you sell the car and release the battery. That is a model that has gone away, because manufacturers have gained so much confidence in The Battery Technology that these batteries are going to. Last again, the electric vehicles have been on the road. This generation of them for 13 years and the cars from 13 years ago still have their original battery packs in them, with a very, very few exceptions. So this is a technology that is going to lost so Im, very confident in The Battery Technology, and especially this you could call it second generation of Battery tech, which has the liquid cooling and which has so many Advanced features and the battery packs.

We saw 12 years ago so that rear wheel drive motor actually gives this car a 50 50 weight balance, which means the weights on the front wheels and the back wheels is exactly the same, which is a very rare thing to see, especially in a car which Is not designed as a sports car but a everyday vehicle. A 50 weight distribution actually gives you better handling, making this vehicle safer. In fact, it just scored a full five star in its 2022 safety testing, which is great to see in this new mg. Now I am going to be driving this car thats gon na thats, that video is coming out very soon or if its already out link will be up above depending on when youre, seeing this video yourself. Another cool thing about this vehicle is: there is an option optional vehicle to load adapter available, so that is a converter plug, so to speak. That sticks in to the charging socket and then gives you a domestic plug out from the other end, which means you can run appliances straight off the high voltage battery of this vehicle. Be it a kettle, a drill or whatever you may need, whether youre, camping or just using it as a party trick. A vehicle to load is available Id like to thank you for watching. There is a patreon link below if you want to do a bit more to support the channel and obviously hit subscribe.

If you havent does help us out a lot as of recording this video, we are just shy of a thousand subscribers and around a year after we started this channel. So your support does matter Id like to thank Peter once again for helping out with all the technical mg Malta for letting us review this mg for today, and, as always, I hope Ive convinced you that the future is electric Music.