Introducing the MG5 EV Long Range
MG have been quietly growing in UK EV market over the last few years. They have also seen great success with their selection of affordable EV’s with good specs and impressive ranges. The MG5 EV is a compact estate from the company and is actually based on the Roewe Ei5 from SAIC motor
Our MG5 Exclusive has the bigger 61kwh battery with an EV range of around 250 miles. Being a new car it comes with an impressive list of features including apple car play and android auto, adaptive cruise control and lane assist.
Before your drive
Make sure you’ve booked out the car using our booking system: https://www.supersaas.co.uk/schedule/Hooky_Car_Club/Cars. The booking system will have the most up to date information about the cars location. At each location you will find a key safe which will give you access to the car. Unplug the car and be sure to stow the charger lead in the front bonnet (known as a frunk or a froot) for use later. Before you set off make sure you enter the start mileage on the trip sheet and check the condition of the car.
Driving the MG5 EV
Get prepared for your preconceptions to be wrong. Tucked inside this thoroughly sensible exterior is a plush comfortable interior that is a very nice place to sit and munch miles in.
The start/stop button can be found on the left hand side of the steering wheel. Press this while your foot is on the brake and the car will be ‘running’ (assuming you have the key somewhere in the car). Once started, the car will sit there silently ready for you to put it into drive. The drive selector is in it’s traditional place on the lower central console and the circular dial becomes second nature very quickly. The handbrake is engaged/disengaged with a button located on the lower central console. It’s recommended that when you come to a stop you hit the ‘P’ button located on the top of the transmission selector.
The lights and wipers are automatic, so it’s just a case of getting in and driving.
Tips and Tricks
Here are our tips and tricks for getting the most out of our MG5 EV:
Regenerative Braking
Lift off the accelerator or gently apply the brake pedal and the car will start regenerating power from the motors into the battery. The brake pedal is essentially doing two jobs: the first half of the brake travel is for regenerative braking where as the second half will apply the “traditional” brakes to bring the car to a stop. This will feel strange at first but after a few minutes it all feels fairly natural. How much the car regenerates (and how quickly it loses speed) can be controlled using the KERS button on the lower central console. The MG5 has 3 levels of regenerative braking, 1 will give very minimal regen (like you are coasting) while 3 will give a much stronger regen. For maximum efficiency we recommend that you either leave it in 3 or toggle between the modes while driving. It’s possible to regenerate a mile or 2 on a downhill, by either lifting off the accelerator or feathering the brake. Please note: electric cars do not offer regenerative braking when the battery is full.
Driving Modes
The MG5 EV comes with 3 driving modes: Eco, Normal and Sport. Eco is the default setting and to be honest, is all you will ever need. Whilst Eco Mode is selected, the A/C will operate in a low energy consumption state to provide an increase in vehicle power. To change out of Eco use the toggle button on the lower central console (labelled MODE). Normal and sport will each use a different accelerator pedal mapping to provide more power. Being an EV the torque is instant and even in Eco mode the car will move you along briskly with no effort at all.
Heating/Air Conditioning
The MG5’s cabin is climate-controlled. Like any climate control, we recommend setting this to a sensible temperature and then leaving it in “auto”. The car will then generate the heat/cool air and deliver it when ready. To maximise range we recommend using the windows and heated seats to keep you at a comfortable temperature whenever possible.
After your drive
Please return the MG5 EV to the location noted on the booking system. Complete the trip sheet making sure to note any issues with the car. If you do notice an issue, please also email carclub@hn-lc.org.uk. Put the car on charge using the instructions below and return the key to the keybox.
Charging the MG5 EV
The MG5 EV will be charged from a charging post or dedicated wall charger; depending on the location.
For information about charging the vehicle at our primary site – Bourne Green, please refer to the notes HERE.
Please note, the charging flap is on the “nose” of the car, underneath the MG badge.
If you are charging the car from a dedicated wall charger (like the one at the school), then the cable is tethered to the charge itself. Open the charging flap by clicking the button to the right of the steering wheel (the button highlighted in green on the picture diagram). Plug the car into the tethered cable, the last remaining step is to check the car is charging.
Check the car is charging
The charging flap is at the front of the car. The top plug is what you will need for charging in Hooky (and most other chargers). The bottom plug will only be needed if you are lucky enough to find one of the fast charging CCS public chargers.
If you are unsure the car is charging please unplug everything and try again. If after a second attempt you are still unsure, please leave the car plugged in and let the car club team know: carclub@hn-lc.org.uk. The team are able to initialise a charge remotely in this situation.
Charging outside of Hook Norton
If you are planning a longer journey then you will need to use the electric charging network, this should be fairly painless and shouldn’t cause concern. Depending on which charger you use the battery is able to charge from 10% to 80% in under 40 minutes, using a 100kW CCS rapid charger. We recommend you try the following steps.
- Go to https://www.zap-map.com/ or download the app.
- Take notice of the guessometer on the car when you pick it up. The MG5 EV has a range of around 250 miles
- Pick a charging point and plan your route. You should pick a charging point that you guess you will arrive at with around 15-20 miles range. You should also make sure the charging point has the correct charging outlets (plugs). The MG5 uses either: Type 2 or CCS rapid charging.
- You will notice that there are lots of chargers. There are also a lot of different charging companies and lots of different charging outlets. Choosing one may seem daunting at first. We recommend the following:
- If you are travelling on motorways then Ecotricity run all the chargers at the major motorway services. You will need to sign up, download an app and give credit card details.
- BP chargemaster run as an app called polar instant. This allows pay-as-you-go access to their charging network which are usually away from the motorways.
- If you follow the steps above then your “range anxiety” should be kept in check. In the unlikely event that you run out of range: all of our cars are covered by recovery.