MG4 Excite 51 - I'm Calling This EV an OzBargain Win

TooSerious2 on 03/11/2024 - 19:45
Last edited 03/11/2024 - 21:09 by 1 other user

This is a brag, because I am very happy with my new car so far.

The task was to comfortably do a 200km return commute, mostly on a rural national highway at a top speed of 110ish.

My car needed replacing and the MG’s $31k price was right, but I was still concerned about range and it being an MG.

I’m getting home with 30% battery and 75km range left. I’m good with that. Full battery shows 284km range.

The car is a thrill to drive, comfortable for 75 minutes at a stretch, and fast - from the get go and when overtaking. I could be in danger of becoming an @rsehole on the road.

It feels nicely made where it matters. There’s a peek of white stuffing in the foot well, the panel between back seat and floor is plastic. But I’m impressed for the price. I've always bought base models.

I collected it on October 22 and have done 2038km in 12 days at 17.5kWh/100km. Average speed is 59kph. We do a mix of 200km and 75km return commutes.

On collection, it had underbody sag (being fixed tomorrow) and vinyl crinkle on door pillar (pointed out by dealer and to be replaced).

I’m still getting used to some quirks with charging and settings - the best order to do things; when selections are retained - but none are deal breakers.

I have the Caro Series Wallbox from this deal. I paid $7 for ChargeHQ this month, but I’m about to learn Home Assistant :)

The app shows I used 405kWh (40 from solar, but I’m ignoring that). I pay 34.0692c/kWh, so it’s cost me $140. My Mitsubishi 380 used 200L for 2000km. At $1.50 a litre that would be $300.

I needed to replace my car. An EV is working well for a rural commute. Worries about range and MG are rapidly dissipating.

Automotive Electric Vehicle MG

Comments

  • The Wololo Wombat on 03/11/2024 - 19:51
    +13

    Happy for you mate! Sometimes cheaper is better value!

    • theHMASfriendship on 03/11/2024 - 20:05
      +6

      And I am happy you are happy

    • TooSerious2 on 03/11/2024 - 20:08

      Cheers. And are you any chance for the Toowoomba Ozbargain lunch?

      • The Wololo Wombat on 03/11/2024 - 20:43

        Oh - it's you! I asssume Dalby is the place you are travelling to? Lol.

        • TooSerious2 on 03/11/2024 - 23:14
          +1

          No, I'm to the south. Come to lunch. I'll bore you about my car.

      • klaw81 on 04/11/2024 - 09:47

        There's a Toowoomba Ozbargain lunch?

        • TooSerious2 on 04/11/2024 - 09:54

          I hope so. It's lunch for one at the moment. See here. I still haven't booked a table, so everything is very flexible. Sign up.

  • kevino7 on 03/11/2024 - 20:09
    +2

    Great share mate. Bought the 51 in January for 38k on novated and loving it. Have a 100km drive daily and reckon I’ve saved $4000 in fuel already. Check out EV electricity plans in your area. I charge overnight for 8c/kWh

    • TooSerious2 on 03/11/2024 - 20:22
      +1

      Country Qld has one retailer: Ergon. Plans are unattractive, but access is well subsidised.

  • Aureus on 03/11/2024 - 21:01
    +2

    Nice savings. Car should pay itself off in just over 6 years on petrol savings alone, even with your expensive electricity prices.

  • kipps on 03/11/2024 - 21:19

    With ChargeHQ & Home Assistant, once you get used to range a bit more you should be easily able to use more than 10% from your PV for charging. Good work

    • nedski on 04/11/2024 - 14:44

      I have Home Assistant and bought Wallbox so I could do OCPP but have found it harder than I anticipated to get Home Assistant to put the extra solar into the car.

      I need to sit down and spend the day with it because I do have Home Assistant controlling the charger, and home assistant also instant data from our Huawei solar inverter, but putting the two together has been a bit challenging.

      • noz on 04/11/2024 - 21:48

        Take a look at EVCC. There's an add on for Home Assistant for it. It will do the solar aware charging for you.

        • TooSerious2 on 04/11/2024 - 22:00

          Thanks for the tip

        • nedski on 04/11/2024 - 23:24

          I had a look at EVCC and while some of its in English, some of the instructions are in German. Also you have to pay a $2 per month fee unless you got it working without that?

          • changyang1230 on 05/11/2024 - 00:56

            @nedski: 2 dollars per month sponsorship is needed for Tesla cars (due to Tesla charging money for the use of its API). However if you have OCPP compatible wall connector it should be able to control it and there’s no fee involved.

    • smartazz104 on 04/11/2024 - 14:01
      +12

      Not as embarrassing as having Tee Rex Arms.

    • TightAl on 04/11/2024 - 23:54
      +1

      Caring what another human drives lmao.
      Now that's embarrassing.

    • freefall101 on 04/11/2024 - 08:38
      +3

      Definitely no electronics in a petrol car these days…

      I'm 18 months/15,000km in with an Atto 3, I have spent about $120 on fast chargers with the rest coming from solar or off peak at home. Some dingdong scratched it in a carpark and there was a software update to bring k-pop karaoke (along with other stuff, but mostly the k-pop). No change to range so far, still does about 300km highway, bit more than that city (I have about an 80km round trip commute, it can do 4 trips + a bit of excess scooting around). Haven't noticed any change in the battery at all, but it's still early days really. Fortunately a few years of warranty left if anything does go wrong.

      Biggest issue is the sensors are a bit twitchy at times, it sees my silver metal mailbox when I drive out of the driveway and thinks it's another car sometimes. Early on it had issues with merge lanes when another car was in the next lane over, but software updates have fixed that. I wouldn't trust the driver assists as far as I could throw them, but that's why a driver should pay attention and not trust the electrical contraptions 👍

      • pegaxs on 04/11/2024 - 10:48
        +1

        Can confirm, same boat. My Atto 3 is 2 and a bit years old, about 20,000km on it and almost identical experience, right down to some dingdong putting a door dent in it.

        Ive spent even less on fuel. I think I have only used DCFC about 4 times and most of the time I am either on solar at home, freeby at shopping or freeby at work. :D

        • netjock on 04/11/2024 - 12:57

          dingdong putting a door dent

          Smart (not the Geely version) when they first made smart cars they had plastic panels so they won't dent and you can recycle them, they also won't rust. But you know the car industry, follow the money and you know why they still make them out of steel.

    • Hardlyworkin on 04/11/2024 - 16:53

      You could get a job writing for News.com.

      • TooSerious2 on 04/11/2024 - 22:00
        +1

        I feel like my cover's been blown

    • lunchbox99 on 04/11/2024 - 09:28
      +3

      Pretty sure they mean their commute is 75km and it's comfortable for the entire time. They're not going to randomly keep driving to test its comfort limits, lol.

      • Brick Tamland on 04/11/2024 - 09:37
        -3

        75km isn’t far. I’d be worried if was uncomfortable for that drive.

      • TooSerious2 on 04/11/2024 - 09:40

        LOL yeah. 75 minutes each way. But i might test its limits - i do like driving it

      • Brick Tamland on 04/11/2024 - 10:49

        Yeah probably safer to stay under 75 mins

    • pegaxs on 04/11/2024 - 10:43
      +4

      I recently drove a newish Mustang for 5 hours straight

      Yeah, but did you take it past 4,000rpm??

      • Brick Tamland on 04/11/2024 - 10:49
        +1

        Didn't want to push our luck. It was a rental so I assume never gone past 4000RPM despite having 90,000KM on the clock

        • freefall101 on 04/11/2024 - 10:57
          +3

          You assume a rental mustang hasn’t been flogged? That’s a big assumption.

        • FlyingMiffy on 05/11/2024 - 08:55

          Drove a mustang on the coast route between LA and San Fran. Piece of junk and mostly ruined the driving experience. I wont trust it on 1000 rpm let alone 4000.

          • Brick Tamland on 05/11/2024 - 09:36

            @FlyingMiffy: Ha, Similar. Drove it to San Fran. It was a bit junky but it was very comfortable.

    • JIMB0 on 04/11/2024 - 12:44
      +1

      I don't think you're going to get the circle jerk response you're after here. Go back to trolling anything remotely ev related on Facebook.

      • Brick Tamland on 04/11/2024 - 13:39

        Ok. If 75km is a good range then maybe I am just not with it anymore.

        • JIMB0 on 04/11/2024 - 13:51

          I think you're confused. He stated he does a 200km round trip (75 minutes each way) with 75km of range left at the end of the day. I'd be happy with that. When our run around car is up for replacement I'll definitely be looking at an ev.

          • Brick Tamland on 04/11/2024 - 14:14
            -1

            @JIMB0: oh 75KM left over. I've mis-read it. I noticed the Original post has been edited to make it clearer

            • JIMB0 on 04/11/2024 - 14:19
              +2

              @Brick Tamland: Except the original post hasn't been edited, it's still the same letter for letter.

              • Brick Tamland on 04/11/2024 - 14:59
                -1

                @JIMB0: Why does it say last edited 17 hours ago 19 hours after the original post.

                • mapax on 04/11/2024 - 15:14
                  +2

                  @Brick Tamland: Click on revisions and you can see exactly what was edited. It was only a mod capitalizing the title.

            • TooSerious2 on 04/11/2024 - 15:31
              +2

              @Brick Tamland: Thought it was pretty clear. I haven't made any edits. Might be a you thing

  • verio on 04/11/2024 - 07:36
    +5

    Just don't assume this kind of petrol savings into the future.

    I am an EV driver myself but I still realise that it is a matter of time before there is a separate EV tax (based on driven kms) on the federal level (the only reason it did not work in VIC and SA is because it was introduced on a state level).

    Fuel excise is a thing and EV drivers are not paying it.

    • Cluster on 04/11/2024 - 10:23
      +1

      Yes, many EV drivers just assume the good times will continue and that they will never pay fuel excise. In fact, the thinking I've seen on Whirlpool forums tends to go like this:

      1. I bought an expensive EV
      2. I pay more income tax than everyone else
      3. Therefore, I already pay more in tax than I would in fuel excise, so I shouldn't pay an EV road tax

      The obvious flaw in thinking there is obvious.

      This is usually followed by the second case:

      1. Fuel excise isn't really used to pay for roads, therefore EVs should be exempt

      Yes, governments are famous for foregoing billions of dollars in revenue because they like the feeling.

      EVs will still be ridiculously cheap to drive (assumine 8c/kWh off peak charging) even with a road tax. If you have to rely on commercial chargers at 60c/kWh? Forget it.

      • klaw81 on 04/11/2024 - 10:36

        I agree that an EV road user charge is inevitable. The only question is how long it will take for the federal government to get serious enough about it to start negotiations with the states. It's going to be a long and complex process, so I don't blame them for kicking the can down the road.

        I expect we will end up with a totally new scheme, whereby:
        1. All tax is removed from petrol and diesel;
        2. A road user charge will apply for each vehicle based on distance driven annually;
        3. A multiplier is applied based on the emissions rating of the vehicle.

        They could get it roughly revenue neutral for petrol and diesel vehicles compared to the previous tax, but also include EVs to increase catchment.

        • freefall101 on 04/11/2024 - 12:46

          I’d rather they just whack on another 1% income tax or increasing rego. It’d decrease compliance and collection costs.

          Trying to levy every vehicle by type and km gets a bit much (imagine if we did that with healthcare). If they want to incentivise EVs then keep fuel taxes as a sin tax and use the money to fund EV rebates for low incomes.

          We already tax the heaviest road users anyway, trucks pay a road use fee. That should be increased though, it has languished for years.

          I don’t see it changing anytime soon though. Albo won’t introduce any new tax before the election and the Libs won’t support any tax that helps EVs.

          • klaw81 on 04/11/2024 - 14:43

            @freefall101:

            I’d rather they just whack on another 1% income tax

            That would be deeply unpopular, considering there are plenty of people who don't own or drive cars at all

            or increasing rego.

            Registration is a state thing, not federal. The courts have been pretty clear that states can't create road user taxes for EVs. Any road user tax would have to be a federal levy, presumably administered via the states because they have the records of vehicle registration.

            Trying to levy every vehicle by type and km gets a bit much

            I agree that it's complex - I'm just trying to come up with a solution that wouldn't cause a furore about fairness.

            Perhaps there could be a flat rate federal levy added to every car for registration. The fuel tax could be reduced slightly to compensate and carry on as normal.

            I don’t see it changing anytime soon though. Albo won’t introduce any new tax before the election and the Libs won’t support any tax that helps EVs.

            I agree - it's something that nobody wants to tackle. But eventually the allure of additional tax dollars (and the slow loss of income from fuel tax) will force the federal government to act.

            • Euphemistic on 04/11/2024 - 15:10

              @klaw81:

              Perhaps there could be a flat rate federal levy added to every car for registration. The fuel tax could be reduced slightly to compensate and carry on as normal.

              Not sure that would be popular. The fuel excise is effectively a user pays system. The more you drive the more you pay. Increasing the flat rego rate on a car that is hardly used isnt fair recovery of costs for using roads.

            • freefall101 on 04/11/2024 - 16:39

              @klaw81:

              That would be deeply unpopular, considering there are plenty of people who don't own or drive cars at all

              You’re right, some people would be up in arms, but it’s a rubbish argument. Australia needs a road system, it benefits everyone even if they don’t own a car. But it scales well with salary and road usage.

              Public transport is subsidised out the wazoo, no one would use it if ticket prices were set to recover the cost of building it all. But that’s taxation, spend doesn’t have to benefit everyone (even though roads do)

              Registration is a state thing, not federal. The courts have been pretty clear that states can't create road user taxes for EVs. Any road user tax would have to be a federal levy, presumably administered via the states because they have the records of vehicle registration.

              What I’m suggesting wouldn’t be a levy for EVs, nor would it be a road user fee, it’d be an increase (albeit a dramatic one) to registration. That funding is already used for roads. It just couldn’t be measured by km.

              So owning a car that does nothing would be hugely expensive. Which is why I’d prefer a tax.

              I agree that it's complex - I'm just trying to come up with a solution that wouldn't cause a furore about fairness.

              Tax isn’t fair though. I pay plenty of it, I have no kids so see none of the mass of subsidies there, never collected Centrelink payments, my medical bills are seeing the doc once every 6 months (not bulk billed, but still subsidised). I’ll get my money back once I hit old age, unless I die of a heart attack while otherwise healthy. Then I’d be one of the minority of people who pay more tax than they get back out of it.

              I agree people will focus on “fairness” and have a good whinge no matter what the change, but why it’s applied to roads is beyond me.

      • netjock on 04/11/2024 - 12:59
        -1

        Fuel excise isn't really used to pay for roads, therefore EVs should be exempt

        Just like medicare and levy surcharge isn't funding hospitals / GP bulk bill in full. It is to keep headline rate of tax low. They should really wrap that into income tax.

        Politicians will tell you all kind of things they want you to hear.

      • pjetson on 04/11/2024 - 15:22

        The obvious flaw in thinking there is obvious.

        That's the thing about obvious flaws - they're obvious :-)

    • Clickbait on 04/11/2024 - 17:21

      Too True. You may not have noticed but in Victoria, the Govet just reduced the Feed-In-tariff to $0.03 Cents per KWH which significantly changes your Domestic Solar investment returrn.
      NSw is now introducing a "Sun Tax" on domestic Solar of $0.012 Cents per KWH for excess feedin. Thr "Get out" for this appears to be investing in a Battery at around $10,000, so you can store your excess solar during peak and releasing it to the grid during off peak. This transfers Investment cost from the government to the public it will be interesting if this stalls th eentire Domestic Solar Market.

      For EV's, for more than a couple of years the NEW ZEALAND government hasused their RUC (Road USE Charge) which cost about $76 per 1000 Kilometres, payable monthly, and youhave to state your mileage. Everything is monitored and if you are snapped unregistered, good luck
      The australian problem is alittle different because Excise is Federal, registration is State, but ,be assured they are working through it, and every EV registered in Australia is costing hundreds of dollars in excise every year.

      • ChickenAdobo on 05/11/2024 - 02:30

        What you don’t realise is that EV bring better air quality and noise stress. That thousands of dollars that benefit the population.

  • pegaxs on 04/11/2024 - 08:01
    +1

    $0.34/kWh? That’s like going to the most expensive place in town and getting the most expensive fuel for your car… are you on one of those “they’re not taking my dumb meter” cooker plans?

    I put $0.08/kWh on off peak overnight and got 3 hours free during the day. I think in the last 12 months I have paid for charging the car about 3 times. At worst at home, my car o ly cost me about $6 to charge from dead flat.

    • mt19 on 04/11/2024 - 08:46

      If they are regional Qld might not have much of a choice on plans

      • May4th on 04/11/2024 - 09:39

        regional would be a good place to invest in panels and a battery, would give off grid capabilities too in event of flooding/bush fires

    • Poor Ass on 04/11/2024 - 21:24

      Those 3 hrs aren't free it uses up your solar first

      $4.8 from dead flat

      • changyang1230 on 05/11/2024 - 00:57

        Many batteries have functions that prevent itself from being used up at certain time.

        • Poor Ass on 05/11/2024 - 07:52

          I don't think you understand the electricity plan he's on

          He has to use up all the solar in those 3 hrs

  • bbinc on 04/11/2024 - 08:35

    Useful info to share. One red flag for me - what is “underbody sag”?

    • MS Paint on 04/11/2024 - 09:25
      +2

      Google returned a blog for me which partly explains the issue.

    • oscargamer on 04/11/2024 - 09:25
      +3

      Just a weak plastic panel that hangs down a bit. Known problem. Fixed under warranty by a 10 min installation of a strengthening bracket.

      EDIT - beaten by 15 secs

      • furyou on 04/11/2024 - 23:29

        omg that sounds like a dodgy car…
        sure cheap for an ev, but 31k is something I want to last a while…

        • oscargamer on 05/11/2024 - 06:59

          10 year warranty

    • TooSerious2 on 04/11/2024 - 09:49

      I also was worried - see this post. I asked the dealer to check before delivery. He supplied an underbody photo. It's being fixed this morning - I'm waiting to hear from my wife.

  • Caped Baldy on 04/11/2024 - 09:39
    -1

    Getting the standard range is not great for road trips. So hopefully you can use another car for those longer trips or you're happy dealing with the constant charging.

    Btw, if you've jolt near you, they offer 7kW free charging per day @ 20kWh speeds. There's also free charging at some shopping centres including Tesla destination chargers at 7kWh speeds.

    • Euphemistic on 04/11/2024 - 10:44

      "Constant charging" just assumes the driver is regularly doing more than 2x the range in a day. Reality is that pretty rare. Vast majority of drivers buying an ev wouldnt do that even on holidays but might exceed the range of their EV on a single day trip every couple of months reqhiring one fast charge en route.

      Anyone who does those sorts of kms is probably going to have anorher ICE car for precisely those trips for the next few years at least.

      • May4th on 04/11/2024 - 11:02

        or taxis. imagine the fuel savings for taxi fleets - line up 2 meal breaks a day for charging, 3-400km. it's why all the taxis/ubers in china are EVs

      • Caped Baldy on 04/11/2024 - 11:28

        My EV has a near identical range of 350km. For OP, they'd be boned if they couldn't charge overnight. The range has limited my road trips in recent years, I'm okay waiting 30-60mins to charge but others in the car can be impatient.

        I'm still of the view for most people having one EV and one ICE car is ideal if the family dynamics suit it. Hoping that range, cost and battery tech improves sooner for better adoption.

  • May4th on 04/11/2024 - 09:40

    how's the passenger and boot space?

    • TooSerious2 on 04/11/2024 - 09:53
      +1

      I'm rarely a passenger. But my teen kids - one closing in on six foot, one five - can sit behind me without their legs touching the seat. But it's not spacious.

      I had a 2002 Carolla hatch and I think the boot is significantly bigger than that. We had three young kids in that car for a short while - with a roof pod.

  • ATangk on 04/11/2024 - 21:29

    Was thinking 17.5kWh/100km as quite high but its probably expected as you do a lot of distance driving.

    • TooSerious2 on 04/11/2024 - 22:02

      Yes, it is high. I've not been holding back though

      • klaw81 on 05/11/2024 - 09:23

        For comparison, my long term average is 13.4kWh/100km in Model 3 RWD (from trip computer).

  • gromit on 04/11/2024 - 21:43

    my main concern would be as range decreases over time I would be getting severe range anxiety as you only have a 75km buffer, so as that shrinks your risk reserves evaporates. But for the price and it seems to fit your needs so congratz.

    • TooSerious2 on 04/11/2024 - 22:04

      Thanks. I may need to stick to 100 if range falls but I'm putting my faith in the battery chemistry

  • bazingaa on 04/11/2024 - 22:09

    is this the car with underside buckling which needs to be checked before accepting ? I saw few threads like that

  • eddyah on 04/11/2024 - 22:38

    EV winning!

    It's really a strange thing to be conditioned to what a 'car' is for so long and to have that mold broken.

    Happy for you OP

  • Herbse on 04/11/2024 - 22:54

    Plug in Hybrid is the way to go for many people who are on the fence or are unable to live with full EV for the many reasons out there.

    We will see much more of this tech to help ease everyone slowly into full EV while the infrastructure and mentality behind it changes.

  • x d on 04/11/2024 - 23:30

    Interesting figures. 17.5kWh/100km means 356.65 kWh for 2038 km. 405 kWh from the app means 48.35 kWh from charging losses, or 13.55% extra.

    So if the app is correct, it means that the efficiency is actually 19.87 kWh/100 km travel.

  • GuitarXXX on 04/11/2024 - 23:35

    $1.5/L is quite a bargain price I'd say - usually 1.8 now

    • R4 on 05/11/2024 - 00:23

      ULP was 154.7 in Perth today. Diesel same price too.

      • ChickenAdobo on 05/11/2024 - 02:33

        Don’t count your chickens. It was 2.20 ish in the past. Painful times.

        • R4 on 05/11/2024 - 09:35

          Sure, anything can happen but consider this, Israel bombed Iran and the oil price hardly moved. Tankers being attacked in the Red Sea and the same.

          We live in strange times.

  • Aerith-Waifu on 05/11/2024 - 03:27

    So what the battery warranty be? If the range drops 50% in 10 years time, are the warranty covers this?

    • klaw81 on 05/11/2024 - 09:30

      I haven't been able to find the exact text, but from articles it appears to offer battery replacement if the capacity is <70% capacity within 10 years/unlimited km.

      Most EVs are 8 years/160,000km or similar, so it's a decent warranty.

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