JBChiangRai

The way of the world seems to be to replace nice, conventional instrument displays with one (Tesla) or two flat panels. I'm not a fan, I can't argue that they aren't functional, but I prefer them integrated into the dashboard in a more conventional but digital layout (preferably with acres of polished walnut). I like glass roof panels, but I would tint it anything up to 95% cut if it was too warm inside. I love the EX30's performance figures and the colours available for the interior. I am not a fan of NMC batteries, if you're planning on keeping your car 7 years or more then LFP is much more appropriate. That said, I am not sure it would be a deal breaker for me. On balance, I think I would go for the Seal AWD Performance over the Volvo, better interior, LFP batteries and superb dealer network.

My mid-life crisis was a Honda (Acura) NSX at 40 years old. My wife hated it but I felt years younger.

I like it, but then I'm partial to rear ends.

I was wondering how long it would take you. Didn't your mother ever tell you, if you don't have anything nice to say then keep quiet?

If anyone is interested this is my MG4. I chose the optional dealer fitted bodykit and black front badge, about an extra 13,000 baht.

I think you’ll are you doing yourself a disservice if you cancel, it’s a fantastic car and you should experience it.

Actually that doesn’t sound right. When my daughter, test drove the MG EP+, they asked her for her driving license to make sure she was insured. They copied it and gave it back to her.

They haven’t given any indication of the Cyberster on price, but know what I’m expecting, I don’t like to post it because I don’t want to encourage them to set a high price. I put a deposit down last year. GWM asked me how much I thought the H6 PHEV should be and I regret giving such a high figure. Yep, absolutely fake British heritage, likewise Volvo is fake Swedish heritage-and that’s a good thing! The Chinese know to build superb EV’s. If it was British, my MG would’ve broken down before I got home from the dealer.

This is an honest account of my experience with EV’s. My first experience was with a Mercedes E350e back in 2018. I loved the silent e-drive but grossly underpowered and often ran out of electrons, real world e-range was 19km. I ordered a Porsche Taycan in 2020 and got one June 2021. A fantastic car and my first impressions were why would anyone want so much power? Within a few weeks I was using all that power and loved the car. It had to be trailered under warranty back to the authorised dealer in Bangkok twice for air conditioning failures. When MG offered the incentive on the MG EP+ I ordered one for my eldest daughter, I knew I would save a lot of money with her going to another province for University. It came when she was at Uni and I used it for a week and was so impressed I ordered one for myself. I normally do about 5,000km per year which is important for depreciation on a Porsche and I was now doing nearly treble that visiting my daughters at Uni every fortnight. Ordering an MG EP+ was simply to keep the miles off the Porsche. I was invited to the launch of the MG4 and still couldn’t get a delivery date on my EP+ but could get an MG4 instantly. I took the MG4 but struggled with whether it was really worth almost 25% more than the EP+. Similar performance, smaller car but rear wheel drive. I started using the MG4 for the drive to Chiang Mai to see my daughters and began to love the car and especially its suspension and handling. It’s not without its faults, sometimes pulling away from the line it loses traction and the electronics kick in before full power again and this can be repeated 3 times up to 40-50 km/hr. The car is overpowered for the tyres and that is in the dry! I began to love the MG4 driving it spiritedly. The closest I can compare it to is a VW Golf GTI. If you’ve driven a hot hatch you will know how much fun they are - for the driver anyway. I found I was mostly choosing my MG4 over the Porsche and instead of being my alternate ride once a fortnight, it had become my daily ride. Don’t misunderstand me, the Porsche is a far superior car, but it’s 10x the price and maybe only 2x the fun. I had ordered an MG Cyberster for Q3/Q4 2024 and decided to sell my Porsche at it’s 2nd birthday June 2023. I like the MG4 enough to daily drive it until then and a Porsche out of warranty is like playing Russian Roulette with your bank account. Porsche’s have 12-18 month delivery times and are one of the slowest depreciating cars you can buy if you keep the miles off. I lost 10% in 2 years. Driving the MG4 still puts a smile on my face every time I get in it. They got so much right with the car. EV’s are getting Hypercar fast and the struggle I think will be to get the handling and braking right. I did read MG used an F1 guy to get the handling right on the Cyberster, I am hopeful.

You've obviously never driven one.

I can't understand people building new petrol stations, the requirement for petrol stations is going to be decreasing not increasing.

One of the first things I did with my MG4 is remove all of those tacky badges. I'm a bit old school, if the manufacturer of my T-shirt (or car) wants to advertise their brand, then they can pay me, otherwise it's coming off and I ain't wearing it! Actually, I don't buy any brand name clothes for that reason. Here's a photo of my debadged MG4 and me with my daughter wearing an unbranded T-Shirt at a birthday party last week.

My feeling is that whether Fast Charging damages the battery depends on many factors, battery chemistry, efficiency of cooling, ambient temperature, battery temperature at initiation of fast charging, frequency of fast charging etc. Some cars will precondition the battery if the navigation is used to take you to a DC charger, either cooling the battery if it's hot or warming it if it's cold. LFP chemistry is a far better chemistry for hot climates like Thailand, it has more than double the charge cycles is less likely to a thermal runaway event and whilst it performs poorly in cold climates, it excels in warm climates. Fast Charging produces more heat, so the battery cooling system becomes important, it's why Chevy & Nissan are the worst performers for battery longevity, I don't know of any other manufacturer with their problems. I had a car with NMC battery technology, I kept it for 2 years and sold it recently because the MG4 I bought to keep the miles of my more expensive NMC car turned out to be a lot more fun and consequently I was using it most of the time. Other factors in disposing of my NMC car were that I have an MG Cyberster on order for next year, the NMC technology worried me, it needed new tyres (100k), it's first service (30k), insurance was up for renewal (120k) and warranty was expiring and the manufacturer has a reputation for ruinous repair costs. I was fortunate that I sold it whilst new models have a 12-18 month waiting list and I got about 90% back of what I paid. If the MG Cyberster is not LFP technology then I will have to think hard about whether I want it as it may well be my last car. I am tempted with the Seal 3.8s and the MG4 X Power if it comes to Thailand and has LFP batteries. The Seal will be LFP because that is what their blade technology is. Incidentally, BYD never originally stood for Build Your Dreams, the founder registered it as a name because 3 letters was easy to register, when they decided to get into EV's they tried to come up with words to match the acronym, it hasn't gone down well with customers and they are removing that slogan in most markets. There is one car I won't ever buy and that is a Tesla. They have given the biggest FU to all of their previous customers by massive discounting. Every time they discount outside Thailand IMHO it brings the day nearer to them doing it here. I have "Zero" trust in Tesla. They have practically no corporate governance and everything is done on the whim of one man, it bodes ill for the future.

I have an MG4, the idea of it being a British Brand with British design doesn't fly with me. They have a design centre in London, probably staffed with Chinese in supervisory positions and if HQ in China doesn't like the design then it's back to the drawing board, literally. Volvo will be no different, and that's a good thing. I wouldn't buy either brand if they weren't Chinese.

I apologise, I did not see the "not".

They are both Chinese cars so spec for spec they should be priced similarly.

I think it's way past it's prime and largely both unusable and irrelevant now. It went downhill when they employed people in Thailand, suddenly places started appearing nailed at the top of the list rather than based on actual reviews. They bought an activity booking company and suddenly their clients got boosted.

A Tesla owner in the Uk complains... 'My Tesla cost a mortgage down payment - the tech doesn't work and now it's on clearance' (msn.com)

here you go

Lithium iron phosphate battery - Wikipedia LiFePo4 batteries do not contain cobalt - period.

Our EV's don't have any cobalt in their batteries. The charging network is currently superb for the EV's in Thailand.

No I didn't say what you did, you said you can do your 90 day report at any office, my friend couldn't he had to drive to the next province where his hookey extension was issued.

Incorrect, my friend in Chiang Rai was refused, he was told he had to go to the Nan office and do it or use his "fixer" agent who used Nan office. It's probably more accurate to say it depends on the whim of the IO. Said friend died in a motorbike accident and I had to deal with all the paperwork, including taking his death certificate to immigration. I said to the lady (commonly referred to as "The Dragon Lady" here), that he had a hookey visa, she said we know who all those people are.

I think it's very difficult for any non-Chinese company to make any inroads into the Thai EV market, with the exception of Tesla. The extra costs involved in manufacturing and sales/import taxes probably makes them uncompetitive.

My breakers are perfectly normal, nothing eclectic about them at all.