Everything you need to know about recharging your EV

When it comes to ‘refuelling’, it’s difficult to compare an electric vehicle (EV) to a ‘normal’ car with an internal combustion engine as the numbers are totally different. It’s apples and oranges.

But the basic principle is the same: you have a finite amount of energy to use, no matter whether it is stored in a fuel tank or a battery pack, which the engine or motor(s) consumes at a rate that depends on how and where you drive.

However, there is a significant variation in how – and how long it takes – to replenish that energy when you need more. For petrol-powered vehicles, it’s a quick stop at a service station, whereas an electric car like the MG 4 needs to be recharged, which takes longer.

But the beauty of an EV is you can do it anywhere there is electricity. So, here’s all you need to know about charging an MG 4.

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Charging specifications

There are five specification levels for the MG 4 hatchback in Australia and their charging capabilities vary greatly because of different induction rates and battery sizes.

Knowing what each MG 4 specification level is capable of will enable you to have realistic expectations about how long it will take to charge each model in common situations.

The following guide is based on my extensive city and country driving experience as an MG 4 Long Range 77 owner who has also driven other variants of the model.

Standard power outlet

All Australian versions of the MG 4 come with an MG-branded portable charging cable accessory that plugs into a standard home power socket. Using an extension cord is not recommended.

Be aware that this cable is only rated to 8A (amps), so it can only charge at up to 80 per cent of the charge rate of a standard home 10A power socket.

Don’t operate your MG 4 air-conditioning or heating while using a standard power socket to charge the vehicle, as that will slow down the charge rate even further. In general, an EV will charge fastest when the vehicle is turned off.

The quality of home wiring, as well as the age and condition of a power socket in an Australian home varies greatly, so MG likely decided it was safer to include a charger cable with the MG 4 that didn’t exceed the capability of the power socket it was plugged into. 

According to the NSW Environment and Heritage office: “Australian standards require electricity to be supplied at 230V (+10% to -6%), therefore providing an allowable voltage supply range between 253V to 216V.”

Assuming your home is supplied with electricity at 230V, a standard home 10A socket can charge your MG 4 at up to 2.3kW.

Since the included MG charger cable is only rated at 8A, the most it can supply your MG 4 with is about a 1.84kW charge rate.

After a roughly 10 per cent conversion loss from AC to DC, and your car using some power for high-voltage battery management and potentially topping-up the 12V battery as well, the charging rate you’ll see in your car if using the MG cable is about 1.2-1.5kW.

Many MG 4 owners say the included 8A charging cable is all they use to charge at home every night and it is more than enough to replenish the battery or give it enough charge for commuting to work, or visiting friends and family.

It is possible to purchase a third-party portable charger cable with a 10A output, which will increase the charging rate by 25 per cent compared to the supplied MG cable.

This is only recommended if you know the power socket you’re using, and the wiring connected to it, is relatively new and of good quality.

Dedicated AC charging – home and public

If you have a dedicated home charger (7/11/22kW) attached to your home or mounted in your driveway/carpark, you’ll enjoy worry free charging.

One in three Australians homes with solar panels can charge an EV during the day using excess solar generation, which equates to ‘almost’ free fuel.

Some dedicated AC home chargers such as the 7kW MG Charge Hub have a tethered built-in Type 2 cable you can plug into your MG 4, while others like the Ohme ePod are untethered and let you use an extra-long Type 2 cable.

No version of the MG 4 has a Type 2 cable included, so you’ll have to buy one elsewhere.

For future proofing and the ability to charge any Australian EV at its best AC charge rate, a Type 2 cable that supports up to 22kW and 32A is recommended. Cheaper cables are often restricted to a 7kW charging rate.

A standard Type 2 cable is five metres long. However, we recommend a longer 7m cable as this allows for more flexibility in tricky parking situations, especially public kerbside AC chargers.

Owners who don’t have the option of charging their MG 4 at home may be able to make use of the hundreds of new kerbside dedicated AC 7/11/22kW chargers being installed across major Australian cities. They are all BYO cable.

If set to charge at the maximum rate, dedicated AC chargers are between six and nine times faster than when using the portable MG charging cable at home, so long distance drivers like salespeople can drive several hundred kilometres a day and be safe in the knowledge that they can recharge back to 100 per cent overnight with no worries.

All versions of the MG 4 can be charged from nearly empty to full again while the owner sleeps overnight.

Despite having the largest battery, the Long Range 77 charges the fastest of all MG 4 variants if it is connected to a charger that can supply AC three-phase power.

That’s because the Long Range 77 can refill its battery at up to an 11kW AC charge rate while all four other versions of the MG 4 in Australia charge at a 6.6kW single-phase charge rate.

Excite 51 owners can charge their car with a dedicated AC 7kW charger from nearly flat to full 1.5 hours faster than Excite 64, Essence 64 and XPower owners because those cars have a bigger battery to fill.

EV road trips – accommodation and highway cruising

When planning an EV road trip, try to book accommodation that allows you to plug your MG 4 into either an outdoor standard power socket (bring your 8/10A portable charging cable) or dedicated AC charger (bring your Type 2 cable).

During a 12-hour overnight charging session this can add roughly 20-30 per cent to the battery of an MG 4. Using an extension cord is not recommended.

Ask for permission to charge your EV and offer to pay, as the electricity you use costs the accommodation owner money, especially during peak tariff times such as late afternoon and evening.

If staying at accommodation that has a 7/11/22kW dedicated AC charger, all versions of the MG 4 can charge from nearly flat to full overnight.

DC fast-charging

Australian MG4s are compatible with any of the country’s DC charging networks from relatively slow 25kW JOLT to fast 300kW Evie chargers. This is unlike some other EVs, such as the 2023 BYD Atto 3 which cannot use V3/V4 Tesla Superchargers.

All Australian MG 4s can use open-access Tesla Superchargers, which are the most reliable DC fast-chargers. About 60 per cent of Tesla Superchargers in Australia are open-access to any brand of EV. The rest are exclusive to Tesla EVs.

When comparing the MG 4 to other smaller EVs, bear in mind that most specification levels of the MG 4 support peak DC fast-charge rates of about 140kW, which far exceeds the peak DC fast-charge rate of most small/medium Chinese EVs. The MG 4 Excite 51 has a peak of 88kW.

A peak DC charge rate of 140kW is much faster than similar sized competitors such as the BYD Dolphin (60-88kW), GWM Ora (80kW) and more upmarket EVs like the Hyundai Kona (100kW).

Fast DC charging capability means you can charge an MG 4 64/77/XPower relatively quickly during highway rest breaks and be on your way sooner.

As these also have a larger battery than the slower DC-charging Excite 51, it also means they need to stop and charge less often during long road trips.

MG 4 DC fast-charging tests

Unlike AC charging, which is usually at a flat, constant charge rate, the DC fast-charging rate of an electric car like the MG 4 can vary a lot depending on:

• How full the car battery is when you plug it in
• Ambient air and car temperature
• The speed of the DC charger you plug it into
• Whether the charger is shared with another EV plugged into the other side
• Whether all charger ports at a location are in use at the same time

During real-world conditions at Christmas time in 35-degree heat, my Long Range 77 charged at the Tesla Yass open-access Supercharger from 40 to 80 per cent in 26 minutes.

Although this is longer than the 19 minutes expected of this car from 40-80 per cent, it is quite satisfactory as all 12 bays of the charger were being used continuously by a series of rotating EVs during a heat wave.

It is likely that Tesla algorithms were dynamically reducing the peak charging speed available to each of the connected 12 EVs so the site didn’t exceed the grid connection capacity, because the Long Range 77 charge rate went up and down between 60 and 110kW rather than slowing down smoothly.

The following charging data was obtained with an MG 4 Essence 64 on an Evie 150kW DC fast-charger.

Conditions were ideal as the battery was mostly empty, the weather was mild and another EV wasn’t connected to the same charger.

The Essence 64 charged from 25 to 80 per cent in 21 minutes, slightly exceeding the quoted peak charge rate by hitting 142.4kW at 52 per cent.

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