One of Britain’s most popular electric cars has a “potentially dangerous” problem that could put drivers and other road users at risk, according to a consumer watchdog.
Product testing group Which? says it discovered the problem in the UK’s second best-selling electric car, the MG 4, during controlled and repeated tests the company carries out on more than 100 different cars every year.
The investigation found that the £27,000 electric car’s lane-keeping system, which is designed to keep the car in the lane and prevent drivers from crossing white lines, caused the car to end up on the wrong side of the road. This puts drivers at risk of driving head-on into oncoming traffic.
Electric car concerns: Consumer watchdog Which? has discovered a potential safety issue with Britain’s second best-selling electric car (2023)…
The EV in question, the 4 EV from MG, which is widely regarded as one of the best electric cars on the market today.
Last year, 21,715 were registered in the UK, with only the Tesla Model Y being bought in greater numbers in the EV market.
These findings contradict the MG4’s five-star rating by Euro NCAP, the crash testing body that awards scores to new models based on how well they protect occupants, pedestrians and other road users in a crash.
But tests from Which? it has become apparent that there may be a major technical defect.
During the test, laboratory testers noticed “unusual behavior” with the vehicle’s lane departure warning and lane keeping systems, which may have caused a ‘potentially important problem’.
‘On one occasion when the tester was driving on a narrow country road and had to pass another car travelling in the opposite direction, the MG4’s lane-keeping system steered away from the near side of the road and into the centre – and the other vehicle,’ Which? said.
The tester was forced to intervene manually to prevent the MG4 from getting too close to the car traveling in the opposite direction, he claimed.
The EV in question is MG’s 4 EV, which is widely regarded as one of the best electric cars on the market today. Last year there were 21,715 registered in Britain
While driving on a narrow country road with another car driving in the opposite direction, the MG4’s lane-keeping system steered away from the nearest edge of the road and towards the centre – and the other vehicle, the consumer group said.
On another occasion, this time on a wider road with a clearly defined center line (similar to the road pictured), the lane-keeping assist technology twice decided that the car had deviated from its intended lane and took it to the wrong side of the road
Which? said the tester at the time had to apply “sufficient force” to the steering wheel to get the car back on the right side of the road
‘On another occasion, this time on a wider road with a clearly visible center line, the lane keeping technology twice decided that the car had drifted from its normal lane and took it to the wrong side of the road.
‘With enough force, our tester had to manually return the car’, Which one? say.
All three incidents were spotted during tests the company conducts on about 100 new cars coming onto the market. This not only concerns electric cars, but also petrol, diesel and hybrid models.
These tests are conducted on public roads rather than under controlled laboratory conditions, and which ones? says that none of the problems the testers experienced could be repeated in subsequent road tests.
Testers said they had never seen behavior like the MG4 EV before, and said the behavior was “significant enough to warrant further investigation.”
All three incidents were noted during the company’s testing of around 100 of the latest new cars to hit the market – not just electric cars, but also petrol, diesel and hybrid models
Testers said they had not previously seen behaviour like they had experienced with the MG4 EV, which he said was ‘significant enough to warrant further investigation’
In response to a question from Which?, Euro NCAP would not comment specifically on the MG4, but did say: ‘Car manufacturers have a responsibility to ensure that the performance of the vehicle on a test track is reflected in its on-road performance.
‘In recent years we have seen that not all manufacturers pay the same attention to road evaluation of their systems. That is why Euro NCAP has already taken a first step in 2024 with regard to the acceptance requirements for lane systems.
“This will be followed by on-road evaluation procedures for 2026 and beyond, which Euro NCAP is currently working on.”
What has MG said about the possible outage?
This is Money contacted MG Motor UK for comment on the issues facing Which? pointed out. However, the company was told it did not wish to comment further on the issues provided to the regulator itself.
The statement reads: ‘We are aware of some inconsistencies regarding the lane departure warning system, which may cause the system to be oversensitive in certain circumstances.
‘We have worked on a continuous improvement program together with the supplier and the relevant supervisors.
This has resulted in improved calibration of the ADAS [Advanced Driver Assistance Systems], which we have almost approved. Once this is complete, we will implement it as a full software upgrade at no cost to the customer.”
MG says it is aware of a potential issue and is currently working on developing an improved calibration for the lane-keeping system, which it says is “nearly approved.” Once this is complete, customers will be able to access it via a free software update
An MG spokesperson said customers who find the feature too sensitive can disable it via the touchscreen menu, but he commented on the suggestion, saying: ‘We would like to reiterate that we have not received any safety-related reports from customers’
Do you own an MG4 EV?
Which? asked MG Motor UK what actions owners of existing MG4 EVs should take if they experience similar behaviour from the car to that recorded by the test team.
A spokesperson said: ‘If a customer feels this feature is oversensitive in the current calibration, it can be disabled via the touchscreen menu. However, we would like to emphasize that we have not received any safety-related reports from customers.
“A software solution to resolve the issue is almost available and the MG dealer network will carry out the work at no cost to the customer.”
If you have an MG4 EV and have experienced the same issue, please get in touch by emailing rob.hull@thisismoney.co.uk
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