I have said goodbye to the Funky Cat, and it’s hello to the MG IM5.
The main reason for switching to the MG IM5 was the fact that it comes with a 100kWh battery which provides for a combined WLTP range of 441 miles and a city WLTP range of 544 miles. Compare that with the WLTP range of the Funky Cat WLTP range of 193 miles. I do realise that WLTP ranges are a theoretical maximum, but I am still expecting to get over four hundred miles from a 100% charge.
I wrote recently about the issues with the Funky Cat when charging to just 80%.
A Tesla Model 3 with a WLPT range of 332 miles then an 80% charge would give you around 267 miles. However, my Funky Cat with an 80% charge would get just a 128 mile predicted range.
The MG IM5 with the 441 mile range would, at a 80% charge have over 350 miles.
When I first got the Funky Cat, most of my driving was lots of local drives and carrying four to five people. The Funky Cat was ideal for that. However after driving the Funky Cat for three years, I am doing a lot less local driving, and more long distance driving.
Some of the other reasons for switching to the larger MG IM5 are:
The bigger boot – The Funky Cat could carry five people comfortably, the downside was the boot was very small. I remember driving to the airport and having to put one of the suitcases the front seat as it wouldn’t fit in the boot with another suitcase. On a trip to France and Belgium, we had to stuff the boot with bags and around the passengers as well in the main part of the car.
Charging speed – the Funky Cat had a maximum charging speed of around 50kWh. This meant that going from 10-80% would take about an hour. The MG IM5 with an 800v technology can take a 396kWh maximum charge and theoretically will take 17 minutes to charge from 10-80%. Of course not all chargers can deliver that kind of charge, but with a 150kWh charger I am expecting that a 10-80% charge would take around thirty minutes, so more charge and less time.
Charging frequency – with a 48kWh battery I found, especially on longer trips, I would need to make multiples stops to charge the car, I am expecting with the MG IM5 to charge less frequently on those kinds of trips. On a recent trip to Warwickshire, the Funky Cat had ran 80% charge, I charged twice on the trip and then needed to charge again before heading down to Exeter a couple of days later. With the MG IM5, if I had an 80% charge, that would have provided me with around 350 miles. I would have had enough charge for the trip to Warwickshire and would also get me to Exeter and back.
The MG IM5 feels like it will be a better car than the Funky Cat, which isn’t too surprising. Even so, I still have some concerns, mainly about the size of the MG IM5. The MG IM5 is 68.6cm longer than the Funky Cat. It is 13.5cm wider, though if you include the wing mirrors it’s only 6.7cm wider! However the Funky Cat is taller by 12.9cm.
Though the Funky Cat is regarded as a “small” car it was bigger than the Nissan Juke which I had for a few months as a courtesy car. The Juke felt bigger to me, but was in fact smaller than the Funky Cat on height, length and width.
Another concern, though some might see this as a plus, is that the performance of the MG IM5 is much better than the Funky Cat, it accelerates faster and has more power. I’ve never really felt the Funky Cat was underpowered, it accelerated well onto motorways and never had problems with hills.
On the online forums, there are many gripes about the software, but I am not too worried about that, as I have had many issues with the software on the Funky Cat. Could it be any worse?
Overall I am looking forward to enjoying the MG IM5, and I will continue to write about my adventures and challenges in the blog.