Britain’s second best-selling electric car has a ‘potentially dangerous’ problem, Which warns?

One of Britain’s most popular electric cars has a ‘potentially dangerous’ problem that could endanger drivers and other road users, a consumer association has said.

Product test group Which one? says it has identified the problem with Britain’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.

It found that the $27,000 EV’s lane-keeping system — which is designed to keep the car in its lane to prevent drivers from crossing the white lines — was pulling the vehicle onto the wrong side of the road, potentially putting drivers at risk of colliding head-on with oncoming traffic.

The electric car 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. Only the Tesla Model Y was purchased in larger numbers on the EV market.

The findings contradict the MG4’s five-star rating from Euro NCAP – the crash testing organisation which awards scores to new models coming onto the market based on how much protection they provide to occupants, pedestrians and other road users in the event of a collision.

But which one? Tests have shown that there may be a major technical error.

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 traveling in the opposite direction, the MG4’s lane-keeping system steered away from the nearest side of the road and towards the center – and the other vehicle,’ Which? said.

The tester had to manually intervene to prevent the MG4 from getting too close to the car travelling in the opposite direction, the tester claimed.

‘On another occasion, this time on a wider road with a clearly visible centre line, the lane-keeping technology twice decided that the car had strayed from its normal lane and moved it onto the wrong side of the road.

“With sufficient force, our tester had to manually steer the car back,” Which? said.

All three incidents were noted during the company’s tests on about 100 of the latest cars to hit the market – not just 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 not previously seen behaviour like they experienced with the MG4 EV, and that it was ‘significant enough to warrant further investigation’, he said.

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-keeping systems.

‘Then follow 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 under certain circumstances.

‘We work with the supplier and relevant regulatory authorities on a continuous improvement program.

‘This has resulted in an improved calibration of the ADAS (Advanced driver assistance systems), which we are close to approval. Once this is ready, we will implement it as a full software upgrade, at no cost to the customer.’

Do you own an MG4 EV?

Which? MG Motor UK asked what actions owners of existing MG4 EVs should take if they experience similar car behavior to that recorded by the test team.

A spokesperson said: ‘If a customer finds this feature to be overly sensitive in its current calibration, it can be disabled via the touchscreen menu. However, we would like to emphasise that we have not yet 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 own a MG4 EV and have experienced the same problem, please contact us by emailing rob.hull@thisismoney.co.uk