Mike Fernie Talks About Plug-in Hybrids | Milk and Grounds | MG Motor UK
Welcome to Milk and Grounds, MG’s very own coffee shop, where I get to know each customer, serve them a specialtity coffee, and talk about cars. Today, our guest is Mike Fernie. He is MG Mad. He started out in motoring journalism and now he amasses millions of views on YouTube with his Drive Tribe team. Hello, Mike. How are you? I’m good, thank. How are you? I’m good, thank you. Welcome to Milk and Grounds. Thank you. Yeah, it’s a cool spot. Do you want a coffee? Sure. I’m not that big of a coffee guy, but I I trust you. Okay, good. I’m going to make you something special. Don’t worry. Take a seat and I’ll bring you over. Thank you. Hello. Here is your special drink I’ve made you. So, this is your Milk and Grounds plug-in latte. Thank you very much. So, the reason I have made you a latte uh is because we’re going to be talking about plug-in hybrids today. And I feel like lattes represent that. There’s just that little bit more milk compared to say a cappuccino. Just giving you that bit more range like an electric. Give it a go. See what you think. Yeah. Solid. Yeah. Good. My skills are good for you. Love that. So, could you just give us a little bit of information about plug-in hybrids? Yeah, absolutely. They’re kind of that ideal stepping stone between full EV and fully petrol. Basically, it has a a plug within it. You plug it into the wall and you will charge up a battery. So, you have quite a lot of EV range alongside your petrol engine. So, you have kind of the best of both worlds in that respect. Well, as you probably know, we’ve got the MGHS plug-in hybrid, which has got great range up to 75 miles, which I think for most people that that will go far. Yeah, absolutely. If you’re in pure EV mode there with 75 mi, I mean, I would be able to commute to work, go into town, even some days out in the sticks, but you have that petrol engine alongside it, which technically boosts your range as far as you want to go really. Any road trip you can crack on. Yeah, it’s reassuring, isn’t it? For sure. Absolutely. Do you feel for people that are a little bit worried about going fully electric, it’s the best sort of like first step? Yeah, absolutely. You’ve got that petrol engine as your proper safety net sitting there. So range anxiety can essentially disappear. You’ve got petrol in the tank. You can drive electric as much as you want and then simply transition to petrol. It’s really cool. So for people who don’t really know, obviously we’ve got hybrid and we’ve got plug-in hybrid. What what is the main difference and sort of what what does it mean? Yeah. So hybrid that’s electrification that’s essentially just happening in the background. So you’re driving along and you’re not intentionally getting the car into its electric mode. So plug and hybrid you have that extended EV range that you can switch into and up to 75 m just drive around purely electric but you’ve got that petrol engine sitting waiting to keep you going. That little safety net I think that’s that’s the best part isn’t it? So with plug-in hybrid, how do you feel it’s been evolving since it first came out? Because it’s it’s getting better, isn’t it? Absolutely. The aim with plug-in hybrid is to have as much EV range as possible alongside your engine. So throughout time that range has just gone up and up and up to the point where people can now fully commute. They do a day out into town and back purely on EV. What about for people who maybe are unsure of what sort of stepping stone to take and and what they should do first? Would you say plug-in hybrid is suitable for them? I think it totally comes down to your own circumstance. I I’ve recently bought my first house and a lot of new built houses now have to have an electric charger outside. So, if you’re buying your first house, you’re of that age and you have that charger. That is the ideal situation cuz that means you can you can commute, you can nip into town, you can even go for days out into the country as long as within your 75 mi and you might not even need to touch the petrol in your tank at all cuz as long as you’re plugging in at home, you’re sorted. So, when was the first time you drove a plug-in hybrid then? Um, it was early on in my journalistic career and I I do remember thinking, oh, plug-in hybrid, you know, where’s the V8? But I think as I’ve as I’ve matured and I’ve I’ve my lifestyle has changed coming into a new built house, suddenly a plug-in hybrid is actually super relevant to my life. So what are you thinking then? Who would you advise to get a plug-in hybrid? Yeah, I I would say someone that has access to a charger that can also not just at home that can also be at your place of work as well. That’s becoming a thing. Yeah. Um, and someone that has not too long a commute, but also I mean 75 miles range, that’s actually a pretty meaty commute at the end of that. That could be an hour each way really. Um, so it’s actually incredibly flexible. So you’re a big MG fan, I hear. Yes, I’ve got MG in the blood. My dad, well, our family classic car is an MG, an MGC from the ’60s. And then that meant when it came to me getting my first car, I wanted an MG. And I daily drive an MG right now. I’ve got a few of them. So yeah, I’m the kind of internet MG guy. You’re the man to know. What do you love about MG? Why do you love them so much? It’s just such an awesome brand. Like that Octagon is just such an iconic badge that I I love going out to in the mornings. Um and you know, it comes from that sporting heritage. They raced, they created awesome sports cars, and it’s great to see them flourishing now today. What did we think? Very nice, actually. I might be converted. Really? Well, thanks for talking to us about plug-in hybrids. Thank you. Thanks for watching. Make sure you look out for more episodes in the Milk and Ground series. And remember, whatever your taste in coffee, or should I say fuel type, MG has an option for you.
Our Milk & Grounds Barista meets ‘Mr MG’ Mike Fernie.
We take a deep dive into Plug-in Hybrids, with Mike sharing personal experiences and advice whilst enjoying a speciality ‘Plug-in Latte’.
Will our Barista convert Mike into coffee drinking?
Whatever your taste in coffee or preferred fuel type, MG has the option for you.
Keep an eye out for more videos and explore the MG HS Plug-in Hybrid: https://www.mg.co.uk/electric-and-hybrid/hybrid-cars?utm_source=meta&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=milk-and-grounds-plug-in-hybrid
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