MG SUV Range

This model MG is designed and set-up to run as an EV for as much of the time as possible. That’s how it saves fuel and keeps running costs and tailpipe emissions as low as possible. To do that, the petrol engine mainly works to keep the battery charged, rather than actually drive the car’s wheels (which it can, but only in limited situations).

So, what you’re probably experiencing is the engine whirring away independently of the car’s actual road speed, as it attempts to keep the battery charged while going up a hill where the energy required is greatest.

This problem is more common than you might imagine and applies to a lot of different makes and models. It’s a simple cases of physics, in the end: The petrol is being pumped into the filler neck at a decent rate, sometimes enough for some splash-back to occur as the fuel hits the side of the filler neck and bounces around.

The problem will be much worse if the filler neck can’t 'breathe' (air has to leave the tank for fuel to get in - physics again) so make sure there are no blocked breather lines or holes inside the top of the filler neck.

Beyond that, the best advice is to try turning the fuel nozzle, say, 45 degrees each way from vertical to see if that lands the fuel in a more agreeable place in the filler neck. Either that or you’re stuck with trickling the fuel into the car at a slower rate (the rate of flow of the nozzle is adjustable according to how far you pull it).

The first thing to check here would be how well the door and window rubbers are sealing. If they’re not sealing absolutely 100 per cent, a whistling noise at higher speeds is often the result. This technology has come a long way but, ultimately, it all depends on the rubber sealing the glass and the door against the rest of the car. Inferior quality rubber has been noted in some cases, and other times a single bad batch of rubber has been to blame.

But the first thing to do is open each door and make sure there’s not a small twig or piece of tree stuck in the rubber as this can cause the same problem. At least the latter is easy to remedy.