Would you buy the MG ZS EV at 22 – 26 lakhs

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The very similar & arguably more practical MG Astor is 8 – 12 lakhs cheaper.

BHPian Aditya recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Would you buy the MG ZS EV at 22 – 26 lakhs?

Prices (ex-showroom)

  • MG ZS EV Excite: Rs. 22.00 lakh.
  • MG ZS EV Exclusive: Rs. 25.88 lakh.

MG ZS EV Pros:

  • One of the most sorted EVs in India! Drive it and you’ll be a convert.
  • A well-built car with good interiors.
  • Green image & zero tailpipe emissions appeal to the environmentally conscious.
  • Fast performance and excellent mid-range. 0-100 km/h run of 8.5 seconds is enjoyable.
  • Selectable regenerative braking and drive modes help you extract maximum performance or efficiency, as needed.
  • Range is adequate for urban commuting as well as road-trips to nearby destinations.
  • Low running costs & cheaper long-term maintenance (as is the case with all EVs).
  • An excellent city car. Smooth driving experience, easy to drive, very chuckable.
  • 5 year / unlimited km warranty, 5 labour-free services & 8 year / 150,000 km battery warranty.
  • Features such as the panoramic sunroof, cruise control, Bluetooth key, connected car tech & more.
  • International model got a 5-star Euro NCAP rating. Safety kit includes 6 airbags, blind spot monitoring, ESP, HSA, TPMS etc.

MG ZS EV Cons:

  • Expensive! Even after subsidies, EVs carry a huge price premium over ICE cars. You’re paying for the tech & being an early adopter.
  • The very similar & arguably more practical MG Astor is 8 – 12 lakhs cheaper.
  • Needs a charging point installed at your home parking. This is not doable for many people.
  • Lack of charging infrastructure & ~350 km range limits long-distance / highway usability.
  • Firm ride quality means you always feel the road, especially with the recommended 41 PSI tyre pressure.
  • Long “full tank” charging times in comparison with an ICE car. Overnight charging is best.
  • Missing features such as ventilated seats, auto-dimming IRVM, steering reach adjustment, ADAS tech (which Astor gets), wireless Android Auto / CarPlay…
  • Size & interior quality are more comparable to a Creta than other 28-30 lakh rupee cars.
  • The rear seat is better suited to 2 adults & a kid, not 3 adults.
  • 6-speaker sound system is ordinary for the price. Subwoofer conspicuous by its absence.
  • Lower Excite variant is currently unavailable. It is cheaper by ~4-lakh rupees.

Link to Review

Here’s what GTO had to say on the matter:

I have voted “Yes”. Will be interesting to see the responses to this poll. Reasons for my voting yes:

  • If I buy an MG ZS EV, it will be purely for city use as I have 2 other bigger & faster cars for the highway.
  • It is indeed the most sorted EV this side of the offerings from the luxury marques. Feels just like a “proper” car with really fast electric motors. I like it even more than the Kona.
  • Perfect size & light controls for the city.
  • Have already equipped my parking area with 15A chargers.
  • Would bring nice diversity to my garage. I don’t own a crossover nor an EV.
  • Have always said that my ideal garage will have a turbo-diesel, turbo-petrol & an EV. I have the first two, not the 3rd.
  • Peppy performance when you floor it, including on the open road. Can embarrass some more expensive cars.
  • The air quality of our metropolitan cities does worry me.

Here’s what BHPian speedmeister had to say on the matter:

I have voted Yes and I am awaiting delivery of my MG ZS EV. Only thing that would have made it sweeter at this price point is the inclusion of all ADAS features.

I am also more inclined to wait out for the Excite variant getting launched in July of this year. This variant at 23L OTR Bangalore is more VFM than the exclusive variant. Net net you are getting a well sorted EV which can do both City and Highway duties and can truely replace the ICE engine car.

A range of 350-400Kms on the highway and fast developing charging network across major cities makes it sufficient to cater to 95% of my use.

Here’s what BHPian ADI7YAK had to say on the matter:

Voted Yes. Ideally a perfect garage, in my case would be an EV and an ICE SUV for those 500-700km road trips.

  • Running costs of an EV are a tenth of petrol automatic car of similar size and around an eighth of a diesel automatic car of a similar size. Kona runs at around Rs 1/km and ZS EV would be quite similar too I reckon. I have taken far too many road trips than I would like to admit, because it’s just so darn cheap to drive. Wake up and drive 150km to Mahabaleshwar for breakfast? Done.
  • Quick, zippy, and incredibly fun to toss around in traffic. No worries of toasting your dual clutch DSG, overheating the car on steep ghats, etc.
  • Maintenance expenses have been very reasonable in my experience of driving a Kona EV for almost 75k km so far. One of the examples being the brake pads. Car still runs on original brake pads which have decent life left which is so un-intuitive since an ICE car would’ve required brake pads to be replaced at least twice with similar kilometers clocked. Most of the braking is done by regeneration. I will also upload an image of maintenance that my car has demanded so far.
  • Home charging is incredibly easy. Plug in every night and car is ready with a full charge every single morning. No taking detours and spending time at fuel stations, pay for each month at the end of billing cycle. Easy.

Here’s what BHPian Shreyans_Jain had to say on the matter:

Voted yes.

My vote goes to the base Xcite model, which has all the basis covered for urban driving at a relatively reasonable price point. Considering Nexon EVs are going for 19L+, the base model of the ZS EV makes a very strong case for itself.

The driving experience of the ZS EV in typical city conditions is FAR SUPERIOR to your similarly priced ICE engined cars: the Cretas, Harriers, Alacazrs, Hectors and even the Jeep Compass. The combination of zero noise, zero vibrations and instant torque in a well appointed and well insulated cabin has to be experienced. The negligible running costs are just an added bonus.

I feel the top model is priced rather optimistically. The extra equipment, while good to have, doesn’t really gets used much or add value for city driving. That panoramic sunroof will be kept open on your holiday, but you won’t bother during your office commute under the harsh summer sun.

Here’s what BHPian Axe77 had to say on the matter:

A definite YES for me. Our second car in the house is currently a 2018 Grand i10 A/T and if I could convince my mum to sell that I’d happily flip it for an MG ZS EV (she’s refusing to budge on that sale sadly).

Advantage ZS EV:

Size:

To me, this size (Creta / Seltos / ZS EV etc) represents the perfect size for a second car. Its compact enough to be the “small car” of the house – and at the same time, spacious enough to carry decent luggage, be chauffeur driven in etc. Crossover styling with 60:40 seats means it can swallow odds and ends style luggage, like in my case, bicycles, golf kits etc, if need be.

Fun to drive:

As a second car, it also does not compromise on the “fun to drive” factor and I can imagine myself willingly and happily taking the keys to this car even over other more premium vehicles in the house. That’s not the case with the i10 and I’m always goading my wife to take the wheel if we’re driving anywhere in the hatch.

Flexible use case:

Its good enough (range wise) for my frequent weekend drives to Karjat and can also be used, with a little planning, for Bombay – Pune – Bombay runs. All in all, a perfect fit in my two car garage. It can also take a lot of the volume miles of the household delivering a negligible cost of ownership.

Here’s what BHPian Isjey had to say on the matter:

I voted “No”.

My reasoning:

  • EVs are not the fill-it-shut-it and forget it types. Charging management requires patience and planning.
  • Rather than pay for the Batteries in exchange for low running costs, the better tradeoff seems to be low initial price and using the savings to pay fuel costs.

I’d be more interested in hybrid cars, though.

Regards,

lsjey

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

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