[avishar]

Something to be noted.

For such an expensive EV and launched during a downturn, the MG ZS EV is doing pretty good.

Refering to the May 2020 Auto Sales thread, the MG ZS EV sold 158 units in February, 116 units in March and 38 units in May. This is way more than the 30 odd units that Hyundai sells of the the Kona every month, the sales of which has stabilized to that level.

[ADI7YAK]

The test run video of the ZS EV by a popular Youtuber in EV space shows ZS to have around 42.5kWh of “usable” battery while advertised is 44.5kWh which is like a “gross” measurement. Every manufacturer does keep some space to improve longevity of the battery pack. Hyundai on the other hand is advertising “usable” battery of 39.2kWh so gross battery in this case should be around 41-42kWh. This leaves the ZS EV with only ~3kWh more battery which should equate to around 25-30km of extra range, but the test results from this video clearly show Kona’s battery to be more efficient at both 90kmph and 120kmph. This really makes me buy into LG Chem batteries being more “efficient” theory.

Test result at 120kmph.



Test result at 90kmph.



Link to the video.

https://youtu.be/0Slp7yyYqR0

[ADI7YAK]

Finally got a chance to drive MG ZS EV The other day. Drove it for around 20km on fairly low traffic highway with lot of hard accelerations in Sport as well as Comfort and Eco mode. The car indeed is a breeze to drive. You can see slow moving traffic fade away in the IRVM very quickly.

Here’s the drive summary.


A few points :
~ A lot more spacious than the Kona, especially in the backseat. The under thigh support isn't great in ZS either, but there is space below front seats to slide your feet under which makes things just that much better than Kona.

~ Space is further accentuated by the massive panoramic sunroof. Cool party trick plus makes cabin appear more spacious than it actually is. The controls for the sunroof are lifted from old Superb or the Tiguan.

~ IRVM is not auto dimming and instead gets a flip switch to adjust.

~ The instrument cluster seemed bit old at the first glance but all gagues are clearly marked with readble size font making it easy to read. I particularly liked the "Power %" gague which shows how much power is being used in percentage. Exactly opposite of Rolls Royce which shows power reserve instead. The regeneration is indicated by the needle which dips below zero to show battery getting charged back through regenerative braking. It's actually pretty cool to see the needle dance around all the time.

~ Central console has cupholders in the middle which has a lid which gives out a premium feel. It also closes with a click. One of the cupholders has key symbol on it,I believe that's where you put the keyfob to start the car if battery of the fob is drained. What's more, the surrounds of the cupholders portion are wrapped in soft touch material which makes it very comfortable to rest arm on while driving.

~ The controls are on wrong side i.e, indicator stalk on left and wiper stalk on right. (German,eh?) Will take some time getting used to. The light stalk is on auto headlight position by default. (which is a good thing in my opinion) You have to turn the the dial clockwise and hold to disable auto headlight function.

~ The MID feels very tiny for a car of this price in 2020. It does show a lot of information though. Tyre pressures,current speed,trip metres,EV related information and some settings are found in there. There's no distance to empty number always displayed but instead you'll have to scroll to one of the screens or push button on the center console to see that. I feel it should've been always there.

~ Controls on steering wheel feel good to use. Left side buttons control sound volume while right side controls MID. They're exact same parts from a VW. Hornpad is light. The horn sound is also very European. It is less intrusive in the cabin than Kona. I feel MG badge could've been a bit bigger on the steering.

~ Cruise controls are found on another stalk below the light stalk. I forgot to try out cruise control, probably because I was busy fiddling with that instant acceleration.

~ All four windows go auto down but only driver side window goes auto up and down. This one window can also be operated through voice command, though I find pressing button much more easier. All window buttons and rear window lock buttons are illuminated. (ahem, Hyundai Group)

~ Rotary dial for drive mode selector is awesome to use with very tactile feel and good feedback. I personally like this better than Kona's button system. The top portion acts as "P" button. Circulate the knob clockwise to shift to "R","N" and "D" respectively. It does not move 360 degrees. Electronic parking brake automatically gets engaged or disengaged every time you press P or rotate knob to other mode respectively. The top portion has orange ring light around the P button and the letter P illuminates as well when in Park mode. Looks very cool. There is a light above each mode letter as well to let you know which gear you are in.

~ The buttons in front of rotary knob are for drive mode,KERS, and battery respectively. Drive mode changes from eco,normal and sport though there's no continuous scrolling. You'll have to pull it backwards. Same is the case with KERS button. Push it forward for level 1,2 and 3 but then pull it backwards for preceding level. The third button, which is battery button is absolutely useless for all it shows is remaining range in the MID.

~ Speaking of KERS,there's no zero level like in the Kona. There's slight,moderate and heavy. Furthermore you cannot have one pedal driving as car does not come to stop even with heavy regeneration. What I found out on the internet is that it doesn't light up brake lights when KERS is activated! I believe this is a huge safety hazard as it can slow down car very rapidly and there's no way for motorists behind you to know the same. It can be fixed with an easy update though, but till then, users please dab on the brake pedal slightly just to make the brake lights get lit.

~ Eco mode dulls the throttle significantly compared to other modes but is still quite drivable around in city. Sport mode is absolutely fun with wheelspins if you depress the pedal fully.

~ Driver seat gets electric adjustment though only 6 way and without lumbar support. I didn't find under thigh support to be inadequate as pointed out by some reviews. Passenger seat gets manual adjustments.

~ The infotainment screen is better than the Hector. Much more responsive. It does get Ganaa app pre installed. (bloatware IMO) There are some other car settings hidden in the screen but what I particularly disliked is lack of charging options which you get on the Kona. There's no scheduled charging, no way to limit the total percentage of charge, and no way to limit the power drawn from charging wire. It does show charging information though. Physical knob for volume is a blessing if you've tried using the Hector screen.

~ No auto climate control. A lot has been spoken about this so I wouldn't go on any further. Interestingly the outside temperature is shown only when climate menu pops up on screen momentarily when you change any climate setting.

~ There isn't any armrest for rear bench, but it gets three point seatbelt for middle passenger. You decide which one's a better compromise.

~ There isn't any cabin light at the rear either, sad.

~ I couldn't find inconsistent panel gaps on the outside. Interiors seemed well put together as well.

~ Charging port location is not only weird but also very un-ergonomic. You'll need to bend down to access the port. What makes it worse is that there's no illumination inside. Imagine finding that cap thingy in the dark. The "glowing MG logo" is almost impossible to see in daylight. You have to lock the car to start charging. It will stop charging as soon as you unlock the car. There's no auto unlock for the charging cable like in the Kona.

~ Boot opener will definitely remind you of the Volkswagen cars. It felt good to operate, to be honest.

~ The rear gets only 3 parking sensors instead of 4.

~ The car makes three short honks if you forget the key inside. It also honks while locking and unlocking. (much much better than Hyundai version of it,trust me)

~ Request sensors on both front doors. Nice.



Sorry for points not being categorised properly. I jotted them down as I remembered them.

[sgiitk]

Now with the anti-Chinese lobby in full flow

How are we responding to MG.
Also, with China holding a near monopoly on Lithium what do we do? Any alternative sources of Li. Please advise.

[SKC-auto]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

Now with the anti-Chinese lobby in full flow

How are we responding to MG.
Also, with China holding a near monopoly on Lithium what do we do? Any alternative sources of Li. Please advise.

We are very much dependent on the Chinese battery and motor supply currently, with EV sales picking up we may see more battery and motor factories coming up.

China has huge Lithium resources but Chile and Australia have the highest Li resources. China is not Saudi Arabia of Lithium. Lithium is just 2% of the battery.

MG and GWM would have already told CCP, leave India for another 5 years, it's ill timed for aggression on India when their brands are launching in India.

[Venkatesh]

MG Motors dealership in Kochi, Kerala has handed over 11 units of brand new MG ZS EVs to customers over the past weekend. This is among the highest units of electric car delivered by a single dealer in 1 day.





https://www.rushlane.com/mg-motor-de...-12366843.html

[ChiragM]

Thanks to Bic S for sending this in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing it with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP page!

Hey guys,

Came across this gentleman on twitter who owns a MG ZS EV, which suffered from a faulty battery pack and brokedown.

[kamilharis]

Paid a visit to MG showroom here in Saudi when i heard that they have brought the electric SUV here. But it was kept for display with a sign board reading " FOR SHOW ", means there was no TD car. No brochure or spec sheet too were present.

[avishar]

MG ZS EV is selling well. Ever since it has launched, the company 457 units (according to Teambhp sales charts) seems to have been dispatched by the company. We are coming to a point where significant amount of real world driving data is being generated and will get shared.

[yajaman99]

Got the chance to TD the MG ZS EV today morning. The Sales Executive Adam, showed up promptly at my residence with a Copenhagen Blue , Exclusive variant. This was my first TD of the ZS EV and I loved it. Once you turn on the car, you have no idea the motor is on.
At first the KERS was set in the high mode, so as soon as you lift your foot of the accelerator it starts to break , this felt weird so we changed to lower one and is was like driving my regular Creta AT.
The acceleration in Sports mode is fantastic.
The turn indicators and wiper are like that at of Ford , ie on the opposite side.
The Interiors look top notch.
You have the voice commands and interesting you cannot open the roof curtain with it, just the full sunroof. Maybe in a future software release or the SE did not know how to do it.
Also the car gives a warning beep once you cross 60Km/hr, it is a short 2sec warning.

I am seriously seeing how i can get a this EV sooner rather than later

Attached is the price for Bangalore

[SKC-auto]

MG says they have 2800(IIRC) reservations, they delivered 82 in July month(Total deliveries 539). What happened to the other 2300 reservations, are they cancelled?

Looks to me that MG just faked it's reservations and tried to make some news.

[turbo]

To those of you who have checked out the eZS, how does this compare to the Hector, size wise?

I mean, if both were available with the same petrol engine, would one be preferable to the other, apart from the looks department?

[yajaman99]

Originally Posted by turbo

To those of you who have checked out the eZS, how does this compare to the Hector, size wise?

I mean, if both were available with the same petrol engine, would one be preferable to the other, apart from the looks department?

The Hector is the similar size of the Tata Harrier while the ZS EV is similar to a Creta, Seltos. So it is smaller when compared to the Hector.

[yajaman99]

I am keen on getting the ZS EV however on googling I see in the international market its ICE cousin has got a facelift. The talk is the international ZS EV too will get the change. The interesting part is they are talking about having 360degree camera, large entertainment system and a digital instrument cluster panel. Things which are not really possible to be upgraded and are best factory fitted.
My question is would MG India bring in a change to a newly launched vehicle in less than a year. Reason for asking, if one picks the MG ZS EV now and a new one is launched in the next 6 months it would be a real downer unless the price shoots up drastically with the changes.

Anyone here has some insider information on this front.

[yajaman99]

MG seems to be going all out to move the eZS. Might be due to more cars in stock and they need to move it. Today's add in TOI Bangalore.
Will give the Sales Exec i am interacting with a call and check if what is the process for leaving the car for a few days.

2020 08 18 - TOI BGL Advertisement