[prasanna_indaje]

Originally Posted by Tokengrip

My question is why would you need hill descent control to activate of you have your car set to KERS 3 because the engine/regen braking is so effective that it slows the car down significantly.?

From limited exposure I had on ZS EV, KERS 3 is hyperactive and can significantly slow down the car. I am guessing the additional noise is from higher degree of regen.

As far as I know, hill decent will not kick in unless it is activated.

Did you try the same scenario with KERS at 2 or 1 ?

[Tokengrip]

As far as I know, hill decent will not kick in unless it is activated

So hill descent control was active on the car while it was configured to a KERS 3 setting. It took me a little bit of driving to get used to KERS 3 but once you get the hang of it you can do very long runs without using the brake. It's just engine braking but more refined and it's probably the feature i like the most after the acceleration.

I have driven the car a lot more since then and have come to a conclusion that at very low speeds < 10kms/ hr if you are rolling down a slope with no throttle input and the car picks up speed (coz gravity) then hill descent control kicks in to stabilize the speed.

[Tokengrip]

The battery imbalance on my ZS EV seems to be steadily increasing

Are you doing a lot of fast charging or just subjecting the car to the home charger.?
Also what software are you using to get this data.?

[prasanna_indaje]

Originally Posted by Tokengrip

So hill descent control was active on the car while it was configured to a KERS 3 setting. It took me a little bit of driving to get used to KERS 3 but once you get the hang of it you can do very long runs without using the brake. It's just engine braking but more refined and it's probably the feature i like the most after the acceleration.

I have driven the car a lot more since then and have come to a conclusion that at very low speeds < 10kms/ hr if you are rolling down a slope with no throttle input and the car picks up speed (coz gravity) then hill descent control kicks in to stabilize the speed.

Thanks. Does the hill decent control get active by default on KERS 3 (On low speeds ) ?

[Tokengrip]

Thanks. Does the hill decent control get active by default on KERS 3 (On low speeds )

Yes. If hill descent is switched on it automatically gets active. There is no sound at all when KERS is active but the hill descent makes some infrequent noises that's how i figured it was functioning.
My theory is that KERS is not working anymore as you ve already lifted off the accelerator completely and the car is or has reached a speed of less than 10kms per hr. It now starts to gain speed on the incline without acceleration that's when hill descent control kicks in to control the speed.
Hope that explanation makes sense.

[flanker]

Originally Posted by Tokengrip

Are you doing a lot of fast charging or just subjecting the car to the home charger.?
Also what software are you using to get this data.?

The car has never been fast charged

The data is through Torquepro with custom PIDs and also an app that is being developed/shared on another international evforum. I don't think I can share the link here

[flanker]

I went to MG service station and had long discussions around the battery balancing issue.

At first I got odd suggestions of leaving the car and they will discharge the car completely and charge it completely few times at the service station. I completely refused this. If a battery is deep discharged the imbalances will only grow. The balancing of voltages can only be performed when the cells are at higher percentage or a log of imbalance measured at high state of charge is stored and during the next charging cycle this imbalance is corrected.

They have for now agreed to take one reading right now (140mv of imbalance) and compare it with the reading after one normal balancing attempt.

[raghupro]

I have test driven the MG ZS EV yesterday, my first ever experience with an EV, and was blown away by the comfort if offer. I am quite keen on zeroing down on either the MG ZS EV or Nexon EV but have a few apprehensions. Would be glad to get some thoughts on it.

1. Any consideration on expected resale post 8 year warranty period? My current grand will complete 8 years this April 2022 and I still am being offered 50% as resale value. I doubt the current generation EVs would command such high resale value, duly considering the high battery replacement cost as well. Any thoughts?

2. I am more inclined towards waiting for upgraded high range nexon EV and the MG ZS EV 2022 version. Any thoughts on when we can expect the MG ZS EV 2022 in India? Online articles state August 2022 as probable launch month but the sales executive at showroom is quite affirmative on Feb 2022 as announcement month and April 2022 for sales to begin. It's a steep investment and I wouldn't mind waiting a few months.

I find the Nexon EV to be value for money but just wish it had at least 200 KM range on high ways even when it's pushed to 100 KMPH or so for a stretch. I am hearing that the current 30 KW power pack can barely last around 170km when pushed on highways. This is one reason I am inclined more towards excite version of ZS EV.

Thanks in advance.

[Aditya]

Thanks to Vishnu Vinayakumar for sending this information in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing it with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP share page!

MG ZS EV: 5,000 Km review

On August 20, 2021, I got my first electric car, a MG ZS EV. Today, on November 24, 2021 - after 3 months and 4 days, I have completed 5,000 km and I am in a position to give a genuine review of the vehicle. My intention, as an early adopter of an EV, through this article, is to clear all the apprehensions associated with buying one.



Why EV?
Climate change is for real. Though predicted right from our primary school days, I never thought I will have to witness it. We have started experiencing the aftermath of what our forefathers have been doing since the industrial revolution. For us and our future generations, we have to do our bit as soon as possible to bring down pollution to the least. An EV is one thing that can ensure that. I have also ensured my buy is as green as possible by installing solar panels in my house. To know the difference between an ICE car and an EV with respect to pollution, check out the video link below:

https://youtu.be/1oVrIHcdxjA

What are the other advantages of EVs?

1. EVs are definitely the future. Countries like Norway have more than 70% of vehicles as electic vehicles and many more countries have pledged to stop ICE car production by 2030. Even in India, I am sure, the EV market will increase exponentially in the coming years with improvement in charging infrastructure. Tata Nexon Diesel sales have already been surpassed by Tata Nexon EV sales.
2. Regenerative braking and Kinetic energy recovery system not only ensures that energy wastage during deceleration is minimized, but also charges the battery while going down a slope.
3. Instantaneous torque provided by the drivetrain of electric vehicle makes driving fun.
4. Running cost of electric vehicles, at present, is less than Re. 1/km.
5. Less moving parts and lack of gearbox makes the service of EVs very cheap.

What are the limitations of EVs?

1. Battery pack has got a limited lifespan. The company has given a warranty of 8 years and 1,50,000 km after which, replacement of battery pack if needed will be costly at the present rate. The cost of lithium battery has declined by 97% over the last three decades. Hopefully, the battery pack cost will fall further in 10 years.
2. Charging time taken is 16 to 18 hours with a portable charger, 6-8 hours with an MG-installed home AC charger and 50 minutes with a DC charger.
3. Initial cost of an EV is about Rs. 5 - 6 lakhs more than its petrol counterpart.

Why MG ZS EV?
I chose the MG ZS EV because of the following reasons.

1. The promised range of 300-400 km with ICAT rating of 419 km ensured that I reach Trivandrum without the need for charging in between.
2. I wanted a mid-size SUV like the Creta and Seltos. In my family, we always retain a car for more than 10 years. So I did not want to buy it to an ICE car right now as it would be outdated. Hence, the Creta was ruled out and the ZS EV was in.
3. The 142 PS and 353 Nm is comparable to that of the Innova Crysta 2.4 L diesel. 0-100 km/h is achieved in 8.5 seconds. This ensured that I can drive a performance vehicle without worrying about the mileage.
4. 44.5 kWh is its battery capacity, which is the largest for any affordable EV in India at present. It ensures that even with battery degradation, there will be a considerable range left.
5. Safety features such as electric parking brake with auto hold, ABS, EBD, brake assist, rear disc break, TPMS, hill-hold assist and hill descent control with 5-star rating in Euro NCAP crash test.
6. MG ZS EV was a global product launched in 2018 in Europe and Australia with good reviews.

Though these 5,000 km have been niggle free, there are a few negatives which could not be ignored. Of course, I knew them beforehand, but I had to ignore them or I will have to wait one more year for a more mature product.

1. The car comes with halogen headlamps only when its petrol counterpart - the Astor gets LED headlights. Hence, the visibility at night is not that good.
2. The 6 speaker system (4 speakers and 2 tweeters) of the MG ZS EV is not at par with the MG Hector, which is priced lower than it.
3. A lot of features such as 360 degree camera, ADAS, ventilated seats, wireless charging, auto dimming IRVM, heads up display are missing.

These missing features have been added in the facelift version of MG ZS EV introduced last month in Europe. It may be available by the end of next year in India, but at a much higher price point. So I don't have any regrets in buying the current car.

I had my first long drive from Thrissur to Trivandrum on November 14, 2021. I started with 93% charge at 12 pm after returning from work at Thrissur Medical College (MGKavu- 25 km). My plan was to top up a little bit at Kochi MG because I thought that my family will be able to relax at a lounge while charging. The plan was toppled because one of the Tata Power chargers there was non-functional and the other was being used by a Nexon EV. The MG executive there tried to help me by making the damaged charger functional but in vain. I wasted around 30 minutes there. The journey was particularly exhausting due to heavy bumper-to-bumper traffic and heavy rains with bad roads (though we are paying Rs. 120 at tolls). It was my first long journey of around 300 km and range anxiety was playing on my mind. I went in to charge at Chavara because I missed the Cherthala charging point due to heavy rains. The Chavara charging point was working well. But just before I started charging, there was a power failure and I could not charge my car. Since it was in the same compound as the restaurant 'Take a break' I could charge myself with dinner though my car remained hungry. I did not try the Kollam charging station as I would have to take a detour from the bypass for that. There was one diversion in the way due to spillage from a tanker, which further increased the distance I had to travel. The “Please charge immediately” message was coming up after 30, 20 and 10 percent charge falls. But still, the AC was functioning properly, which I had to use to defog the glasses. Finally, I reached my destination at Poojapura at 10 pm with 8 percent charge and an estimated distance of 28 km remaining. I covered a total of 308 km under the most adverse conditions with 4 adult passengers and boot full of luggage. On the return journey, I was more cautious and ensured that I had 100% charge when I started. For that, I had my car charged from the 15 A power plug at home. The return journey was smooth except for a traffic block of 30 to 45 minutes in the Kalamassery area due to road repair work. I reached back home at Thrissur with 19% charge and an estimated distance of 62 km remaining. From these journeys, I could conclude that the range of around 350 km is obtained in my MG ZS EV by driving with the AC on at around 60-80 km/ h.

Conclusion:

I believe it is the right time to adopt to an electric vehicle if you are planning to change your car, provided you are not running more than 300-320 km at a stretch. Though more and more charging stations are getting installed day by day by KSEB and Zeon charging (a new startup), the charging infrastructure is not good enough to mitigate the range anxiety. But only if more people adopt EVs will there be more charging stations. For that, there should be more models introduced by all car manufacturers. This process was halted by COVID-19 which has also brought about the semiconductor shortage. So, I am sure that in the coming years there will be a boom in the EV market in India once the global semiconductor shortage is settled.

[Rada]

In this forum, members have complained about the lack of effectiveness of the halogen headlamps and how night driving is a pain in the Zs EV due to this reason.

I have some good news for you.

MG has released as an accessory, LED Headlamp bulbs for the Zs EV with an MRP of Rs 3999/-. According to their internal bulletin, these lamps are supposed to give,

-more brightness
-Long beam
-Whiter light
-Plug 'n play. (no wiring harness modification required).

Incidentally, I have just completed my booking for the Zs EV Exclusive variant (White) and this info was given by the SA concerned.

[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by Rada

In this forum, members have complained about the lack of effectiveness of the halogen headlamps and how night driving is a pain in the Zs EV due to this reason.

I have some good news for you.

MG has released as an accessory, LED Headlamp bulbs for the Zs EV with an MRP of Rs 3999/-. According to their internal bulletin, these lamps are supposed to give,

-more brightness
-Long beam
-Whiter light
-Plug 'n play. (no wiring harness modification required).

Incidentally, I have just completed my booking for the Zs EV Exclusive variant (White) and this info was given by the SA concerned.

I have tried these bulbs. They are not LEDs but Osram Nighbreaker halogens even though their name contains LED. They are just slightly better than the original ones. It is much better to spend the same amount and get real LED bulbs. I have done so and the lighting is superb now. The original stock bulbs are actually quite decent as well.

[Rada]

Originally Posted by Lobogris

I have tried these bulbs. They are not LEDs but Osram Nighbreaker halogens even though their name contains LED.

Please find below photo of the accessory which has been officially released on 28th Dec, 2021.

I guess we have to check with the dealer whether they are LED or Halogens!

[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by Rada

Please find below photo of the accessory which has been officially released on 28th Dec, 2021.

I guess we have to check with the dealer whether they are LED or Halogens!

These are different from what they were offering earlier. These look like LEDs as per the label. So they might be alright.

[vijucg]

Hello Guys, This is my first post. Finally I made my plunge and booked 2022 MG ZSEV. The waiting period is 7 to 8 months and I am not in a hurry. Will keep you posted.

[raghupro]

Originally Posted by vijucg

Hello Guys, This is my first post. Finally I made my plunge and booked 2022 MG ZSEV. The waiting period is 7 to 8 months and I am not in a hurry. Will keep you posted.

Sure about the wait period being so long?