[puntOOs]

Originally Posted by lifebuoy

Fine review of the EV. However, the golden question - Would I buy one ? DEFINITELY NO. MG is an SAIC brand and I would never again buy a Chinese product, not after Galwan. Period.

Tata has the Nexon and Altroz EVs but a Blackbird (4.3m?) sized one with 400km range at 20L would be sweet!

[NPV]

Excellent eye for detail and well written, thanks for sharing your experience with the ZS EV.

I hadn't read much about the ZS EV and this gave me some good insight into what is in offer.

In your opening post where you mentioned about location of charging stations, did you mean "Yelahanka" ?

[Shreyans_Jain]

Originally Posted by puntOOs

Tata has the Nexon and Altroz EVs but a Blackbird (4.3m?) sized one with 400km range at 20L would be sweet!

Nexon EV with 170-200km real world range retails at 17.5L on road here for the mid spec model. Will be very optimistic to expect twice that range for 20L. It will be awesome if they can provide a genuine 300km range at that price, but even that seems to be wishful thinking for the near future.

Regarding the upcoming Altroz EV, I won’t be surprised if Tata dials back the performance or range or both to ensure differentiation with the more expensive Nexon. They have done exactly that with the petrol and diesel Altroz.

[yajaman99]

Originally Posted by NPV

In your opening post where you mentioned about location of charging stations, did you mean "Yelahanka" ?

Thank you NPV, yes I meant Yelahanka, a typing error on my part with wrong auto correction.

[sahil624]

Thanks for such a wonderful review. It is such a pleasure to drive EVs with an instant power at the tap of accelerator and a super silent cabin. It is a tech whose time has come in India. I would have bought the Nexon EV had the charging infrastructure been adequate in my city and on the highways. The major drawback I see with the EVs is being unable to undertake long road trips with it. Also, I think, even with the improvement in the charging infrastructure it will be a few years till we’ll be able to undertake the long highway trips.
Already I have seen around 4-5 EVs (Nexons and MG) around my locality. I really hope the adoption rate of the EVs increases.

[Carpainter]

Thanks for a really nice practical review.

EVs are niche product and it's quite some time (read decade) away from becoming common site on our roads. Someone with multi car garage and provision to set up charging dock at home can go for one now but there are very limited option and features/size wise not really value for money. A normal Nexon cost around 9-11 lakh but EV Nexon cost 16-18lakh. So basically it's the same car and the money that you'll save from fuel/maintenance is the money you're paying upfront. Not to mention the unknown long term reliability factor or resale if that is a big concern for some. All I can say is my next car is not going to be an EV.

P.S. I'm an ICE lover.

[turbowhistle]

Thanks for the detailed review, it shows the real picture correctly. I am worried if the charging situation is like this in city like Banglore, how the tier 2 cities will fare.

I still feel we are lagging behind in the infra only and not in the car technology. MG ZS/Kona or even Nexon EV can be sold in Global markets and people won't nitpick, and things will be like this unless we improve more on the charging infra. I know you did almost 300km in 2 days but I had a feeling that you spent half the kms searching for the charging station while reading. It can be solved by installing the charger at home but then you will have to let go fast charging.

However, I like the car and it does not feel like a half-ass product. MG means serious business and these extended TDs convey the same. The car looks pretty good inside out and can be a serious competition to Kona I feel.

Good luck with your purchase.

Slightly OT, by any chance does your office has charging infrastructure? If yes, then 95% of your problems should be solved as the car will have some sort of charging while sitting idle.

[rst89]

A wonderful and a short review.

Did the marketing team of MG inform you till how much SOC% is this car drivable? For example, can you drive this car when it's showing 3% SOC?

[tejascshetty]

Lovely Review! I personally believe that we are still about 5 years away from electric cars being a practical daily driver, as the lack of public charging options may still be a sufficient dissuading factor for some. That being said, Tier 1 cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru should embrace EV options sooner than later. Especially great to see the infrastructure in Bengaluru so far and hopefully this will only get better.

Coming to the MG ZS EV, with an on-road price of close to 23 Lakhs in Bengaluru, it is on the higher end of the budget for those looking for a second vehicle for city use and are looking for a premium compact SUV/ SUV. It should definitely be considered as an alternative to the top end variants of the Creta, Seltos, Harrier, Jeep Compass, etc. However, it may be a little too early in the day to get this car for use in a single car garage.

With the Tata Nexon EV offering a real life range of 250 KM and the MG ZS EV offering a range of around 300KM real life range, that is the equivalent of the range obtained from an average half tank of fuel. Assuming most people go through two full tank fueling cycles in a month, with daily weekday city drives, electric vehicles like the MG ZS EV and the Tata Nexon EV should require recharging a maximum of 5 times in a month. This should be very doable. The point at the end of the day comes down to, availability of public fast charging options which would make or break the equation in favour of electric vehicles. We are on the right track though. Exciting times ahead!

[fordday]

Originally Posted by yajaman99

Now 90% of the time you will charge at home using the 7.4kW Delta AC charger provided which would cost you approx Rs 8 per kW , ie 44.5 kW = Rs

In Bangalore, Bescom offers EV charging tariff at 5 rupees per kwh and 60 rupees per kw fixed cost (per month). This is if you draw a separate line from bescom with its own meter.

So, for 45 Kwh battery with a 7.5 kw charger, the charging cost will be 45x5 = 225 per full charge and add monthly 500 rupees fixed cost.

[akash_v12]

Interesting method to advertise an EV by MG. Long test-drives can definitely act like a deciding factor for customers who are contemplating on whether they should buy an EV. Great review too! Shows the real world challenges a person might incur while owning an EV.

Yajaman99, A few questions for you:-

1. Are they giving these long TD's to prospective customers only?
2. Did they charge you anything? If yes, would you mind sharing the cost?
3. Is this service available only in Bangalore or elsewhere too? Was thinking of taking one here in Pune since the Vento is due for service soon and MG & VW are located at the same dealership.

Thanks In Advance,
Akashdeep

[yajaman99]

Originally Posted by turbowhistle

Thanks for the detailed review,
Slightly OT, by any chance does your office has charging infrastructure? If yes, then 95% of your problems should be solved as the car will have some sort of charging while sitting idle.

My Campus has only one parking slot which has a standard charging socket used for the Reva and E20 EV.

Originally Posted by rst89

Did the marketing team of MG inform you till how much SOC% is this car drivable? For example, can you drive this car when it's showing 3% SOC?

Good question, I never checked. I am not sure what all will function when the SOC is at 3%. If I do get this EV , I will surely test it out.

Originally Posted by akash_v12

Interesting method to advertise an EV by MG.
Thanks In Advance,

Hope the below helps.

1. Are they giving these long TD's to prospective customers only?
There was an Advertisement by MG Bangalore in TOI, so it was open to all. However I guess they will take a call who can get the extended test drive based on the interaction they have.

2. Did they charge you anything? If yes, would you mind sharing the cost?
No they did not charge me anything. I had to pay for the charging as that was in my own interest.

3. Is this service available only in Bangalore or elsewhere too?
Not sure, you may have to call up the MG dealer in Pune and check with them. You may share the TOI advertisement which is posted in the start of the this thread as a reference.

[Aditya]

Very comprehensive review of the MG ZS EV that tells us everything that we want to know about the car. Thanks for sharing!

The ZS EV has a lot going for it - good looks, good interior space, decent power and a fair range. I also love the features it is loaded with and the amount of information the car relays to the driver.

However, it is the lack of infrastructure in our country that will keep sales from taking off. Outstation trips are almost impossible. One might manage to do a Mumbai - Lonavala and back trip though without a problem (being conservative here). That's pretty good I say.

I just hope that the government starts taking things a little more seriously now and concentrates on building a strong charging infrastructure.

[SuyashBansal]

Originally Posted by akash_v12

Interesting method to advertise an EV by MG.
Thanks In Advance,

I did contacted my nearest MG showroom after reading yajaman99's review. After talking to the showroom manager and providing some details about my employment, I got an approval to have an extended TD. I've scheduled the TD over the weekend of 11-Sep. Will post my thoughts here.

I'm pretty sure they'll be happy to have more people take these TDs creating positive coverage for the company as well as the EV offering.

Originally Posted by yajaman99

Good question, I never checked. I am not sure what all will function when the SOC is at 3%. If I do get this EV , I will surely test it out.

Were there any restrictions on the distance that you can drive? I want to understand in terms of geofencing. I've planned a short highway trip of around 110 KMS from my location for the time of the extended TD. Hope they won't limit it that way.

[yajaman99]

Originally Posted by SuyashBansal

II got an approval to have an extended TD. I've scheduled the TD over the weekend of 11-Sep. Will post my thoughts here.

Were there any restrictions on the distance that you can drive? I want to understand in terms of geofencing. I've planned a short highway trip of around 110 KMS from my location for the time of the extended TD. Hope they won't limit it that way.

Super cool, do enjoy your extended test drive.
There was no limit to the distance I could drive, I just needed to make sure the car was charged up.
As for geofencing, I was not allowed to test out the iSmart app and I do not think it was enabled. However good to check with the dealer.

If you have a 16 amp socket at your residence you can do the slow charging and wont have to worry much.

A round trip of 220 Km would mean you need to ensure you have 100% charge before you set out. This mainly due to the lack of charging infrastructure at this time.

I just checked the Fortum App, you have the Fast Charger at the MG Showroom.
Interesting the rate is different from Bangalore , it is Rs 3/- cheaper.