[arjungod]

MG has priced the product competitively and the car is feature packed when compared to the base variant of the Tiago EV.
The Tiago EV seems to be the more practical car of the two(fast charging, better boot space,4 doors) especially for families.
The Comet seems to be targeted for a niche group of consumers and should appeal to them with the features it is offering.
I expect it to do fewer sales numbers than the Tiago EV.

[rapid_fire]

I can see a lot of criticism and comments on how it looks. But clearly it is not meant to be a family car. It is definitely not for us, who think that we will be judged by the car we drive.

MG is not hiding the fact that they are targeting college students and young professionals (read Gen Z) who may find it alright. Its has got cool gadgets, funky exterior, cool interior, green and clean moreover less running costs than a motorcycle.

I would have interested in it, if I was 10 years younger, now I am too old for it.

[Maverick1977]

I really wish this is a massive success especially among the youth. This car will have a lot riding on its marketing and PR. They can make or break the market for this car.
The Nano also tried to target the youth at a later stage but it was a bit too little and a lot very late. The damage was done and no amount of marketing efforts could reverse the damage.
MG has a good opportunity to make this car a success and pave way for more micro cars to enter the Indian Market.
Let's just accept that most of us are not the intended TG and move on.

[AnandSancheti]

I for one am seriously considering this car. It's radical, inspired by the Smart of Mercedes which is a 2 seater runabout for the city. It will also be interesting to compare the features of the model launched with Tiago, I think a tiago this loaded might have a premium of around 4 lakhs. Yes it's smaller but then cheaper by 4 lakhs, mostly I am travelling alone or maybe a co-passenger, plus anyone buying an electric car today isn't buying them as their only car. The added benefit would be buying a car which is going to be a head-turner, conversation starter wherever you go. The cost of running per km would be around 65 paise, which is borders onto 2-wheeler territory. I sure am going for a test drive & see if its practical enough to go for it.

[kittigadu]

I am interested to buy this. I think this would become the activa of 4 wheelers. But, what i don't get is how could the same car give 30 more kms from the indonesian model. Looks like indian power grid really packs the punch or MG would have tuned it differently for india. They have priced it a lot lower than in Indonesia though.

-Krishna

[RaiAnish]

Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain

. A tiny car that looks like THAT will never sell in India. You want to compete with WagonR and Tiago and you look like an autorickshaw! It’s never gonna work. This product was always going to be dead on arrival.

I totally echo your thoughts. It's frustrating because the interiors look so good in comparison to the Tiago. I want to understand why couldn't they make this in a NORMAL car body like the Tiago or even smaller Alto?

[Formula1]

This is a micro version of the living space ev idea, similar to say the Buzz. It's an excellent design in the sense that it doesn't compromise on practicality, even at the expense of aesthetics. I've always wanted 'this' car.

The problem?
India already has a vehicle with the same philosophy: the autorickshaw. There'll always be a resemblance if you take that path.

MG clearly knows that even the 2nd car market won't fulfill their targets. So they're going after the rich college kids. I mean, we have enough rich boomers (affectionately) on this forum. Would you buy your zoomer kids this thing? Or would you rather have them dropped off by a driver? This should be a poll.
I don't think anyone is gonna beg for this like for their first motorcycle, regardless of gender. So this is still going to be a parental decision.

I think that Comet would be safer than most Hyundai Kias and Maruti Suzukis, but sometimes even safety ends up being just a perspective, that is bigger is always safer.

Things could have been different if they did something, at least a little bit of thing with that rear end. It looks just too cheap to Indians.

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain

I am pretty sure that if I suggest this car to my wife, I’ll have to sleep on the sofa for the foreseeable future.

I guess All those "Thanks" are from previous such experiences.

Jokes apart, its really not such a bad option. There were (are) a lot of people who liked the Reva/E2O. This one is a bit better than that car surely, and its compact dimensions are definitely attractive. Its like buying an Ather 450X for 2 adults to be seated comfortably, and then some.

[manpreetsj]

The pricing is right for the tech, safety and interiors it offers. The screens are better than some of cars in 25L+ segment.

It is wrong to compare it with Nano, cheapest failed car of India (both as per marketing and as an actual product!)

SAIC has seen success with this form factor in China since 2019. Their E series even went on to become top selling car in EV segment. Further, this form factor is picking up sales in congested cities like London where parking is a big issue.

MG seems to be targetting two customer groups - (1) Young gen. looking for cheap yet funky car with all the tech of 2-3 segments above cars (2) Office goers in congested cities like Bengaluru and Mumbai. This will sell the most in BLR!

They could have gone for Jimmy like design they are introducing as Baojun Yep in China. This Yep form factor is more traditional and many here would have been able to convince their spouse.

[Night Raven]

My father has been driving a Nano for the past 11 years. He is almost 70 now and he was super excited to see the walk around videos of the Comet. For him the things that he dislikes about the Nano are lack of refinement, lack of any comfort features and lack of power from the engine, all of which are solved in the Comet. I am seriously considering buying this for him in the near future when Nano is to be replaced.

[Shreyans_Jain]

Originally Posted by Formula1

The problem?
India already has a vehicle with the same philosophy: the autorickshaw. There'll always be a resemblance if you take that path.

MG clearly knows that even the 2nd car market won't fulfill their targets. So they're going after the rich college kids.

I am willing to bet that rich kids are never going to touch this. You don’t want to be seen arriving in this weird little thing when your friends are driving BMWs and Wranglers and Range Rovers and Mercs.

Honestly, my wife had this exact concern when I suggested her the Tiago EV. To her, it was a Tiago. End of story. The green number plate and EV credentials did not matter. She’d rather drive a Sonet than a Tiago for the same price (no subsidy in HR), and it’s a valid logic. It is only us enthusiasts who understand and appreciate the technology here. For the casual buyer, size, street cred and perception are very important.

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

I guess All those "Thanks" are from previous such experiences.

Jokes apart, its really not such a bad option. There were (are) a lot of people who liked the Reva/E2O. This one is a bit better than that car surely, and its compact dimensions are definitely attractive. Its like buying an Ather 450X for 2 adults to be seated comfortably, and then some.

I don’t think there is going to be much overlap between fancy electric scooter buyers and 9L Rupee car/EV buyers. The E2O was a lot more conventional looking than this, especially from the back. It was a rare Mahindra of that time which is actually nicely styled. Comet’s ARAI range of 230 means 110-120 in the real world, which is about the same as E2O +.

Originally Posted by manpreetsj

It is wrong to compare it with Nano, cheapest failed car of India (both as per marketing and as an actual product!)

They could have gone for Jimmy like design they are introducing as Baojun Yep in China. This Yep form factor is more traditional and many here would have been able to convince their spouse.

The Nano connotations come only and only from the styling, the dimensions, the proportions and the tiny wheels. And that, in turn, reminds you of autorickshaws. Nano was still a relatively much cleaner and aesthetically pleasing design.

A more conventional design like the Yep would have led to better acceptance.

[neerajku]

At this price and a micro shape, I suspect will be seen as an expensive Nano or the forgotten Reva. My guess is, at 5 lakh bracket could have replaced two wheelers as the errand car. May be taxes and global inflation has taken its toll on pricing.

[antz.bin]

I had genuinely liked this 1 door car when I first saw the video 6 months ago.

https://youtu.be/uNp_M76wIws

But the Comet EV? Repulsion at first sight.

The micro car has to be better thought out than this. This design was alright 10-15 years back when you had constraints like the Nano had to contend with (like thinking about where the engine should go) placing screens cannot fix this issue.

How different is it to the E2O? What makes this desirable over the E2O? With 40 odd hp (barely more than a Nano) and no fast charging, this is anyways not going to the highway. Why not just use the quadricycle regulations and go wild with possibilities? Why did they have to make it a full service car with high strength steel and the full suite of safety features adding weight and cost if the intended usage was just to be an Urban commute? I bet Tata can make a Nano based Pixel EV with all the same features and creature comforts as the Comet EV for 25% less and still turn a profit. They aren't doing it since there is no market demand. Maybe they should and show the world how it's actually done.

It's not like it hasn't been done before.

Who again is the target customer, the gen Z is it? I understand that Gen Z don't have kids yet, but they do have friends (I really hope they do). I wouldn't want to be seen dead in one of these. I could maybe consider the Microlino because it's just too cute and is literally the easiest car in the world to park with the door opening towards the sidewalk, but this? Hard pass from me.

India is too crowded with too little parking for cars like these to be running around. As I write this I found this oxymoronic so scratch this one but the initial thought was that it it isn't making a car smaller, it's making a scooter bigger. I live in the 2nd most congested city in the country, and I find very little value in having this over the current crop of cars.

Anyways, enough ranting. Clearly I do not understand the value proposition of this car and am not the intended audience so I will refrain from any further comments. The reason this post exists was to reiterate that this was not the most efficient way solve the micro EV problem. I just showed 2. One that is cheaper and the other that just solves the problem better.

[lemedico]

To me, at first glance they've done a Japanese kei car appearance and size. It is quirky and it would definitely find home in people's garages as their second or third car.

Waiting for the tbhp review!

[KL01toKA03]

I would consider this a perfect first car for many families. Let me take my example. We currently have a hatchback, which I bought a few months before marriage. In the 10 years of ownership, the car has crossed 1.25 lakh kilometers, with 90% of that within the city. In most cases, one or two seats have been used.


If I were in the market to replace my car, I would buy a small electric car with features for office commute and buy a bigger used car to keep as a second car for times when we need more than 2 seats. Cars like the Comet allow you the luxury of having two cars for the price of one. Even if the maintenance cost might be slightly higher than having one car, the total cost of ownership would still be much less than having one large petrol car.