Morris Garages was established by William Morris in 1924.

MG is celebrating its centenary with the launch of the 100-Year Limited Editions based on the Hector, Astor, ZS EV and Comet EV.

The MG 100-Year Limited Editions feature an ‘Evergreen’ exterior with a Starry Black finished roof and dark finished elements. The cars also get a ‘100-Year Edition’ badge on the tailgate.

The interior of the limited edition models has an all-black theme with ‘100-Year Edition’ embroidered on the front headrests and an ‘Evergreen’ themed head unit.

Morris Garages was established by William Morris in 1924. The company introduced its first model, the 14/28 Super Sports, based on the Morris Oxford platform in 1930. This 2-seater was capable of reaching speeds of up to 105 km/h. In 1931, MG built the EX120, also called ‘The Magic Midget’, which set the land speed record for 750cc cars by achieving a top speed of 166 km/h.

MG 100-Year Limited Edition ex-showroom prices:

• Hector – Rs 21.20 lakh
• Astor – Rs 14.81 lakh
• ZS EV – Rs 24.18 lakh
• Comet EV – Rs 9.40 lakh

It felt like a premium electric vehicle but I was overwhelmed by the number of buttons. My Tata Tiago EV felt simple in a subtle way.

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MG ZS EV

The very next day I got the service done, I took my family for a test drive of MG ZS EV since I had to get that thought out of my system. I knew this would be a financial blunder, but I needed my peace of mind. On my way to the MG showroom, I visited the service center again to get a tentative date for the taillamp assembly replacement. The service manager asked me if I could drop the car again to check out the charging issue – told him would do it once the tail lamp replacement is approved.

Next stop was the MG showroom and there wasn’t anyone but us. The ZS EV felt like a premium car and the entire switch gear felt very European and I loved the tactility of the buttons. The rear seat ergonomics was compromised due to the raised floor – but can live with it. The car had a spare wheel and a lot of boot space – something that we missed in our tiny Tiago. But hey, we could get two of those for the price of the ZS model on display.

The sales advisor offered a test drive, and I got in the front seat. I loved the visibility and the seat comfort. Tiago’s seats are one size small for me. The car felt very comfortable – although I needed some time to get used to things.

To be honest, I felt overwhelmed – there were too many buttons. The Tiago felt simple in a subtle way. I slotted the car in reverse and the poor camera quality was a big turn-off (I thought the Jimny had the most pathetic camera). The car had a lot of errors (Radar and some system malfunctions) for a car that has only run 20k. Felt sorry for the car – sure everyone abuses it.

I could feel the rough road and I thought the ZS was tuned for comfort – I thought the car might be overinflated, but the sales advisor showed me 37 vs. the recommended 35psi. Tata should really have provided a proper TPMS instead of the iTPMS. The MID wasn’t well designed and some info like driving mode was a tiny piece of info in the MID. The drive helped in easing my mind – I won’t be happy with the ZS EV either.

I wished Tata paid a bit more attention to things like how charging is done. With ZS it is as simple as unlocking the car. In the Tiago, the charging port is on the passenger side, and one must open the lid from the driver's side after unlocking the car – a push to open the lid would have made things a lot easier. Also, the charging gun can be released by just unlocking the car – no need to press a button inside the car.

Living with Niggles

I also called up a relative who had a Harrier. He had mentioned that a friend of his has a Nexon EV which was having a lot of issues and found ways to sort the issues. So, we got into a conference call which became more like a support group meeting. We lamented about the issues our cars had and how inept Tata was to sort these out. The owner of Nexon EV was in the same boat as me – the car was lovely but there were far too many issues (he had his AC and battery already replaced within 2 years). We couldn’t find another car that we liked in the respective budget. We both didn’t want another ICE car either. The suggestion I got was to keep ignoring issues till the car breaks down or till service is due – getting every issue fixed as soon as it appears will only waste your time. Looks like that is the only way to remain sane.

Tail Lamp Replacement

The next week the ASM (service manager) confirmed that my tail lamp could be replaced if I drove in. Decided to get it replaced and continue assessing the charging issue. They plugged the car into an AC fast charger, but the radiator fan didn’t have to be ON and the charging started immediately. The technician said the fan would come in after around 30 minutes. I volunteered to wait beside the car and let others go on with their jobs. I spent the time checking out other cars that came in for service.

Wonder why some owners continue to keep the plastic covers:

The dealer also runs Toyota dealerships, and the car belonged to someone in the group:

The fan didn’t turn ON after even an hour and a half and I asked the technician to try taking the car for a spin. We drove around town for some time and came back. It was scorching hot so I thought the fan would turn ON if we plugged in after a drive. The fan didn’t turn ON after even the 30-minute drive. The technician didn’t have any more suggestions and we decided to call it a day and get the tail lamp fixed. I was planning to take the car for a long drive the next day – so we thought would test the car again if I could drive into the service center directly after the drive. There was a mix-up, so the job took more than an hour (somebody picked up the ICE Tiago part once and one of the lamps had a broken clip).

I plugged the car in at night and this time the fan turned on and the car started charging immediately. I was clueless as to what was happening. Took the car for a long drive the next day but couldn’t drive back to the service center as I had to attend a funeral later in the day. Put the car to charge and the issue cropped up again. Left a message to the ASM and shared a video of this – this time with the bonnet open. I had a short vacation and damping planned so didn’t want to keep the car in the service center.

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The MG Comet now gets a fast-charging option on the Excite FC and Exclusive FC trims.

MG has introduced a new variant of the ZS EV called the Excite Pro. It comes with a dual-pane panoramic sunroof and is priced at Rs 19.98 lakh (ex-showroom).

The MG ZS EV is now available in four variants – Executive, Excite Pro, Exclusive Plus and Essence, with prices starting at Rs 18.98 lakh (ex-showroom). The electric SUV offers features like a digital key and Level 2 ADAS, which includes safety features like Traffic Jam Assist, Forward Collision Warning, Speed Assist System, Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Functions that help prevent unintentional deviation from the driving lane.

The ZS EV is powered by a 50.3 kWh battery and an electric motor with an output of 174 BHP and 353 Nm. The battery is said to offer a maximum range of 461 km on a single charge. MG claims a 0-100 km/h time of 8.5 seconds.

MG ZS EV ex-showroom prices:

• Executive – Rs 18,98,000
• Excite Pro – Rs 19,98,000
• Exclusive Plus – Rs 23,98,000
• Essence – Rs 24,98,000

MG Comet:

The MG Comet now gets a fast-charging option on the Excite FC and Exclusive FC trims. These are priced at Rs 8.23 lakh and Rs 9.13 lakh (ex-showroom), respectively.

These variants also get additional features like an Electronic Parking Brake, Electronic Stability Control, Rear Disc Brake, Hill-Hold Control, power foldable ORVM, turn indicator integrated DRL, Creep mode and body-coloured ORVMs.

MG Comet ex-showroom prices:

• Executive – Rs 6,98,800
• Excite – Rs 7,88,000
• Excite FC – Rs 8,23,800
• Exclusive – Rs 8,78,000
• Exclusive FC – Rs 9,13,800

I am still getting between 320-350Kms on a single charge and I have not noticed any degradation in range or battery.

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40000Kms and 6th Service Update

It’s been some time since I last updated on the Lightfury.

Lightfury completes 40000 km on the Odo in just under 18 months since I got the car. I also got it serviced recently which was the first paid service. So far, I have not faced any issues and am fully satisfied with my ownership. I am still getting between 320-350Kms on a single charge and I have not noticed any degradation in range or battery.

The car is performing as expected and I have completed many long drives including a 3000 km round trip to Statue of Unity and back. Link to the travelogue below

(Lightfury visits Statue of Unity and Equality | 3000+ km drive in my MG ZS EV))

Apart from the above long drive, I did a couple of Solo drives, one to Kohli hills and another ~900 km drive to Udupi, Mysore, and back to Bangalore in a day. The regular drives between Bangalore and Mysore continue without hiccups.

Drive to Kohli Hills

I had a day for myself during Dasara holidays and I was itching for a drive. Decided to tackle the 70+ hairpins of Kohli Hills. This is a round trip of around 600Kms from my residence.

I left my residence at 3 AM and reached the Zeon Charger near Salem at 6 AM for a quick top up before tackling the hairpins. The uphill drive was a pleasure since there were no gear changes and power was available with just a dap of the throttle. The range dropped as expected, but nothing alarming. Completed the circuit of the hills and descended. The downhill drive topped up the range lost during the uphill climb. By the time I reached down, the consumption stood at 7.9KM/KWH which is similar to the numbers I get on a highway drive. I had a quick charging and lunch stop at Salem before a quick sprint back home.

Stats from the drive.

Couple of pics from the drive.

Drive to Udupi

This was a drive to check out fellow BHPian Samurai’s Grand Vitara. I took the Charmadi ghat route over the regular Shiradi route. I was able to drive to Udupi, 416Kms in a single charge with an 8% range left. This is the longest I have driven on a single charge.

I charged at Zeon Charger in Udupi till 98% for my next destination Mysore, a distance of around 300Kms. The drive was through Sampaje Ghat, Madikeri, and Mysore. Had a blast on the uphill drive to Madikeri on the Sampaje ghat. I was able to reach Mysore with a 15% charge left. I had a quick dinner and charge for the next drive to Bangalore completing 889Kms in a day.

Longest drive on a single charge

At Charmadi ghat

6th Service Update:

This is the first paid service for the ZS EV. I got the appointment at the Electronic City service centre. The front suspension was creaking a bit on some large humps, this was sorted during the service.

Service took about 7hrs and the cost was 7682/-

Breakup of the cost is below

• Paid service: 3068/-
• WA and WB: 1326/-
• AC Filter: 1696/-
• Coolant: 1592/-

The coolant is used for both Battery and Motor thermal management. This needs to be replaced every 40K Kms. Service quality is as expected, no surprises but cleaning was not great.

Summary of Stats from my ownership so far.

Parting shot from one of the drives

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It is quite a nice vehicle but definitely not in the same class as the Ioniq5 and EV6. I cannot compare it to the Kona but I will do so once I've seen and driven a Kona.

BHPian shankar.balan recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I wandered into the MG Showroom today. I haven't gone to see MG since they first entered India because at the time I found the Hector and all a bit too over-designed for my taste anyway I am not really keen on these ‘people mover’ vehicles. But I've been intrigued by the ZS EV and the Boxy Comet for some time.

I drove the ZS today. The MG salesperson was friendly and attentive. It must have helped as I was the first man in the Showroom today. It is quite a nice vehicle but definitely not in the same class as the Ioniq5 and EV6. I cannot compare it to the Kona but I will do so once I've seen and driven a Kona.

We drove this ZS for about 10 kms up and down the Electronic City area and the ramp to the NICE road and back. Honestly, there was no blistering performance from it though I believe it puts out about 250 nm of torque and 180bhp and all that. (Quoting the Sales Executive). Performance is certainly adequate though. Eco mode works nicely. Normal and Sports modes are quite close to each other. Foot off the accelerator and the vehicle slows immediately and brakes too - this is really useful for sure, more so if one likes to floor it a bit and then encounters traffic.

Its suspension is not as ‘taut’ as the Ioniq5 or the EV6. And the performance is a bit blunted by its wallowy suspension which is set up more for soft comfort. It does take bumps and bad roads surprisingly well and one doesn't feel thrown about inside thus, it will work very nicely for families on their holidays, etc.

It is a front-wheel drive vehicle and the misaligned front wheels in the test vehicle were immediately apparent to me when I drove it this morning. With the kind of potholes, there are here in Bangalore and the wide cross-section of persons wishing to test these, I am guessing that these test-drive vehicles will need constant attention to their alignment.

It is, however, a pretty reasonably well-engineered and comfortable vehicle with some decent soft touch stuff and all that.

Good fit and finish for sure. Good seats. Adequate support. The screen is not obtrusive and feels
well integrated. The ZS Controls are ergonomically located. The ZS EV feels honestly much better put together than I expected. At Rs 27.6 lacs On road is definitely a little more expensive than I thought, when considering the Hyundai Kona’s price, but then the ZS is the bigger vehicle I believe. 320-350kms real-life range means it will not get me to Madras Ooty or Coimbatore on one charge. That's not a nice thing in my book. They say the 52.5 KW charger will take it from 0 to 100% charge in 45 minutes. The 7.5 KW charger will bring the car to 100% in 6 hours. And the 3.5 KW one will take 16 hours.

Saying all of the above, I must say, that MG vehicles offer very decent quality compared with our Indian ones. I absolutely do not want to succumb to Jingoism and faux patriotism by way of too much vocal for local and all that on the typical Indian vs Chinese thing.

Yes, this is a Chinese brand and yes, MG has a rich past and was once a good British Marque. But in my opinion, the Chinese have taken it to a different level than what the original Brits could ever have done.

Yes, they keep harping (somewhat excessively in my book) on the True Brit Heritage and all that. But that has more to do with their Brand Marketing Team and it is not wrong to play the heritage card.

From my perspective, I wanted to keep an open mind and go and see, touch, feel, and experience the MG. While this is not a vehicle that appeals to my personal needs and wants state, it is still an excellent and comfortable Option for a family for city use and for the occasional tour.

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The offers include a cash discount, exchange bonus, corporate discount and other benefits.

MG Motor India has announced end-of-year benefits on its pure electric offerings. Discounts range from up to Rs 65,000 to Rs 1 lakh, depending on the model.

The MG Comet EV is available with benefits of up to Rs 65,000. These include a cash discount, exchange bonus, corporate discount and other benefits. 

The Comet EV is the brand's smaller electric offering. It uses a 17.3 kWh battery pack that powers an electric motor that makes 41 BHP and 110 Nm. It has a maximum range of 230 km.

MG is also offering attractive discounts on the ZS EV. The electric version of the MG Astor comes with benefits of up to Rs 1 lakh, which includes an exchange bonus of Rs 1 lakh.

The MG ZS EV is powered by a 50.3 kWh battery and an electric motor with an output of 174 BHP and 353 Nm. The battery is said to offer a maximum range of 461 km on a single charge.

The base Excite variant of the MG ZS EV is now priced at Rs 22.88 lakh (ex-showroom).

Last month, MG reduced the prices of the Hector and Hector Plus. Now, the carmaker has revised the prices of the ZS EV as well. Prices have been reduced by up to Rs 2.30 lakh.

The MG ZS EV is available in three variants: Excite, Exclusive and Exclusive Pro. Following the latest price cut, the base Excite variant costs Rs 22.88 lakh (ex-showroom), Rs 50,000 less than before. Prices of the Exclusive and Exclusive Pro trims have been reduced by Rs 2.30 lakh and Rs 2 lakh, respectively.

The MG ZS EV is powered by a 50.3 kWh battery and an electric motor with an output of 174 BHP and 353 Nm. The battery is said to offer a maximum range of 461 km on a single charge. MG claims a 0-100 km/h time of 8.5 seconds.

MG had introduced the Exclusive Pro variant of the ZS EV in July this year. It is equipped with Level 2 ADAS, which includes features like Traffic Jam Assist, Forward Collision Warning, Speed Assist System, Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Functions that help prevent unintentional deviation from the driving lane.

The service quality has been consistent across all the 5 services and I hope it continues.

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Update: 30,000 km completed and 5th Service:

Lightfury completed 30,000 km over the weekend during our last long drive. Since the last update, I have done two long drives of over 700kms. This included a drive to Chennai and a drive to Sriharikota. Both these long drives were covered with ease and with good efficiency.

Drive to Chennai:

This was a work trip, the drive from Bangalore to Chennai took 6 hours including a 40min breakfast stop. The ongoing road works slowed us down quite a bit post Vellore. I didn’t need to charge in between. I got the best efficiency on this drive covering 340Kms with 30% SOC left. This is with full AC and in normal mode. I charged up the hotel I stayed in Chennai and started the return drive with 95% SOC and charged up near Vellore at Zeon charger for 20 mins. This was sufficient to reach home with 19% SOC remaining. Average speed hovered around 55-56Kmph for the entire trip.

Drive to Sriharikota:

Planned a drive to witness the Aditya L1 launch. Due to paucity of time, we could only leave on Friday night to reach Tirupati early in the morning for a quick break before heading towards Sriharikota.

Drive to Tirupati took 4hrs 35 mins with a quick 5 mins break to stretch the legs. Charged the car at Relux charger in Tirupati. This was sufficient for our drive to Sriharikota and back to Tirupati. For the return leg, I used the Tata power charger at Taj Tirupati before the drive back home. Return drive from Tirupati to Bangalore took 4hr 45mins, this included 10 mins coffee break and couple of 5 mins break at the tolls. I was able to average 53Kmph for the entire trip of over 700kms. The odo ticked over the 30K kms mark during the return leg.

5th Service update:

Completed the 30000Kms/5th service today. Since this service is covered under AMC, the cost of the service was zero.

Tried the newly opened MG service centre on Mysore Road, and though it’s quite far from my residence, I was able to get an early service slot here while I would have had to wait until next week at the Electronic City service centre.

Service quality is on expected lines with good attention to detail and no push for unnecessary work. I was in and out in 5 hours. The service quality has been consistent across all the 5 services and I hope it continues.

Also received a cushion cum blanket as a gift as part of MG's 100-year celebration.

The car has been performing well with zero rattles and complaints.

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The MG ZS EV is powered by a 50.3 kWh battery that offers a range of 461 km on a single charge.

MG has launched a new variant of the ZS EV called Exclusive Pro, priced at Rs 27,89,800 (ex-showroom). The highlight of this variant is that it comes with Autonomous Level-2, (ADAS).

The MG ZS EV's Level 2 ADAS includes several advanced safety assists, including Traffic Jam Assist, Forward Collision Warning, Speed Assist System, Adaptive Cruise Control as well as Lane Functions that help prevent unintentional deviation from the driving lane. The system has three levels of sensitivity – Low, Medium and High and three levels of warning – Haptic, Audio and Visual.

The ZS EV facelift was introduced in India in March 2022. The updated version comes equipped with a 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system and a 7-inch digital instrument cluster, a panoramic sunroof and a wireless phone charger.

The MG ZS EV is powered by a 50.3 kWh battery and an electric motor with an output of 174 BHP and 353 Nm. The battery is said to offer a maximum range of 461 km on a single charge. MG claims a 0-100 km/h time of 8.5 seconds.

The air-conditioning was on all the time and most of the driving was done in the Normal Mode.

BHPian speedmiester recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

A drive to Goa and Karwar in the Lightfury.

I just completed ~1300Kms drive to Goa and back in the ZS EV. We had planned a drive to Goa and Karwar during the summer holidays, this included a couple of days stay in South Goa and a day’s stay in Karwar.

Typically on such long drives, I prefer to drive in the night time as my son sleeps off in his car seat and it’s less stressful for him. Also, the cooler night temperatures are a lot bearable if a good part of the drive is completed at night.

We left our residence at 11:52PM with a full charge. Drove non-stop to the first charging stop at a Jio BP fuel station just before Ranebennur. It’s at a distance of 304Kms and it took me 4hrs 40Mins for this stretch. This is a 60KW fast charger and the charging process and experience are very good.

SOC was down to 25% and charged to 95% in 40mins, this was sufficient to reach our resort in South Goa with 16% battery left. We reached the resort at 12:45PM which included 45mins break for breakfast, 40mins for charging and wasting about 25 minutes at 8 election checkpoints. Most of the conversations at these checkpoints were around the range of the ZS.

There are two AC chargers at the resort we stayed and I charged to 100% there. We didn’t venture out in Goa.

On the return drive, we drove to Karwar for a night’s stay there. SOC was down to 82% when we left Karwar. We stopped for lunch in Honnavar and charged at the same time at the newly opened Jio BP fast charging station. By the time we had lunch, the car was charged to 97% from 56% in about 35mins. We visited the nearby temple at Idagunji and left for Bangalore at 3:15PM. I opted to charge at the same Jio BP charging station which I used while going to Goa. Reached this charger at 6:50PM with 32% SOC left. While the car was charging, we had an early dinner. Charged to 98% in 52mins, which was sufficient for the drive back home. The final leg of the drive took about 4hrs 20mins to cover the final 312kms to reach home. SOC was at 9% when we reached home.

Few pointers

• I don’t hypermile and I drive just like ICE cars. I keep my speeds between 80-90KMPH and with occasional bursts to 110KMPH.
• Most of the drive was in normal mode with sports mode used for about 200Kms during the return drive. AC was on all the time.
• Drive was excellent. Lightfury had no problem negotiating the occasional bad stretch of roads.
• The fast-charging network is in place and there was no range anxiety at any point. There were multiple reliable chargers available. An EV with a real-world range of 300Kms can do long drives with ease.
• I always opt for chargers which can charge two cars simultaneously and ones with a high charging rate. Also, I plan for backup chargers should the preferred one is down or occupied. I avoid chargers which can be a single point of failure.
• Plan for elevation changes, this can significantly add or reduce range. The onward journey was from an elevation of 900Meters to sea level and I could do the distance on a single charging stop. But the return leg meant climbing the 900meters increasing the consumption and prompting a second charging stop.

Final stats

• Total distance driven: 1291.4Kms
• Total driving time: 22Hr 55mins
• Avg. Speed: 55KMPH
• Avg. consumption: 7.7Km/KWH
• Total charging costs: 3209.86
• Cost/Km: Rs. 2.48

At the charging station

Parting shot

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