Brought home an MG ZS EV Exclusive in silver: 11 likes & 8 dislikes

Having an independent House equipped with a 5 kW, solar set up and with a basement garage meant that the EV bug had already bitten.

BHPian INNOVATOR recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Thanks for the the stellar ownership review @shyampsundar, rated it 5 stars.

I was planning to pen one of mine, but your review is pretty much the trajectory I went through before finally deciding to buy – surprise surprise – MG ZS EV (exclusive) in Aurora Silver colour!

Few additions to the background though:

• In my case, I wanted to get rid of my trusty workhorse – a Red Renault Scala that did duty for over 160K Km. Primary reason for this was the need for an automatic. The Metro work here in Pune has aggravated the traffic to an extent that the knee is subjected to pressures akin to astronauts training for space travel. It was just over 10 years old and served me well – frugal and powerful and driven mostly in the city with just a couple of long drives (>1500 km) thrown in.

• Having an independent House equipped with a 5 kW, solar set up and with a basement garage meant that the EV bug had already bitten

• Drove and tested almost the same set of cars, namely – Nexon, Kona, BYD Atto 3, Ioniq 5, and the XC40 Recharge. While the Coonur was an immediate reject, each of the others presented a compelling proposition – Nexon in terms of its value, ioniq 5 in terms of its sheer interior space, the Atto3 in terms of its quirky interiors, which also happens to be the reason it was rejected and last, but not the least the incredible XC 40 that just blew us away with its 428 bhp power available instantly coupled with the legendary Volvo, promise of safety and littered with features such as the adaptive cruise control that made it such a hoot to drive in the city. We had to say no to the XC 40 only because of its sad interiors, the velvet lining and Alcantara vegan seats and exposed wiring under the front seat. Had it been available for 10 lakhs lesser, it would have been short to blind us to the downsides.

• We also reviewed the MG comet and I believe it deserves an entire para for why we rejected it. We had paused the decision making process because MG had teased the comet. Quirky looks aside, I loved the interiors. However, it crossed off a lot of checkboxes – like low range, no fast charging and super small wheels. While its interiors are to die for, the initial reviews that warned of a hard ride and display issues put me off. Honestly, it made the Tiago a compelling buy

• Having reviewed all of these, and then some, like the EQB and the mini EV, we made up our mind to go with the MGZSEV. With a neighbourhood dealer offering a 2.24,00,00 discount on the exclusive variant, it acted as the layer of grease in the decision making process. Immediate availability and choice of colours ensured that I took out my card and swipe the booking amount without any further procrastination.

• The Exicom charger set up was seamless. While I had a 5 kW, three phase connection already, they insisted that I apply for a load enhancement. I gave them an acknowledgement from MSEDCL where i had requested a Load upgrade to 12KW. They also insisted that I have a dedicated phase for the charger supply and upgraded 16sqmm wiring from the busbar to the dedicated phase and neutral and to the MCB where the main cable from the charger was connected. The setup worked seamlessly and I also got to know that MG funds upto 100 m of armored cable from the meter to the charging point. Exicom engineers do a smart job and are open to positions that make sense for you. They recommend using iPlugged app to monitor the charging, but it does not install on an iPhone at all … tried multiple times. The iSmart app from MG should be adequate, but it could be better with more information being available (like how many units of electricity was consumed in a charge cycle)

Finally having brought the car home, will jot down few of the likes / dislikes:

Likes:

• The power available on tap is more than adequate in the city

• The “Auto Hold” function completely eliminates the need to keep your feet on the brakes while waiting for the signal to turn green and is a boon in stop and go traffic. It prevents the car from moving either ahead or behind (rollback). Auto Hold engages only if you are wearing the seat-belt on the driver seat. Holds the car in all conditions (on an incline or on flatland). You have to be careful while moving the car ahead. This requires you to press on the accellerator and until you get used to the surge, it is advisable to keep at least 3 ft distance from the car in front of you. Note that it is easy to get used to the accelerator control and you may then, be more adventurous with the distance between cars

• Kers 3 (Regen braking) mode makes it a breeze to drive in the city simulating 1-pedal driving, though it does not bring the car to a halt. I have tried the same in the nexon, where I drove with the highest Regen 3 setup and noticed that the tuning was much more aggressive in bringing the car to a halt. I haven’t switched it to a lower Kers mode since I bought the car … it is that addictive. Note that when the car is fully charged – 98 to 100% battery, the KERS 3 mode does not have any effect and the car will coast as if it is set at Kers 1. This may be because the battery is full, but was an interesting observation.

• Auto headlamps and wipers are a boon – remember that I am coming from a 10 yr old vintage and while these may be the default these days, for me, it was a genuine pain

• “Vehicle Settings” buried in the head unit allow you adequate control on Hill Descent, Pedestrian warning whine at low speeds, granular control of the coming home lights, rear driving assistance to the driver, announcements and greetings by MG etc.

• 360 degree camera with sensors at the back are very useful. the cameras engage at important moments such as a slow turn where there is an obstacle nearby.

• USB for charging dashcam is well placed and very thoughtful – I haven’t installed one yet

• The seating is high and it is easy to get into a comfortable driving position quickly. Ingress and egress is easy, but ladies in a saree may struggle to get on due to the height of the vehicle. It is a minor issue and can be easily remedied.

• Visiblity and ground clearance are adequate, in most roads

• Noise insulation is good. My petrol Merc sounds quite noisy and my Petrol Innova sounds like a tractor in comparison to the super silence that the ZS EV affords

• 100% charge offers 350 km in Normal mode.

Dislikes (will list a lot of them here, but this is more for folks to understand the intricacies and not to complain … it is a phenomenal car by all accounts and offers quite a bit of kit for the price)

• The head unit sucks. the resolution is poor and it does not afford choices of themes. the default theme comes in 2 sad colours, grey and purple and both look horrible. Unavailability of any themes or customizations are truly a disappointment in this day and age – what would it cost to build a few more themes and allow widgets to be moved around on the screen. These should ideally be only a OTA update away and I am hoping that someone from MG is listeningThe fonts on some apps like Jio Saavn are so small and the touch sensitivity of the screen is so bad that it is almost impossible to use. Thankfully most key controls like AC, Fan, Home, Next / Previous etc are available in physical buttons, and they are quite usable. The unit could do with quite a lot of QA testing. Simple stuff are badly implemented (now my comparison is with the Merc, and it is quite a refined and polished system).The system overall could do with a complete overhaul. Wired Apple carplay engages fine but is quite intermittent and disconnects often. I am not using an original apple cable, and this could be a contributing factor. The unit takes about 10-15 sec to come alive and if you decide to reverse as soon as you turn on the car, the rear cameras may not fire. Not an issue if you wait for the screen to come alive and then put the car in reverse. This is not as bad as other units such as Nexon / XUV 400. The volvo has a Google unit, but with very little physical buttons, this can be more of an issue. The lady that announces or talks back in the MG has an annoying voice and there is no ability to change the voice. The in-built navigation is useless and irritating with the same voice announcing speed breakers on the road where there are none. While the greetings can be muted, I haven’t found an option to mute initial announcements of the weather.

• Lack of ADAS (specifically adaptive cruise control) is an unforgiveable omission in a car costing 29 big ones.

• AC in Eco mode is woefully inadequate in relatively milder Pune summers. Normal mode is the default go to mode if you want to have a comfortable ride.

• The boot closure / opening should ideally have been motorized

• Large panoramic sunroof can act as “Neighbor’s envy … Owner’s Pain” as it can get very hot. The curtains below the sunroof does not do a good job of insulting the passengers

• Miss ventilated seats – if Tatas can give this in a 20 L car, there is no explanation for its absence in a car that costs 50% more. India is a hot country and this is more of a necessity than a luxury.

• Handling at 50 KMPH itself can be quite bumpy – not sure if it is because of the quality of the roads that I frequent or the known soft setup of the suspension in the car

• CEAT / Good Year tyres replacing Michelin primacy / Continental ultra contact given in the earlier cars is a shame. I had a flat on my first day of ownership – albeit it was due to a nail and not because it was CEAT (my car got the CEATS). MG could have stayed away from the el-cheapo mindset that plagues the likes of citroen. I have not upgraded the rubber yet, but is on my list of to dos. recommendations welcome

Personalizations in the car

• Debadged the car leaving on the ZS EV, replaced it with “Morris Garages” branding on the upper lip and “Brit Dynamic” logos replacing the obnoxious “electric” stickers. Also added MG door guards as 3rd party ones were unable to offer adequate protection

• Ceramic coating – 9H hardness with 5 years maintenance coats costing 15K from a regular detailer in Baner, Pune.

• Bought the MG Shield plan that offers RSA, 5 yrs warranty on the motor and vehicle and 5 yr labour free services. It costs just 7.5 K and is well worth the price IMHO.

• Bought a trusty Jopasu to quickly clean the dust magnet

Summary

The MG ZS EV is a great car and EV. I will continue to add more details / observations as I use the car and put it though the paces. But so far, it has been a delight to drive and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone looking for an EV below 30 L. Pushing the dealer to extend discounts may narrow the gap with the Excite variant that is quite a VFM car. Had MG done a better job with the head unit, I would have had very little to complain.

The launch of the Volvo EX 30 in some markets on Jun 7, 2023 was an event that I was closesly following and was on 2 minds if I should wait for it or commit to the ZS EV. I am glad that I did not wait. The EX 30 may be a competent car at a competitive price, but would not have been available anytime soon and I needed this one to replace my trusty steed.

The reviews of the ZS EV online, across the world, often summarize it as a VFM car offering a lot of gizmos and features. I would agree with this assessment, though in India, the value prop is diluted with the exclusions of some kit like ADAS and heated seats (We needed the opp here) and better tyres. However, I can rest peacefully knowing that it has solved a lot of my pain-points and relative to the available cars at this time, it is well worth it.

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