The arrival of the MG ZS EV has broken down the final barrier to owning an electric vehicle – price!
- The arrival of the MG ZS EV has broken down the final barrier to owning an electric vehicle – price!
- MG breaks the last barrier
- MG’s electric dream made real
- No range anxiety with ZS EV
- Counting the cents
- And more electric MGs to come
The arrival of the MG ZS EV has broken down the final barrier to owning an electric vehicle – price!
Electric cars have had to leap over more barriers than an Olympic hurdler just to reach the start line… let alone challenge the fossil-fuelled status quo.
First, they were quirky-looking city runabouts designed to project the future onto today’s roads and capable of driving 100km (maybe!) on a single charge. Even then, owners could really only top-up the battery at home because there was a fundamental lack of recharging infrastructure.
Recently though, massive research and development investment has seen rapid advances in EV technology. And, as a result, barriers are being knocked down faster than ever before. There is now a range of car-makers introducing a wider variety of battery-electric vehicles with more power and better driving ranges.
At the same time, Australia’s network of public charging stations has increased exponentially to the point where long-distance inter-city battery-electric travel is a genuine option.
MG breaks the last barrier
But the last barrier to fall has been cost. Many still see electric vehicles as something only the rich can afford.
And that’s where MG comes in – launching not only Australia’s most affordable battery-electric car but making it an SUV that doesn’t compromise on space to boot!
Costing just $43,990 drive-away, the fully-electric MG ZS EV easily undercuts the its nearest battery-electric rival, the small Hyundai IONIQ hatchback, and as a five-door SUV it provides the sort of everyday performance, practicality, comfort and convenience Aussie families need.
Offered in range-topping Essence specification only, the family-friendly compact MG ZS EV has a long list of standard equipment that includes leather effects in the interior trim with electrically-adjustable and heated front seats, a full-length panoramic ‘Stargazer’ sunroof, climate control air-conditioning and an 8.0-inch colour touch-screen display with sat-nav, Bluetooth, smartphone mirroring and a six-speaker audio system with 3D Sound Field.
Like the recently-launched petrol-powered ZST, the EV is also equipped with MG Pilot, a comprehensive suite of driver safety technologies such as autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection, radar cruise control, lane keeping assistance and Traffic Jam Assist – a convenient function that constantly maintains a safe distance in heavy stop-start traffic.
MG’s electric dream made real
What sets the MG ZS EV apart from its siblings is carefully disguised behind its stylish conventional SUV exterior.
The heart of the ZS EV is a cutting-edge 105kW/353Nm electric powertrain with a liquid-cooled battery pack. And it delivers not only zero tailpipe emissions, at the same time it produces significantly more power and performance than the turbocharged petrol set-up in the conventional ZS variants.
The fact that electric motors generate maximum torque at near-zero revs not only ensures the MG ZS EV is quicker to move away from a standstill, but that the same level of acceleration is on tap at almost any speed. This uniquely EV characteristic makes the MG ZS EV effortless to drive in any environment – be you tootling around town or overtaking on the highway.
Another contributing factor is that the electric motor drives the front wheels through a single-speed transmission, making acceleration even more seamless. Simply, there is no interruption in the delivery of power when changing gears like in a normal car.
And all the time the ZS EV is whisper-quiet.
As for the lithium-ion battery pack, it is located under the floor of the passenger compartment in a configuration vehicle designers liken to a skateboard. The benefit is it doesn’t compromise the car’s interior packaging or overall useable dimensions, meaning the EV retains a spacious five-seater cabin and has a generous 359 litres of cargo space in the boot.
This set-up also helps to keep the vehicle’s centre of gravity low, which works with the specially-tuned suspension to help it feel more agile in the corners and more stable at highway speeds.
No range anxiety with ZS EV
With 44.5kWh of energy storage capacity, the MG ZS EV’s battery can deliver up to 263km of driving range on a full charge – more than five times the average Australian daily commute. Thus, city-driving owners may only need to recharge the ZS EV once or twice a week!
When the time does come to charge the ZS EV, it has both Type 2 and CCS charging points cleverly hidden behind the front grille.
This means owners can connect to either a 7kW wallbox charger fitted to their home or a 50kW DC rapid charger. With the former, it will take seven hours to top-up (overnight in the garage at home, for example), while with the latter the ZS EV can be recharged to 80 per cent capacity (more than 200km of driving range) in just 45 minutes.
Counting the cents
At $43,990 drive-away, the MG ZS EV is cost comparative to petrol SUVs on purchase, but the running costs make it an even better buy.
Making a cost comparison against a petrol-powered equivalent is dependent on a number of factors. Firstly, if you’re charging at home it will be influenced by the rates offered by your household energy supplier and whether you charge in on-peak or off-peak times. The most sustainable and affordable solution is having solar power.
Using a public charging station also depends on its location and the supplier, as some locations (including major shopping centres) and city councils encourage the use of electric vehicles by offering free charging.
In general terms though, the average Australian price for a kilowatt-hour of electricity is around 36c at present. As the MG ZS EV consumes an average of 18.6kWh/100km, it will cost approximately $4.90 to cover that distance.
By comparison, at the time of writing a litre of unleaded fuel will set you back around $1.10 and, according to the ABS Survey of Motor Vehicle Use, the average rate of fuel consumption of passenger vehicles is 10.6L/100km so this will set you back just over $11.66 to travel the same distance.
Beyond that, electric vehicles are more affordable to maintain as they have fewer moving parts and the powertrains aren’t as complex.
MG offers an eight-year/160,000km guarantee on the ZS EV’s battery and a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty on the rest of the vehicle.
And more electric MGs to come
While the ZS EV is the first battery-powered vehicle from MG to arrive Down Under, it won’t be the last with the imminent arrival of the MG eHS in 2021 – a plug-in hybrid version of the ZS’s larger mid-size SUV sibling.
MG’s parent company, SAIC, has been a prominent pioneer in alternative-fuel technology, making it one of only a handful of auto manufacturers to own its EV supply chain. In 2019, that expertise resulted in the production of more than 185,000 electric vehicles, making it one of the top five EV producers globally by volume.
Right now, however, in Australia, the MG ZS EV breaks down all of the common battery-electric vehicle barriers.
The right size, the right segment, the right range and most importantly the right price… The MG ZS EV is a game-changer.
Keyword: The MG ZS EV proves your next car should be electric