Thinking of buying a MG ZS EV 2020/2021

[FamilyWagonNeeded2023]

Hi,

Hoping for some honest owner reviews on the good and the bad of owning a MG ZS EV, potentially the slightly older model as that is what our budget allows.

This would be our first electric car and also our only family car. We do minimal long distant journeys , the odd 30/40 miler and sometimes 50 miles but thats about it. Mostly would be used for commute to work (about 5 miles) and taking the kids out locally.

Whats the good and whats the bad? Have you saved money on fuel/running costs? any problems i should be aware of with that model? Battery issues?

Many thanks in advance

 

[mj224]

The "original" MG ZS is a great car. I bought mine in November 2020, it has performed faultlessly. As with all EV's range is the Achilles heel, but if you are retired or work from home, the occasional long journey can be planned for. My MG ZSEV mk1 has just done a trip mileage of about 650 miles with a 3.7 miles/Kw. Despite winter weather and motorway mileage...Really this means you do have to plan recharging stops, which generally coincide with bladder/coffee stops...

As said the limited mileage is the only significant problem, Ok for us retirees, but a problem for working/driving fellows .............

 

[Anf800]

We bought a 2022 facelift SR Trophy. It had 10 miles on it and we bought it from our local dealer. There are some minor things that I don’t like but actually we all love the car. We’ve had no issues so far and even charging with only the granny charger hasn’t been a problem for us. The car is amazing.

 

[Jomarkh]

Hi,

Hoping for some honest owner reviews on the good and the bad of owning a MG ZS EV, potentially the slightly older model as that is what our budget allows.

This would be our first electric car and also our only family car. We do minimal long distant journeys , the odd 30/40 miler and sometimes 50 miles but thats about it. Mostly would be used for commute to work (about 5 miles) and taking the kids out locally.

Whats the good and whats the bad? Have you saved money on fuel/running costs? any problems i should be aware of with that model? Battery issues?

Many thanks in advance

Hi, I have got a MG5 but have read a lot about the ZS.
If you are buying from an MG dealership then make sure it has all the latest updates done, some of these take a few hour to complete.
Check the condition of the so called 'granny' EVSE lead that comes with the car for charging you may even get a 32A type2 cable thrown in.
If you are a low mileage user then the range should be fine and you probably won't need to splash out £1k on a 7kW EVSE home charge point.
Check out Zap-map to see what charge points are near you.

 

[rpannell]

I had the Mk1 ZSEV and did about 34,000 miles in it before swapping it for the Mk2 LR. It did everything I wanted from it and the main reason for the swap was simply for the additional range. All my 34,000 miles (and the 8,0000 miles since) were done charging with the supplied granny charger so I didn't bother spending the extra £1000 or so for a 7kw home charger.
The only negative I had with the Mk1 was battery degradation. After 34 months and 34,000 miles, I had lost about 8% of battery range so you may want to check this if buying a secondhand Mk1. The Mk1 and Mk2 are both great cars.

 

[FamilyWagonNeeded2023]

thank you everyone for the replies! We are very keen on the ZS EV, ticks a lot of boxes for us. Hopefully soon might have some news of us buying one!

 

[Susanna]

I am very happy with my facelift MG ZS owned for just under 3 months. On my Octopus Go tariff, it has cost a little over £30 for around 1400 miles driven. It’s comfortable, I love the ride height, the boot size is great, and it fits in my garage!
My previous car, a Peugeot 208, would have cost around £300 in petrol for the same mileage.

 

[Kithmo]

If, like me, you don't need the longer range and don't need apps, the Mk1 ZS is perfect for your scenario.
You don't need things like pre-heat as it only takes between 2 and 5 minutes to completely defrost and demist, depending how cold it is.
The headlights are a bit dim with the original long life bulbs in, it's worth upgrading to better bulbs.
Mine has only had the Comfort 2 update, which gets rid of or quietens some of the beeps and bongs the original setup had.
IMO the rest of the updates are nice to have but not really necessary, in fact one BMS (Battery Management System) update actually messed the car up and needed to have another one to correct it.
It is a really good first EV and second hand prices are dropping now so you should be able to pick up a nice one for less money.

 

[Lovemyev]

Pretty much all said really.
Given your low usage pattern, I would have said that the ZS EV ( Gen 1 ) would suit your needs extremely well.
I assume ( given your small usage ) you will be charging from home almost 100% of the time.
This is when you will see the biggest savings on running costs, although you usage pattern is pretty small.
The more miles you cover, the larger the savings in an EV of course over a fossil.
EV driving ( for me anyway ) is a much better relaxed driving experience, of course it’s not the same for everybody.
Servicing costs are very reasonable compared to a ICE car as you would expect, because of the lack of the usual stuff like oil and filters etc etc.
Make sure the car you are looking at, has had its services done at the main dealer, as keeping this up to date, will ensure that you don’t invalidate the 7 year warranty and it will entitle you to free FULL break down cover each year.
It’s a personal thing I know and budget takes a big part her, but can I suggest that you consider getting the Exclusive model ?.
It has the full glass sky roof that brings a lot of light into the car, giving it a greater feeling of space.
My grand children love being able to look up to the sky and it has an electric blind you can use in the summer time.
While on this subject, the glass in the sky roof is tinted, but the rest of the glass is NOT and the interior of the car can get hot when that big yellow thing in the sky makes an appearance ?.
This can be improved by having the windows tinted, which a lot of owners do.
The sky roof has been dropped on the latest Gen 2 model now which is a real shame, so this is a nice feature to have.
There a GOOD number of extra features that come with the Exclusive model over the Excite model, not just the sky roof well worth the extra cost IMHO.
The Gen1 has the nice diamond cut alloy wheels, check them for damage as they can be a bit costly to have refinished.
The boot space is really good in its class and is more than big enough for the family shop !.
While on this subject, the ZS EV does have the provision to house an emergency spare wheel.
This is fairly rare these days, as most cars only have the inflation gloop and a pump.
You can purchase a spare wheel kit on line, it as it is not standard equipment.
MG do not sell it any more but you could be lucky and pick one up second hand.
A lot of people ask if the Gen1 has the App for preheating via your phone, well no it does not I am afraid.
You can preheat the cabin, but you have to do it manually.
When first launched the Gen 1 ZS EV was absolutely unbeatable value for money back in 2019 but as the grants have been removed, the price has increased by a lot !.
Still a good value for money EV but less so.
Second hand prices have decreased rapidly in the last few months, from that stupid all time high.
Time your purchase correctly when you think the prices have fully stabilised or you could get bitten on the bum !.
Oh …… If you are doing a lot of night time driving, you may find the head lights a little “yellow” if you have been use to better performing units.
They’re okay, but they can be improved with some whiter / brighter lamps ( bulbs ) for not a lot of money.
Hope this has been of some use and good luck with your search ?.
Have you driven one yet, if not you need to do that first really to be sure you are happy.
Keep us posted to what you find and let the forum know if you have anymore questions.
Good luck ?.

 

[FamilyWagonNeeded2023]

Pretty much all said really.
Given your low usage pattern, I would have said that the ZS EV ( Gen 1 ) would suit your needs extremely well.
I assume ( given your small usage ) you will be charging from home almost 100% of the time.
This is when you will see the biggest savings on running costs, although you usage pattern is pretty small.
The more miles you cover, the larger the savings in an EV of course over a fossil.
EV driving ( for me anyway ) is a much better relaxed driving experience, of course it’s not the same for everybody.
Servicing costs are very reasonable compared to a ICE car as you would expect, because of the lack of the usual stuff like oil and filters etc etc.
Make sure the car you are looking at, has had its services done at the main dealer, as keeping this up to date, will ensure that you don’t invalidate the 7 year warranty and it will entitle you to free FULL break down cover each year.
It’s a personal thing I know and budget takes a big part her, but can I suggest that you consider getting the Exclusive model ?.
It has the full glass sky roof that brings a lot of light into the car, giving it a greater feeling of space.
My grand children love being able to look up to the sky and it has an electric blind you can use in the summer time.
While on this subject, the glass in the sky roof is tinted, but the rest of the glass is NOT and the interior of the car can get hot when that big yellow thing in the sky makes an appearance ?.
This can be improved by having the windows tinted, which a lot of owners do.
The sky roof has been dropped on the latest Gen 2 model now which is a real shame, so this is a nice feature to have.
There a GOOD number of extra features that come with the Exclusive model over the Excite model, not just the sky roof well worth the extra cost IMHO.
The Gen1 has the nice diamond cut alloy wheels, check them for damage as they can be a bit costly to have refinished.
The boot space is really good in its class and is more than big enough for the family shop !.
While on this subject, the ZS EV does have the provision to house an emergency spare wheel.
This is fairly rare these days, as most cars only have the inflation gloop and a pump.
You can purchase a spare wheel kit on line, it as it is not standard equipment.
MG do not sell it any more but you could be lucky and pick one up second hand.
A lot of people ask if the Gen1 has the App for preheating via your phone, well no it does not I am afraid.
You can preheat the cabin, but you have to do it manually.
When first launched the Gen 1 ZS EV was absolutely unbeatable value for money back in 2019 but as the grants have been removed, the price has increased by a lot !.
Still a good value for money EV but less so.
Second hand prices have decreased rapidly in the last few months, from that stupid all time high.
Time your purchase correctly when you think the prices have fully stabilised or you could get bitten on the bum !.
Oh …… If you are doing a lot of night time driving, you may find the head lights a little “yellow” if you have been use to better performing units.
They’re okay, but they can be improved with some whiter / brighter lamps ( bulbs ) for not a lot of money.
Hope this has been of some use and good luck with your search ?.
Have you driven one yet, if not you need to do that first really to be sure you are happy.
Keep us posted to what you find and let the forum know if you have anymore questions.
Good luck ?.

we have driven one last week and we both loved it, it was fantastic - my other half wants to check out a few more EV, but the only other one we can find in our budget is probably the hyundai Kona...So to tick a box, we need to go and see that as well. The other one we have considered is the Kia Niro but I think that will be out of our budget.

Im keen for one with exclusive model with the sky roof, its lovely. Like the idea of tinting the windows. Baby no2 is due in a couple of months, so would like the new car for that point as current car is tiny!

 

[hmadsen]

Before i bought the MK2, i was looking long and hard at the MK1

Things that ultimatively made me decide against it was.

1. Range (I do work related trips, where the range would have me charge at every trip, with the MK2's larger battery i would not need it for most trips, and only briefly for longer trips)

2. No climate control. Coming from a line of cars, going back atleast 10 years that all has had Climate, and a few before, that "only" had aircon, i would be really annoyed to have to go back to manually adjusting fanspeed, and blend flap.

3. Infotainment is SLOW....I have not seen a single review where they did not demonstrate that it took literal seconds from pressing a button, until it reacted.

Please also remember that both Mk1 and Mk2 has no heatpump, so in winter, the car really plows through the battery if you want to be just a bit comfortable with regards to the cabin temperature.

No heatpump means 1 KW of heat cost 1KW of battery.

Heatpump is more like 4 KW of heat, cost 1 KW of battery.

But other than that, it is a nice car, drives well, not to noisy, has loads of power.

 

[Lovemyev]

my other half wants to check out a few more EV, but the only other one we can find in our budget is probably the hyundai Kona...So to tick a box, we need to go and see that as well. The other one we have considered is the Kia Niro but I think that will be out of our budget.

Your wife is right, you should totally do that !.
Kona and E.Niro are very similar in some ways and these have both always been well respected EV's by the motoring press.
I think the consensus of opinion would sway slightly towards the e.Nero over the Kona for me ?.
But remember we are trying to look at it on a "like to like" basis.
When the original ZS EV was first released, the difference in price between the ZS EV and the Kona / e.Nero was HUGE !.
I mean around £10,000+ and not a lot of folks could afford or not willing to stretch that far.
Plus the wait times on the e.Nero was over 12 months at that time..
Some models of the Kona & the e.Nero could offer a larger 64 Kwh battery, over the smaller original ZS EV battery, but this came at a MUCH higher price tag of course.
Levels of equipment where fairly similar, but I think the boot space is smaller in the Kona etc.
Now with baby 2 just around the corner, this is where the ZS EV may just step up to the plate.
I would hazard a guess, that the price difference between the original ZS EV and the e.Niro and the Kona has very much kept pace in the race, even today ?.
If so, you may have to go older or more milage on the clock to secure a e.Nero etc.
When the new ZS EV face lift was announced, some owners of the previous model was really hoping that MG would match the 64 Kwh battery size in the e.Niro / Kona.
But MG was dead set on beating the 64 Kwh target and offered a LR model with a 72.6 Kwh pack.
The problem here is of course, that this has massively risen the price of the car.
Budget has to come first and last, so this will be the deciding factor I think.
Try before you buy !.

 

[Matt M]

Infotainment is pants. It works but is very old compared to some other standards but Plug your phone in to it and you’re laughing with car play. The headlights are rubbish, we replaced our bulb almost immediately.

We bought it because it was cheapest ev out there. Would be nice to have more range in the winter months but it’s been very reliable. For a budget brand car it’s quite a pleasant interior and very smooth/nice to drive.

Window tints are a must if you go for it. You will melt inside in the summer without. I would recommend based on our experience so far.

 

[Exdro]

Hi,

Hoping for some honest owner reviews on the good and the bad of owning a MG ZS EV, potentially the slightly older model as that is what our budget allows.

This would be our first electric car and also our only family car. We do minimal long distant journeys , the odd 30/40 miler and sometimes 50 miles but thats about it. Mostly would be used for commute to work (about 5 miles) and taking the kids out locally.

Whats the good and whats the bad? Have you saved money on fuel/running costs? any problems i should be aware of with that model? Battery issues?

Just buy it and enjoy. We have just exchanged our 20 plate for a 72 plate Trophy LR. 20 plate had just over 15k miles. One of the best and easiest cars I’ve had.
Minor niggles re speed of infotainment.
Always achieved 169 miles range on eco mode in summer, 120 in winter with Heston etc on. Use heated seats rather than HVAC.
As long as you have access to charging point you will have no problems. Get written assurance that the most up to date software has been installed. It’s a great economical car to run as long as you are not doing over 120 miles per journey without stopping. The car needs recharging at about the same rate as my bladder needs emptying. ?

 

[Cwe]

Hi,

Hoping for some honest owner reviews on the good and the bad of owning a MG ZS EV, potentially the slightly older model as that is what our budget allows.

This would be our first electric car and also our only family car. We do minimal long distant journeys , the odd 30/40 miler and sometimes 50 miles but thats about it. Mostly would be used for commute to work (about 5 miles) and taking the kids out locally.

Whats the good and whats the bad? Have you saved money on fuel/running costs? any problems i should be aware of with that model? Battery issues?

Many thanks in advance

Hi
I bought my MG ZS EV Exclusive in Sept 2020 and have done 13600 miles ( thanks to covid) and have been more than happy with it and have had no problems at all. Now I'm looking to upgrade to a Tesla and have my ZS for sale if you would be interested. It is in excellent condition all round with all the comforts of the exclusive plus tinted windows. I live near Chelmsford, Essex.

 

[FamilyWagonNeeded2023]

We went to view one today, which was lovely and we hopefully all going well, we are picking it up on Friday!

We have gone for a 2020 Exclusive model in Red.


Thank you everyone for all your help on this

 

[Lovemyev]

We went to view one today, which was lovely and we hopefully all going well, we are picking it up on Friday!

We have gone for a 2020 Exclusive model in Red.


Thank you everyone for all your help on this

That is great news.
Gone for the high spec Exclusive I see - Nice !.
With the Sky Roof etc etc, finished in the most expensive paint colour choice of Dynamic red.
Are you purchasing from a MG main dealer can ask ?.
As this your first EV how do you intend to charge it ?.
Do you have "Off Street" parking and if so, I expect you will therefore be using the provided three pin 13 Amp "Granny" unit for now ?.
Oh BTW ......... Make sure it's in the boot before you leave the dealership.
Maybe consider a wall box in the future then ?‍.
Ensure the car has a complete service record at a MG main dealers, as this is necessary to comply with the T&C's of the transferable 7 year warranty.
Having the car served annually by a MG main dealer will ensure that you will be offered FULL MG break down assistance, backed up by the A.A.

 

[hmadsen]

That is great news.
Gone for the high spec Exclusive I see - Nice !.
With the Sky Roof etc etc, finished in the most expensive paint colour choice of Dynamic red.
Are you purchasing from a MG main dealer can ask ?.
As this your first EV how do you intend to charge it ?.
Do you have "Off Street" parking and if so, I expect you will therefore be using the provided three pin 13 Amp "Granny" unit for now ?.
Oh BTW ......... Make sure it's in the boot before you leave the dealership.
Maybe consider a wall box in the future then ?‍.
Ensure the car has a complete service record at a MG main dealers, as this is necessary to comply with the T&C's of the transferable 7 year warranty.
Having the car served annually by a MG main dealer will ensure that you will be offered FULL MG break down assistance, backed up by the A.A.

Just remember that the breakdown assistance does not cover stuff that is more or less not "The car is broken down, due to something related to the warranty"

When our MG was totalled, i called them up, because i was told by the slick salesman that i did not need anything else, just to be told that they did not do tow away if the car had been in an accident, something that a normal "aa" subscription would.

If i were to buy another MG, i would get coverage elsewhere, the provided coverage is not very good to be honest.

More or less only cover recovery to nearest MG repair shop, if it is either a warranty job, or something they can charge you to fix.

Or atleast that's how it is in Denmark.

 

[Lovemyev]

Just remember that the breakdown assistance does not cover stuff that is more or less not "The car is broken down, due to something related to the warranty"

When our MG was totalled, i called them up, because i was told by the slick salesman that i did not need anything else, just to be told that they did not do tow away if the car had been in an accident, something that a normal "aa" subscription would.

If i were to buy another MG, i would get coverage elsewhere, the provided coverage is not very good to be honest.

More or less only cover recovery to nearest MG repair shop, if it is either a warranty job, or something they can charge you to fix.

Or atleast that's how it is in Denmark.

Worth looking into - Thanks !.

 

[FamilyWagonNeeded2023]

That is great news.
Gone for the high spec Exclusive I see - Nice !.
With the Sky Roof etc etc, finished in the most expensive paint colour choice of Dynamic red.
Are you purchasing from a MG main dealer can ask ?.
As this your first EV how do you intend to charge it ?.
Do you have "Off Street" parking and if so, I expect you will therefore be using the provided three pin 13 Amp "Granny" unit for now ?.
Oh BTW ......... Make sure it's in the boot before you leave the dealership.
Maybe consider a wall box in the future then ?‍.
Ensure the car has a complete service record at a MG main dealers, as this is necessary to comply with the T&C's of the transferable 7 year warranty.
Having the car served annually by a MG main dealer will ensure that you will be offered FULL MG break down assistance, backed up by the A.A.

hi, we have bought it privately but have already spoken to MG regarding warranty and all looks ok. I didnt know that either about the breakdown cover, thats really good to know. I will ask MG for more info when we switch over the remaining warranty.

We have off road parking, driveway, garage etc, so ideal set up really for owning an EV. We have looking at the wall chargers, but going to see how we get on with granny charger to begin with.

I didnt know that about the paint colour - We just said Red or black we'd be happy with. Its going to be a major upgrade for us in terms of motoring