KERS; how to or how not to use...

[Dave]

The car could be braking while ACC and MG Pilot are active. If the vehicle in front is very slow then the car will use the friction brake to slow the MG ZS EV, but ACC and/or MG Pilot will remain active.

If you have ACC or MG Pilot on and you come to a very steep downhill, the friction brake is used to maintain the set car speed, again keeping ACC and/or MG Pilot on.

It is annoying that regen doesn’t work when ACC or MG Pilot are on, but it’s not a showstopper for me.

 

[Gadget Geek]

The car could be braking while ACC and MG Pilot are active. If the vehicle in front is very slow then the car will use the friction brake to slow the MG ZS EV, but ACC and/or MG Pilot will remain active.

If you have ACC or MG Pilot on and you come to a very steep downhill, the friction brake is used to maintain the set car speed, again keeping ACC and/or MG Pilot on.

Didn't realise that. When you touch the brakes in Hyundai BEV's it disengages the ACC.

 

[Dave]

Didn't realise that. When you touch the brakes in Hyundai BEV's it disengages the ACC.

Yes, as soon as you touch the brake pedal ACC will be disabled.

However, if ACC is enabled and the ACC system uses the friction brake to slow the car (driver has not touched the pedal), then ACC remains on. The ACC system in the MG ZS EV does not use regen to slow the car, it always uses the friction brakes.

 

[Gadget Geek]

Yes, as soon as you touch the brake pedal ACC will be disabled.

However, if ACC is enabled and the ACC system uses the friction brake to slow the car (driver has not touched the pedal), then ACC remains on. The ACC system in the MG ZS EV does not use regen to slow the car, it always uses the friction brakes.

So I was right first time and so was the manual.

 

[Dave]

So I was right first time and so was the manual.

The manual says that regen is active when braking. As I said, braking, overrun and coasting can happen while ACC is active. In that case the regen will NOT be active, so the manual is wrong or poorly written.

It is not normal for regen to be off when in ACC. Every EV I have driven, this is the only one that does this.

 

[Gadget Geek]

The manual says that regen is active when braking. As I said, braking, overrun and coasting can happen while ACC is active. In that case the regen will NOT be active, so the manual is wrong or poorly written.

It is not normal for regen to be off when in ACC. Every EV I have driven, this is the only one that does this.

I read it as when "you" apply the brakes.

It says on page 206;

When activated if the adaptive cruise control system
detects a vehicle in the same lane directly ahead it may
accelerate or gently apply the brakes of the car to maintain the set following distance.

I wonder why MG chose not to use regen braking in ACC on the ZS?

 

[Dave]

I read it as when "you" apply the brakes.

It says on page 206;

When activated if the adaptive cruise control system
detects a vehicle in the same lane directly ahead it may
accelerate or gently apply the brakes of the car to maintain the set following distance.

I wonder why MG chose not to use regen braking in ACC on the ZS?

Well found. So it is in the manual

It’s even more puzzling that the LR MG5 does use regen when ACC is active.

 

[Eclectic]

I wonder why MG chose not to use regen braking in ACC on the ZS?

Probably a software glitch ?

 

[Phil Hayward]

I use ACC while descending hills occasionally to clean the rust off my brake discs.
ACC is not good on urban roads, too much braking and accelerating on undulations

 

[donpolo88]

How do you use the KERS button to change the regen

 

[Alb]

On the MG5 or ZSEV (subject of this thread)?

 

[fred12345]

How do you use the KERS button to change the regen

3 levels - think of it as a hand squeeze - gentle squeeze on 1, harder on 2 and hardest on 3 - stronger the squeeze, car slows down sooner and also recovers most energy . Check the instructions manual for more info.

I always drive on 3 and most of the time don't have to brake much, it's almost like one pedal driving ...

 

[drmcw]

FWIW braking does not increase regen unlike other EVs but uses the friction brakes. The regen will be active according to the KERS setting but only because you're not pressing the accelerator.

 

[asandrews]

Probably a software glitch ?

Another thing to add to my list of niggles. Surely it's just a software change to use regen under ACC?

 

[Kithmo]

I find with SWMBO's MG5 the default level 2 works best for city driving.

 

[AlexC]

Max KERS is always beneficial, with One Pedal Driving being the easiest driving mode, as your hardly need to brake in town, which really should be the default.

 

[Daedalusminos]

Max KERS is always beneficial, with One Pedal Driving being the easiest driving mode, as your hardly need to brake in town, which really should be the default.

But surely KERS is activated when you press the brake pedal as in the MG4? Just that you have the option to press harder for regular braking.

 

[fred12345]

But surely KERS is activated when you press the brake pedal as in the MG4? Just that you have the option to press harder for regular braking.

not sure brakes are connected to any KERS bits - it might seem so because as soon as you lift your foot off the accelerator, KERS is active until the car stops

Probably a software glitch ?

Another thing to add to my list of niggles. Surely it's just a software change to use regen under ACC?

It might be that one of the reasons they used brakes instead of KERS for ACC is that when the battery is fully charged, KERS simply doesn't work. Might be that ZS originally being ICE and not EV design also had a role to play ... it's all a guesswork.

I would love KERS to slow down the car in ACC but I'm sure MG had a good reason to do what they did ...

 

[AlexC]

But surely KERS is activated when you press the brake pedal as in the MG4? Just that you have the option to press harder for regular braking.

Yes, but OPD make it all so easy.

 

[Tim Green]

I think we have been around this loop before....
It seemed to be agreed that regen does not work in ACC because the ZS was designed as an ICE car where obviously regen does not exist. It is also quite difficult to try to 'add in' the regen facility to an existing ACC.