Going through the forums, it seems the recent ZS EV models have a common issue with some superchargers where the car bricks itself? And nobody knows the reason but suspect the 12v battery?
Has it been solved? Or one now needs to look for specific charger brands, making it even harder to plan long trips?
I can live with minor defect or even features not that great, but a car needs to be able to take me from point A to point B, if not, that is a serious no-go? Is the problem on all cars, a handful or just the ones unlucky to have a certain combination of models and fast chargers?
On some of the contributions above:
My decision to go electric and for the ZS was based on a couple of factors, some of which might apply to you:
1) current car is at end of life, every service & MOT is now £500+ as parts fail. The car is worth at most £750.
2) fuel prices are not going to go down for the foreseeable and might only ever go up. I drive high milage & now spending £320 a month on diesel. Car tax for ICE cars will also only go up.
2a) buying a secondhand “nice” ICE/Hybrid reduces but doesn’t remove that problem
3) electricity prices will go down to previous levels as the UK builds more non-dino squeezings-reliant power generation
4) have access to a charger at work and have a charger fitted at home
5) checked everywhere I have been to in the UK in the last five years against ZapMap and there are no dramas with finding appropriate charge points
6) Elongated Muskrat is a <redacted> and heard far too many horror stories about Tesla servicing. Fit & finish on a £50k+ car is also not good enough.
7) other manufacturers offers either don’t have the range or features I want (Zoe/Corsa/ioniq etc) or are, for the milage I do, too expensive (id3/id4/Kia/Polestar/etc). Not got £50k spare so have to do it on a lease (for me, actually cheaper than PCP)
8) I can wait. It’s irritating but dont need a new-to-me car now
Some of the issues people seem to have had don’t tally with my experience, either with the 60+ minute test drive on a ZS or practical driving an EV experience through my use of a works MG5.
Apologies for the wall of text, that was my thought process, hope this is useful.
1-3: yes that's my reasoning too. It seems EVs (at least sub £40k) are now a good financial decision for those able to put the money upfront. For me 10 years at 12k miles per year makes it worthwhile, but higher mileage people will reach break even sooner.
4-5 : I'll look int this
6- Elon aside (went from a cool Iron Man to a Dr Who villain in 10 years), I don't care too much about the finishing touches as long as it is just cosmetic. Seems also their quality is steadily improving.
7- roughly same reasoning. Supply also is a factor. But I am worried on the features side that the ZS has many features "in name only"
If 2 to 5 years not worth looking right now as stuff is getting better all the time just look at EV's 2 years ago let alone 5 years ago
What I meant was that I'd like to buy the car (ideally an EV) for the next 10 years. However, I could delay the decision for 2-5 years by buying a petrol/diesel one, though I will be annoyed at the increased running costs (petrol, maintenance, tax, exclusion zones possibly in the future, etc...)
I too had the Tesla itch a couple of years ago when I was upgrading from the 28kWh Ioniq. I made a list of pros and cons of each car which mattered to me. The 64kWh Kona won by a nose, so I suggest you make a list pertinent to your requirements.
On the SpeakEV Kona forum, Stageshoot scratched his Tesla itch and bought a Standard Range Plus, only to change back to a Kona a few months later. He gave a very honest, detailed review of his experience.
I found the ZS very similar to the Kona on the test drive and didn't experience any of the issues mentioned on this forum. (You have to remember that the problems posted are a tiny proportion of all the positive experiences owners have and don't post).
There are no Konas in stock anyhow, so a moot point (I did find a demo e-Niro though, and while it is a decent value at £39k, I found it loses 1v1 against the MG and Tesla)
Regarding the issues mentionned on the forum, yes I am aware of the negative bias on the ratio of unsatisfied to satisfied, but some issues appear to be features (e.g. if the auto high beam don't work on winding B roads where I need it most, or worst if it has a 1 second delay, blinding the incoming car...)
Thanks for the other threads, I am trying to read and absorb them.
I'll also do the usual pros-cons of each choice which I kind of did in my head, I'll formalise it.
Been through the same process, mine boiled down to how we use the car, if constant long journeys I would probably have gone for the Tesla (better charging network), however we use the car for mainly short journeys (under 60 miles) and nearly always charge at home (do get a charger at home and get Octopus go or similar, its 5 to 7p per kw so is insanely cheap).
Tesla have all sorts of reliability problems and are seen at this stage as one of the most unreliable brands. Also 3 boot is small.
I like the apps in the MG, they are sensible and we will use them, not sure about Tesla (would you use the fart function or games?)
I don't want a car that does 0-60 in 4 secs, I am getting on for 65 and am aware of the restrictions that age brings on my abilities to benefit safely from this, the MG is still very fast from 0-40 if needed, and I found extremely comfortable to drive.
If you check with some of the online dealers you should be able to get a MG long range trophy for under £31,000
Almost forgot, MG has 7 year warranty and 8 years on battery (check the small print though)
And another thing
Do check dimensions of car, Tesla, Ioniq 5 and Kia6 are pretty big (wide particularly). The MG is far more suited to the rural (and town) roads I drive, and fits into the garage much better.
It is also much easier to get in and out of.
I thought the M3 was reliable from a mechanical point of view, it's more the finish and side things that can go wrong sometimes? Do TM3s break down in non exceptional circumstances?
I found the M3 boot very spacious, though the opening is narrow. And there is the frunk for some additional space.
Yes I don't need the acceleration. It feels like the right idea to overtake that agricultural tractor on a B road, but I think it is also a good way to take too many risks and end up on the side of the road. My current car anyhow does 0-60 in maybe 11 or 12... so the 8 of the ZS is ample acceleration improvements (I do have a tiny little voice in my head though that would like the mad acceleration)
Yes, I think you can get it for £31k new, however if I need it quickly, I think it will be hard to get any discount below £32-£33k.
Yes warranty is a big thing. If I buy a Tesla M3, I'll have at best 3 years and 30k miles left. For a first EV, having the peace of mind of 7 years is non negligible.
Very good point about dimensions, I remember a long time ago looking at the Model S and thinking how the hell one could drive it in the British countryside or try and a park it in some of those horribly narrow multi-store car parks (almost got stuck once with my car, which is narrower and shorter than a S). I can see the M3 is horribly long but just a tad wider than the ZS.
My absolute preference would have been an Ioniq 5, but for roughly the same ballpark range and specs, except the faster rapid charging (I've ordered the long range Connect in silver) it would be at least £10k more. Instead I am getting a solar panel and home battery storage with that money (through a SolarTogether scheme). A Tesla 3 wouldn't have suited as I don't like being that low in a car., and the higher Y is too expensive. Just a personal preference but I really dont like being low down in a car. My old diesel kicked the bucket a couple of weeks ago, so I am doing without until the MG arrives. Fortunately thats doable ( even for a year or more) where I live as there is enough public transport. If you were more rural based, it would be different. Re cruise control, when not on the the motorway I tend to use it purely as means not to break the speed limit. I'd be fine to use the other speed control functions instead (the limiter ones) and get the benefits of regen when on country roads. I use cruise control on the motorway to rest my leg. A question here to anyone else. Does MG pilot always activate ACC, or can you use MG pilot without ACC.
The Ioniq 5 is too expensive (and I prefer the EV6 for its design. I actually found for maybe £42k a mid trim short range Ioniq 5. I don't think it is good value as it is £10k more than a full trim ZS with more range, or the same price as a 3 year old Long range Model 3) and I think the normal Ioniq has a way too short range. (I'd like at least 250 WLTP mileage, 200-ish realistic mileage at least. Going 250-300 real mileage would be quite an anxiety remover for my first EV).
I won't use lane assist on principal, nor auto main beam. I drive my car, not the car drive me ?. Satnav - not many are 100% accurate anyway. I use speed limiter most of the time, and rarely cruise control, least of all on rural roads. To cancel cruise you have to do something - to slow down with limiter you just lift off. I'm nearly 70, btw.
I respect this choice, but I use my car differently. Currently, I have no auto high beam and driving at night is quite taxing having to constantly switch between high and low beams. It is not the end of the world, but it is a strain (I can't see that well without high beams, so I need to keep as high possible of an uptime). Auto high beam on my insurance courtesy car (Corsa) was quite a welcome change, and I am looking forward to having a useable one in my next car.
Same thing for the other assistance: If I ever have to drive with one child on a Sunday night long distance, I want to minimise effort as much as possible and make sure the car protects me against myself and others. Cruise control on motorway is a must have to rest your feet, and lane control is very good against any laps in attention. Even in country roads, I prefer cruise control to limiters as I can still overtake in case of need and I can break, while the limiter removes one of the choices.
Re the satnav, I expect it at least to say where I am at within 1 meter, not within 50 meters as the demo vehicle displayed in my test drive.
