MG ZS EV Facelift - Have you ordered?

[Vipar]

Ordered my trophy connect 28th November. Dealer quoted sometime in April. When I rang him today.

 

[Nutnut]

With the best will in the world its not about breaking speed limits. Realistically, over the winter you're likely to get about 2.7mlspkw/h on a motorway, even at legal speeds. That's what I've got, and that's an average over 2000 miles, so I've no reason to doubt it.

Just this weekend I've seen as low as 2.4, given the wind rain and snow, that was on a 70 mile trip with an average speed of 50mph (the speed limiter was set at 55mph due to conditions), so nearly all motorway.

Now obviously this will improve into the summer, but I'd be guessing on how much that improvement will be. I suspect the average could creep up to 3.0 - 3.3 in my usage case.

I think it's important to be honest both with yourself and prospective buyers what the car will achieve, that 207 mile quote on MGs website doesn't look so far off the mark during slightly better weather but realistically in the depths of winter on a motorway you need to be finding a charger at around 160 miles, so you've got a good 25 mile buffer in case of issues.

Sorry if that sounds like a bit of a downer but that's my findings over the first 2000 miles.

This isn't a downer for me to be honest as EVD worst estimate is 160 miles highway at -10, so I had that in mind also. Your low of 2.4 miles per kWh x useable capacity falls pretty much in line with that, I think.

 

[Kithmo]

Genuine question: is getting 145 miles on presumably faster roads, using up 67% of the battery (80% down to 13%) really that bad? Fag packet maths would indicate around 216 miles at 100%, which is more than 2/3 WLTP...what am I doing wrong in the calc?

EV Database indicates highway cold at 160 & mild at 200 so splitting the difference I'd expect 180 ?

I assumed he meant he had 145 miles on the GOM at 80% charged, which would give about 181 miles at 100%, just about 2/3, but unless he's in the worst case scenario, e.g on a motorway in cold weather etc, I'd expect better, or maybe I'm expecting too much.
Looking at it the way you calculated it, by his usage, sounds a bit more feasible, 216 would be great.

 

[Nutnut]

I assumed he meant he had 145 miles on the GOM at 80% charged, which would give about 181 miles at 100%, just about 2/3, but unless he's in the worst case scenario, e.g on a motorway in cold weather etc, I'd expect better, or maybe I'm expecting too much.
Looking at it the way you calculated it, by his usage, sounds a bit more feasible, 216 would be great.

Ah, I see where you're coming from now! I read that differently

181 miles would still be bang on 2/3 though, so good with unknown variables.

 

[Lovemyev]

I currently have a Gen1 that is over two years old and covered around 18,000 miles.
We have a LR Trophy on order from the lads at Chorley.
It WAS expected mid March 22 - but I suspect that will slip.
I went for the LR first and foremost, for the extra range if I am being totally honest.
The face lift is a nice feature and the all the improvements are gratefully received.
But the larger battery buffer on the LR version, will be the most welcomed change over the Gen1 version.
I guess this is a very simplistic way of looking at the difference in the range across the LR and our present car, but here you go !.
Our current Gen1 model has served us very well in order to cover the distance we have travelled.
When I consider that after a full charge, the predicted range on the GOM is now around 155 miles in normal mode, when booting up the car after a full charge and balance.
Of course, how / where and in what weather conditions I drive the car, will dictate how quickly that 155 miles will be consumed.
In the summer time I will beat that expectation, but never in the winter with heater on.
Simply put, the LR will actually give me in the worst case situation, better I can achieve in the summer in my Gen1 model ( if that makes any sense at all ).
That is a good enough reason for me to want the LR version.
Yes - Of course the new SR model will increase the range slightly over the original model, but that margin is not enough for us to justify the need to exchange the car.
Everybody will have a different usage case of course.
This will be our second full BEV after owning a PHEV for over four years before that.
"Top Tip" :- Some thing to consider when choosing a EV.
If you intend to keep the car a number of years, then factor in some battery degradation into your requirements / planning or you could find yourself charging a lot more often than you intended to do as the car becomes older.

 

[Dave]

I think it's important to be honest both with yourself and prospective buyers what the car will achieve, that 207 mile quote on MGs website doesn't look so far off the mark during slightly better weather but realistically in the depths of winter on a motorway you need to be finding a charger at around 160 miles, so you've got a good 25 mile buffer in case of issues.

I have the LR version and currently getting around 250 miles range in wet and windy conditions with temperatures around 7 degC.

I am totally confident that it will easily achieve more than 300 miles in the summer.

It is far more efficient than the iPace I had. Perhaps not the sporty feel, but at least all the tech appears to work and it charges really fast. The ability to turn on battery heating half an hour before you arrive at a rapid charger makes a big difference to charging speed.

I did borrow the new LR MG5 for a few days and found that to have similar range to the LR ZS EV. This is very impressive as it has a 10kWh smaller battery pack.

 

[Lovemyev]

I have the LR version and currently getting around 250 miles range in wet and windy conditions with temperatures around 7 degC.

I am totally confident that it will easily achieve more than 300 miles in the summer.

It is far more efficient than the iPace I had. Perhaps not the sporty feel, but at least all the tech appear to work and it charges really fast. The ability to turn on battery heating half an hour before you arrive at a rapid charger makes a big difference to charging speed.

I did borrow the new LR MG5 for a few days and found that to have similar range to the LR ZS EV. This is very impressive as it has a 10kWh smaller battery pack.

Less weight, less drag I would think is the case here ?.

 

[Merry]

I have the LR version and currently getting around 250 miles range in wet and windy conditions with temperatures around 7 degC.

I am totally confident that it will easily achieve more than 300 miles in the summer.

It is far more efficient than the iPace I had. Perhaps not the sporty feel, but at least all the tech appears to work and it charges really fast. The ability to turn on battery heating half an hour before you arrive at a rapid charger makes a big difference to charging speed.

I did borrow the new LR MG5 for a few days and found that to have similar range to the LR ZS EV. This is very impressive as it has a 10kWh smaller battery pack.

Whilst excellent for you, I highly doubt someone with the same sort of usage case as me (45 miles a day, 90% motorway - sometimes more, but mainly motorway) will get anywhere near that. You're looking at 3.6 mlspkw/h, I'm sorry but that's not realistic for a lot of people, especially in the winter. I've seen that figure once since I've had it, and that was a slow run in rush hour traffic around Manchester.

Your post is kind of what I was swinging at when I said people need to be honest with prospective buyers - great, for your usage you get 250 miles, whereas mine is more like 190 - people need to be able to guess with reasonable accuracy where they fit in with that spectrum. It could be anywhere between the two.

 

[Nutnut]

I have the LR version and currently getting around 250 miles range in wet and windy conditions with temperatures around 7 degC.

I am totally confident that it will easily achieve more than 300 miles in the summer.

It is far more efficient than the iPace I had. Perhaps not the sporty feel, but at least all the tech appears to work and it charges really fast. The ability to turn on battery heating half an hour before you arrive at a rapid charger makes a big difference to charging speed.

I did borrow the new LR MG5 for a few days and found that to have similar range to the LR ZS EV. This is very impressive as it has a 10kWh smaller battery pack.

This is encouraging. I work to the minimum expectation wise so I'm not caught short, but have read good feedback from people who are still able to achieve 3 miles per kWh mostly motorway in inclement weather.

A lot will depend on the driver too and I like a challenge, so am looking forward to putting it to the test myself... sometime in June probably

 

[dmcn]

I think that’s the big problem for EVs - the range is wildly variable and so heavily dependent on type of roads and speeds.

Looking at it from my point of view - I’m coming from a fairly economical diesel. Now I know that even on a cold winter day, I can set the climate to 23C, fan speed to 3, heated mirrors, heated rear screen, headlights and radio on and still achieve over 50mpg - roughly the same figure it’ll do in summer. Thats over a 42 mile commute.
I try that in an EV and I know my range will plummet! Don’t get me wrong, I’m going into this with my eyes open and trying to be realistic and hoping I can average 3.5m/kW. But I know I’ll still be feeling it when I’m trying to be as comfortable in the MG as I currently am and energy consumption figure is a lot lower than I would like.
And that’s the issue - I bought my current car knowing it would do at least 50mpg all day(year) long. But I really won’t know what I’m likely to get from the MG until I‘m using it daily. Some of the figures are encouraging, but they can also be misleading as there are so many variables.

 

[Dave]

I would say 190 miles the way use the car in the current weather and road conditions is excellent.

I do tend to get more range than most, the iPace gave me 300 miles range in the summer. I can honestly say that the new LR ZS EV has better range than the iPace, even though the iPace has a 99 kWh battery.

The cabin and ride quality I would put at 85% of the iPace. The infotainment system is easily as good, and far more reliable.

The EV part of being an EV is better in the MG. Ability to set charge level, ability to turn on battery heating, efficiency.

Defo the MG is a modern EV. I am sure Jaguar will up their game in the future. Unfortunately, the new CEO says they are targeting their cars at £100,000 and upwards for the new platform EVs. Jaguar has stated that their entire production will be EV by 2025 - they need to get their finger out.

Sorry about the Jaguar moan .

 

[Dave]

This is encouraging. I work to the minimum expectation wise so I'm not caught short, but have read good feedback from people who are still able to achieve 3 miles per kWh mostly motorway in inclement weather.

A lot will depend on the driver too and I like a challenge, so am looking forward to putting it to the test myself... sometime in June probably

A challenge is always great. I am in the Royal Forest of Dean if you ever want to drop by for a cup of coffee when you get your car

 

[Dave]

I think that’s the big problem for EVs - the range is wildly variable and so heavily dependent on type of roads and speeds.

Looking at it from my point of view - I’m coming from a fairly economical diesel. Now I know that even on a cold winter day, I can set the climate to 23C, fan speed to 3, heated mirrors, heated rear screen, headlights and radio on and still achieve over 50mpg - roughly the same figure it’ll do in summer. Thats over a 42 mile commute.
I try that in an EV and I know my range will plummet! Don’t get me wrong, I’m going into this with my eyes open and trying to be realistic and hoping I can average 3.5m/kW. But I know I’ll still be feeling it when I’m trying to be as comfortable in the MG as I currently am and energy consumption figure is a lot lower than I would like.
And that’s the issue - I bought my current car knowing it would do at least 50mpg all day(year) long. But I really won’t know what I’m likely to get from the MG until I‘m using it daily. Some of the figures are encouraging, but they can also be misleading as there are so many variables.

From years of driving all sorts of EVs….

You can expect to get 20% to 30% less range in the winter than in the summer. This is in the UK. In Canada you probably wouldn’t even be able to charge the car in their extremely cold winters.

The MG ZS EV and MG5 are two BEVs that can achieve the quoted range in summer conditions without too much careful driving.

Something to note…. You will get far better range driving at 65mph on the motorways than driving at 70mph.

What I have noticed in my ZS EV is that the speedometer reading is identical to the speed readings from apps on my phone.

 

[Nutnut]

A challenge is always great. I am in the Royal Forest of Dean if you ever want to drop by for a cup of coffee when you get your car

That'll be a challenge! If I ever actually receive the car, I may just try it

 

[Lovemyev]

Something to note…. You will get far better range driving at 65mph on the motorways than driving at 70mph.

Agreed !.
The same could be said for ICE cars, but nobody really cares because they are dragging around a massive surplus of fossil fuel around in the fuel tank.
I clearly remember when cars had there manual gearboxes increased from 4 to 5 gears at first, then increased from 5 to 6 gears in the future.
This was a simple way of stretching out the gear ratio's in order to decreasing the RPM of the ICE to achieve a better MPG at higher motorway speeds.
EV or ICE means your driving style, WILL effect your returns.
Speed / performance and a spirited driving style does not go hand in hand with a good return on your bank account .

 

[Nutnut]

Right or wrong, I see it like as not unlike mpg to be honest - there are X cars on the road that will never come close to achieving what's advertised by tests in controlled conditions.
Get stuck in traffic in winter and need to keep the engine idling so you don't freeze...range left in tank hammered. Put the air-con on in summer...range left in tank hammered. Feeling a little frisky and toe the accelerator a little...mpg turns to dust. As long as the efficiency is not wildly off, I can work with it.

If I'm concerned about anything, it's battery degradation - although I hope to not suffer that to any serious degree since I'll shift this in a few years should a re-vamped ZS come to market, with a rear cabin light included

I do appreciate what everyone is saying though and I find something to learn in all the feedback shared, no matter the perspective.

 

[Dave]

with a rear cabin light included

Now that deserves a thread all of its own

 

[Lovemyev]

If I'm concerned about anything, it's battery degradation - although I hope to not suffer that to any serious degree since I'll shift this in a few years

If you intend to replace the car in a few years, then this never going to be a problem.
I do feel in the future, people buying second hand EV's will be asking for a SOH report on the car's battery before they purchase !.
Battery degradation IS going to happen regardless, that's a pure fact.
But a battery that has been given some "Kindness" in its early life, has got to be a good thing in the long run right ?.
This maybe seen as a bit of a difficult point of view here, but cars purchased via a PCP / Lease deal are less likely to have there HV packs, offered the same level of TLC over a private owners car.
Not really a lot different than buying a second hand ICE car that had been a lease / hire car, in its previous life !.
Low (ish) price, but a lot of bum's on sit's and driven really really hard in a short time !.
Buy cheap - Buy twice !.

 

[Dave]

If you intend to replace the car in a few years, then this never going to be a problem.
I do feel in the future, people buying second hand EV's will be asking for a SOH report on the car's battery before they purchase !.
Battery degradation IS going to happen regardless, that's a pure fact.
But a battery that has been given some "Kindness" in its early life, has got to be a good thing in the long run right ?.
This maybe seen as a bit of a difficult point of view here, but cars purchased via a PCP / Lease deal are less likely to have there HV packs, offered the same level of TLC over a private owners car.
Not really a lot different than buying a second hand ICE car that had been a lease / hire car, in its previous life !.
Low (ish) price, but a lot of bum's on sit's and driven really really hard in a short time !.
Buy cheap - Buy twice !.

Excellent points. With the LR ZS EV and LR MG5 having more than 250 miles of range there will be far less Rapid Charging and more Home Charging.

The larger batteries provided in the LR MGs mean there will be fewer charge cycles for the same distance travelled compared to the SR MGs that have smaller batteries.

Batteries degrade far less if charged slowly. Yes, if you have your EV on a PCP for two or three years then it will matter little to you how you look after the battery.

Accepted best practice…

Always charge on a home charger at circa 7kW maximum.

Keep charge level between 40% SOC to 80% SOC. Try to never let it drop below 20% SOC. Dropping below 20% SOC is fine and will not damage your battery.

It is important that the battery is occasionally charged to 100% SOC using your home charger and allowed to stay connected overnight so the BMS can balance the charge level to all the cells in the battery pack. The ZS EV will advise you when you need to carry out this procedure.

Unless absolutely necessary, never charge to more than 80% SOC on a Rapid Charger.

Any further tips are gratefully received

 

[Lovemyev]

Excellent points. With the LR ZS EV and LR MG5 having more than 250 miles of range there will be far less Rapid Charging and more Home Charging.

The larger batteries provided in the LR MGs mean there will be fewer charge cycles for the same distance travelled compared to the SR MGs that have smaller batteries.

Batteries degrade far less if charged slowly. Yes, if you have your EV on a PCP for two or three years then it will matter little to you how you look after the battery.

Accepted best practice…

Always charge on a home charger at circa 7kW maximum.

Keep charge level between 40% SOC to 80% SOC. Try to never let it drop below 20% SOC. Dropping below 20% SOC is fine and will not damage your battery.

It is important that the battery is occasionally charged to 100% SOC using your home charger and allowed to stay connected overnight so the BMS can balance the charge level to all the cells in the battery pack. The ZS EV will advise you when you need to carry out this procedure.

Unless absolutely necessary, never charge to more than 80% SOC on a Rapid Charger.

Any further tips are gratefully received

Could not agree with you more .