MG ZS EV refreshed version reviews

[BatteryPowered]

 

[Mogshock]

I'm glad he pointed out the big ugly wing badges - I don't know why they add them ?

Looks like they are just for certain markets as the UK and EU markets don't have them (thankfully!)

 

[Thatphotoguy]

I'm glad he pointed out the big ugly wing badges - I don't know why they add them ?

Any idea what Markets they are for? Hopefully they don't plaster them on NZ/AUS versions

 

[DrJohnny Fever]

i think (hope) there just for the india market, I think they like that kind of sh*t…look at the back of them, more bloody stick on things..

 

[BatteryPowered]

i think (hope) there just for the india market, I think they like that kind of sh*t…look at the back of them, more bloody stick on things..

Yeah, like “internet inside” ??

But on the other hand, they do have that lovely shark fin antenna…

I asked my dealer if he could replace the aerial with a shark fin, but he said it could not be ordered from MG? I will keep looking though, through other channels ??

 

[Nutnut]

Any idea what Markets they are for? Hopefully they don't plaster them on NZ/AUS versions

I think it's only India as I don't remember them elsewhere, but that'd be a guess... I think @Elec Car Aust might have a good idea for the AUS market.

 

[DrJohnny Fever]

I really can’t see them on Oz cars…wine corks, hanging from the RW…that’s more like it..

 

[hmadsen]

I'm glad he pointed out the big ugly wing badges - I don't know why they add them ?

As someone else said, they are not on the car here in Europe luckily. I also saw some where the boot had a sign "Internet inside" or something like it.

Why did he say that the engine has 173 horsepower, everywhere i read it's 154 (Or was it 156) ?

The wild ranges is probably because they still use the VERY optimistic NEDC scale where he is from.

 

[N2STY]

As someone else said, they are not on the car here in Europe luckily. I also saw some where the boot had a sign "Internet inside" or something like it.

Why did he say that the engine has 173 horsepower, everywhere i read it's 154 (Or was it 156) ?

The wild ranges is probably because they still use the VERY optimistic NEDC scale where he is from.

The horses are smaller there??

 

[Nutnut]

 

[hmadsen]

I think she forgets some things.

For example the charge time....Offcourse the car with the bigger battery is going to require more time to charge.

Also, 75 KWh vs 100 KWh....Yes it might shave some minutes off of the charging time, but when the battery is almost empty, and from 80% the charge speed is limited anyway, so in the most favorable situation with a charger that is willing and able to deliver 100 KWh, she will maybe be 5-10 minutes faster out of there, but then, the range eats away at her distance until next charge.

Basically...If a 58 KWh battery can be charged at full speed from 10-80% this means that she will have (58*0,7) 40 KWh at full 100 Kwh charging and the rest at a lower charge rate.

So she will have 24 minutes at full speed before it throttles the charge current.

The ZS EV will be able to charge (72 * 0,7) 50 KW at 75 KWh. = 40 minutes

So for her to add 40 kwh is 24 minutes plus whatever it takes to charge the last 10 kwh at a lower rate is not that much less time. (Lets imagine it slows to 50 KWh, then she will need to stay at the charger for another 12 minutes)

If she opts to go for 10-80 she will be out of there 16 minutes before i do, but i will have an extra 30-40 miles of range, before i have to recharge again.

Depending on the situation, this might mean that i can actually get home, where she will need to do another charge...On longer trips, these extra 30-40 miles of range times the number of times i recharge, will probably mean that i will need to recharge 1 time less than her...(If i do a long trip, going on holiday for example)

Another thing is her remarks on the looks of the cars...Honestly i personally think the ID.3 is very ugly.

 

[DrJohnny Fever]

So you can get a car that’s faster 0-60 then the VW, has more kit on it than the VW and is cheaper than the VW..and she’ll go for the VW…glad your not my mrs..but what can I expect from a blond..?

 

[Nutnut]

[...] Another thing is her remarks on the looks of the cars...Honestly i personally think the ID.3 is very ugly.

I didn't love the ID3 looks overall either despite the nicer wheels. Inside just felt too cheap for VW standards, and certainly not worth the £2k over the MG for the trim she has there. I also didn't like the screen set up and the gear selector placement. That said it felt spacious, was a nice ride and an established brand, so I can see the appeal.

The question I kept asking when trying out cars that had better interiors than the ZS EV, was whether the bump in quality was worth so many thousands of pounds more to me...the answer was 'no'. Yes you can see in places that MG has cost cut, but I felt (and still feel) like it's a very nice car. Time will tell once I've lived with it for a year, but the money I've saved not going for something else instead will do me quite a few battery charges, and I'm looking forward to it actually arriving.

 

[hmadsen]

So you can get a car that’s faster 0-60 then the VW, has more kit on it than the VW and is cheaper than the VW..and she’ll go for the VW…glad your not my mrs..but what can I expect from a blond..?

Yeah, her "logic" also failed me.

It seems to me that the reason she would still opt for the VW, was a badge thing.

But then again....I never had much luck making sense or logic of what my wife is saying, so maybe it's just because they do not have logic in them

Also the MG has a bigger boot, and a bigger battery.

And i agree, the screen looks tacky on the ID.3 and the gear selector looks so out of place that i would have thought that it was a french car.

 

[Maciej]

I agree with the rest that conclusion doesn't make much sense. She stated MG ZS can be have for almost £50 a month cheaper than VW, has better boot, better battery and is more spacious but she would still go home with VW for a classier look. I don't think ZS has anything unclassy about it. It's the most classy car I have ever owned and is definitely a head turner at my work car park. Maybe I am just not posh enough and regular people I am surrounded by are just happy to save £50 a month instead and have better car than be worried about stupid thing like a badge your car has.

Over all both cars are fine but ID3 was just outside of my budget to consider. I am please I went with ZS love everything about this car so far and intend to own it for 7 years till my car loan is paid off before I move to upgrade again.

 

[Nutnut]

The review was relatively fair, although based on the observations made throughout, the ID.3 didn't seem to make sense as an objective pick - especially monetarily. Budget isn't a consideration for everyone though, & I wouldn't say it's even a posh thing - just that there are elements VW ect. simply do better even though the ID.3 was a bit of a let down for me overall.

I think the ZS is a cracking car hence my ordering it, but for sure it does lack refinement in some noticeable areas. I'm more than happy to accept that though because it's reflected in the price. I look at people having badge preference no differently to making a colour choice - sometimes it's just what gives you joy, no matter what makes sense on paper.

Setting aside other brands for a mo, I would even say the MG5 facelift interior pips the ZS to the post. It makes me excited to see what MG do with the ZS mk3.

 

[Harry]

I think she forgets some things.

For example the charge time....Offcourse the car with the bigger battery is going to require more time to charge.

Also, 75 KWh vs 100 KWh....Yes it might shave some minutes off of the charging time, but when the battery is almost empty, and from 80% the charge speed is limited anyway, so in the most favorable situation with a charger that is willing and able to deliver 100 KWh, she will maybe be 5-10 minutes faster out of there, but then, the range eats away at her distance until next charge.

Basically...If a 58 KWh battery can be charged at full speed from 10-80% this means that she will have (58*0,7) 40 KWh at full 100 Kwh charging and the rest at a lower charge rate.

So she will have 24 minutes at full speed before it throttles the charge current.

The ZS EV will be able to charge (72 * 0,7) 50 KW at 75 KWh. = 40 minutes

So for her to add 40 kwh is 24 minutes plus whatever it takes to charge the last 10 kwh at a lower rate is not that much less time. (Lets imagine it slows to 50 KWh, then she will need to stay at the charger for another 12 minutes)

If she opts to go for 10-80 she will be out of there 16 minutes before i do, but i will have an extra 30-40 miles of range, before i have to recharge again.

Depending on the situation, this might mean that i can actually get home, where she will need to do another charge...On longer trips, these extra 30-40 miles of range times the number of times i recharge, will probably mean that i will need to recharge 1 time less than her...(If i do a long trip, going on holiday for example)

Another thing is her remarks on the looks of the cars...Honestly i personally think the ID.3 is very ugly.

Plus the ZS ev can actually charge at just below 100kW, as demonstrated in Holland.

 

[hmadsen]

Plus the ZS ev can actually charge at just below 100kW, as demonstrated in Holland.

Yeah.

And even if it would "only" do 75 Kwh i would still prefer the extra 10 Kwh of battery to the 25 Kwh of faster charge speed.

Smaller battery also equals less range, which equals more charge cycles for a given distance driven, which equals faster battery degradation.

This is also part of the reason why early EV's had poorer battery life...The batteries were smaller and needed more charge cycles, that larger ones, to travel a certain distance.

 

[Bryan Flanagan]

Indeed, it’s a shame to see that long antenna on a 2021-2022 car. It will be the first thing I’ll replace when my ZS EV finally arrrives.

I wonder if the longer antenna gives better reception?

 

[Bryan Flanagan]

Yeah.

And even if it would "only" do 75 Kwh i would still prefer the extra 10 Kwh of battery to the 25 Kwh of faster charge speed.

Smaller battery also equals less range, which equals more charge cycles for a given distance driven, which equals faster battery degradation.

This is also part of the reason why early EV's had poorer battery life...The batteries were smaller and needed more charge cycles, that larger ones, to travel a certain distance.

So how would the battery chemistry fit into this discussion? I understand the SR battery to be LFP, the LR to be NMC. Based on what I read LFP appears to be more durable than NMC, particularly if battery management is less than optimal, i.e., if NMC is taken out of the 10% to 80% range too often it may be more prone to degradation where as LFP doesn't appear to be affected by being taken right up to 100%.