[Chrome6Boy]

Originally Posted by ChargedGarage

Hey buddy, I too was contemplating buying the MG ZS EV for my weekly run which includes 250km on Friday evening and then 250km again on Monday morning and took the 3 day test drive. But something that you should be aware of and it seems that your salesperson has forgot to mention is battery degradation over time. I was told that somewhere around 30% degradation in 5/8 years (forget if its 5 or 8) is considered to be an acceptable amount by MG and it will be changed under warranty only if the battery degrades more than that within the specified period. Charging the battery to 100% means that battery will degrade faster and also if you quick charge it.

For me this meant that within 2-3 years, I might not be able to complete my 250km one-way trip without charging in between or I will be barely making it with little charge to spare. The test drive car I received had 7k kms on the Odo and was showing around 290km range with AC in Normal Mode for reference.

Putting in a new battery pack at your own cost will damage your pocket by about 50% of the car price.

I would personally pick one up today if it was available on a leasing plan where I can then return the car to MG in 3-5 years without a worry for resale. Since the electric car tech is evolving very quickly and all companies are launching their new vehicles, as soon as a car with a 500-600km range comes out, I expect the car with the 250-300km range to tank very quickly in resale value especially since a used car's range will be further degraded.

I personally came to the conclusion that right now may not be the best time for my use case to buy an EV. The handling, acceleration and experience was overall fantastic and I am excited for EVs to enter the Indian market but starting off with a 300km range that degrades over time won't really cut it for me.

Hey, thanks for the information man. I appreciate your thoughtfulness. I drive 120 KM to work and back again on the same day. However I will be charging my vehicle at work for close to 4-5 hours in the meanwhile using the 7.5 KW charger, so I am quite comfortable even after degradation. In fact I am even looking forward to occasionally using the S mode in the empty stretches of the highway on my way to work.

Also in emergency situations there is a fast charger halfway to my way to work.

In your use case I understand you have to wait for cars with a longer range.

[CarbonFume]

Hey,

This question is for you as well as other people who test drove or own this MG EV.

Did you find the headlight power satisfactory?
For me, the headlight power was really really bad. Not just me, my mom, driver, and I found it difficult to see well in the night, especially with oncoming traffic and if they have their high beam on then I literally could see nothing.


Apart from this, are there any upgrades recommended for the MG EV? I wanted to upgrade the music system but since it is an electrical car, I am staying away from doing so because clearly, I do not understand electric cars that well as of now.

[Early_Adopter]

Originally Posted by CarbonFume

Hey,

This question is for you as well as other people who test drove or own this MG EV.

Did you find the headlight power satisfactory?
For me, the headlight power was really really bad. Not just me, my mom, driver, and I found it difficult to see well in the night, especially with oncoming traffic and if they have their high beam on then I literally could see nothing

Hi, I drive a ZS and the headlight power is pathetic. I drove on a highway in the rain and the experience was scary.

I contacted the dealer and reported the problem to him and asked if got similar complaints from other customers too. As per him, almost every customer had complained about the headlight power, but there's no response yet from MG yet on this specific complaint. He agreed to refer me to aftermarket fix that would cost about 6k. He hasn't given me any specific model yet.

On my query if the warranty would be voided with the aftermarket fix, he was evasive. He just mentioned to me that if the SC fusses about warranty, he wanted me to fix the old headlight lamps back

In summary, the headlight power on ZS is a definitive issue and a serious one during night drives.

[docelectric2020]

Originally Posted by CarbonFume

Hey,

Apart from this, are there any upgrades recommended for the MG EV? I wanted to upgrade the music system but since it is an electrical car, I am staying away from doing so because clearly, I do not understand electric cars that well as of now.

Hi.

Yes the MG ZS EV's headlights are without a doubt pathetic. Driving at night was a bad experience with such low powered halogen bulbs, not mention driving at night while its raining.

All the owners keep this as the primary complaint with the car. In fact, the ZS EV WhatsApp groups has been having a lot of fuss & discussions about this and we had elevated this problem with MG as much as we could.

The service center guys never gave a stable reply about changing these headlights and the electrical warranty.
There was even an online petition started and supported by owners to get this fixed.
https://www.change.org/p/rajeev-chab...-modifications

MG recently responded by making OSRAM Night breaker laser LED lights as an official accessory purchase.

However, a few owners including me have installed HID lights as they seem to be a lot better with the projector lamp setup of the car.

Theoretically, it shouldn't void the HV battery warranty as the headlights run on power from the 12V battery and the newly replaced headlights draw lesser power than the original halogen bulbs. But the service center guys never give a solid answer regarding this warranty issue because most service center guys have absolutely no idea about EVs.

I had installed Auxbeam LEDs and wasn't satisfied with the output, so I took the suggestions of a few other ZS EV owners and got my headlights changed to Zvision HID's. Now the headlights are perfect.

[CarbonFume]

Hi Guys,


So what happened with me when I contacted MHG regarding this is that they asked me to buy a 13000/14000 rupee bulb upgrade which still would be yellow in color.

What was surprising was that the answer came immediately. they did not even need a minute to think and discuss and get back to me which made me realize that the issue is common.

What I ended up doing like you guys, is getting an HID upgrade kit which is white, very bright, and useful plus it only cost me 6000 rupees.

I recommend everyone to get this upgrade done as the stock lights are really pathetic and risky at night especially with rain and highway drive.

Thanks to you both for the reply.
And you are right, the service center guys have NO CLARITY or knowledge about the EV except basic questions.

[RahulNagaraj]

Thanks to Vishnu Vinayakumar for sending this in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing it with other enthusiasts via this Team-BHP share page!

MG ZS EV: 5000 km Review

August 20, 2021: I got my first electric car. MG ZS EV. Today after 3 months and 4 days on November 24, 2021, I have completed 5000 km and I am in a position to give a genuine review of the vehicle. My intention as an early adopter of EV through this article is to clear all the apprehensions associated with buying one.

Why EV?

Climate change is for real. Though predicted right from our primary school days, never thought I will have to witness them. We have started experiencing the aftermath of what our forefathers have been doing since the industrial revolution. For us and our future generations, we have to do our small part as soon as possible to bring down pollution to the least. EV is one thing that can ensure that. I have also ensured my buy is as green as possible by installing solar panels in my house. To know the difference between ICE cars and EVs in pollution, check out the link.

What are the other advantages of EVs?

1. EVs are definitely the future. Countries like Norway have more than 70% of vehicles as electric vehicles and many more countries have pledged to stop ICE car production by 2030. Even in India, I am sure the EV market will increase exponentially in the coming years with improvements in charging infrastructure. Tata Nexon Diesel sales have already been surpassed by Tata Nexon EV.
   
2. Regenerative breaking and Kinetic energy recovery system not only ensures that energy wastage during deceleration is minimized but also charges the battery while going downslope.
   
3. Instaneous torque provided by the automatic transmission of electric vehicles makes driving fun.
   
4. Running cost of Electric vehicles at present is less than Re 1/km.
   
5. Less moving parts and lack of gearbox makes the service cost of EVs very cheap.

What are the limitations of EVs?

1. Battery pack has got a lifespan. The company has given a warranty of 8 years and 1,50,000 km after which replacement of battery pack if needed will be costly at the present rate. The cost of lithium batteries has declined by 97% in the last three decades. Hopefully, the battery-pack costs will fall further in 10 years.
   
2. Charging time taken is 16 to 18 hours with a portable charger, 6-8 hours with MG installed home AC charger and 50 minutes for DC charger.
   
3. Initial cost of EVs is about 5 to 6 lakhs more than their petrol counterpart.

Why MG ZS EV?

I chose MG ZS EV because of the following reasons:

1. The promised range of 300-400 km with an ICAT rating of 419 km ensured that I reach Trivandrum without charging in between.
   
2. I wanted a mid-size SUV of the likes of Creta and Seltos. In my family, we always used to retain a car for more than 10 years. So I did not want to be outdated by buying an ICE car right now. Hence, Creta was ruled out and ZS EV was in.
   
3. The power of 142 PS and torque of 353 Nm is delivered (comparable to that of Innova Crysta 2.4 L diesel). 0-100 km/h is achieved in 8.5 s. This ensured that I can drive a performance vehicle without worrying about the mileage.
   
4. 44.5 kWh is its battery capacity which is the largest for any affordable EV in India at present ensures that even with battery degradation there will be considerable range left.
   
5. Safety features such as electric parking break with auto-hold, ABS, EBD, Brake assist, rear disc brake, TPMS, Hill hold assist and Hill descent control with a 5-star rating at Euro NCAP crash test.
   
6. MG ZS EV was a global product launched in 2018 in Europe and Australia with good reviews.

Though this 5000 km were niggle free, there were a few negatives that could not be ignored. Of course, I knew them beforehand but I had to ignore them or I will have to wait one more year for a more mature product.

• The car provided only Halogen headlamps when its petrol counterpart Astor provided LED headlights. Hence the visibility at night was not that good.
  
• The 6 speaker system (4 speakers and 2 tweeter system) of MG ZS EV was not at par with MG Hector which was priced less than MG ZS EV.
  
• A lot of features such as a 360-degree camera, ADAS, ventilated seats, wireless charging, auto-dimming IRVM, heads up display was missing.
• These missing features have been sorted in the facelift version of MG ZS EV introduced last month in Europe. It may be available next year-end in India but at a much higher price point. So I don't have any regrets about the buy.

I had my first long drive from Thrissur to Trivandrum on 14.11.21. I started with a 93% charge at 12 pm after returning from work at Thrissur Medical College (MGKavu- 25 km). My plan was to top up a little bit at Kochi MG because I thought the family will b able to relax at the lounge while charging. The plan was toppled because one of the tata power chargers there was non-functional and the other was being used by a Nexon EV. The MG executive there tried to help me by making the damaged charger functional but in vain. I wasted around 30 mins there. The journey was particularly exhaustive due to bumper to bumper heavy traffic and heavy rains with bad roads (though we are paying Rs 120 at tolls). It was my first long journey of around 300 km and range anxiety was picking up. I went in to charge at Chavara because I missed the Cherthala charging due to heavy rains. Chavara charging was working well. But just before I started charging, there was a power failure and I could not charge my car. Since it was in the same compound as the restaurant 'Take a break' I could charge myself with dinner though my car remained hungry. I did not try the Kollam charging station as I will have to detour from the bypass for that. There was one diversion in the way due to spillage from Tanker lorry which further increased the distance I had to travel. Please charge immediately msg was coming up after 30, 20 and 10 per cent charge fall. But still, Ac was functioning properly which I had to use to defog. Finally reached my destination at poojapura with an 8 per cent charge and an estimated distance of 28 km remaining at 10 pm. I covered a total of 308 km under the most adverse conditions with 4 adult passengers and a boot full of luggage. On the return journey, I was more cautious to ensure I had a 100 per cent charge when I started itself. For that, I had my car charged from the 15 A power plug at home there. The return journey was smooth except for a traffic block of 30 to 45 min in the Kalamassery area due to road repair work. I reached back home at Thrissur with 19 per cent charge and an estimated distance of 62 km remaining. From these journeys, I could conclude that the range of around 350 km is obtained in my MG ZS EV by driving with AC on at around 60-80 km/ hr.

Conclusion

I believe it is the right time to adopt to Electric Vehicle if you are planning to change your car, provided you are not running more than 300-320 km at a stretch. Though more and more charging stations are getting installed day by day by KSEB and Zeon charging (a new startup), the charging infrastructure is not good enough to mitigate the range anxiety. But only if more people adopt EVs will there be more charging stations. For that, there should be more models introduced by all car manufacturers. This process was halted by COVID 19 which had brought about the semiconductor shortage. So, I am sure in the coming years there will be a boom in the EV market in India once the global semiconductor shortage is settled.

[Kochikaran]

Congratulations on the beautiful car!! ZS EV really is the best electric car in India right now, including the big german electric cars. What you get for the price you pay. For me, an electric car has to first deliver on 1 thing and 1 thing only, that is a range of 400+Km in full charge driving at usual highway speeds. Gizmos can wait…

[mugen_pinaki27]

Awesome review highlighting the real world problems faced by EV owners. I, too, am leaning towards the MG ZS EV as a potential buy in the near future. Your review enlightened me a lot on the various aspects of buying and owning an EV.

[Sridhar C E]

What has been the experience with MG’s after sales service so far? Would love to hear!

[flanker]

To all MG ZS EV owners. Can you please look at maximum voltage of the battery at 100% charge. It is displayed in the MID and the app.

My ZS EV has stopped balancing at all. It gives up the balancing on the AC charger in about 15 minutes (it should continue for 8 hours). It also does no balancing while discharging.

A BMS issue was reported in UK ev forums a year or so ago and patched. I have no idea if the same has been done in India.

Currently my min/max battery voltage is out by .135V and total voltage is out by 4V (451v).

[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by flanker

To all MG ZS EV owners. Can you please look at maximum voltage of the battery at 100% charge. It is displayed in the MID and the app.

My ZS EV has stopped balancing at all. It gives up the balancing on the AC charger in about 15 minutes (it should continue for 8 hours). It also does no balancing while discharging.

A BMS issue was reported in UK ev forums a year or so ago and patched. I have no idea if the same has been done in India.

Currently my min/max battery voltage is out by .135V and total voltage is out by 4V (451v).

Mine is at 449 V but mine is a direct UK import and hence a little different from the Indian versions.

[flanker]

Originally Posted by Lobogris

Mine is at 449 V but mine is a direct UK import and hence a little different from the Indian versions.

Thanks. Yes, the UK version has gone through few BMS updates. Somewhere in the update cycle they reduced the max cell voltage. The pack voltage for the UK version with latest BMS update is 450/451v.

[LaRoca]

Good review. Agree it makes no sense to buy a new ICE car nowadays as the price of petrol is protected to cross 250Rs in just 2 years! Couple that with the increase in service costs insurance etc and it'll cost a bomb to own a car. I was planning on getting a Honda City this Christmas but I put off the plan and now I'm going to go with MG ZS EV. I hope they bring the updated model by mid of next year. Can't wait!

[Tokengrip]

Recently went home for the holidays and got to drive the ZS EV for the first time. Dad had bought the car in June of this yr. Have a curious question based on the driving experience.
I had the KERS turned up to 3 and was lifting off the accelerator on a steep incline. I suddenly hear another kinda noise which my dad says is the hill descent control kicking in.
My question is why would you need hill descent control to activate of you have your car set to KERS 3 because the engine/regen braking is so effective that it slows the car down significantly.?
Additionally does this mean that if you have hill descent control switched on, does it supersede the regen braking function in your EV if you are going down steep inclines..?

[flanker]

The battery imbalance on my ZS EV seems to be steadily increasing and till now MG has no answers.