[Omkar]

MG Windsor EV Review

MG Windsor EV Pros

• A unique proposition for the Indian market. The Windsor is a Crossover MPV that focuses on practicality and comfort
• Very well-priced! MG has set the cat among the pigeons. Definitely worth considering over the competitors. BaaS (Battery as a Service) option is also available if you want a lower acquisition cost
• A well-built car that doesn’t feel cheap by any standards
• Good looking cabin paired with spacious interiors. Rear seats are especially comfortable with plenty of legroom & headroom
• 134 BHP motor has enough power for the city as well as highway runs. Real-world range of 250 km should be good for urban dwellers
• Selectable drive modes and adjustable regen braking are useful in various driving conditions
• 604-litre boot is great for family outings (note: top variant has ~579 liters of boot space)
• Long list of features includes electronic flush-fitting door handles, ventilated front seats, 135-degree reclining rear seats, 15.6-inch touchscreen head-unit with wireless Android Auto & Apple CarPlay, connected car tech, OTT apps and more
• Zero emissions, cheap running costs & green image will appeal to a lot of people

MG Windsor EV Cons

• MPV styling – in this era of SUVs & Crossovers - may not appeal to everyone. Also, the headlight placement makes them prone to damage
• 250 km range is on the lower side by 2024 standards. MG should have given the bigger 50 KWh battery as an option
• Suspension tune is busy at the rear. The ride is liveable, but you do feel bad roads
• Lack of physical buttons is a major inconvenience. Too much dependence on the touchscreen even for core functions (e.g. ORVM adjustment)
• Missing some features like a spare wheel (please get one at additional cost), rear wiper (big miss), ADAS tech, height adjustable seatbelts…
• The usual EV challenges (charging infrastructure, range anxiety, setting up home charging etc.)
• A/C does take some time to cool the large cabin; the large greenhouse & glass roof are contributors

This review has been jointly compiled with Suhaas307. Thanks to him for the expert observations!

Introduction

After more than a year, MG has come out with a new car and it’s an EV. The car that you see here is the Windsor EV which MG calls a crossover utility vehicle. It is supposed to have the size of a crossover and the practicality of a utility vehicle. While the Windsor looks like a hatchback, in terms of size, it compares to the Tata Curvv EV or say a Hyundai Creta. Now this is where the beauty of a purpose built EV comes into the picture. There won't be an ICE version of the Windsor, so they don’t have to think about where the IC engine mechanicals would be. Instead, they can just take advantage of the simple mechanicals of an EV that take up less space and offer the remaining space inside the cabin and that’s exactly what MG has done with this car. It is a ground-up purpose-built EV focusing on cabin space, features and practicality. We got to drive the Windsor EV in Delhi for a day. Let’s get into all the details.

MG Windsor EV Price & Brochure

In the MG portfolio, the Windsor sits in between the Comet EV and the ZS EV and it has been launched at a starting price of Rs. 13,49,800 for the base variant (Excite). The mid variant (Exclusive) is priced at Rs. 14,49,800 and the top variant (Essence) costs Rs. 15,49,800 (ex-showroom). This is very good pricing when you compare it to the likes of the Tata Nexon EV (Rs. 12.49 lakh - Rs. 16.29 lakh) and the Mahindra XUV400 (Rs. 15.49 lakh - Rs. 19.39 lakh). If the primary purpose of buying an EV is to have a point A to point B commuter with a decent range for city driving and a spacious cabin, the Windsor EV makes a lot of sense.

MG also has another way of buying the Windsor EV where you don’t have to buy the battery upfront. It’s called the ‘Battery as a Service’ (BaaS) plan where you pay the cost of the vehicle (without the battery) and then pay a rental fee for the battery. For the MG Windsor, the starting price for the vehicle is Rs. 9.99 lakh (ex-showroom) and the battery rental starts at Rs. 3.5 per km. MG has partnered with companies like Bajaj Finserv, Hero Fincorp, Vidyut and Ecofy Autovert to provide the BaaS program. Different companies offer different programs which can be prepaid or postpaid and have different minimum monthly running. The main idea behind the program was to reduce the upfront buying cost of the EV and should work out well for people who don’t have high running. MG has also introduced the BaaS program for its other EVs – the Comet and ZS. For more details on BaaS, check out this brochure from MG - MG Battery as a Service Brochure.pdf

All in all, the pricing looks good and should get people intrigued enough to visit the showroom and have a look at the car.

You can download the MG Windsor EV brochure here - MG Windsor EV Brochure.pdf

[Omkar]

Exterior

Design & Styling

One of the first comments that Suhaas307 passed when he saw the Windsor was that it reminded him of the Fiat Multipla, primarily due to the layered front end and the MPV-like shape. While the Mutlipla is considered one of the ugliest cars, the Windsor manages to look nice. Yes, it has an MPV-like shape, but it looks sleek and has clean bodylines. The front features bumper-mounted headlamps and DRLs at the top with an illuminated MG logo. The rear features connected tail-lamps which look rather small considering the size of the car. It’s worth noting that our test car was fitted with accessories. So the small bits you see on the door, near the tail-lamps, and on the bumper that look like aftermarket accessories; are actually MG accessories.

The Windsor EV measures 4,295 mm in length, 1,850 mm in width (excluding mirrors) and 1,677 mm in height. It has a wheelbase of 2,700 mm. There are a total of 4 colour options available – Turquoise Green (our test car), Pearl White, Clay Beige and Starburst Black.

Build Quality, Fit & Finish

The overall build quality of the car feels good. The panel gaps are consistent and tight. The doors and the tailgate have a good amount of heft to them. This doesn’t feel like a cheap toy car by any measure. It’s a well-built car. Even the paint quality is good.

Wheels & Tyres

The Windsor is equipped with 18-inch alloy wheels (Exclusive and Essence variants). Our test car was shod with 215/55 section Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance tyres. The base Excite variant is equipped with 17-inch steel wheels shod with 215/60 section tyres. The Windsor EV does not come with a spare tyre. Instead, you get a puncture repair kit.

Ground Clearance

The Windsor EV has an unladen ground clearance of 186 mm which is exactly the same as the Curvv EV 55 kWh variant. We drove over some pretty bad roads and some no roads as well and the car didn’t scrape anywhere. Fair to say that the ground clearance is good enough for Indian road conditions.

Standard & Extended Warranty

Under MG e-Shield, the Windsor is offered with a 3-year / unlimited km standard warranty. You can extend the warranty up to 5 years / unlimited km and we strongly suggest you do. The EV has a lot of new tech and it is best if you’re covered if something goes wrong. The high-voltage battery has a lifetime warranty for the first owner. If you sell the vehicle, the battery warranty becomes 8 years / 1,60,000 km for the second owner. Note that the 8 years / 1,60,000 km is calculated from the vehicle purchase date of the first owner.

Maintenance

Maintenance costs of EVs are fairly low in comparison with ICE cars. The Windsor is offered with 3 years of roadside assistance and 3 labour free services (for the first 3 scheduled services). You can also extend the RSA plan up to 5 years and there are scheduled maintenance packages as well for up to 5 years / 75,000 km. As mentioned earlier, MG has an assured buyback plan where you can get 60% (ex-showroom) after 3 years / 45,000 km.

Safety

The Baojun Yunduo (China) / Wuling Cloud EV (Indonesia) / MG Windsor EV has not been crash tested by any of the NCAP organizations, so it’s hard to predict how the car will perform in crash tests. It’s important to note that the model in China comes equipped with ADAS tech while the Indian version doesn’t. The car’s structure is made up of ultra-high strength steel, advanced high-strength steel, high-strength steel and hot formed steel. It is equipped with safety features like 6 airbags (all variants), 360-degree view camera, all-wheel disc brakes, ESP, hill-start assist, hill descent control, TPMS, ESS, ISOFIX, auto headlamps and auto wipers. One big miss is ADAS technology which we hope is added at a later date.

Interior

Cabin Design & Quality

Get inside the cabin and you will immediately sense the spaciousness. You have a tall windshield which almost gives Honda Jazz like vibes. The dashboard has a minimalistic design and an all-black theme. The only physical buttons you will find are for the A/C controls and the steering wheel buttons. The big talking point is the massive 15.6-inch touchscreen head-unit that sits in the middle of the dashboard. We’ve seen big touchscreens from MG, but this one takes it to the next level as it’s the same size as my laptop. A lot of the car controls like mirror adjustment, headlight adjustment, and drive mode selection are from the touchscreen. The overall quality of materials is good and you’ll find some nice fake wood panels along with some brass-coloured plastic panels that look premium. The quality of plastics is good too and doesn’t feel cheap.

Space & Comfort

The doors open wide and you can easily get in and out of the front seats. In terms of cabin width, there’s enough space between the front passengers to travel comfortably. The centre armrest is also wide enough for both the front passengers to use. Something you don’t see very often is fully quilted leather seats. They offer very good comfort and almost feel like a leather sofa. The cushioning is on point and even after long hours of driving, they didn’t feel uncomfortable. These seats are focused on comfort and not enthusiastic driving which is why the side bolstering is very little.

Driving Position & Ergonomics

As mentioned earlier, you have a massive windshield at the front, which gives excellent frontal visibility. The glass area all around is huge, which is great. You also get a 360-degree camera while parking if you still need more visual cues. The driver’s seat gets 6-way power adjustment but no lumbar adjustment. It would’ve been nice to see at least a manual lumbar adjustment for the driver’s seat. The steering gets tilt and telescopic adjustment, although the range isn’t much. It still helps you find a good driving position. The only physical controls you have are for the HVAC unit which are easy to reach. The wiper controls are on the right stalk and the transmission mode selector is on the left stalk. Other controls like the mirror adjustment, headlight options, drive mode selection, and the glass roof sunshade operation are thorugh the touchscreen (more details later). Some people like this as it clears up space on the dashboard and some people don’t because it feels unnatural. I’d prefer having physical buttons for all the operations as it means that I don’t have to take my eyes off the road and use the touchscreen for some basic operations.

Cabin Storage

No physical controls mean that there’s a lot of space for storage in the cabin. For starters, you have very usable door pockets that can hold a one litre bottle each. Then, on the centre console, you have cupholders and also additional space for a disposable ramen bowl. There are two additional cupholders on the dashboard above the side A/C vents. For your phone, you have two slots on the centre console out of which, one is a wireless charging pad as well. The driver armrest also has some storage underneath. There’s an additional covered storage area under the centre console for bigger items. The glovebox is also well-sized and can hold some documents and other stuff. All in all, there’s enough space in the cabin to keep all your stuff.

Air-Conditioning

The climate in Delhi was pleasant when we drove the Windsor EV. It was overcast for the most time and briefly, it was very hot as well. We’d say that the air conditioning unit’s performance was average. The time it took to cool the cabin was longer than expected. The blower speed was high for set temperatures and it was loud as well. You get a PM2.5 filter for the cabin. The front seats are ventilated and you need to activate it from the touchscreen.

Features

Unique & Noteworthy Features

MG has provided a bunch of features in the Windsor EV. Here are some of the noteworthy features – auto headlamps, auto wipers, electronic flush-fitting door handles, glass antenna, ventilated front seats, 135-degree reclining rear seats, 15.6-inch touchscreen head-unit with wireless Android Auto & Apple CarPlay, 9-speaker Infinity audio system, glass roof, auto-dimming IRVM, ambient lighting, wireless charger, PM2.5 air filter, smart entry system, 360-degree camera and connected car tech. MG has also collaborated with Jio for some of its OTT apps and games on the touchscreen. There’s also a Home 2 Car feature where you can link your car and JioFiber set top box to schedule an MG car test drive or a service appointment for your car. You do miss out on ADAS tech, height adjustable seatbelts, rear wiper, and a spare wheel.

Audio System & Sound Quality

The touchscreen has been a big talking point of the MG Windsor EV and rightly so. It is a massive 15.6-inch unit that also has some of the vehicle controls in it. The touchscreen is nice to use with quick access buttons on the right side and bottom of the screen. There’s no lag, but during our shoot, the car was static for some time and the screen froze. This made things very difficult as we could not use some of the controls like adjustable regen, headlight options, ventilated seats, mirror adjustment, etc. The Essence variant comes equipped with a 9-speaker (4 speakers, 4 tweeters and 1 subwoofer) Infinity audio system. The sound quality is average even after tweaking some of the settings. While the vocals don’t crack at high volumes, the overall sound seems flat. If you’re an audiophile, you’ll be better off upgrading the system.

Rear Passengers

Rear Seat Comfort & Space

The rear seat is what MG has focused on with the Windsor. Thanks to the long wheelbase, there’s loads of room in the cabin and this is easily one of the most comfortable backseats in this segment and a segment above as well. Getting in and out is easy thanks to the height of the car. The issue with most EVs is that the high floor (due to the battery underneath) leads to a knees-up sitting position. Consequently, you feel the under-thigh support isn’t good. In the Windsor, the floor height will be an issue if you’re someone more than 6-feet in height. Suhaas307 (6’1”) felt the under-thigh support to be lacking while I (5’10”) was just okay with it. Shorter folk won’t find any issues with the under-thigh support. Talking about the legroom, there’s lots of space here. Two 6-footers can comfortably sit behind one another. Behind my driving position, I had about 5-6 inches of legroom to spare. The rear seats have recline adjustment and you can go up to an angle of 135 degrees which is comfortable. Since the Windsor has an MPV-like shape, the roof doesn’t slope down towards the rear. Hence, the headroom isn’t compromised. Suhaas307 at 6’1” had roughly 4 inches of headroom to spare. The centre armrest is also set at a nice height. While everything is great in the backseat, the only gripe that one can find is that the ride gets bouncy at the rear (more on this later).

Boot Space

The boot space of the Excite and Exclusive variant is 604 litres, while that of the Essence variant is 579 litres. You can fold down the rear seats for additional space. There’s no frunk in the Windsor. The tailgate isn’t powered and takes some effort to open. The boot opening is wide and the floor height is adjustable. Hence, you can raise the height to easily slide the bags into the boot and you don’t have to lift and drop them. Note that there’s no spare wheel on offer under the boot floor and you have some additional storage space where the subwoofer is placed. You can also keep the tyre puncture repair kit and the charging cable there.

[Omkar]

Driving the MG Windsor EV

Powering the MG Windsor EV is a permanent magnet synchronous motor that makes 134 BHP and 200 Nm. It comes with a 38 kWh battery pack and the claimed range is 331 km (as per MIDC test procedure Part 1 + Part 2):


The way EVs drive in general has become quite predictable. Once you get to know the specifications of the car, there is a rough idea as to how it will drive. Apart from certain aspects, the way the Windsor EV drives on the road is very much predictable. It’s an EV that has been developed as a point A to point B commuter and not an outright performer. Hence, the way it delivers power is very linear and the focus is on smooth driving. There are 4 drive modes to choose from – Eco+, Eco, Normal and Sport. All the drive modes have distinct characteristics and you also have 3 levels of regeneration as per the need.

Walk up to the car with the key in your pocket and you’ll be glad that the flush-fitting door handles open automatically (unlike on the Tata Curvv EV where it’s manual). That’s a very good welcome feature. Open the door and you just have to press the brake pedal, select the ‘D’ transmission mode with the left stalk behind the steering wheel and you’re ‘Ready’ to drive. No need to push a start button or turn the key. Lift your foot off the brake pedal and the car rolls off smoothly. The crawl speed is comfortable and with the auto hold function, driving in bumper-to-bumper traffic isn’t cumbersome. You’ll not appreciate the traffic, but you will appreciate how easy the Windsor EV is to drive in the traffic. Driving with a gentle foot, the car can keep up with city traffic easily and even make quick overtakes. The Eco+ mode is where the top speed is restricted to 80 km/h and this is where the throttle response is in the dullest setting. However, if you’re a sedate driver, you’ll like driving in this mode when in the city. There’s enough power to get along. You can switch to Eco mode or Normal mode if you want to go quicker.

Out on the highway, the Windsor EV reaches triple-digit speeds without breaking a sweat. MG hasn’t shared the 0-100 km/h acceleration time, but it’s likely to be under 10 seconds. When it comes to power delivery, the progress till 100 km/h is strong. Post that you can feel the power taper off. Just like most EVs, this has been done to conserve the battery as the motor spins at high revs, When it comes to overtaking on the highways, you won’t be stuck behind anyone. The acceleration from 80 km/h to 100 km/h is strong. Even 120 km/h comes up pretty quickly. You don’t even have to switch to Sport mode for overtakes. Normal mode is good enough for overtakes on the highway.

There are 4 driving modes as mentioned earlier:

Eco+ mode – This is the most energy-efficient driving mode. The top speed is limited to 80 km/h and the accelerator is in its dullest setting. You can feel the sluggishness in acceleration. It’s best to use this setting in heavy traffic or bumper-to-bumper situations.

Eco mode – You can use this mode for long-distance cruising on the highway. You can go above 80 km/h and still be efficient. There’s a noticeable difference between Eco+ and Eco mode. The car doesn’t feel as sluggish and you can make some quick overtakes in this mode as well.

Normal mode – We didn’t find a major difference between the Eco mode and Normal mode. There’s a difference in outright acceleration. However, while driving around normally, you or your passengers will most likely not even know the difference between the Eco and Normal mode.

Sports mode – This is the mode to engage when you want to have some fun. You will for sure leave the ICE cars behind in outright acceleration. The throttle response is sharper and the car feels quick on its feet in this mode. However, thanks to the linear calibration of the pedal, driving in Sport mode isn’t jerky. You can drive smoothly in city traffic while in Sport mode, just that you will run out of juice faster.

All in all, the Windsor EV provides a good balance of economical driving and smoothness along with some performance as well. The power delivery is very linear and so is the accelerator response which makes driving the car a smooth affair.

Regenerative Braking

The MG Windsor has 3 levels of regeneration – Light, Medium and Heavy. Unfortunately, there’s no physical button anywhere on the dashboard to quickly select the regeneration mode. You have to select the regeneration via the touchscreen. By default, the car is in Heavy regeneration mode. I found this mode to be manageable. It isn’t very jerky and the deceleration doesn’t catch you off guard. People who like engine braking will love being in this mode. You can also do one-pedal driving in many situations. However, do keep in mind that the car will not come to a complete halt. It will keep crawling forward without any throttle input. The Medium and Light regeneration modes are also comfortable, although you will end up using the brake pedal more often.

Noise, Vibration & Harshness (NVH)

EVs are generally quite silent and the Windsor isn’t any different. Since there’s no engine noise or transmission noise, the cabin is silent when driving around in the city. You do hear a bit of the ambient noise though. Out on the highway, wind noise starts creeping in post 90 km/h and there is a fair bit of tyre noise at 100 km/h.

Range

MG has claimed a range of 331 kilometres as per MIDC test procedure Part 1 + Part 2. We won’t go into too much detail, but just to give you a basic idea, MIDC stands for Modified Indian Driving Cycle. The test is conducted on a dynamometer and the Part 1 test is where they keep running a cycle of ~1 km with varying speeds. The average speed during the Part 1 test is 19 km/h. The Part 2 test cycle is roughly 6.6 km long where the average speed is 60 km/h and the maximum speed reached is 90 km/h. In our driving time with the Windsor EV, we couldn’t do a range test, but judging from the range drop, a realistic range of 250 km seems doable. We’ll have to wait for ownership reviews to get the real-world range figure.

That being said, MG should've brought in the bigger battery pack variant as an option. It's already available on the international variants and the extra range would've been appreciated by some of the buyers.

Charging

The Windsor EV gets a 38 kWh LFP battery pack with prismatic cells. The charging port is of the CCS 2 type and the charging time for 0-100% on a 3.3 kW AC home charger is 13.8 hours. The same with a 7.4 kW charger is reduced to 6.5 hours. With DC fast charging on a 50 kW charger, the battery charges from 0-80% in 55 minutes. The Windsor EV doesn’t get vehicle-to-vehicle charging (V2V) or vehicle-to-load charging.

Suspension

Ride Comfort

The Windsor EV has a McPherson strut suspension at the front and twist beam suspension at the rear. Suspension setups with EVs are a bit tricky to get. The weight distribution needs to be considered and the engineers also have to be careful that they don’t make the ride too stiff. Right off the bat, the Windsor EV’s suspension setup is comfortable and most owners who will be driving it only in the city from point A to point B won’t find any issues with it. Start looking closely and in certain situations, some of the weaknesses start to show. Over a bad patch of road, there is noticeable movement inside the cabin. While it’s not very uncomfortable at the front, the movement at the back is considerably more. The rear passengers will feel the bad roads and side-to-side movement a lot more than the front passengers. The twist beam suspension at the rear is a big contributor to this side-to-side movement. In isolation, the suspension does well to absorb small to medium-sized potholes. You also feel a bit of the road and its irregularities due to the 18-inch wheels and the recommended tyre pressure – 36 PSI, which is rather high. If your driving is primarily in the city, you will want to reduce the tyre pressure to 32-33 PSI for a slightly cushier ride.

Handling & Dynamics

The straight-line stability of the Windsor is good and you won’t notice that you’re doing triple-digit speeds. Just like at slow speeds, the ride at the rear isn’t as comfortable as the front at higher speeds. You will feel vertical movement over highway undulations and expansion joints more at the rear. This is a bit contradictory to the Windsor’s focus on providing ultimate comfort for rear-seat passengers.

The Windsor has a long wheelbase and also wide front and rear tracks. So, when you think about it, the overall contact patch is big which aids in the dynamics of the car. The tall height of the car is a limiting factor though. Start pushing the car and around corners, it manages to hold its line quite well. In high-speed corners, you can carry a good amount of speed and on the highways, the car manages quick lane changes without much fuss. In tight corners, the turn in is sharp and you can place the car nicely on the exit. The tyres do squeal under stress, but the Windsor doesn’t lose its composure. There is body roll present and the absence of side bolstering on the seats makes you feel it even more.

Steering

The electric power steering unit in the Windsor EV is light in the city and very user-friendly as well. You can easily manoeuvre the car around in the city. At high speeds, the steering weighs up nicely. One issue that you might notice is that the steering is very direct. This is usually a good thing, but here, there is no dead space in the centre. Hence, while on the highway, the slightest undulation turns the steering wheel and the car starts moving in that direction. This meant that one has to always correct the steering to go straight. This can get irritating on long-distance trips. Also, there’s not much feedback from the steering in the corners when pushing hard. Overall though, it’s a decent setup and serves the purpose of most drivers.

Braking

All variants of the Windsor EV are equipped with disc brakes on all four wheels. They provide excellent stopping power and manage to stop the car effectively. Panic brake situations were handled well by the car.

[Omkar]

MG Windsor EV Exterior Images

Unconventional face stands out on Indian roads. Overall design is very rounded and it’s almost an easy guess that it was made for the Chinese market. The front features connected LED DRLs and bumper-mounted headlamps. Plastic strip connecting the headlamps and the eyebrows on the headlamps is an accessory:


Just like the front, the rear is also very rounded. As you can see in the image, the tail-lamps look very small for the car:


Very MPV-like side profile. The MG Windsor has a coefficient of drag of 0.367:


While the Windsor looks like a hatchback, the dimensions are similar to that of a mid-size SUV. It measures 4,295 mm in length, 1,850 mm in width (excluding mirrors) and 1,677 mm in height. It has a wheelbase of 2,700 mm:


Overall build quality is very good. Doors and tailgate have a good heft to them and the panel gaps are consistent as well:


The Windsor gets auto LED projector headlamps and LED DRLs:


Upper portion of the bumper carries the MG logo which is also illuminated:


Lower portion of the bumper has an air dam and a chrome lip. Notice the dummy piece for the radar in the centre. The India-spec Windsor does not get ADAS tech, but the international version does. Accessory stickers on the bumper connecting the headlamps look awful IMO:


No underbody protection at the front. Considering our road conditions, MG should’ve provided some protection here. The motor is completely exposed:


ORVMs get integrated turn-indicators and also house the cameras for the 360-degree view system:


Flush-fitting door handles pop out automatically when you walk towards the car with the key in your pocket:


Interestingly, the key access is on the passenger side door. MG should’ve swapped it to the driver side when they changed the LHD orientation to RHD:


These side body claddings are also part of the accessories list and look horrible IMO:


CCS type 2 charging port is placed on the left hand side fender:


Chunky 18-inch alloy wheels have a 5-petal design and are shod with 215/55 section Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance tyres:


All 3 variants are offered with rear disc brakes:


You get a small quarter glass towards the rear:


The Windsor doesn’t get a sunroof, but it gets a glass roof:


At first glance, what seems like a camera is actually a blank. Note that the car’s antenna is integrated into the rear windshield:


Tail-lights are full LED units. LED strip flows from the tail-lamp cluster into the connecting strip. MG calls them Smartflow tail-lights:


Just like the front, the rear also gets a chrome strip on the lower bumper. Reversing light is placed just below the chrome strip:


Here is the Windsor in the Starburst Black...


...and Pearl White:

[Omkar]

MG Windsor EV Interior Images

Step inside the cabin and you are greeted by this all-black dashboard with bronze accents. There are some nice fake wood-finished panels here and the overall theme of the dashboard is minimalism. There are very few physical buttons here and many controls are integrated in the massive touchscreen. The quality of materials and fit and finish is excellent and the cabin sure does feel premium:


Very simple-looking 2-spoke leather-wrapped steering wheel. It has two circular button clusters on each spoke with a scroll wheel selector in the middle. As mentioned earlier as well, a lot of controls have been integrated into the touchscreen and the steering controls also have multiple functions. It takes a lot of time to get used to. In the time that I spent with the car, I couldn’t use the functions comfortably. On the left spoke you can click the scroll wheel to alternate between options. On one click you will select the left ORVM and then you can adjust the position with the 4 arrow buttons around the scroll wheel button. Another click of the scroll wheel button and you will select the right ORVM and you can adjust it by the arrow buttons. Another click and you will select the A/C temperature control with which you can increase and decrease the temperature with the top and bottom arrow buttons. On the right-hand side, you have a voice assistant button on the top. The left and right buttons are for switching to the next song or channel. The down arrow button is to select drive modes. You can press the scroll wheel once to adjust the volume of the music system. One more press and you will go into the MID options from where you can scroll through the different vehicle-related information display. If you’ve gotten confused reading this part, you’re not alone. This system is complicated and takes time to get used to:


The left stalk is the transmission mode selector. Pulling down the selector twice activates cruise control:


On the right stalk, you have the wiper controls. This is also the turn-indicator stalk:


8.8-inch digital instrument cluster is not customizable. It’s a pretty straightforward unit. You have the speed display on the right side and vehicle related info on the left. The battery percentage and range are displayed below:


In the bottom right corner the drive mode is displayed:


You can view the power being used or have the TPMS display. You can also have the motor details on display while driving:


At the front, you have a quarter glass which improves the visibility ever so slightly. Also, note the tweeter placed on the A-pillar:


The doorpad carries an all-black theme. The door pockets can hold a litre bottle:


All windows have one-touch up and down features. The bronze finish for the buttons looks classy:


Some interesting elements on the doorpad. We’ll start at the top. The beige-coloured bar on the top has the latch on the leftmost side to open the door and the remaining part is to be used as a handle to pull the door close. The problem is that it’s not very intuitive as the bar is placed high. Below, what looks like a speaker jutting out, is just a design element. The speaker is located lower down. The wooden finish looks really good and feels premium:


I don’t think I have seen such quilted seats on a car. They feel like sofa material. The cushioning is on the softer side, but quite comfortable. There’s not much side bolstering, but they provide decent overall support. The driver’s seat is 6-way electrically adjustable. The front seats don’t get lumbar adjustment and height adjustable seatbelts:


Pedals are well spaced out and you get a very usable dead pedal too:


Just above, you have the emergency OFF switch. In the Windsor, you don’t need to switch off the car. You can park the car, switch to P mode, get out of the car and just lock it with the key fob. The car will switch off on its own. If in case you need to turn off the car, you can press this button:


Electronic parking brake is placed on the right side of the driver:


ORVM is well-sized and provides a good view of the rear. The operation however is complicated and the auto fold option is integrated into the touchscreen:


IRVM is large enough to cover the rear windshield. Headrests do obstruct the view though:


Rear view from the front seats isn’t that great as the D-pillars are thick and the headrests. You will have to depend on the 360-degree camera view while parking in tight spaces:


Probably the biggest talking point of the MG Windsor’s dashboard. This is a massive 15.6-inch touchscreen unit with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity. As you can see from the image, some vehicle functions like window lock, auto hold, ESC, mirror folding, and roof sunshade opening are controlled only via the touchscreen:


The 360-degree view camera system takes up the entire screen which is good for visibility, but the camera quality is just average. Also, another irritating factor is that if you’re at slow speeds, and you turn on any indicator, the side view from the 360-degree system will pop open taking over the whole screen!


There are a lot of functions and menus crammed into the touchscreen. The display is bright and crisp. There’s not much lag, but it’s not very smooth either. The ventilated seat function for the front passengers can be activated only through the A/C menu on the touchscreen. The MG app store is now in collaboration with the Jio Store and has apps for OTT streaming, music and games:


Here are some of the vehicle functions that you can control through the touchscreen. The ORVM button at the bottom of the screen opens up the box to select which side and then you can adjust the mirror using the buttons on the left spoke of the steering wheel. Then there’s the headlight button and you can select the different options as well as the headlight level settings and the rear fog lamp operation as well. You also have the option of customizing the button on the steering wheel that’s marked as *. You can also choose the drive mode and the level of regeneration through the touchscreen:


Climate control system gets physical switches:


This is the floating centre console that has an ambient light strip on its edge. The fake wood panel looks classy. There is space for 3 cups and you can even remove the plastic bottom part to keep a disposable ramen bowl. Below, you can slot 2 phones. The slot away from the driver has wireless charging:


The driver armrest is wide enough for the passenger to use as well. It’s not adjustable though and has storage underneath:


There’s a 12V socket here:


Below the centre console, you have another closed storage area with a sliding cover:


This storage area is quite big and also has a Type-C and a regular USB port:


A look at the passenger side of the dashboard. On top, there’s a cupholder which is also present on the driver side. Not sure if it’s safe to keep a cup here as the chances of spilling are high IMO. Below you again get the fake wood finish which looks great and the side AC vent:


The glovebox is well sized. It’s not ventilated or illuminated though:


A look at the roof console. The button in the middle is a blank. MG should’ve integrated the roof sunshade operation here:


The rear doorpad carries the same theme as the front:


All three rear passengers get individual headrests and 3-point seatbelts:


Here’s Suhaas307 (6’1” tall) seated behind his driving position. He felt that the under-thigh support could’ve been better, while I (5’10” tall) was just about okay with it. The legroom is great and the headroom is plentiful as well:


You can even recline the rear seats up to 135 degrees for additional comfort. The only problem with the rear seat is that the ride quality in the back seat is not great. At high speeds, it gets bouncy at the back:


A look at the difference in the recline angles:


Rear passengers get an A/C vent. You don’t get separate vents for 2 passengers. Instead, there’s just one way that you can direct the airflow:


Below, you have a type-C USB port and an open cubbyhole:


Rear passengers get grab handles with soft closing action. There’s also an LED reading lamp in the middle:


A look at the massive glass roof. You can adjust the position of the sunshade from the touchscreen:


The Essence variant that you see here has a boot space of 579 litres. The other two variants have an additional 25 litres. There’s no parcel tray on offer. The loading lip is at a good height and the boot opening is wide:


Interestingly, the boot floor is height adjustable. You can have it aligned to the lip to slide the luggage in and out easily, or lower it for additional space:


Here’s the slot where you can slide the boot floor for different heights:


The rear seats fold in a 60:40 split:


Underneath the boot floor, you have the subwoofer placed and some additional storage area:


The Windsor doesn’t get a spare wheel, but you get a tyre puncture repair kit. The storage space under the boot floor is good for keeping the portable charging cable as well:

[Omkar]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line.

[GTO]

A most interesting car! Great review, Omkar. As you rightly said, MG has set the cat among the pigeons with this car & its pricing. We need these kind of models for EVs to go more mainstream. Love the chic styling, space / comfort, technology, big boot and all those features.

On the other hand, a 250 km real-world range is on the lower side by current standards. With my kind of driving style (heavy right foot), it will drop even further. MG should launch the bigger battery as an option to those customers who need it (like the Nexon EV Max). The value-for-money pricing anyway leaves room for a higher-spec variant. Surprised to hear about the rear suspension = MG needs to learn how to tune its suspensions better. The Hector is a boat, the Gloster is a boat, the Comet's suspension is too basic...and now the Windsor's rear is unsettled.

This will go on to become a very healthy seller for MG India . Am glad they are offering the "full car + battery" under ownership too. Not a fan of BaaS schemes at all (my thoughts at this link).

Tata should be worried. A car like this makes the Punch & Nexon EVs look overpriced. God bless competition, it always makes things better for us customers . Can't wait to drive the Windsor.

[Rajeevraj]

Nice review. Weird looking car but in a good way. Good that finally MG confirmed that you can buy a non- BaaS variant. Overall don't see this car standing apart from the competition in a major way to create a stiff competition with the other established players. Will probably see the EV fleet companies pick it up soon for intra city duties.

I think I really need to buy a new car before everything is replaced with these kind of cookie-cutter, same to drive, futuristic looking, hard to differentiate from one another type of models.

[JunkyardHunter]

Superb thread Omkar!

MG has really hit it out of the park with the Windsor. In hindsight, I feel like generating public awareness of the car through BaaS was a good move, though I doubt that anyone will go for it considering it's killer introductory price.

Tata should be shivering in their timbers now

[ByKaizen]

As we all know JSW MG has announced they will launch 5 vehicles in next 15 months (started with Windsor) and out of the 5, 3 will be mass market. Considering this point they have a reason to keep Windsor with a range of around 300km~ and not more that simply to avoid self cannibalization of their own future products with more range.

If they launch Bingo EV next with a price tag of 7 or 8L (with BaaS), that will be again like setting a Tiger among the cats

[Mitadru]

An excellent review as usual. Though I like the car a lot, integrating everything into the touchscreen is a bad Idea. How many bucks does it cost to give a simple knob to adjust the ORVM ? Or a button to turn on the headlights? They have also missed out on offering ADAS and powered tailgate as is provided in the Indonesian Cloud.

One area we'll have to see is the crash test safety, cause it doesn't have much of a bonnet.
However the pricing is fabulous. It directly competes with many ICE SUVs and even the lower specced Punch EV LR and the antiquated ( in terms of battery tech) Citroen E- C3. Now it's time to see how many buy the car outright, and how many go for BAAS scheme.

P.S. Shouldn't Tata decrease the price of all their EVs, barring the Curvv? Cause all of them are smaller cars, and except Nexon EV, each of them have smaller batteries. The Windsor has the potential to eat into sales of all Tata EVs.

[thomahawk]

I was dreaming of relaxing in the rear 'sofa' reclined to max and watching a movie in the large infotainment unit, chilled to the bone, till I read these points:

Originally Posted by Omkar

Suspension tune is busy at the rear. The ride is liveable, but you do feel bad roads

Hope a tire downsize will make this better.

Originally Posted by Omkar

We’d say that the air conditioning unit’s performance was average. The time it took to cool the cabin was longer than expected. The blower speed was high for set temperatures and it was loud as well.

The glass roof seems heavily tinted already. Guess one might have to get the whole car tinted (for now, at least in Kerala it is a possibility).

Originally Posted by Omkar

There’s no lag, but during our shoot, the car was static for some time and the screen froze.

Hope this is sorted out quickly. The last thing one would want in a 'digitized' car is an unreliable unit to control features in the car.

Originally Posted by Omkar

The sound quality is average even after tweaking some of the settings. While the vocals don’t crack at high volumes, the overall sound seems flat.

And that wipes off my dream completely. Hope MG isn't fuzzy about owners replacing speakers etc.

I wish MG included VTL support. Hopefully it might come in a facelift with larger battery pack. Would make this a great family picnic car.

[narayans80]

Saw the Windsor along with the family at the showroom yesterday. The car had lot of visitors to the showroom, nearly 4-5 families were seeing the car at a time, so I didn't get a deeper look

Here are some of my observations (and associated questions):

• The USP is the space. There are acres of it, whether you are at the front, rear or boot. There was a good 1-1.5 feet space to the front seat with my family seated in the rear bench. ZS pales in comparison.
• Boot space is generous and would fit a week long trip luggage.
• The Multipla bump at the front is prominent. Its not much evident from the various photos. But that's the first thing that strikes you when you see the car in flesh. While the car isn't going to compete in beauty contests. The front look isn't everyone's cup of tea.
• The steering stalks are just too overloaded, and this is confirmed in the review too. I guess this will be the first car I would have to read through the manual for controls before even going for a test drive.
• The headlights don't protrude, but they are placed in a vulnerable position.
• I think its due to the vulnerable front, the charging port is moved to the front-left
• While the front visibility is great. One specific point is, I couldn't see where the front bumper is from the drivers' seat, even if I crane my neck up front. Both of you being similar height as me (5'11"), what do you feel about the front bumper judgement of the car from the drivers' seat?
• I think one will have to use headlights if one is to park against the wall (this is my parking use case)
• The initial impression was there wasn't much headroom for me in the driver seat. If I measure (not to scale), its almost similar to sitting on Alcazar's driver seat.
• Full marks for the 3 3-point seat belts at the rear
• Although the spec sheet says 1850 width, it doesn't feel like it from the exterior look. It does show on the interior.
• The missus is miffed by the fact, Excite is only sold in white (which is my initial trim choice), Exclusive gets black and white and the entire palette is available only on the Essence.
• The Essence variant on display was shod with 215/55/R18 Goodyears, which I see on the review car too. I was told Excite would get 215/60/R17. Could you confirm?
• The seats seem to be on the softer side. How did you guys feel driving on it on an extended duration? Would also be interested on how the fabric seats feel on the Excite.
• Spare wheel is listed as an accessory, but neither the size or price is revealed in the accessories brochure.
• On road prices are not yet revealed in the showroom. They are taking bookings though. I was told deliveries would start end of October, not Durga Puja as announced at launch.
• No test drives yet, am not in a hurry.
• Yay to black interiors. Am a sucker for black interiors.
• The door interiors are too funky to my taste.
• Underthigh support at rear is good for my 5 footers, not for me. I am not going to sit much at the rear anyway.

[shyampsunder]

The most interesting aspect of this car launch is the unlimited battery warranty.

Looks like MG India has realised that their battery quality is a key edge over Tata and want to take advantage of it.

The data that MG has collected on the ZS EV facelift would've surely helped in making this decision. We are seeing cars that have run 30k - 40k KMs have no actual degradation.

Now the terms and conditions of this battery warranty will be critical to understand but kudos to MG to take this big step to alleviate the fears around long term reliability of the battery. Great that unlimited warranty is not restricted to BaaS model alone.

This is a big innovation not just in the space of EVs but all automobiles in this country. Even Toyota wouldn't dare provide lifetime warranty for its engines.

[suhaas307]

Thanks, Omkar for a comprehensive review on the Windsor EV.

If I may, I’d like to set out my observations below for what it’s worth:

Styling and design: I love the quirky styling of the Windsor. The large wheels are placed at the extreme corners of the car allowing the Windsor to have short overhangs at both ends. While this might have been done to maximise the in-cabin space, the byproduct of this is the Windsor looks brilliantly proportioned. I am a big fan of the way it looks, especially in black!

Interior and ergonomics: There is no dearth of space in the Windsor, and the minimalist dashboard gives the interior a very airy and spacious feeling. Other than a few things like the wheel well on the passenger side that would force the passenger to sit at a slight angle, and the high floor / low under-thigh support for taller occupants, there is very little to complain about in terms of interior space and accommodation. The rear seats can be reclined (40-60 split) all the way if necessary, and the super soft cushioning makes this car the perfect chauffeur-driven option for stressful city commutes. The large boot will be a hit amongst those who frequent airports.

Build quality and fit/finish: As good as it gets for a car if it’s class, perhaps even better than some others. The car exudes “premium” thanks to the Mercedes-esque white gold accents and Bang & Olufsen-like styling for the (dummy) speakers on the doors. The car feels solid and put together very well! It certainly exceeded expectations.

Features and tech: Par for course, largely. I do have some complaints, for instance the large 15” screen has to be used if you want to make basic adjustments to the AC and other things. Operating the ORVM requires you to use the screen and the toggle on the steering wheel of all things! I simply cannot understand the logic behind this! What’s wrong with switchgear? Simple things like the volume controller for the ICE would have worked better if there was a physical knob to make adjustments on the fly. This issue was further compounded when the screen decided to go on strike, and we had to make do with no music / no adjustments to the ORVM till the screen unfroze itself after an hour of driving. The large tailgate would have worked better if a button was provided to operate/close it.

Ride and handling: The occupants on the front will have no complaints whatsoever when it comes to ride quality, but the torsion beam setup at the back can be felt by keen observers in the back seat, who will feel like they are being thrown about on severely undulated roads. The ride at the back is not exactly settled, but most people should be fine with it unless the road conditions are absolutely appalling. The Windsor is also a neutral handler and squeals early enough to let you know that its limits are being breached, without springing any surprises. Manoeuvring the car in tight spaces is a walk in the park and placing it on the road is as easy as any larger hatchback in the market today. It’s a comfortable car and offers an above average driving experience for those looking to commute to offices and homes after a stressful day.

Power and performance: 130 odd horsepower and instant torque is plenty for everyday city commutes. Drive modes such as Eco+ will allow you to restrict speeds to 80 kmph while ensuring that spiky throttle inputs by your trusty chauffeur are not felt in the cabin thanks to clever throttle mapping.

Smaller yet Significant points to consider:

- BaaS makes the Windsor EV an affordable car for those who want a premium and luxurious chauffeur/self-driven offering but cannot afford an Innova. Taking the battery out of the overall acquisition cost of the car makes it quite accessible to a large section of society. The Windsor can easily pass off as a 20-25 lakh car in terms of what it offers, and that makes it great value for money.

- More thought should have gone into the car’s development for RHD markets. Silly quirks like the physical key hole is missing from the drivers door but is strangely present on the passenger door! The wheel well can feel intrusive for the passenger in the front seat.

- The car should have come with a few more features like a rear wiper and ADAS, and a range-extending 50 kWh battery, to make it feel truly premium.

- Little bugs in the 15” screen like the car in the 360 cam view is represented by a static version of Windsor could have been improved upon. The screen itself is too large for my liking, and physical buttons for some controls like the volume button and ORVM adjustment are non-negotiable in my view.

- Better under thigh support (tall person problems) and a more compliant suspension package for the rear axle would have made this car an unbeatable prospect for most people in the market for an electric car.