Our Insights after using EVs since last 3 years: Range, Charging & More

From our experience so far, having an EV for city commute is a no-brainer. I do not see any reason for someone not to go for it, if their initial budget allows for an EV.

BHPian GS300 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

We (my spouse and I) have been using EVs very regularly for the last three years. We have driven about 78000 kms in EVs, but used them only in city conditions. The following is a summary of our EV experience, and insights from it. We hope this would help people who are considering buying an EV, but are on the fence regarding the decision.

Chapter 1: Tata Nexon EV (July 2021 - June 2024)

The first EV we bought was a Tata Nexon, 3 years back.

We drove Nexon EV for about 75k kms in the last 3 years. We have had our share of positives and negatives.

In the initial days, I had done an analysis on electricity and fuel expenses. The conclusions from this were encouraging.

Problems

First major problem started at around 30k kms. Battery experienced a sudden discharge, and the battery pack had to be replaced.

Then after six months, again it happend, and again.

Each time, Tata service center would keep the car for a few days (The second time, it took more than 4 weeks) and they would replace the battery free of cost since it is covered under warranty.

Our take was, ok we are early adopters, so maybe this is part of that experience. So we were planning to keep the car for some more time.

But then, the car's windows apparently 'attained independence' and started opening at random times. Once the window opens, it wouldn't close for about an hour or so. Even after closing, it will suddenly open at random time intervals.

At this point, we have had enough. We decided to change the car. We concluded that the issues faced are *Tata* problems and not *EV* problems.

Deciding on the next car

My wife was clear she wanted to go for an EV again. The driving comfort and not worrying about fuel expenses far outweighed range anxiety or the trouble of charging the car.

Obviously Tata was out of the picture. So, that limited our options. We considered Citroen. But we found that the dealer in Bangalore appeared to be closed down (not sure about it - but the dealer was not listed in Citroen India website).

Looked at Hyundai. Ioniq5 was a no-brainer, but then we had a hard-constraint that this should be a small'ish' car (we have another SUV). Ioniq is rather large, hence did not consider. We would have opted for the Kona, but the model looked old and we thought it might be replaced soon.

Briefly looked at BYD - but did not get the confidence, and the design of interiors was not appealing to us. Vehicle size criteria also did not match our requirements.

That left us MG ZS EV. Our neighbour had one and they gave a positive review. The dimensions were acceptable. The pricing was such that at least one model was there that did not attract the Karnata govt's tax for EV that costs more than 25L

So we bought MG ZS EV about a month back. Gave Nexon to MG's used car dealer at a low price - but then, they compensated with a generous exchange bonus.

Chapter 2: MG ZS EV (July 2024 - )

Buying experience

Buying the car from MG, Mysore road dealership, was without a question the worst car buying experience in our 20years of car buying. The sales person somehow got obsessed with convincing us to sell our existing car at a lower price, rather than convincing us to buy the MG. Anyways, after some weeks the sales manager intervened and offered an exchanged bonus and that convinced us to go ahead. Also we thought we do not have to deal with the sales guy after we buy the vehicle, that helped us to take the decision.

Initial Impressions

We have been using this car for slightly more than a month now. Have driven about 2700kms.

We love the fit and finish of the car. Interiors looks luxurious. The large display is well placed and it blends well into the overall scheme of things. Front seats are comfortable, offers good support.

Backseat comfort is not upto the mark. The ride feels really stiff. Sitting in the backseat for some time, especially if the road is uneven, induces slight motion sickness. Recommended tyre pressure is 40psi. I am not sure if this is contributing to the rough ride.

This is a feature rich car. Panoramic sunroof - though I have never figured out when to use it in Bangalore city - is a 'feel-good' feature. The center display screen has many touch controls for almost everything in the car. On the negative side, I find that these touch controls are not very user friendly - physical controls are much better to use when you are driving. Tactile feedback is more user-friendly.

There are certain quirks as well. E.g.: when you start the car, it starts playing the radio at a set volume, regardless of whatever setting you may have changed it to, previously.

Android Auto/Apple carplay - only wired. not wireless. Wireless charging of mobiles is supported.

Driving - Is always a pleasure. But then thats the case with all EVs and not MG particularly. The ease with which you can overtake, weave through traffic etc is such a pleasure with an EV.

Range - Increased range is a life-saver. The range at full charge shows 400kms, but we think max we will get is 350+ (havent verified it), but even this increases the flexibility considerably. We never used to take Nexon to airport, worried about the range. With MG we do not think twice about it. Charging frequency also reduced.

Audio system is not as good as what Nexon had, but acceptable quality.

Charging - MG's installation team installed a 7KW wall-charger at home. The charger is supplied by a company called Exicom. The model of the charger is 'Spin'. Since I do not have 7KW approved load, installation team brought down the charging capacity to 3.3KW. In addition to this, MG provides a portable charger that will work with any 15A socket. But I think this works at 2KW or 2.5KW. So it is bound to take long hours to charge completely. Our Spin wall charger takes about 7 to 8 hours, but that is usually from 40% to 100%.

Once or twice in the last one month, we have charged the car at Zeon fast charging as well. Unlike Tata, who generally has a cautious approach towards fast charging (e.g.: they strongly suggest slow charging to 100% after two fast charging sessions etc), MG does not give any caution about it. We will have to see if there will be any battery issues if we frequently fast-charge.

Insights from our EV ownership

From our experience so far, having an EV for city commute is a no-brainer. I do not see any reason for someone not to go for it, if their initial budget allows for an EV.

But when it comes to having an EV as the *only* car in the household, we are not that confident. Mainly because we never had that experience. We have always had an SUV for long distance trips. But that does not mean that another family cannot consider having EV as their only car. Long trips will have to be planned well, locating fast chargers, stops in between etc.

With Nexon EV, we had a practical range of 220 -230 kms. this was not confident inspiring for taking the car outside the city. But with MG's 350+ km range, I feel much more confident and less worried about the same. Extrapolating, I think 600km range would be the point at which I would confidently say that my only car can be an EV. At the same time, reliable charging providers like Zeon gives some peace of mind. If Zeon expands their network and provides charging points along our usual long distance routes, I would feel more confident to use MG as the only car.

Electricity charges were not a problem, especially since we have a solar installation. Even otherwise, from our Nexon based calculations, the increase in electricity bill was approx Re. 1 per EV Km run.

Charging - our sanctioned load is 5KW from BESCOM. We find it rather limiting. It might be a good idea to have at least 9KW or even 12KW approved load to make your house 'future proof'. If feasible solar panel installation with net-metering should be considered.

Finally, we look forward to having more options to choose from. Preferably from Hyundai, Toyota and such. Tata products might be OK, but they do not have the systems and processes to handle the support and maintenance of large number of cars they sell. Going by our experience of owning Hyundai and Toyota (ICE) cars in the past, they know how to put in place the right support processes, combined with the general reliability their products offer, if they bring out sub-25L EVs, I am sure it will help in the overall EV adoption in India.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.