MG ZS EV - Any Good?
Discussion
The cost versus petrol definitely gave me second thoughts. We're buying through the Affinity scheme, so our options were:
1.0 turbo petrol Exclusive auto - £18,405
EV long range SE - £26,971
£8,566 buys a lot of petrol, and the Exclusive has niceties that the SE doesn't.
But, in its favour:
1. we're getting 0% EV loan from Scottish Govt so no interest to pay
2. as mentioned previously, residuals should be much better as more and more people want to make the switch.
3. cheaper to fuel, even on my not particularly great electricity rate, I'm expecting 6-7p/mile, that's 121mpg equivalent at £1.60/litre.
4. £0 tax, and servicing is £90/year for most except brake fluid changes
5. much more refined driving experience
6. the perks of things like cabin pre-heating, etc.
1.0 turbo petrol Exclusive auto - £18,405
EV long range SE - £26,971
£8,566 buys a lot of petrol, and the Exclusive has niceties that the SE doesn't.
But, in its favour:
1. we're getting 0% EV loan from Scottish Govt so no interest to pay
2. as mentioned previously, residuals should be much better as more and more people want to make the switch.
3. cheaper to fuel, even on my not particularly great electricity rate, I'm expecting 6-7p/mile, that's 121mpg equivalent at £1.60/litre.
4. £0 tax, and servicing is £90/year for most except brake fluid changes
5. much more refined driving experience
6. the perks of things like cabin pre-heating, etc.
gangzoom said:
There is an really interesting 'shift' in EV adoption it seems. People who normally would only consider BMWs etc are loving Kia/Hyundais, and Lexus owners jumping ship for an MG.......
The EV drivetrain may well be the biggest leveler of the driving experience ever, after all a £5K used Nissan Leaf drives just as well in town/at the speed limit as a £150k Porsche Taycan, they both deliver a smooth, silent experience with near instant throttle responses.
I'm not bothered about the badge really, I buy the car that best suits my needs. In fact I've ordered a dacia jogger, as originally I wanted a 7 seat EV but there isn't anything decent available for delivery by summer. The EV drivetrain may well be the biggest leveler of the driving experience ever, after all a £5K used Nissan Leaf drives just as well in town/at the speed limit as a £150k Porsche Taycan, they both deliver a smooth, silent experience with near instant throttle responses.
Have gone for a model Y LR in the end instead of the MG as it will be my wife's car, I'd have been perfectly happy with the MG!
jaydeeuk1 said:
I'm not bothered about the badge really, I buy the car that best suits my needs. In fact I've ordered a dacia jogger
But you ended with a Lexus NX?? Let's face it the NX does nothing well, it's not that big, it's not that efficient, ANY Dacia is much cheaper and in many ways better cars.The best thing about our IS300h is its badge, underneath its essentially a Prius, but my wife wanted a Jag XF initially so a Toyota was never going to cut it.
If you were cross shopping from a Dacia to MG it makes sense, but a Lexus to a MG.......very few people would do that for a combustion version these cars.
But I see you ended up with a Tesla
. I tried to get my wife to look at a Hyundai Kona/Ionqi to replace her IS300H, her response was she was happy for me to get one.......we still have our Tesla 
.Edited by gangzoom on Saturday 26th March 03:52
I do find it amusing that when considering EVs for a lot of people type of vehicle, brand and even price go out of the window.
Personally a Model Y would have been great for me, the Model 3 doesn't work as well as its a saloon. But when I priced it up it'd be costing me at least an extra £200 a month, throwing me well outside my car allowance from work. I then had a look at an EV6. Pretty similar. Even things like the Enyaq were a bit daft money wise, an eNiro might have worked but was a bit stingy for kit. I seriously thought about an MG5 but it was missing the preheating, which I really wanted.
So I just bought the thing with the longest range at a sensible price with the stuff I wanted on it. But in the course of my search I'd been looking at a price range from £55k down to £27k. It's mad when you think about it, usually you'd just go 'I've got £x what is out there for that'.
I don't doubt the more expensive stuff is better, I just wonder if its an order of magnitude better the price suggests.
Personally a Model Y would have been great for me, the Model 3 doesn't work as well as its a saloon. But when I priced it up it'd be costing me at least an extra £200 a month, throwing me well outside my car allowance from work. I then had a look at an EV6. Pretty similar. Even things like the Enyaq were a bit daft money wise, an eNiro might have worked but was a bit stingy for kit. I seriously thought about an MG5 but it was missing the preheating, which I really wanted.
So I just bought the thing with the longest range at a sensible price with the stuff I wanted on it. But in the course of my search I'd been looking at a price range from £55k down to £27k. It's mad when you think about it, usually you'd just go 'I've got £x what is out there for that'.
I don't doubt the more expensive stuff is better, I just wonder if its an order of magnitude better the price suggests.
gangzoom said:
But you ended with a Lexus NX?? Let's face it the NX does nothing well, it's not that big, it's not that efficient, ANY Dacia is much cheaper and in many ways better cars.
The best thing about our IS300h is its badge, underneath its essentially a Prius, but my wife wanted a Jag XF initially so a Toyota was never going to cut it.
If you were cross shopping from a Dacia to MG it makes sense, but a Lexus to a MG.......very few people would do that for a combustion version these cars.
But I see you ended up with a Tesla. I tried to get my wife to look at a Hyundai Kona/Ionqi to replace her IS300H, her response was she was happy for me to get one.......we still have our Tesla .
Reliability and comfort were the key requirements, only like visiting the garage for its yearly service and mot, so that ruled out Merc, BMW, Audi, vw. Was a toss-up between that and a volvo. The NX is just a nice place to sit and waft along, which is what swung it. If I want to get the rear end out I'll take out my mr2. Old people end up in a lexus as it took them 70 years to find a manufacturer that just works, I just figured I'd save myself 30 years. If skoda, kia or perodua were the most reliable brand and did a decent sized refined SUV I'd have gone for that at the timeThe best thing about our IS300h is its badge, underneath its essentially a Prius, but my wife wanted a Jag XF initially so a Toyota was never going to cut it.
If you were cross shopping from a Dacia to MG it makes sense, but a Lexus to a MG.......very few people would do that for a combustion version these cars.
But I see you ended up with a Tesla
. I tried to get my wife to look at a Hyundai Kona/Ionqi to replace her IS300H, her response was she was happy for me to get one.......we still have our Tesla .Edited by gangzoom on Saturday 26th March 03:52
Mine got delivered last Saturday, it’s lovely to drive and looks really nice tbh. Fits the family in, plenty of room and has a big battery for the money.
Only negative so far is the infotainment system. Every YouTube review harps on about how much better it is than the last version but it’s absolutely awful. Trying to navigate around it whilst driving is a right pain in the ass. And there isn’t any video instructions from MG on how to use it. I got stuck this morning after connecting my phone up to it with Bluetooth but this changed the radio / music section to Bluetooth and i couldn’t find how to get the good dam radio back on! I had to go into a different menu from the Home Screen, find the music option then manually select radio then back out to the main Home Screen. Also it doesn’t show your saved radio stations automatically and doesn’t scroll through saved ones on the steering wheel, it just keeps going up the FM wavelength to every next station, arrrrhhhh!!
Only negative so far is the infotainment system. Every YouTube review harps on about how much better it is than the last version but it’s absolutely awful. Trying to navigate around it whilst driving is a right pain in the ass. And there isn’t any video instructions from MG on how to use it. I got stuck this morning after connecting my phone up to it with Bluetooth but this changed the radio / music section to Bluetooth and i couldn’t find how to get the good dam radio back on! I had to go into a different menu from the Home Screen, find the music option then manually select radio then back out to the main Home Screen. Also it doesn’t show your saved radio stations automatically and doesn’t scroll through saved ones on the steering wheel, it just keeps going up the FM wavelength to every next station, arrrrhhhh!!
Merry said:
The little arrows under the image for the audio source change to each type.
Although I'd highly recommend plugging your phone in and using android auto /carplay, with an Internet radio app. Its just less faff. You'll probably get better sound quality than dab too.
True, I did use tunein but it’s rubbish on CarPlay, again hard to find and navigate your saved stations and then going in and out of CarPlay to sort the AC out. It’s all a bit crap. Maybe they are all like this, I’ve never had a decent screen on any car, my last car was a 2002 e46 lolAlthough I'd highly recommend plugging your phone in and using android auto /carplay, with an Internet radio app. Its just less faff. You'll probably get better sound quality than dab too.
Gooose said:
True, I did use tunein but it’s rubbish on CarPlay, again hard to find and navigate your saved stations and then going in and out of CarPlay to sort the AC out. It’s all a bit crap. Maybe they are all like this, I’ve never had a decent screen on any car, my last car was a 2002 e46 lol
I got around the jumping back into android auto/ carplay by mapping the shortcut button on the wheel to it. That way it's one button press to get into the HVAC settings and one back to maps/radio/whatever.
After another weekend of car shopping, I think we've shifted slightly to the Hyundai Kona. Although she really liked the MG, the Hyundai has some massive advantages over it;
- it's been out a while so we can get a used one now for £30k or so
- heated and cooled leather seats, heated steering wheel and premium sound system - this is what swung it, she really wanted a heated steering wheel but the MG doesn't offer it, the cooled seats are a massive plus and normally the preserve of very expensive cars so we were really impressed. The sound system was impressive too, really wasn't expecting it to be anywhere near as good as it is.
The range is similar to the MG as it the drive, so I think she'll probably buy the next one she can get her hands on for immediate delivery. The only thing I think that lets it down a bit is the looks...it's not the most attractive car out there and definitely not as nice as the MG.
- it's been out a while so we can get a used one now for £30k or so
- heated and cooled leather seats, heated steering wheel and premium sound system - this is what swung it, she really wanted a heated steering wheel but the MG doesn't offer it, the cooled seats are a massive plus and normally the preserve of very expensive cars so we were really impressed. The sound system was impressive too, really wasn't expecting it to be anywhere near as good as it is.
The range is similar to the MG as it the drive, so I think she'll probably buy the next one she can get her hands on for immediate delivery. The only thing I think that lets it down a bit is the looks...it's not the most attractive car out there and definitely not as nice as the MG.
Dynion Araf Uchaf said:
i'm trying to work out how p/exing your QQ and spending £2-300 pm on finance is cheaper than keeping your QQ and spending £2-300 pm on fuel.
It's not necessarily cheaper (all depends on depreciation of the EV) but as the QQ is 5 years old and she wants to swap it anyway the EV option is by far the best bet, otherwise it would be a case of swap the QQ for something else and still have a £2-300pm fuel bill on top of paying for the new car.The biggest driver of the change is wanting an auto, sitting in lots of traffic every day on the long commute has made her really hate the manual.
Shrimpvende said:
After another weekend of car shopping, I think we've shifted slightly to the Hyundai Kona. Although she really liked the MG, the Hyundai has some massive advantages over it;
- it's been out a while so we can get a used one now for £30k or so
- heated and cooled leather seats, heated steering wheel and premium sound system - this is what swung it, she really wanted a heated steering wheel but the MG doesn't offer it, the cooled seats are a massive plus and normally the preserve of very expensive cars so we were really impressed. The sound system was impressive too, really wasn't expecting it to be anywhere near as good as it is.
The range is similar to the MG as it the drive, so I think she'll probably buy the next one she can get her hands on for immediate delivery. The only thing I think that lets it down a bit is the looks...it's not the most attractive car out there and definitely not as nice as the MG.
the kona is quite a bit smaller inside than the mg. I think its also about to be replaced with a new model.- it's been out a while so we can get a used one now for £30k or so
- heated and cooled leather seats, heated steering wheel and premium sound system - this is what swung it, she really wanted a heated steering wheel but the MG doesn't offer it, the cooled seats are a massive plus and normally the preserve of very expensive cars so we were really impressed. The sound system was impressive too, really wasn't expecting it to be anywhere near as good as it is.
The range is similar to the MG as it the drive, so I think she'll probably buy the next one she can get her hands on for immediate delivery. The only thing I think that lets it down a bit is the looks...it's not the most attractive car out there and definitely not as nice as the MG.
My wife's ZS was picked up yesterday.
Car has some minor issues, mostly dealer caused. Lack of care, preparation and inspection by them.
Bigger issue not the car but the handover which was nonexistent. In he words it was pretty much there's your car, sign here and go which ended up with her driving away, seemingly without insurance as no mention was made of the promised drive away insurance and no paperwork in the pack.
My wife despite my guidance expected a perfect car. I expect a brand new car to have some minor issues, but service provided by dealer should make them go away very quickly and make you feel valued which it didn't.
Wife is still happy with her new car and I'm letting her deal with the issues and dealer complaint as she wants to do this herself.
Pains me to sit here and not get involved but I'll wait for her to ask me to.
Car has some minor issues, mostly dealer caused. Lack of care, preparation and inspection by them.
Bigger issue not the car but the handover which was nonexistent. In he words it was pretty much there's your car, sign here and go which ended up with her driving away, seemingly without insurance as no mention was made of the promised drive away insurance and no paperwork in the pack.
My wife despite my guidance expected a perfect car. I expect a brand new car to have some minor issues, but service provided by dealer should make them go away very quickly and make you feel valued which it didn't.
Wife is still happy with her new car and I'm letting her deal with the issues and dealer complaint as she wants to do this herself.
Pains me to sit here and not get involved but I'll wait for her to ask me to.
Bit of an own goal that from the dealer, especially with an EV. I've seen a lot of posts with people complaining about things that should have been covered in the handover or at least be in a physical manual, which the car doesn't come with.
It doesn't make for a great initial ownership experience.
Has she tried registering for the app yet? That can be a bit of a faff...
It doesn't make for a great initial ownership experience.
Has she tried registering for the app yet? That can be a bit of a faff...
Just been out for a test drive in an MG ZS EV. It was the facelifted version with the larger battery and in Trophy spec. My wife was thinking about one as a replacement for her e-Golf as she could do with a bit more range from this Autumn onwards.
I was very disappointed. I cannot believe they fluffed up the fundamentals so much
There was a really annoying thrumming noise from very low speed in the cabin - very low frequency, almost like a pressure pulsation as if your ears were continually popping.
The 'throttle' was hyper-sensitive in normal or sport, and only slightly better when in Eco mode. This made it very difficult to pull away smoothly - this really diminished for me what is one of the biggest draws of electric vehicles; their smoothness and the almost perfect ability to meter power out with your right foot.
The brakes were the opposite. Felt really wooden, with very poor linearity. These combined with the above made town driving a lumpy and awkward experience.
The steering had a lot of stiction around the straight ahead which made it feel like it was fighting you.
Other things were acceptable given the low price (eg poor camera graphics, extremely squishy seats with no support), but those points above for me are fundamentals that couldn't be overlooked.
The e-Golf, which is an old car now, absolutely nails those key things above and really opened my eyes to the attractiveness of electric motors for a daily car. If i'd driven this first I would have stuck with Diesel or petrol for a fair bit longer!
I was very disappointed. I cannot believe they fluffed up the fundamentals so much
There was a really annoying thrumming noise from very low speed in the cabin - very low frequency, almost like a pressure pulsation as if your ears were continually popping.
The 'throttle' was hyper-sensitive in normal or sport, and only slightly better when in Eco mode. This made it very difficult to pull away smoothly - this really diminished for me what is one of the biggest draws of electric vehicles; their smoothness and the almost perfect ability to meter power out with your right foot.
The brakes were the opposite. Felt really wooden, with very poor linearity. These combined with the above made town driving a lumpy and awkward experience.
The steering had a lot of stiction around the straight ahead which made it feel like it was fighting you.
Other things were acceptable given the low price (eg poor camera graphics, extremely squishy seats with no support), but those points above for me are fundamentals that couldn't be overlooked.
The e-Golf, which is an old car now, absolutely nails those key things above and really opened my eyes to the attractiveness of electric motors for a daily car. If i'd driven this first I would have stuck with Diesel or petrol for a fair bit longer!
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