2022 ZS EV review | Peerless—firmly puts MG ahead of the pack

The 2022 MG ZS EV’s price starts at Rs 21.99 lakh and goes up to Rs 25.88 lakh.

In a relatively uncultivated electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem, the first-generation ZS EV easily managed to stand out as a well-rounded, if slightly expensive alternative to fossil fuel combustion.

It had a lot going for it—compact but spacious bodywork and surprisingly zippy performance. But by the time the product entered the Indian market, it was a tad dated. The cabin was lacklustre, the design didn’t scream “new age futuremobile” like most EV designs do and the range, while sufficient, could have been better.

But none of these drawback prevented ZS from instantly turning into a hot-seller, prompting MG to ask itself “what if we took the ZS EV and made everything about it significantly better?”

Lo and behold, the 2022 MG ZS EV. It’s got a body-coloured grille, fresh set of bumpers and new alloys. Which is all great but the biggest talking point here is the new battery whose size is up by a solid 5.8 kWh.

On the inside, the ZS gets a few more features, including a larger 10.1-inch touchscreen, a blind spot monitor, wireless charging and a 360-degree camera—  all modern-day staples without which the discerning customer is likely to have a conniption.

Battery, range and performance

For EVs, it all boils down to three words— battery, range and performance. The new ZS EV ditches the old one’s 44.5 kWh battery for a sizable 50.3 kWh unit.

It’s an impressive-enough increment when you consider the average “performance” e-scooter in the country packs about 3kWh of battery power.

It’s fantastic when you consider that its other close rival, the Hyundai Kona, makes do with a 39.2 kWh battery. And the newly launched Mini Cooper Electric? A meagre 32.6 kWh.

The great thing about EVs is that with great power comes great range, essentially the opposite of ICE vehicles.

For the Kona, that means a claimed ICAT (International Centre for Automotive Technology) range of 461km (a solid 42km range increment over the previous one).

In the real world, this means a range that is upwards of 360km. While I didn’t drive long enough to deplete the battery completely, the time I spent with the car revealed a scarcely believable attribute of the battery. At one point, having covered a distance of over 10km, the loss of charge was an astounding 1 percent.

The ZS revealed a far better ability to recuperate battery energy through its KERS system than several more expensive EVs I’ve driven in recent times. The only car to come close was the Jaguar I-Pace, which is significantly more expensive.

The 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster is now more informative, lucidly displaying all necessary telematics without crowding the screen.

When driving the previous-gen ZS, I was pleasantly surprised to experience a bit of wheelspin when I mashed the throttle. The new one adds to that surge of power, though not dramatically.

As with all EVs, there’s an initial surge of power followed by an indiscernible ascent to triple digit speeds. Regenerative braking on the ZS is absolutely superb, with the car’s momentum being curtailed the second you lift your foot off the throttle. This also helps make the car’s considerable weight more manageable during braking, as it all tends to build-up and lean forward upon braking, given the weight of EVs.

Just like the previous ZS, the intensity of the regenerative braking can be tweaked, with three presets.

The ZS was never designed to be a fast-driving, fast-cornering machine but as with most EVs, which are inherently bottom-heavy, the low centre of gravity allows the ZS to corner remarkably flatly, an attribute its ICE-powered rivals are unfamiliar with.

EV performance and driving is markedly different from an equally-powered ICE counterpart, and it’s no different when it comes to the ZS.

Lifting the throttle and crawling through traffic takes some recalibration of your footwork, as there’s a lot of weight, with a lot of power, 173.5 bhp to be specific trying to get away.

Perhaps for this reason (and others pertaining to increasing range), MG has dialled down the torque by a solid 70Nm on the new ZS, with a total of 280 Nm of torque.

Multimedia 

The ZS has a voice-activated function, which is easy enough to use but can feel comically robotic. The AI voice greets you, tells you to have a great day and throws in a few completely unsolicited exclamations with MG reminding you that this is yet another “internet inside” offering.

For the most part, the prompts have a robotic monotone and while it doesn’t take away the car’s appeal, it does get a chuckle or two out of you. The finality with which the AI says “Goodbye” can have a chilling effect.

Verdict

With prices starting at Rs 21.99 lakh (and going up to Rs 25.88 lakh), the ZS certainly isn’t the affordable EV to revolutionise the segment. But given its astounding capabilities, range, power and dynamism, it is peerless. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that it’s a proper bargain, given that the larger battery comes as standard so even the lower variant offers the same performance.

Yes, it’s lamentable that the ZS customer continues to be unable to avail any subsidy, other than waived road tax, but anyway you slice it, the 2022 ZS is an extremely well-rounded product, the likes of which are going to make MG one of the foremost EV-makers in the country. The ZS is an out-and-out winner.

Like: Best-in-class range, performance and dynamism, tech features.

Dislike: Slightly longer charging time, awkward AI