Thanks for the video. I bought my ZS EV last June over here in France, I replaced my 2004 MG ZS MK2 Diesel for it !. I've done nearly 7000 kilometres in mine and it has been perfect. I had my car in for the 1st year service last week at MG PARIS and they updated the BMS etc and replaced the steering column also, I had told them of a ticking noise I was getting. The service was done perfectly and the small repair was undertaken with professionalism! . One more year of EV ahead of me and I am loving it !
In Australia a RU-vidr had his upper steering uni-joint/shaft replaced after his diagnosis being ignored by the dealership initially. The new part has a Bosch/made in China tag on it. The SAIC/VW/Audi joint arrangement convinces me that ours is effectively a brilliant value VAG rip-off the long we own it. Love your work and impressed with your ability to talk without umming ahhing and erring .
Top notch and helpful review, which covers points that most others miss. I like that you give a review from the practical ownership perspective, including the dealers which is an important aspect not normally covered.
Just add to my previous post. I have a MG ZS EV first registered Jan2021 used every day has no covered 24500 miles. Like the comments made all-ready made the infotainment system could be better, even with the update this is not the best system but for the price is it acceptable. I have had no major issues even though I cover above average mileage. Over all very pleased
Good, informative video! Thank you. I really really like this car for its price point. I drove it for a week in Australia and loved it; apart from some of the software niggles and satnav mistakes. As a Tesla owner, I think the MG ZS EV is value-for-money and has features that even my Model S does not have such as the blindspot indicators on the wing mirrors, great all-round visibility, heated seats, and rear window wiper. Also, the 7-year full warranty is fantastic! I consider the MG ZS EV to be an ideal second EV for me; and I also recommend it to anyone who is considering an affordable family EV.
I would like to recomend my MG dealer ,They are NT Shaw of Louth in Lincolnshire.I bought my zs ev from them last march and I have had no issues except for the laggy infotainment system but the car is going in next week for a software update. NT Shaw have been very courteous and have been very proactive in having all the past updates that MG have sent out.I totally agree with you that this is a great car for the money.PS I always like watching your videos ,keep them coming as they are very informative.
I think you’re reviews are excellent - honest and informative. Too many other RU-vidr reviews are biased as they know they won’t get other models to try if they talk down their test cars. Still driving my 7 seater diesel, which - strangely I bought from Thompson 1st 5 years ago. Just waiting for infrastructure to increase to,cover the whole of the U.K. I reckon the government could sort out the entire country for the money they spent on 14 F35 fighter jets !
This for me is your most informative MG ZS EV appraisal on RU-vid to date ... probably. As I may not have seen them all. Did not know there was a n MG Dealership in Stroud. Thanks for that heads up. Not since the old Wicliffe Motor company moved over to Nissan and others some ten odd years ago. Also probably explains why I'm seeing more and more new Chinese built MGs when out and about locally in Gloucestershire and further afield, including your one.. Speaking to my immediate next door neighbour who has one and others, car consumers like them.
Really pleased you fixed the audio and uploaded again. Started the first version and had to give up. I really appreciate your unbiased read-world opinion of the ZS EV based on actual daily use.
I have now covered. 115000 miles in mine 4 years old. Only real gripe I had was Mg failed to honour the warrantee when the front flashing badge failed at 78000 mile took 2 weeks for the dealer to see it in that time was over the 80000 . Now at 115000 I start to see battery degrgation Ie slow recharge on rapids. And loss of power at ranges below 20 mile. Ie wont drive over 50 mph find I have to always now drive in Eco mode to keep the range I need . But gently. It is doing well
That’s pretty interesting - have you had anyone do a SoH check on it? Saw James from Cleevely saying their MG5 with over 100k has a very high SoH still. Has it had all the software updates?
Good update this. Very fair and really informative about the car. Have been eyeing these up as a replacement for my aging Prius so it’s good to hear the good, bad and ugly. Hope your journey with this stays as positive!
Thanks for your honest review. It is very sad to hear about that AC, annoying chimes and honks and radio behaviour, and preheating/precooling issues that are mostly software problems. It is not that big deal in terms of money for the manufacturer, but it is a huge drawback and dealbreaker for a buyer who used to a nice and glitch-free Nissan Leaf experience.
I can't believe you got your car for 22 grand - which looks top of the range! I hope to receive my MG soon, which is bottom of the range for the price you paid for yours! looking forward to be owning this car! The video's of home owners electricity meter/s was interesting which I would advise new electric car owners to watch! (not one of your video's) I am not looking forward to the winter months as a lot of electric will be used to defrost the car! Maybe you could do a video on that subject next? Many thanks for the info you shared with us out here!
They’ve been that kind of money for a while, only recently has the market gone a bit crazy. It’s not too bad in the winter - I did a video on winter range in the ZS, maybe worth a look.
Fair review.. I've had mine since Jan 2020 and have been lucky in that the only issue I've had has been the info tainment screen freeze, its happened maybe 3 times since I've had the car, and also not had the clicking steering either. I do have a creaky a pillar though so I'll get my dealer to check that out next time I go in. Speaking of my dealer I would highly recommend them..they are Chorley group in Burnley.
The MG ZS EV is absolutely great for city commute. Even I recommend this car for those who want a cheap, good value, practical EV for city commutes. It lacks automatic climate control air con but that's ok if you commute around town.
The facelift car looks amazing - huge improvements in the areas that matter. Haven’t had the pleasure of a test drive yet but it seems to improve on a fair few of the issues I mention here!
Another good vlog. Has helped me decide what my next car will be as I dip my toes into the world of EV. I regularly fo 100 mile round trip from Glasgow to Edinburgh for work. Not sure whether to lease or purchase. In Scotland interest free loans are available via the government as well as the EV grant.
Difficult one to weigh up - the interest free loans in Scotland are a very compelling proposition so a lightly used car funded that way could be very appealing indeed!
Very useful review. I may get an electric car in the next few months and I mainly do short local journeys and go to Oxford and Birmingham. I am driving a petrol SUV which is now nine years old and I am tempted to get an MG as they are not expensive and within my budget.
Thanks for your reviews on the zs ev. I have been watching ad I wasn't sure what ev to get as a first and budget wise.. I am due to pick up my ZS EV tomorrow (as per date of writing) and can't wait. Fully enjoy watching real reviews owner's helping and telling it as it is. I struggle as I have to use hand controls and have never seen a review of an EV with gand controls. Thank you so much for your video. I used Brown & Gammons MG in Baldock, Hertfordshire. So far been amazing especially with all the delays with cars. Thanks again
Hi, thank you for this update, had my MG ZS EV since Dec 2019, very pleased over all too. Had the pillar noise issue and under front dash and Horsham Car centre who cover jeep/ MG in Kent are very good. Have noticed the click/clonk noise with steering, hence I will be bringing this up with them, now you have raised it, fingers crossed they sort this for me too. Thank you very much!
thank you for another great informative video. I've had my mg5 since the end of January both the zs and the 5 are for the price very compelling both cars are great. good tip about the 10mm spanner i have one in the glove box just in case
Good review. I had to take my ZS to my local dealer in Swindon for a replacement door handle and it took 4 attempts for what should have been a simple fix. I'm also having issues with the AC blowing warm but they told me it was 7oC when they tested it but I cannot get it below about 20oC on any of the thermometers I have tried. I'm planning to take it to the dealer in Stroud for its first service to get them to check it again.
Beside the infotainment system, i am pleased by my Mg, drove 5.500 kilometres and my elecricity bill has gone up 100 euro, my other car, nissan qashqai would have spent at least 500 euro for that distance
You mentioned the MG5 towards the end of the video. It would be really interesting for you to do a comparison with the MG5 vs the ZS EV in the future. Thanks for the videos.
@@ModernHeroes Also check out Marvel R if you have the chance! I am torn if i should go with the ZS or pay up for a higher spec model especially for the mountain roads in norway and rough roads Also when we travel by car it can be 5+ hours of non stop driving with out petrol car and get about 6-800km on a tank
Had a ZSEV now for 20 months, Infotainment I don't find that troublesome. It works fine for me on AA with a 4G Samsung. The in built-in tsat nav when I have used it is painfully slow to boot up but the display and guidance is much better than my wife's 2019 BMW system . Two things I'd wish it had :- a heat reflective front windscreen .and a built-in in 7 day timer for charging
Mine is coming up to a year now so service booked at NT Shaw in Louth. Agree with pretty much all you say. I have rhe clicking in the steering, didn't really think much about it, so will mention it see what they say...... It came with comfort update on purchase but still can't charge on type 2 with doors unlocked.... see if that is done on service and will let you know of any other changes, updates applied on service....... Oh and free servicing as part of the deal so 'winner winner '
😂 that’s the optional “wannabe influencer pack” - only open to those that think they know how to edit a video to make it cool and edgy but actually haven’t the slightest idea what they’re doing
I moved to the MG ZS from a 2009 Lexus RX, and I can say It comes close to it. I was especially surprised by how good noise insulation it has compared to the old bus. It also has an excellent sound system that comes close to the Lexus. The only thing letting it down is lack of a sub. The only feature I miss is extendable sun visors.
Agreeable on the lack of a real physical subwoofer...their virtual subwoofer feature doesn't help much in boosting the bass as from my experiences with it. Overall the audio bass quality i find it around the same if not only slightly better than those Meridian sound system in the Jaguar F-Pace i've experienced, which are unacceptably average to sub-average only ?!! So overall on the hi-fi sound system in MG ZS EV, nothing impressive here...only average rating to my expectations.
Hello from Norway. Got my ZS EV one month now, drove 3000km and will recommend it too. I just got to love the comfort and the handling, as well as the range I get now in the summer. The one thing I would like sorted out is the energy-usage-calculator always start with 18.6 or so, as a standard kWh/100km value, and only does 0,1 even if the current value is far off, like descending a mountain and continuing in the valley. OMG it's like a count-down! Could have been better? I get 14.5 kWh/100km during my first 3000km.
Bought mine in 2021, had rear camera replaced as letting in water, otherwise no issues. Just had mot with no issues 19000 miles and it’s been ok. Aircon poor but no better in the Tesla’s I tried this week! Battery range now around 170 in eco mode and not using heater or aircon, a good town local driving car and very economical. Not sure if I will but another ev as depreciation appalling. Now valued at just over £11000! A good way to throw money away! 😭
@@hakuhaks310719851 Did you watch the video ? At one point it is transposed so it looks like he has put the steering wheel on the other side. There is a smilie after James comment which hints that he is NOT being serious, just pretending to be. It's a humorous comment. Seriously 👍
Just a quick update re: the steering on ours: they replaced the steering column and have called it in for a replacement steering rack as well. No quibbling necessary- no questions asked. Loan car provided. That's Nathaniel in Cardiff. It seems that the faults seem to be limited in number and fixable (rather than random and difficult to pin down). A refreshing change from the local VW dealers we have been involved with before.....we had VW Polo that the devil must have spat on- getting it sorted was nightmarish.
Thanks. As good as any other car I have had. Driving experience is great. No more revving noise and clutch. So quiet going up hill and no change with load and great to take both feet off the pedals and relax in MG Pilot. Same issues as you, but I think a great build really. 1201 mile holiday to Devon was brilliant driving and so cheap. Drives the same with three grandchildren and chidseats. Cheers.
With a 200km reliable range, I don't think it'd be my dream car, as most of my family lives 275km away. Anyway, I do believe that with a little flexibility in the schedule and a generous family that'd let me charge. It could be done. But you have no idea how much it'd mean to just have a tad more range. Edit: is there something like a powerbank available for cars: I mean, this car actually has space in the trunk, then I could just buy 2 and have one shipped to one of my family members.
Interesting and positive update. I’m hoping MG will bring out a small hatchback, if they can add their current strong points to that segment, they will pick up a lot of new customers.
You can either use ACC which keeps you at a constant speed and you steer to keep yourself in lane or MG Pilot which holds your lane position too - you just need to keep a hand on the steering wheel then.
Thanks for the speedy reply I get foot cramps when driving long journeys so if I can just steer on motorways using ACC it would help massively also does It have a petrol gauge ? and do u charge it once a week when it gets low or just top it up nightly sorry for all the questions buddy but I am a total novice when it comes to electric cars 🤔🤔
I must admit, if it wasn't such a big car, it's one I would consider, as I live in town and only have a small parking space and very tight access, it's a bit too big for my needs, glad you like your car.
I really hope more small EVs come to the market soon - MG are long rumoured to be working on an electrified MG3 which would be perfect for those in need of something smaller!
Test drove this and was left with a pretty negative impression. I could not get the seat into a comfortable position, the steering wheel is too far and the pedals are too close. The suspension also feels very stiff and doesn't dampen bumps too well. I'm mainly comparing it to the BYD Atto 3 which is a bit more expensive but for that money you just get so much more car.
I'm thinking of buying a MG 5 EV, but I still don't know if I should do it. The price is way better that on a tesla or KIA but how much will this car last long term? I'm afraid that being a chinese brand I may have problems down the road.
Thanks for the informative user review. Please use manual focus, if possible. This will stop your camera hunting constantly. Generally I use auto to obtain focus, then switch to manual to lock focus. This is difficult to do on a phone, of course.
reassuring. just trading in my 40kw leaf for an HS PHEV (am being allowed to work from home post-covid so don't need a long ev range, longer trips are usually to north wales which is terrible for charging, and saving some money in the short term). Looks and feels amazing inside for quite a reasonable amount of money. was concerned with aftersales as although Nissan have resolved any issues I only ever been given a courtesy car once in the 4 or 5 visits (including servicing). This is despite being part of the 'Nissan promise' when I bought the car. I hope MG are better or it will be the first and last MG i buy.
The HS PHEV looks lovely - I really wish they’d bring out a full BEV version. A cut above the ZS in terms of fit and finish, I feel (not that the ZS is bad!)
Good honest thoughts mate, really pleased with our Zs ev had it 7 weeks now with no problems yet (while touching wood 😀) it does exactly what it says on the tin which fits in perfect with our lifestyle.
I am looking at buying one, I am in Australia & as of July the price has risen $1000 without warning. Also the additional cost of metallic paint has gone up by $200. It seems the low purchase price is just temporary & if a face lift version of the EV is released in the future, I would imagine that attractive price gap from the rest will reduce, only time will tell.
The entertainment system seems to be an issue across the range. My HS exclusive has the same issues As for dealerships you are spot on. My dealer did all of my software updates for free. Iv heard stories of charges over £100 for these updates as they are classed as comfort and non essential. I highly recommend the home of MG, Longbridge in Birmingham Paul Rigby MG. A fantastic after sales service.
I just like to say thank you for your videos, I haven't purchased an MGZS yet I am really keen and it's nice to watch a video where someone is driving it constantly over a long period of time and report back any issues that they may have. I've been to my local MG dealer they let me sit in the car and play around with some of the bits in there but I don't like the instrument cluster with the needles for speed and battery. However, in the petrol ZS, it's all digital which I'm used to and it's got LED headlights. As you mentioned in this video hopefully the second version they may sort out the radio display and incorporate those extra bits we just have to wait-and-see... Thank you again for your videos
LED headlights can be added albeit a little controversially - it’s technically an MOT failure to upgrade halogen to LED but they are a projector housing and give a perfect beam pattern with sharp cut-off so I’m not so worried 😉
I’ve done 3000 miles in two weeks with my ID3, I regularly travel from Colchester to Edinburgh easily. Electric vehicles can do the long journeys with no issues. ⚡️⚡️
The comment about the climate control I guess relates to the spec of your car, mine a ZS EV Trophy connect long range, has climate control. Regarding winter driving, my winter range is rubbish! I guess because I do a lot of short journeys it's dropped well below 200 miles. I've just bought an OBD reader which arrived this evening, so I'm hoping I can check the batteries state of health. Regarding the dealers - my experience with Perkins hasn't been great. I've taken the car in for the steering click and it took a couple of visits before they tightened up something, it's not been doing it so much since. My dealer has also put their service prices up considerably! I was told when I bought the car, that the first service would be about £60, it was twice that. My second service was more than my 4x4, turbo petrol car! Watching the Cleevelly RU-vid videos, seems that this is a bit overpriced and I'll be getting them to do my future services. Overall, I am really pleased with the car. as you say it's got some rough edges, but for the money it's great!
collected my 2021 mg zs ev 22nd august a week after found heater fan blower not working i would have thought all the controls would have been checked before handing over to me very poor service
Seems to be quite a common problem this, the fan resistor is at fault. Would expect it to be picked up at PDI as you say, but it’s of course possible it has failed since.
Austin Maxi was a brilliant car, the mini's big brother and the same ethos, more room inside than it looks from the outside . I would definitely buy one today if they were still made.
The ease with which the MG morphs between right and left hand drive, makes me think this EV will be excellent for those up-coming camping trips round France. Excellent critique, of what seems to be quite a compelling EV, especially at this price point.
It's very noticeable that regen is quite poor in winter when the car is very old. I almost never see an infotainment crash, maybe the developers have Samsung phones and do more testing. Buckingham & Stanley MG Cambridge are excellent. I don't know about the other MG dealer here.
I thought about getting an MG ZS EV in 2020 when we last changed cars but I didn't even get a reply from the dealership when I tried to arrange a test drive. So Hyundai got my business. Ended up getting the Ioniq Electric
Interesting, another reviewer of this car said the parcel shelf clip had broken, plainly a defective part. The infotainment system also required a patch.
The parcel shelf thing is ridiculously common. I’m sure the dealer would have sorted it but it seemed daft to take it in for it when a better quality clip was so inexpensive to source online. Not had the infotainment update yet - I guess I’ll get that at the first service.
Having come from a Nissan Leaf with the established dealership I have to say that MG have been marginally better, not tried to milk the maintenance cash cow, not particularly proactive, but react reasonably to issues.
I Had one of the exclusive versions of the EV for about three months loved it but in the time it was back at the dealers 4 time, it broke down 6 time last two times was on the same weekend that was when i decided to get rid and go back to diesal not because i did not like the car i just needed something more realiable. Will be going back to electric at a later date but will be going back to a phev instead of full electric. The main fault i got was ev battery shutoff had this fault a few times dealer did change some part over the car which cost a small fortune just as well it was under Warranty. Other problem we had was when charging to the full 7.5hr including BMS we were still getting the red warning of charge your car slowly. Car did have all the latest updates on. Might just have been this car but could not take a chance. Would not tell anybody not to get one as i think for the money thee are nice looking ev's and do what it says on the tin.
Does sound like you had a proper Friday afternoon car 😔 although those issues are not completely unheard of. I think the quality of the dealer plays a big part too, as it does for all marques. Glad you managed to get rid though - it can be very stressful being stuck with something you have no faith in!
I enjoyed your video, I have a question for you in your opinion would the 40 kilowatt battery be suitable for a Taxi or would I have to go to a higher kilowatt battery.
All depends on your daily mileage, what kind of driving you do (all around town? Airport runs? a mix of both? Longer journeys at short notice?), how much downtime you have in a day where you could potentially charge and how much infrastructure is available to you. The MG5 has a bigger battery and seems to be popular for taxi use.
Thinking of buying one second hand, do you know or recommend any software (ODB) that can read the car battery status? (Cycles, health, number of fast charges, etc)
I saw a 2018 model for sale last week for under 3 grand. Why would anyone buy a car that depreciates as fast as that? It's not an MG, it's cheap Chinese crap with a fraudulent MG badge on it.
Get any new MG undersealed ASAP !! These vehicles will rust in months have seen 7 in the last 10 months all starting to show signs of corrosion around sills and joints on underside plenty of underseal should save these bean cans for a few years !
I love my MG. I had a fantastic dealership but they closed. Mg have thrown me to the shark's. If anyone knows a good dealership in the East Midlands please let me know . Thanks for the Video Buddy You got a new Subscriber.
Hi there as you no I have had mine for 4 mouths now and can't fault it and I use it a lot got 1500 miles on it and love can you tell me now you turn the sensitivity down thanks Nigel 🤗🇬🇧🤠
@@briananthony4044 Get it while the subsidy is still hot. All the Auckland ones I believe, are Tristram? I haven't purchased from them (went for the Tesla instead, they were pretty amazing, just the management there was terrible) but I did deal with them when I was looking. They were alright, nothing bad to say. The HS PHEV is pretty good too, more modern than the ZS EV.
As with many stealers, it's all about how they serve you and take things seriously. The ones that don't are also breaking down their brands unnecessarily.
Thanks for the little progress report review. I test drove one at a toyota place, and i loved the test drive, i currently have an Auris and i was surprised how good the MG felt. I drive about 30 miles to work an back on mixed hill roads goid half hour journey. Its a big change so i began feeling a bit of cold feet. Your overall words have convinced me ill be fine at least in thoery haha
3.2 miles per kwh in winter... I can't even get that now in the warmer weather! But at least the top speed is higher than advertised at 94 mph. General thoughts? Pretty well unbreakable so far. Did have to spread the 1/2 ton of bagged decorative agrigate around the floor and seats though! , I might upgrade to rubber flooring as this won't hold as much water when l jet wash the interior.😜
I got 3.9 on a 160 mile round trip yesterday - mostly on motorway (so of course it was 50 to 60 mph zones and some super slow traffic up to an accident
I wonder if anyone can help me. I've got the Excite version which I've owned for 6 months. My issue is the amount of motor and/or gearbox whine. I don't know if it my imagination but it seems to be getting louder. At 40 MPH is easy to hear and I have to say the whine is pretty audible at any speed except when you go so fast other noises drown it out. It's hard to quantify the amount of noise, but what are others experiencing?
My car definitely has an audible amount of drivetrain whine but nothing I’d consider excessive (it’s far quieter than my 2013 Kangoo ZE which sounds like it’s in pain sometimes 😂)
@@musclerent can only really recommend trying to drive another one to compare - I’ve seen this being discussed in the past with some owners suggesting the car is absolutely silent - says more about their hearing I suspect!
@@ModernHeroes I think you're absolutely right. Separately I've been offered pretty much the same money as I bought it for by a national company, so I'm considering getting the current MG5 as I'm seeing some brilliant deals coming through
No, not at all. Some early Renault Zoe, Kangoo and Nissan Leaf were battery lease (and possibly still will be if you buy them used) but there is no new EV sold in the UK with a leased battery.
Do you have any guidance or Info on reversing in your MG zs ev, just as my partner has just purchased one and struggles with reverse as as soon as it begins to move, it jolts rather quickly and she struggles with the speed of this. Do you have any advice... I'd give better suited advice from personal driving, but I haven't had a chance to test drive it myself due to broken legs
