How much did it COST to drive 775 miles in my MG ZS EV? (and why IONITY's huge cost doesn't matter!) 

Absolutely bang on. The normal cost per mile at home is so low that the occasional public charge is no issue.

Thanks for posting this video. I like to see how various EVs cope with long journeys. I like your down-to-earth, no nonsense reviews - we can really relate to them. Keep up the good work!

Thank you for a very informative video. I take delivery of my MG on Thursday and anticipate a journey to France in the future. I had already decided to break the journey to the South Coast into two days. Your experience just underlines my decision.

SUBSCRIBED. You seem to know exactly what the budget-conscious EV driver wants to know. Excellent video. Indeed, excellent channel.

Great detail, information and content. Really helpful. Thank you! Great channel!

Extremely useful and honest review. I'm a Service Engineer who is required to go anywhere between Central Scotland and London. At the moment I've got a petrol VW Golf. My employer is now only permitting EVs to be leased. So in a couple of years time I'll be making similar journeys.

Excellent post - thanks. I happen to agree with all the points you make. I used to make a monthly 650 mile round trip to see family but have only been able to make it twice since having my ZS EV. I was really stressed first time because going into Wales is a charging nightmare but adjusted my mindset and expectations and really enjoyed the second one. As you say the car is so relaxing to drive - amazing for the price

This is one of the best ev reviews I watched, so interesting to see the pitfalls and the benefits of ev travel. I’m considering an ev, possible a Soul. Due to its affordability and decent range as well as standard equipment. Actually, if any readers of this message have any advice, views on the Soul ev please please please tell me them. I’d be most grateful to you. I have just subscribed to your channel. Kind greetings from Cumbria in the U.K. Stay safe and well everyone.

First time I’ve seen your videos and really enjoyed it such good information. I’ve got an I-Pace and with my home charger it’s very cheap to run, I’m on Octopus. In a few weeks time I’m going on a longer journey and as it’s the first time I’m quite nervous but I’m sure it will get easy with experience.

Great video fancy going to Cornwall before August for me 👀, really clear advice. Downloaded Charge Point now as well.

I used to go to Perth from Oxford every Monday for a 9:30 meeting and used to leave ~ 3am and have a meeting also in Livingston @ ~ 3pm to then go back home. If I used an EV for this journey I do not think I would make the 09:30 meeting and would be very fat eating at all the charge stops which never gets factored in the costs. I probably would also have been too tired to get to my work in Portsmouth the next day. We are nearly there with EVs and if there was a charger at my meeting place it would have made sense but having a charging point at your destination is not reality yet. There are a few EVs as you say at a massive purchase cost will get me there in one drive charge. My second hand petrol cars only used to cost to purchase £1000-£1500 to buy and get £160 scrap when I changed each year or 2 so apart from killing the planet it did not kill my wallet - inf act just the opposite with company private mileage @ 45 pence per mile for the first 10,000 or so miles. Now that I drive very little I have kept my last car which I bought 2 years ago for £700 a 2002 Vauxhall Omega V6 2.6 I now only do ~ 4-5000 miles per year. Is it environmentally unfriendly of me to ask and EV manufacturer to make me a car with all those rare earth materials and other manufacturing costs including shipping of parts to the manufacturing site then shipping of the final car to the dealership whilst the environmental cost of scrapping a perfectly good working petrol car? - NOTE: I watch the lorries coming to the Cowley plant in Oxford come from all over Europe delivering widgets with diesel lorries which cannot be good for the environment for the end product (a Mini) then to be delivered by car transporters back to Europe. The only thing that hurts me is the Car Tax ~ £400 which is more than my Insurance :) so the government is sort of forcing me to make the switch and my local council is pushing some really stupid environmental policies like LTNs that keep people stuck in traffic jams and longer journeys with their engines running whilst pushing for a Zero emission zone in the city. I have already planned for electricity points at the front of my house when I had some electrical work done, so I will imagine I might make the switch shortly because of government pressure and now that I do not need to do 70,000+ miles a year because my children are now all grown up and I do not need to travel the country for sporting events and work. This is why I always bought a second hand reliable comfortable car that was disposable after 1 or 2 years. That would have cost a fortune in EV batteries and EV cars. I have trips to the Alps and used the German Autobahns it would be interesting to do that in an EV at 140 mph and we used to get there in record time to play a game of Ice hockey or go skiing as I used to do that at night in one journey, not sure we are there yet for EVs for that sort of Journey. Thank you for your video it was an eye opener just for the cost of the electricity and the different types of charging companies and costs it sounds like a real art to plan a journey with some leaving of the path on the way. I do not think I would be up for that sort of drama in my life just to drive to Scotland as I remember a trip I did just to watch a Annular eclipse in 2003 at the top of Scotland near Fresgoe that was a hard drive for a ~ 3 o'clock in the morning sunrise

Great video, it’s really pit my mind to rest about the cost of public charging. I was worried it would be cheaper to use my diesel instead.

Thanks for a level headed and accurate review of costs. It’ll never catch on you know. 😁

Thank you for this video and sharing your experience, as some other commenter as already noted, your reviews are down-to-earth and no-nonsense and, if I may add, not shying away from clear language (calling something to be crap when it is - indeed - crap). Even though the preconditions may not be fully transferrable from the UK to other countries and especially my home country, there are things that seem to be found everywhere: expensive IONITY chargers, occupied or out-of-service chargers, dysfunctional rfid cards etc. I envy you UK guys for at least having a chance to charge at home for as low as 5 pence per kWh..in Germany, we suffer from the highest cost per kWh throughout Europe (~0,30 EUR/kWh) . I fully endorse your conclusion on why worrying about public charger tariffs, including IONITY, especially for ad-hoc charging. If you're on long distance travel you're likely to be a member of a charge network subscription. My personal charge is a "handful" of charges on public chargers, a lot more on free chargers to be found at grocery stores like LIDL or ALDI (which are usually jammed, as we Germans love to get things for "free") and yes, charging at home (currently for 0,26 EUR/kWh) my feeble Renault Zoe. What amazes me is that the electric vs fossil (petrol or diesel) discussion seems to be ruled by economical views - everywhere. Same arguing by diesel drivers here - their king-size SUV with a diesel engine never consumes more than 4 litres per 100km (would have to convert that to miles per gallon), while going constantly at 160km/h across the Autobahn, towing a horse trailer and enjoying a 1000km range non-stop, leaving the car at the destination with no signs of fatigue, wear or the need of having a pee. And of course EV batteries - if the car does not burn down within a few weeks - will break down after two or three years. Personally, using an EV instead of a petrol or diesel is also about changing the mindset. It is, all costs taken into account, cheaper than owning a fossil car, but it's also about having at least the opportunity to use energy from renewable sources with little to no CO2 impact. A journey's leg being 1000km is not desirable for me. I just love to stop once in a while (every 200 or 300 km) for a break, a pee and a coffee. So, it seems that nowadays drivers live in their comfort zone, not willing to change a bit. Driving an EV is not an adventure anymore. Again, thanks for sharing this everyday life owners experience. The good and the bad. Double thumbs up.

Great overview. I own the same MG ZS EV for a week now, and I haven't done any public charging yet. I live in Israel, so I'm getting good range due to the hot climate. and I suspect 95% of the time I will not need to public charge, even though my commute is 150KM round trip. Closest charger to me is 23KM away. I pay 0.12 pound for kwh at home, and cheapest public charger is 0.17 pound, most expensive is 0.44 pound. It is still massively cheaper then gas though.

I found your video very interesting. I have a ZS ev and it's a cracking car so easy to drive and comfortable. Price per mile comparison between the mg and my previous Ford ecosport is a lot ,even charging at home on full price tariff (still waiting for smart meter) it costs me 6p per mile against 14.5 with the Ford, a substantial saving by anyone's standard ,even at a public charger @7.9p its still half price plus I love the car.

Thank you for this video. I was most interested in this journey as I ocassionally drive from Norwich to my wife's family in Bellshill (near Glasgow) in my Qashqai and get 600 miles from £50 of diesel on that journey. I normally fill up and have 150 mile range left when I arrive. Normally that £50 gets me 450 miles around town. I definitely want an EV when I upgrade and I know that charging infrastructure is improving (I won't be able to charge at home). I personally think there is still some way to go before it is a viable option for me at the moment.

The issue is still how much faffing around with charging, charging networks and apps is. As much as I want to be all in on EVs, those issues make it a pain in the ass if you regularly travel longer distances. For shorter journeys, EVs seem great now, but for longer stuff, especially if a common theme of your travel they’re still just too irritating to live with, never mind cost.

Thanks for this update. Interesting how weather impacts range significantly. I'm experiencing the same thing. A motorway drive of 44 miles at 5c, at night, wind and rain used around 60 miles of range.

Enjoyed the video, lots of info. I was actually looking at the MG as a purchase. Lots to tbink about☺

Nice report. Very useful for me as I'll soon be making my first EV trip to yours and my homeland. Please keep it up and ignore the ICE trolls below. I really don't know why they bother to post on an EV channel when they should be over on Pistonheads.

I have not yet done a long journey in my mg5 but this video will help me plan when I do thanks

I’m new to EV. My Skoda Enyaq arrives next Thursday. Your videos have been very informative. Thank you 👍

A very unbiased review, I have used 4 Tesla destination chargers without issue, lucky maybe? For someone who is hoping to visit Scotland in an EV later this year it was very revealing.

I really enjoy listening to your stories must be the accent lol. This is why I am trying to save for a Tesla. For times like this when you are in the hands of the charging network I will feel totally confident in the Tesla charge network. Great video Cheers

Good review, very helpful, thank you.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Thanks for sharing that. Very interesting and useful.

i find with my niro, the teslas destination chargers do work, but it can take them a little while to start

That should have been boring but it was really interesting thanks I felt I learned quite a lot about ev driving in the real world. Cheers!!

I think the AC temp control knob on the ZS EV has been taken off a toaster - either doesn't toast at all or if you turn it up by one micrometer then it burns to shit! 😀🤣

Thank you for this true life video. The only thing that worries me with public charging is the money held and the slow return to the bank account. I rarely have a £100 in my account extra, in case of. I think I might wait a few more years for the paying system to be better. Electric is the way to go tho.

Just done first long trip in my e-NV200 40 kWh 7-seater combi. 700 miles averaging 3.6 miles per kWh. Was anxious about using public charging - until I did. Used InstaVolt as I wanted ease of contactless payment. Worked perfectly every recharge. As simple as buying coffee! Cost 7p per mile. As I only do long trips infrequently, I don't mind using more expensive providers if they deliver a reliable, easy to use service

I was thinking about an ev for a new car next year but was worried about the cost of charging but it is a lot better than expected, thanks

I have a ZS EV and have been looking at doing Aberdeen to Hebden Bridge in it sometime.I think one thing that came out of your trip in England is which network to try and use.The pay as you go ones seem to be favourable rather than sign up for many RFIDs that I may never use.CPS is all I use as the car has never been in England yet.

Hoping the change to Swarco improves CPS. Changing from free doesn't bother me, hopefully charging will make them care about being more reliable and overstay fees might even stop PHEVs parking on a rapid for hours (thinking of a certain Chademo equipped Outlander in Fraserburgh that happily parks for hours at the only working CPS rapid for 30 miles).

We love both our EVs - the T SR+ and the ZSEV.

Another fab video from you, Evs are the way forward I think

I have a petrol ZS.Very attracted to the ev but it's the lack of charging infrastructure at the moment and the rip off charging prices of some companies. I don't think I could cope with the charging anxiety at this time with the present set up.would be o.k local journeys but 300 miles plus say to Devon it's ano no for me .PS great video, well done.

thanks for posting , such a shame that even a better route planner is not perfect. i'm planning a 500 mile trip in a 30kw leaf althou i'll prob stop half way :)

In my local town, the Council provide free charging at three pairs of chargers. Informed of the aforesaid by the manager of Jewsons, who gets his “juice” for the Company ID3 there.

I'm sold already, but this reinforces my reasons for commitment to an EV. Charger installed next week even before I've looked at getting a car. I'm fortunate that I do have solar panels, and my commute is 50 miles. I'm home mid afternoon most days , so hopefully, home charging could be rather beneficial. And, after much research, I'm going for an MG ZS Trophy. Yes, I'm in a fortunate position for charging, but the whole object of the exercise is to reduce my costs and the pollution my vehicle creates.

Excellent video and information, just shows that the infrastructure needs to be so much better before its practical, cost of public charging definitely needs to come down and chargers need to be every where, I have a Mazda 6 estate normally fully loaded with my gear, on average get 740 miles out of a full tank which costs about £67 i often do the sort of miles in this video maybe a few times a week, EV's and and chargers are a long way off one being practical for me to use, adding a extra hour on each journey is not good and lack of chargers anywhere except motorways and towns , plus the cost of public chargers .. i'm actually shocked, i can be away from home for weeks if not a month at a time driving around the UK....

Really interesting (as ever). Your comparison with diesel costs was fascinating and intriguing to see in an EV-related review. Your attention to relevance beyond the EV world also seems to have prompted some interesting comments (particularly useful for me as, sadly, I've recently had to sell my EV and return to a diesel). Thanks so much for another great review!

Completely agree with you. Ionity does blight the public charging network somewhat. For arguments sake even if you paid a little more for using charge networks than say an equivalent journey in an ICE car. You would still get cheaper motoring on the whole as most will be charging at home.

I’ve had problems with our Ioniq on Tesla destination chargers, they’re really temperamental, I gave up and went to the charger at the local Tesco. Never tried them with our MG. Incidentally we used our Chargepoint card rather than Octopus Juice at the Ionity at Gretna on a recent trip and whilst it’s still expensive, it’s a bit cheaper at 58p rather than 66p.

just for a comparison i have a diesel qashqai that's a similar size to your MG. over the 6000miles i've done in it that it averages at 12.5p per mile in fuel. My leaf, averages around 3.5p per mile on home charger. i've not used it on long journeys yet so haven't done any public rapid charging. that being said i average 4 m/kwh in my leaf so an Ionity charger would be approx. 17.25p per mile. Ecotricity puts us around 7.5p per mile.

I’ve yet to do a long journey in my 64kW eSoul, when I do it’s likely to be Glasgow to Brum during the summer, and I’m hoping for a one stop journey, but this is making me think it will need to be two stops.

About to stick my toe into the world of EV ownership. Very good videos that have in some way stopped me panicking about range issues.

Thanks for your video

Last time to drove from Boston to Dalkeith and back in my previous car, a Skoda Superb 2.0 petrol auto, it cost me nearly £200. As other networks improve their fast charging infrastructure Ionity will be forced to reassess what it can charge UK motorists. Do they rip off drivers in Europe? I’ll ask Bjorn Nyland but I doubt it. I’ve seen multiple videos that state the actual top charging speed for the MG is just under 80kW? Is this really the case? Even with a warm battery I’ve struggled to get more than half that rate. Now lockdown is coming to an end I will restart my own channel and include my reviews of my own MG as well as other EVs . I have a feeling we will be pretty much on parity with our views and reviews. I really enjoy your “no fuss” approach. Thank you.

i would not have used the expensive ionity i would have used the one of two chargers at Gretna since you had to go past them. getting the 7.50 bp monthly is only worth it if there are enough bp chargers near you and that work. i am just wondering for that trip if it was an ioniq as i have not seen under 4 in really bad weather. and what a more miles would have meant in cost. i did apx 70 mile day out and had it in sports mode and get 5.6 i know kirby. its a very small town when it when i was last there really a village. i bet you did not stop off at devils bridge

A medium sized diesel SUV might do 50mpg at motorway speeds, less with a headwind. Like you I don't worry too much about the cost of rapid charging it's just the reliability that excercises the stress cells. Thanks for sharing. Oh and on the Tesla charger I have quite good luck with these as they (some /all ?) will charge my Zoe at 22kw.

Never worry about the cost of public charging haven't needed it once since Christmas I look at it as a annual amount ev is wayway cheaper and nicer thanks

Hi there hope you got your discount as I have gone with octopus 🐙 energy as I have got the ev and I love it Nigel 🤞🇬🇧

My 6-year-old diesel estate, the last of a long line of diesel estates, will be replaced by an all-electric estate in July/August. Nowadays, 90% of my mileage is less than 6 or 7 miles per day, but each year I go to my home in France, Covid permitting. The cost of "from-home" charging will not be traumatic on those trips but I'm worried that there are next-to-no chargers close both to my route to the SW of France or any close to my destination above 7kw.

I've ordered the 22 model mg zs but I live in a flat so I'm looking at public charging or 3 pin charging so I'm little worried

Good video....shame you can't just fill up like you can with ice cars, (go to any charger) ....just pay with one card like all petrol/ diesel drivers do.....thats whats stopping a lot of people getting ev's, even though most would be charged at home/work...

this is the best reviewer online tells the GOOD , BAD & Ugly

Went to Skye and Back to Wrexham for £21.80. Finished off the last 600miles of 1000 mile referral supercharger miles for Tesla Model 3 Had 40 miles remaining at Fort William.

The thing I have noticed with companies selling electric is they charge what they want, where as most petrol stations are pretty close on price, with the exception of the motorway services. These companies are there to make a profit, and the cost of installing these networks are expensive, so they want a return asap.

My daughter can only charge at public chargers she lives in a flat. She says she is paying about £ 22 for her ev instead of £ 30 in her petrol car. So she's saving roughly £ 8 which is nearly a third however she saves the London congestion charge every mon to Friday. So she recons a saving of £ 60 per week. But she does struggle to find working chargers.

Thanks for vid. At the first stop your figures seem to show car would do 200+miles. Did that seem correct/real world? Cheers.

Used well tried to use public chargers and its a living nightmare having to sign up half a dozen company's all diffrent pay formats why not just one uniform payment method.

Food for thought, When traveling to Colchester it is just outside my range so need to charge. I use BP Pulse, same site different charge points each time, one charge point I get charged £3+ and on the other I get charged £8+. same amount of electricity approx. use but get billed so differently. Question do trading standard check these charge points the same as pumps?

Very honest and independent, however you have completely put me off buying an electric car for anything other than local journeys. It was not the cost, or to some extent the number of charging points, the real issue is the unreliability and faffing about with different cards/helplines/route planning app etc etc. Would my wife put up with this? No, driving is not a hobby got her it’s a necessity. Unless these chargers are universal, as reliable and simple to use as a petrol pump, forget it. ‘Charge place Scotland’ seems the minimal specification UK consumers would accept. Currently it seems a mess and the lack of range forcing all these stops still renders EV ownership only a second car option. Great video though, a good real world account (or horror story as my wife said).

CYC cards also activate CP Scot chargers.

Good video that was.I agree with you I would think 80 + % of the time your going to charge at home so when you have to use a public rapid charger it’s not the end of the world.

Interesting video as always. As an Impreza driver I’m watching with interest. I fancy a Tesla but I won’t lie the charging thing is a concern, but then with some older Tesla’s you get free Supercharging which is a big draw but then the car would be circa 5-6 years old so how efficient will the battery be I wonder 🤔 To replace a Tesla battery I imagine is big wonga! Ah well, the Impreza lives on for now.

Agree people need to be educated on charging point etiquette. My pet hate is rolling up to a hotel with a destination charger and it is blocked by some one who has plugged in and left their car on charge all night whilst they have dinner and go to bed.

MH, a quick google search shows Glasgow to Knutsford is around 222 miles, how did you do 222 miles in your MGEV before you first stop, as my MGEV fully charged (at home) only shows 158 miles range?

My EV cost me practically nothing to run I have a supermarket nearby with a charger that is on free vend not to mention the money I save on new exhaust, air filters, oil and oil filters, spark plugs, fuel injectors ect, or the massive cost of a cam belt snapping, happy days.

The different charging bays round the country seem a nightmare having to use separate cards and never sure if there going to work when you try to charge your car ,it gives me no confidence at all , so for the moment I’m keeping my diesel suv and pay the extra fuel cost, plus I tow a caravan and as far as I know there is no e-car able to to tow my caravan or charging bays long enough for my car and caravan .

I too have a mg ev, interesting thanks

Mores to the point no nitrous oxide emissions no CO2 emissions, or perhaps I should say low co2 emissions. I’ve solar and yes sometimes I’m able to charge from it, but that wasn’t my reason for going solar.

What do you mean like your brake down you still have a service your ev It still has all the 12 volts parts and some Tesla have a problem with the bearings in the drive motor ( cost a lot ) So you found a car for that price,I still reckon even that a ev cost about £8000 more than a equivalent ice car and with all the cost of running a ice car it will still take about 8 years to brake even Look up that Australia guy he is more in to than me

At present, my Smart diesel would have worked out cheaper as mine currently achieves over 75mpg even if I drive at 70mph, but still, I am looking to purchase an electric vehicle when I change, I will be solely reliant on public charging as I can't have a chargepoint at home and the infrastructure here isn't good enough for me to own an electric vehicle just yet, as my Smart has only covered around 150000 miles, there's still plenty of life left in it

You can get your electricity cheaper than 5p on an Octopus Go tariff. They have a GO Faster tariff of 4.5p but only give 3 hour slots. There is a 5.5p GO Faster tariff which gives 5 hour slots starting from memory at 2000 through too 0200 or thereabouts. Something to think about as I believe your MGZS EV doesn’t have scheduled charging?.

Do you use enough BP pulse chargers to justify the membership fee?

FIRST !!hahahaha Great content keep up the good work

My VW ID get discounted charging at IONITY chargers because VW helped build IONITY

I never got better than 46mpg on my Qashqai+2 with 2L turbo diesel, I'm amazed you could get over 70.

My Leaf 30 worked fine on Tesla chargers.

As someone who is agonising over my next car purchase, plug in hybrid or full EV, this just doesn’t help. A plug in hybrid would be great for local journeys of around 35 miles but fuel consumption drops off a cliff on a long run. But at least you don’t have to waste an hour or two finding chargers and waiting around while they hopefully work. I had decided I would go full EV, but this has swayed me back to a hybrid. It’s just too much hassle on a long run, the charging network, the cards, the apps, it’s too confusing. If you can charge at home “great” otherwise until you can buy an EV with a 500 mile range for £35K it’s not for me.

Great to watch some down to earth, real world reviews on consumption and economy. I don't know if you can answer this, but would the MG5 EV be any better on that journey?

thank you for the video great content. would,nt it be good if governments made tesla open up there network to all ev,s

I'm planning on buying a ev but if I have to go further I would just hire a petrol or diesel car for that journey till the charging stations get better in uk.

Aren'y hybrid owners allowed to use the rapid chargers? what's the problem?

BP are aware of the issue with the MG ZS EV crashing their chargers. It's when the car requests a reduced voltage. :-(

Our 2 litre 4 seater diesel returns 70 mpg at 70 miles per hour on the motorway. When we can buy a Tesla ( the only totally reliable inexpensive charging network) for less than £25k (Model 2 in a year or two?) we will buy one.

Anyone thinking about a hybrid, it can do the trip twice on 1 tank of gas an a charge, anyone

Renault Kadjar 1.5 Diesel achieves around near 900 miles with 55 litters of DIESEL ifs registered between 2015 and 2016 is exempt from Road Tax, Congestion, Charge and ultra low emissions, and its bigger than the MG

59.53 to do 775 miles. My petrol 117 quid but several hours less time and no hassle. Sorry this isn't selling it to me.

Don't forget in the past the government cottoned on to people buying diesel cars because the fuel was cheaper. Now it's dearer than petrol. Then people started getting LPG conversions as that was a cheaper fuel, so that also became expensive. The same will happen with electric cars. The government don't like loosing revenue.

Another little elephant in the room is servicing costs for ev v. ice cars - and I think depreciation is going to be a factor as more people move towards ev ownership.

3.7 per kWh! You must drive like a vicar 😂

Have you heard that some MG zs have started to rust under the floor

"driving about 65mph on the motorway". This is what I find hard to credit. Most people I know drive about 85mph on the motorway. I get that driving slower in an EV will actually get you there sooner, because of reduced charging stops, but I don't know that I would be capable of driving at 65mph on a motorway, it would do my head in. I also get that it's safer, better for the planet and cheaper, but that's true in an ICE and yet I still charge along at 80mph. The difference between 65mph and 80mph on a 700 motorway mile journey amounts to two hours. Is this a price I have to pay if I go EV?

Is that’s not the quoted price for your car so it’s possible to get the ice car cheaper, also do you use a standard plug at homes

Fuel Savings are bit overrated This car is probably the Cheapest car in the UK for its size . A 2021 MG ZS petrol only Costs around £13,000 While the EV costs around £7000 more which is around £145 more every month for 48 months . When you add Charging monthly Subscriptions costs Charger costs, fitting Chargers at home adapter costs You might realise there's no savings what so ever . I still don't think EVs make any financial sense