MG ZS EV Launched In India; Prices Start At Rs. 20.88 lakh

MG Motor has finally launched the ZS EV in India in two variants with prices starting from ₹ 20.88 lakh for the Excite variant.  MG Motor India however, will offer the ZS EV at an introductory price of ₹ 19.88 lakh for customers who have booked the car before January 17, 2020. The Exclusive variant too is priced at ₹ 23.58 lakh (all prices ex-showroom India). The Exclusive variant too will follow the same model and those who had ordered for this variant before January 17, 2020, will get it at a price of ₹ 22.58 lakh.

 The MG ZS EV is the carmaker’s second model in India after the Hector SUV and will assembled locally at the Halol plant in Gujarat, alongside the Hector. MG Motor India had started accepting bookings for the ZS EV on December 21 last year and has received over 2800 pre-bookings before it was closed on January 17, 2020. Initially, the ZS EV has been launched in five cities- Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Hyderabad and will make its way to other cities subsequently, as the charging infrastructure develops.

 All ZS EV cars will come with an onboard cable to charge at any 15amp socket.

The ZS EV doesn’t look very radical or different from any other crossover or compact SUV you’ll see on Indian roads and perhaps that’s the part going for its design. It has an understated design and a typical crossover stance and other than the electric badging, a detailed look at the grille which sports the charging socket gives away that it’s an electric SUV. There are some sharp creases on the face, profile and rear and you also get windmill inspired 17-inch alloy wheels and London Eye inspired daytime running lights along with projector headlamps.

The dashboard gets an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system. The ZS EV is a connected car like the Hector and gets more than 50 connectivity features 

The India-spec MG ZS EV gets an all-black cabin with minimalist use of chrome on the dash and central console. The cabin has a clean and uncluttered design and there are soft-touch materials on the dash and door pads. The electric SUV can comfortably sit four while for five it will be bit of a squeeze according to our review. The driver seat is electrically adjustable and seats itself are comfortable offering enough support.

The ZS EV also doesn’t fall short in the features department and even this one is a connected car, being equipped with all the connected features we have seen in the Hector. There’s an embedded eSIM along with in-built Wifi and in addition to that there is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on offer as well. Then, you have a full panoramic sunroof that covers 90 per cent of the roof area and you get a PM 2.5 filter as well. However, all connected car features are packed in an 8.0-inch touchscreen here and there are physical buttons for air-con operation, unlike the 10.4-inch vertically mounted touchscreen unit in the Hector that incorporates everything.

There are 3 drive modes on offer, which are Sport, Normal & Eco. It can be selected via the toggle switches right above the rotary transmission knob 

Coming to its powertrain, the ZS EV is equipped with a 44.5 kWh IP6 certified battery pack that powers a synchronous motor which puts out 141 bhp and 353 Nm of peak torque. The battery can offer a maximum range of about 340 km on a single charge, and thanks to power electronic (PE) solutions from UAES, it can go from 0-100 kmph in just 8.5 seconds. You also get three driving modes and three level of regenerative braking in the ZS EV.

Under the hood is the 3-phase permanent synchronous electric magnet motor, making equivalent of 140.7 bhp and 353 Nm 

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MG Motor also has a concrete plan in place to deal with the problem of range anxiety and make sure that ZS EV customers are not left stranded on the road. For starters, all ZS EV cars will come with an onboard cable to charge at any 15amp socket. Then, MG will also install an AC fast charger at home/office of the customers, and third, the carmaker is also setting up a DC Super-Fast charging network at select MG showrooms that can be availed round the clock. The company also plans to create an extended charging network across MG dealerships in select satellite cities along key routes and provide charge-on-the-go with RSA (road-side assistance). The Lithium-Ion battery powering the MG ZS EV can be charged up to 80 per cent in 40 minutes with a 50 kW DC charger or takes up to seven hours with a standard 7.4 kW charger.

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