MG ZS EV SUV- Photos and Comparison with Kona
Morris Garage or MG, formerly British but now Chinese car brand has been doing very well with their first product in India- MG Hector.
Now MG has launched ZS EV, an electric SUV priced at around 25-29 lakhs on road. I have not driven it or used it, got to take a closer look at Delhi airport yesterday. This post is based on what I have seen, felt and read.
EZ SUV is available in 3 colours as of now, only Automatic and in two variants, with about 4-5 lakhs price difference on road.
Charging process is very simple- as simple as charging a laptop.
MG ZS EV interiors
Interiors look standard in first look- nothing unusual (like say Toyota Prius has a very distinctive interior)
Interiors and exteriors feel very standard, nothing WOW in them.
MG's ZS EV is being sold at two trims- Excite and Exclusive. Excite is the cheaper trim costing around 21 lakhs ex showroom Delhi while Exclusive costs about 24 lakhs ex- showroom. On road price could be about 20% more, 25 to 29 lakhs respectively.
MG ZS EV has better numbers on most aspects, is a bit bigger, cheaper and has more features. However Kona is a bit smaller in size and promises better range.
MG ZS is being sold currently in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad only. Customers in other cities will have to wait. Reports say MG has got over 3000 bookings already for ZS EV.
Does it make sense to buy an electric SUV?
I think there is no denying that days of petrol and diesel are numbered. May be a decade or two more and we will have to fall back on electric vehicles. So far electric vehicles were expensive, had very poor range and very limited options. This is fast changing with more car makers launching electric vehicles. In the SUV space, 20 to 30 lakhs is a decent price to pay.
A diesel SUV - like MG Hector gives about 15 kmpl, that is easily 5 rupees per km. If you are using for say 40 kms a day or 1200 kms a month, that is 6000 INR in fuel expense. Electric cars cost under INR 1 per km (not factoring battery replacement cost, vehicle depreciation cost etc) hence an electric SUV can potentially save about 5000-10000 INR per month in fuel bill- that is easily around a lakh rupees every year. Good justification to invest in electric SUV if the range is reasonable and price difference between diesel/petrol SUV vs electric isn't huge. Hector costs around 15-21 lakhs in Chennai.
Still we don't know how long the batteries will last, what would be replacement cost, what is the process to safely dispose of used batteries etc. Charging point standardization is also needed among manufacturers. Tata Nexon EV is coming soon. So I think the future looks good. If you are looking to buy an EV I don't have too many reasons to hold you back, like I would have done an year or two ago. (Read my 2014 post on this)
Other EV posts: Mahindra e2o review * All electric two wheelers by 2025-practical challenges * Simple things Mahindra can do to boost EV sales *
Now MG has launched ZS EV, an electric SUV priced at around 25-29 lakhs on road. I have not driven it or used it, got to take a closer look at Delhi airport yesterday. This post is based on what I have seen, felt and read.
EZ SUV is available in 3 colours as of now, only Automatic and in two variants, with about 4-5 lakhs price difference on road.
Interesting to note that MG has priced ZS EV a bit cheaper than Hyundai's Kona electric SUV.
How does MG ZS EV compares with Kona? Quick summary below
#
|
Parameter
|
MG ZS EV
|
Hyundai Kona
|
1
|
Motor
|
44.5 KWH
|
39.2 KWH
|
2
|
Claimed Range
|
340 km
|
452 km
|
3
|
Practical Range
|
220-250 kms
|
300-330 kms
|
4
|
0-100 kmph
|
8.5 seconds
|
9.5 seconds
|
5
|
Power
|
141 BHP
|
131 BHP
|
6
|
Torque
|
353NM
|
395 NM
|
7
|
Price (Ex-showroom Delhi)
|
21-24 lakhs
|
23.7-24 lakhs
|
Connected Car
|
Yes
|
No
|
MG ZS is being sold currently in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad only. Customers in other cities will have to wait. Reports say MG has got over 3000 bookings already for ZS EV.
Does it make sense to buy an electric SUV?
I think there is no denying that days of petrol and diesel are numbered. May be a decade or two more and we will have to fall back on electric vehicles. So far electric vehicles were expensive, had very poor range and very limited options. This is fast changing with more car makers launching electric vehicles. In the SUV space, 20 to 30 lakhs is a decent price to pay.
A diesel SUV - like MG Hector gives about 15 kmpl, that is easily 5 rupees per km. If you are using for say 40 kms a day or 1200 kms a month, that is 6000 INR in fuel expense. Electric cars cost under INR 1 per km (not factoring battery replacement cost, vehicle depreciation cost etc) hence an electric SUV can potentially save about 5000-10000 INR per month in fuel bill- that is easily around a lakh rupees every year. Good justification to invest in electric SUV if the range is reasonable and price difference between diesel/petrol SUV vs electric isn't huge. Hector costs around 15-21 lakhs in Chennai.
Still we don't know how long the batteries will last, what would be replacement cost, what is the process to safely dispose of used batteries etc. Charging point standardization is also needed among manufacturers. Tata Nexon EV is coming soon. So I think the future looks good. If you are looking to buy an EV I don't have too many reasons to hold you back, like I would have done an year or two ago. (Read my 2014 post on this)
Other EV posts: Mahindra e2o review * All electric two wheelers by 2025-practical challenges * Simple things Mahindra can do to boost EV sales *
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