MG ZS EV Real World Range Test

[@jrnodl17]

I’ve just tested my UK MG ZS range by travelling a local motorway for 5 miles in both directions at different fixed speeds. So 10 miles at each of 50 mph, 60 mph and 70 mph. The consumption at each of those speeds was 3.6 miles/kWh, 3.3 miles/kWh and 3.1 miles/kWh respectively. So the range on a full 44 kWh charge would be 158, 145 and 136 miles at those three constant speeds. That cheered me up a bit because I didn’t think I would ever get near the advertised 163 miles. 158 is pretty close.

[@garysmith5858]

Thanks for giving up your evening/morning for our benefit. Off for a second test drive later today, so hopefully get to play with the MG Pilot settings.

[@peterowen4456]

Good useful stuff James. I'm one of those for whom a short range EV would do most things but had a personal "bottom line" of 200 miles at 70 mph with every device on in crappy weather. I'm revising this in the light of your video. A genuinely safe, with bags to spare, 100 miles seems possible in this car. Trip to rels in Scotland from Warrington - one stop and a destination charge does it.

[@nigelweir3852]

Range like ev from 2-3 years ago , the main reason why I didn’t upgrade to the MG was range , this confirms that it for me . Still good value for some but range at this point in time should be real range approaching 200 miles at least and charge rate seemed a bit slow considering the advertised top rate being over 50+kw

[@JetBrink]

That panic when a charge point is broken or closed - that needs sorting

[@Stokkelo]

Buy a Tesla and it is sorted.....

[@eldridgep2]

@@Stokkelo Don't be a dick when they sell Tesla's for the price if a ZS we will...

[@davetoday2]

@@Stokkelo WE CAN'T ALL AFFORD TESLAS!!!!

[@Stokkelo]

eldridgep2 No reason to get offensive...

[@eldridgep2]

@@Stokkelo No need to make ridiculous comments but you felt the need....

[@ardaz1987]

Thanks James, that puts my mind at rest regarding range. In reality after a 2 hour drive I am ready for a short break so charging on a long run fits in nicely with my usual driving regime. I have had an Exclusive on order for a couple of weeks and this video has taken away any doubt, cheers.

[@tuc-dh4df]

Thanks for putting yourself though that James, I have one on order. Can you do some more videos on how you set things up and what information you get on the screens in car?

[@mug2y]

Thanks James, a great tutorial in what can go tits up, that's my main fear is finding a useless charge point so I think I'll be looking to charge my mg once it hits 60% used up, thanks again.

[@Marknorthway]

Have just borrowed one for the weekend, and looking to replace my Rover 75 4.6 v8 for the daily commute (yes....I know, but it is fun). Clearly since 2004 technology has moved on a bit - everything is impressive, and the range doesn't terrify me (I'll be keeping a diesel 75 for longer journeys). What is astonishing is that it's all here for £21,995. Free road tax, cheaper fuel... it feels like a no-brainer I must say.

[@CMan-rt9in]

Here in Canada, one of our national gas companies (Petrol Canada) is now advertising that they have added charging stations across the country, so it's now possible to drive from the Pacific to the Atlantic in an electric vehicle. The province that I live in (New Brunswick) provides free charging at it's own provincially owned NB Power charging stations as long as you buy a charging card from them for about $12.00 per year.

[@neilgilroy1629]

Awesome video - been eagerly anticipating your videos on the ZS EV! Keep them coming! Would love a review video or just simply more videos exploring other aspects. This was what I expected - shame it didn't over delivery but that range is fine for me.

[@DG-uv3zw]

Cold weather - makes huge difference for EVs...

[@barryhaeger4284]

@@DG-uv3zw Check out this link for realworld winter summer range in City, Highway and Combined driving ev-database.uk/car/1201/MG-ZS-EV

[@howardsway782]

Thanks James, a very fair and usefull test. My MG has done 6,000 miles, I couldn't be more pleased for an OTR price of 22.5K. The new MG ZS model has a range exceeding 300miles, I don't know the price yet, this really would be a game changer if priced not too far from the last model. Love your road tests, keep 'em coming.

[@evguy2154]

Drove from Barnstaple to Trowbridge along the top of North Devon and Somerset. Left Barnstaple with 156 (90% charged) total of 121 miles @ 4 mpkw. 31 miles left when home(no motorways). I find having to lock the doors for the car to charge is a bit annoying, however very pleased with the car. Exclusive in blue

[@RWBHere]

Thanks James. The all-nighter is appreciated. It's rare to see you in a flap like that though! On the other hand, you arrived at a charger with plenty in reserve. The car is looking good so far. That claimed range should be achievable for most sensible drivers, and it wouldn't surprise me to hear that you can exceed it under favourable daytime conditions. Do keep us updated with your (presumably mostly Kate's) driving experiences over the next year or two. It should provide a useful reference for other ZS drivers.

[@paulmoy9736]

Thanks for the update James

[@JIMWSMITH]

Excellent James. Your commitment is fantastic. For motorway cruising I would say that was excellent. This zs ev is certainly above expectations it's going to surprise alot of people. Just a note what was the cost of the trip back 😉

[@andylitespeed]

Thanks James, great effort, much appreciated!

[@neilanderson7097]

James and Kate, I have been put off by rumours about early rust underneath around jack points on petrol versions of the MG ZS. Any concerns about this? Hopefully yours is completely clean underneath?

[@pez73]

Me too - would love to be reassured about this as the car is otherwise pretty much perfect for my needs and could remove ICE from our driveway completely - would be a great compliment to our leaf30

[@neilanderson7097]

Likewise, I am not trying to knock the MG ZS EV. I am really interested in it but worried that there may be some quality issues with early models. Check out the link below. The MG response is worrying. Photos of rust on a white MG ZS aren't what you want to see on a year old vehicle. www.mg-rover.org/threads/does-your-zs-suv-show-signs-of-rust.867271/

[@garrylawless3550]

Thank you James, a thorough test of the MG ZS EV, for its price it truly is an exceptional EV. 👏👍

[@holdontoyourwig]

I drive up to Scotland a couple of times a year. 120 miles. I'm very happy that i will get there with no problems.

[@mikemarriott]

Thanks James. Been waiting for something like this. All I need now is the car, not even a contact from the dealer, very frustrating having to wait without delivery information.

[@ElectricDriveAfrica]

Hope you dont have to wait long this car could be a Game Changer.

[@petercushing8272]

your lucky my MG dealer can`t even get a demo car in yet to let me try grrrrrrrrr

[@mikemarriott]

My dealer borrowed a demo for a couple of days from a larger dealer so that the people who had paid the £500 deposit and marked him as their dealer could try it. MG have told me that they do not favour larger dealers over smaller but that is not how it seems to be going. The cars that have already been delivered seem to be only from larger dealers. It would also be interesting to know what number order the people who have already taken delivery had. Mine was quite early but I am still being told Late December.

[@garyharris8082]

@@mikemarriott My dealer in Cinderford actually went to longbridge to pick up their Demonstrator (and they are a small dealership). It appears part of the issue is si getting the cars delivered to the dealerships rather than availability of demo units...test drove the car Friday and confirmed the order should be here by Dec :)

[@peterjenkins8522]

@@mikemarriott Had our demo 2 weeks ago and the dealer (Marylebone) said the MG system in China is very restricted on what the UK dealers can pull off it but he did manage to find our order eventually. We were approx. 750 out of the first 1000 deposits and our car was showing as in Shanghai with Est delivery of Jan 20

[@grahamtoyn2912]

Hi kate and James when are we going to get an update on your new MG ZS ev.ive got one on order hoping for March delivery.I think this car is fantastic value for money I have followed a few of your videos and find them very informative.To my mind if you are replacing your Tesla for the MG then that's a good endorsement regards Grahamtoyn.

[@bellshooter]

But you didn't say 'sheeeet' with a Norwegian accent

[@general65644]

Wrong channel 😂😂😂.

[@SteveMorton]

We also want to see a banana box test as well!

[@ElectricDriveAfrica]

@@SteveMorton Banana Box Test!

[@rogerstarkey5390]

@@ElectricDriveAfrica BA. NA. NA!

[@pawefiett2468]

Now you will have a chance to see Norwegian tests of ZS EV by Bjørn!

[@cez8017]

Nice one! Thank you. Arriving to a charger with less than 10% is "exciting". I did it once in e-Soul on motorway in Sweden.

[@TassieEV]

What was external temp, road I assume was dry, what type of ti/yres do you have, any windows open or all closed, you did have heat seaters on. Would be good to retry that on roads that were clear of roadworks as well but also with fast charger access readily available near your destination. Great test though, love to see it in summer. My Ioniq does roughly the same at the moment but it is warming up so hopefully will be better in summer.

[@marcelguldemond2523]

Indeed, what was the outside temperature, and what was the battery temperature at? If he had the heater on then I guess below 10C, so the 70mph range is pretty good considering that.

[@bdeithrick]

Another great James Coates video. I’ve missed them and the music. Top job

[@hd-rider1359]

Regarding the regen. Is it possible to turn it completly off? Like in Ioniq and eGolf. In step 1, is it possible to coast?

[@afnankhokhar5578]

Excellent video - keep it up! I'm definitely leaning towards this car when my lease is up for renewal

[@stuartw969]

Great review. Just the information we need.

[@WernerET]

Thank you for sharing. Have you experienced any degrading of the battery? If so, how long do you own the MG and what is you estimate of the degrading?

[@aandmschoolofmotoring]

So you drove back slower with no heater and the amount of miles you got was nearly the same? I don't understand. We have just bought a 20 plate and love it but its really cold weather 0c and it's not giving great miles per kwh. I guess it gets better when things warm up?

[@thatguyuk1]

I found that very helpful. This is a car I would very much like. And I cover less than 80 miles a day. So this video has put my mind at ease.

[@MrPhillipgraham]

Like others have said, isn't the stated range of 160 miles for combined cycles, urban and rural? In my e-nv200 I try and avoid motorways and stick to A roads and I get much better range. This is probably due to more regen braking and less wind resistance on wide open motorways. I don't know why you would want more than 150 miles range for the average Joe anyway? Who drives that far without having a break at the services?

[@michaelrch]

Phil Graham I was thinking the same thing. The range metrics like WLTP are all a combined cycle, not for long distance motorway driving. I drive my Kona EV off motorways most of the time and it exceeds the 280 mile WLTP range by about 50-60 miles.

[@barrierodliffe4155]

@@michaelrch Good to know, my son is looking at the Kona and I have looked at various options, I quite like the Kia Niro but the MG also appeals to me since I tend to stop after between 2 to 3 hours and do little motorway driving. from our house to my sons is just over 300 miles the MG would need one stop and the Kia or Hyundai should manage without a stop, I would need two stops in that distance bearing in mind it involves going through a bit of hilly winding country at times. so the average speed is probably only about 50 to 55 mph.

[@eldridgep2]

Thanks for this, proves to me I really need a 200 mile range to be comfortable with an EV and my commuting. Unfortunately rules out the ZS but great for people who have a shorter commute.

[@Sthilboy56]

The charging infrastructure is a bit of a joke at the moment

[@shepherdsknoll8]

Sthilboy56 ,it’s a joke if you buy something other than a Tesla.

[@bazahaza]

@@shepherdsknoll8 There should only be one type of charger to make things easier for everyone. Not just Tesla snobs.

[@ThatElectricLife]

Thanks for the vid James, really useful.

[@brianiswrong]

Seems a battery level left gauge should,be in 1 % increments as it's the most critical gauge in the car.

[@RWBHere]

It's on a par with the petrol gauge in many fossil cars. F, ½ and E are the only markings on ours, if you ignore the red sector.

[@teslatrev5764]

that would be 100 increments ,,, big gauge

[@barrierodliffe4155]

I had a 1950's MG with no fuel guage just a warning light and never had a problem since the light started flashing with about 4 gallons left and stayed on at about 2 gallons, the fuel tank held 12.5 gallons.

[@TheOilBurner]

Excellent, it's great to see how it copes on a long run. I want to upgrade my 30 kWh Leaf at some point for something that can get me from Worcestershire to Fife with 2 stops or less at 70ish mph in the rain at 4 degree C. This MG maybe isn't quite there, but seems close! Great to hear a Leics accent too, I grew up just up the road from Hinckley 👍

[@barrierodliffe4155]

The MG would get there with two stops and if conditions were right maybe even one stop, I would find it just fine since i like to stop after a couple of hours for a break. If you really need extra range there is the Zoe which for me is a bit small or the Hyundai Kona or Kia Niro, these are more expensive than the MG but should manage one stop, certainly they all beat the 30 kwh Leaf.

[@plodderexup]

Hi James & Kate. Do you still own this car after a year? I'm thining of getting one, as we're looking at a Qashqai-sized car and I want to go electric.

[@thesmallrougeone]

Thanks James! And sound like you're suffering with a cold 😷 Great to see a real test of these cars and know how far you can push with all the lights flashing! 🙏

[@keithware5314]

Thanks for the informative video, please keep them coming.

[@mrquordlepleen]

Why does a charger have 'opening hours'?

[@PilotEJ401]

Very useful real world test, no b.s., just relevant facts and reactions, will help me make decisions! Thanks!

[@dizzypeasant1632]

It will be interesting to see how the range changes when summer comes again.

[@egold33311]

Be interested to see when the weather gets colder!

[@collywobbly]

hello thre how many times are the chargers out of use thats what scares me bout buying an ev cheers

[@Jamesandkate]

Hi. If you use Ecotricity, it quite slot, but there are many other providers who are very reliable and have good saturation in the UK. Polar, Instavolt, Engenie, Alfa Power all have excellent reliability and accept contactless payment too

[@collywobbly]

@@Jamesandkate thank you

[@Aaronage1]

Range is OK. 3.7 mi/kWh is pretty high though not a deal breaker. It’s comfortably over 100 miles and that’s what matters 👍🏻 Thanks for the test

[@JetBrink]

I don't know what you mean by high but not a deal breaker. You want that number to be high. 3.7 at 70mph with the heater on ain't too shoddy at all

[@johndouglas770]

To be honest I think the MG's consumption is poor, I drive a Zoe Z.E. 40 like a normal car, at the speed limit on motorways and other roads, never using ECO mode or economy driving and I average 4.13 miles/kWh. The MG is as aerodynamic as a brick which obviously has an impact.

[@Aaronage1]

@@JetBrink Sorry I should have said "3.7mi/kWh is pretty low", I was thinking in terms of high consumption. It's not awful for that class of car, it's just not great compared to Kona, e-Golf, Zoe etc.

[@johndouglas770]

@@Aaronage1 In my opinion the MG"s efficiency of 315 Wh/mi is poor in compared any of it's rivals.

[@stephenshannon3706]

@@johndouglas770 A lot depends on temperature as well as speed, the use of air-con etc whether the roads are wet and so on. Recommend you have a look at EV Database which gives you a very good handle on the variability of range under different conditions for many different EV's. Also some cars employ a heat pump which makes electricity usage more efficient. It's also true that the aerodynamics make quite a difference, but that has to be traded off against the value of internal height. Other ways of improving efficiency are to control total weight. This is to an extent a trade-off with battery size - since batteries are very heavy. BMW with the i3 (a relatively tall car) achieved this by using a carbon fibre reinforced plastic body shell - but that has been expensive to produce and it seems they will on their other cars revert to using steel because it is cheaper to produce.

[@MarkGaudie]

Everyone loves a bit of flapping James. Adds to the drama 😜👍

[@UK7868]

Which app do you use that shows the nearest chargers? Thanks

[@Mickster428]

What’s the range like if you’re just driving around town thinking of getting one for a taxi ??

[@egold33311]

Good Video! The range of 150 miles in the current climate is ok but for 2019 its rather low and this winter its not going to be good for the range so will be interesting to see your results there!

[@imranshafiq4370]

Many thanks this was really helpful, to know the practical range... Would be nice to see the max allowed speed range test on highway ...

[@hd-rider1359]

What kind of headlight tech. does this car use? Halogen or xenon?

[@TimKirkmt]

Great video james. Seems that ideal.speed for the mg would be 60/65 on.motorways. amd most of the time it's hard to get above 70 anyway so your not.missing out on anything. Thanks for sharing

[@holdontoyourwig]

In your next video could you do a urban range test ? Thanks

[@RedBatteryHead]

Wow, that was a narrow escape. 70mph is for every car an effeciency eater. Best speed for long journeys is max 60mph. For the size and shape of car it's pretty decent rating though. It's about the same consumption as the Zoe. That runs 17kW/100Km on average. (3,67ml/kW)

[@fablan3308]

How much does the charging points cost and how long does it take to charge

[@leoclarke6462]

Almost 2 months of ownership now ( 30th November) will you guys be doing a further review now that you have been driving it a while ? thanks

[@jeroenimus7528]

What was your fuel economy on the way back? 4m/kWh ish?

[@ianjames3078]

Jeroenimus trike adventures it’s in the video?

[@darrencox150]

How much we're the charging prices? Thanks

[@kuldippanesar590]

Nice results man quite a surprise really turning out to be a good buy

[@robertlangham2356]

A very useful real world test. How long to fully charge .....when you went to sleep?

[@keithos6358]

I'd also like to know this I hear it throttles charging at over 80% so curious about that last 20% in terms of sleep time :)

[@cheechU38K]

Would be nice to see a ‘run dry’ test to confirm the reserve range. It sure is a pain to find a charge point closed when your getting paranoid about a flat battery 🔋

[@egold33311]

This was close enough!

[@petercushing8272]

well done!.....you mentioned the price per kilowatt veries so can you tell the best and worst please thank you

[@UrbanmusicClub]

I bought the ZS EV its done 1200 @t sat in the garage broken down it did say on the dash control system fault.any ideas

[@alanstone648]

Thankyou James, after my test drive and now this, I am confident I've made the right choice to proceed😊

[@glenreidy]

What is the maximum charging capability?

[@christophersherrington5412]

Don't suppose your going to do an update of your experience with the MG in the near future?

[@MrBobitsabc]

You raved about MG pilot and I agree the adaptive cruise control is great on motorways. Did you also use the auto lane keeping feature, I know you have to keep your hands on the steering wheel but I did try it briefly on my test drive and thought it was quite good on the short stretch I tried it. My Ford Fiesta as AAC and I use it all the time, but the Lane departure warning is a pain and I switch it off. Did you use the auto lane keeping, or lane departure warning or is it one of the same and was it useful?

[@pawkristensen4556]

Thanks for some great videos from a guy in Denmark considering buying an MG ZS EV :) BTW Did you buy the car with an serviceplan (don't know if it's called that in english), so you pay a certain fee every month and service is included? And if so what is the price of that in GB? Thanks.

[@theboxingtalkpodcast171]

constantly getting a warning saying front camera blocked, anyone know where they are?

[@glenreidy]

Can’t wait for more content on the mg. if you could address the quirks, that’d be great (difficulty of using the charge port, infotainment screen lag etc). Not sure if the lag was just on the press cars.

[@robflint8144]

The led badge that lights up when charging, is this something you put on or does it come like that?

[@Jamesandkate]

It comes as standard 👍🏻

[@aclemfc]

Hi great video. How are you getting on with the charging as I understand it has no timer. Having a test drive this week but just a tad worried about charging on economy 7, don’t fancy plugging it in at midnight. Keep the videos coming 😀

[@bazahaza]

You said that the return Journey that you had the heated seat on. That must use quite a lot of battery too.

[@bjornyesterday887]

That runs off 12v system

[@bazahaza]

@@bjornyesterday887 Which gets it power from? The battery. It can't get free energy?

[@douglasthorburn1975]

Hi James, I have been looking at one of these as my first EV. Do you still recommend it?. I have heard issues with rust on these cars and I have to admit it is concerning me. Also I have asked for a test drive and as yet (over a week) no one from MG has contacted me. Good luck with car, it does look good, very Jag at the front and maybe kia sportage at the rear. Nice.

[@uberleafguy7876]

Do not waste your money on anything other than a base model, model S.... Or if you can get hold of one an E-niro or Kona

[@daz9052]

Not a bad looking car and decent mileage on a charge.

[@Aretec]

Is that a Gaydon JLR pass in the window if so why no I Pace on the drive ?

[@theboxingtalkpodcast171]

Hello everyone just got mine delivered today, but only got the 3 pin charger, what charging cable should i buy?

[@grahamtoyn2912]

You could have ordered a fast charge cable from The dealer you bought the car from I did with mine.I also ordered the spare wheel kit as well as I wouldn't go anywhere without a spare.

[@rossbennett76]

Not doing a review of MG HS hybrid?

[@Jamesandkate]

The PHEV?? Yeah, probably.

[@cwilsonpa]

What was the outside temp.for each leg of your trip? Does the MG have a heatpump?

[@MajicMOLE]

My understanding is that regen braking doesn’t work with ACC on, and it looks like ACC was on for this trip. Yes if there isn’t much braking or much downhill this may not make much of a difference, but surly it would make some form of difference using the brakes to slow rather than the regen?

[@pez73]

MajicMOLE really that seems crazy! Where did you hear this please? Thx

[@MajicMOLE]

Perry Ward i heard from an early pre-production review, and have had a test drive and confirm it only uses brakes during ACC and doesn’t regen

[@norwichhouse]

The MG is a great car but the range is a worry. We have just returned from holiday in Brixham where we covered 700 miles with two petrol stops and averaged 57mpg. EVs have a long way to go yet. We do have solar panels so could recharge cheaply at home but we do travel including visiting friends in France most years.

[@EngineeringNibbles]

The MG isn't for you then, you'd be better off with a longer range EV with faster charging (model 3, peugeot maybe)

[@stevechilds1547]

And this is why EVs have issues in the UK - the public charging network can be a joke. a) Closed sites - i mean, wtf! How is that helpful at all? b) Cost of public charging networks, EVs only work if they're cheaper to fill up than petrol cars, some of the charging points (such as the first one James used) don't help. From my own person experience of having an IPace for a few days - the car is great and really sold me on EVs, but the charging infrastructure sucks. I tried about 3 50kw chargers before I found one that worked, if you have to rely on public chargers, you do experience that range anxiety that James demonstrated! If you can charge to 100% at home each day and not need to use public chargers, that's great. Unfortunately for non-Tesla owners, the public charging infrastructure is a real issue, Tesla however really have an advantage with their charging network. And I I really don't know why (other than cost) why MG have to go with a segmented charge gauge. Just ditch the dials and put a tft in there like everyone else! Other than that James, well done - good video and now you know how far you can push the car for range :) I'm not a fan of the ZS, but the EV Coupe they have coming out in a couple of years looks very cool.

[@davidorama6690]

Steve Childs If every petrol station featured a rapid charger then EV usage would be a lot less painful... time for legislation to require any location that retails petrol to have an equal number of rapid chargers to fuel pumps... electric vehicles are the easy way for the world rapidly lower carbon emissions,

[@Nobody_Famous]

Steve Childs Do you use the PlugShare app?

[@stevechilds1547]

@@Nobody_Famous Yes I did, but it didn't help when the DC Fast Chargers themselves didn't work. It will get better and perhaps I was just unlucky, but it was that side that let the whole EV thing down for me at that time.

[@stevechilds1547]

@@davidorama6690 - I tend to agree, but to be honest, the car manufacturers do appear to be banding together to build a network like Tesla's for everyone else, so it should improve hugely over the next few years.

[@ElectricMikeEV]

This was at Buckmore Park just off the M2 junction 3 It does say on the apps, it's behind a gate... If only James had asked me 😉

[@spacedoutET]

Completely crazy. Imagine going to a petrol station on empty and it don't work. These chargers need to be more available, working and easily available at any time of day or night. Having to pay the extra premium over a ice car up front and these issues are puts people off in the 1st place.

[@Jamesandkate]

Completely agree with you. Fortunately they are getting better with more redundancy factored in, although it's a slow process ☹️

[@SirHackaL0t.]

What’s funny is that we would never consider driving an ICE car from full tank to emply.

[@MrT33CEE]

I know loads of people who do that....

[@johndouglas770]

You haven't met my wife.

[@hughstephens7246]

Petrillo123 zbornak No you won’t do any of that after a few trips. Range anxiety will disappear. I have the old Ioniq and we summer or winter consider 100-120 miles normal. We have done 140 mile trips a few times without charging. We charge up at home 9 times out of 10. Relax and enjoy...and don’t forget, you save time if you can charge up at home rather than wasting time in petrol stations :)

[@hughstephens7246]

@John W Congratulations John, I'm sure the world will be impressed with you and your Jaguar. As you don't have an electric car none of what I have said will be of any use to you. As I don't have a Jaguar, I can't offer you any advice

[@hughstephens7246]

@John W Again, congratulations.....I am not sure how I can offer any advice or help.....maybe sell the Jaguar? (If indeed there is a market for them)

[@stevecaplan7029]

can you do a test on the elec only range of the new bmw 330e please

[@kevfquinn]

Early on with my 94Ah i3 in 2016, on my second ever long distance drive I reached the rapid charger in a multistorey at the destination with 2 miles on the GOM and thought nothing of it. Confidence borne of ignorance - the rapid was one of those old DBTs installed by CYC for a council! Luckily for me it worked after only a small amount of encouragement - had to wander up to the edge of the car park to get mobile signal to start it. Little did I realise at the time how flakey the old DBTs can be for CCS charging (see also Ecotricity *grr*). These days I don't cut things so fine...

[@bbbf09]

I have Rex i3. I have used it only ever twice but it really removes all range anxiety...no problem

[@alansedgewick]

Did yours come with a type 2 charging cable?

[@jantkrokowski9201]

Makes me happy to hear as I’ll be getting one soon

[@fredrikjrgensen7844]

What are the dimensions of the car Key? I want to make a 3d-printed case

[@charlesholland-keen2222]

We hope you got your head down for a good sleep after that. Pleased to see that the MG lived up to your expectations.What was the outside temperature like ? Thanks for going the extra mile to give us the facts. Our regards to Kate.

[@flaxvert]

Would having your headlights on lower the range you got? Then the negligible heated seat adding to the power consumption..

[@MrHairyTeabag]

Headlights/taillights ~120W, heated seat 50-100W, so say 200W - perhaps 1.5 miles of range (0.4kWh) over a 2 hour drive

[@mmigesh4735]

Lights work off the 12v battery just like an ICE car. No effect on range.

[@MrHairyTeabag]

@@mmigesh4735 12V battery is topped up from the traction battery as you drive, so it does have a small effect.

[@justsomeguy934]

Could you do a video on the MG driving assist? I heard someone at Tesla uploaded their autopilot software to the cloud, then went to work for a Chinese competitor...I'd be curios to think if you see similarities between the two systems.

[@barriewilliams4526]

Not a lot of use for our regular trip from Manchester to Bodmin in Cornwall lol. EVs & the infrastructure to support them still has a long way to go!

[@Jim-tk1zd]

Great Vid :) - how long did it take to full charge on the Polar ?

[@stephenshannon3706]

that is a very good question. Even the e-Niro slows down on repeated rapid charging. However the e-Niro's massively larger range means that the reduction in charging speed matters less. My e-Niro has easily achieved and exceeded its 282 mile WLTP range figure during the summer, even with a substantial proportion of motorway driving. Whilst I expect that to drop significantly in the winter, perhaps to a range of around 240-250 miles - that still gives a lot of margin. To be fair, the MG is much cheaper and has been much more available, so I can't be unduly critical. However its range seems to be on a par with the much maligned Nissan Leaf 40kWh - which I found to be excellent and a reasonably comparable price. The only issue was the battery temperature affecting the repeated rapid recharging rate (this was monitored using the Apple IOS Leaf-Spy app. The same issue could be affecting both the e-Niro and the MG, but I haven't found an app on Apple IOS which allows me to check whether the e-Niro or the MG's battery temperature has the same issue. We imagine not since these two cars have liquid thermal cooling, but we don't know how effective it is. At least in the e-Niro it is far less likely that repeated rapid charging will be needed because of its greater range. In summary, I would say the MG and the 40 kWh Nissan are both fine if you only occasionally do a long trip, but if you want long range it currently has to be a car with a bigger battery capacity. This currently means Tesla model 3, Renault 52 kWh Zoe or waiting for an e-Niro or perhaps a VW ID3.

[@TriviaChallenge]

Thee needs to be 10,000 rapid chargers in the OK to match the convenience of filling stations. We need 4 times as many as we have now and we need them fast.

[@stephenshannon3706]

Depends on how you count chargers. Are you counting the devices or the connectors? Have a look on Zap-Map which under its stats page will tell you on a daily basis how many there are and where. I've been following this very closely and the increase in the last 12 months has been very dramatic. Add to this that there are millions of accessible plug points at home, that batteries can often be charged at night and that the size of batteries increases range - and you come to realise that many chargers are indeed under-utilised. Many employers are also making chargers available to employees whose cars may be idle much of the time their owners are at work. Of course, when travelling long distances, rapid chargers are the preferred option and take longer than filling with fossil fuel, but for many people such long journeys are not common. A motorist covering 10,000 miles a year is only averaging just over 27 miles a day. Most modern EV's can add that much range in the course of an hour when using the relatively slow 7kW/h chargers often found at supermarkets and other shopping locations. Remember also that few people fill the car to full from being empty even with fossil fuels, so it isn't necessary to fill the car with electrons at every stop. Just imagine if you could top up your fossil fuelled car with about 100 miles of range for about £1, which you can do with an EV using a tariff such as Octopus offers EV drivers. The really important thing to remember is that most EV drivers do a very high proportion of charging at home, or at work or at supermarkets whilst they are otherwise engaged. Nevertheless, I agree we need more rapid chargers, but the shortfall isn't nearly as bad as you might think.

[@davidbraithwaite2820]

Great video James and interesting to see your view of it. We currently have a ZS EV on order (one of the second thousand) and was really impressed with the test drive Isn’t the 163 miles a combined figure, urban & cruising? My understanding is that EVs have a (more or less) constant power usage, but worse at speed due to drag of the air and better at slow speed. Therefore will it ever get the 163 figure for purely motorway driving? Would be interesting to see a similar test at constant 30 - 40 MPH, it I guess much harder to do. Keep up the good work

[@FancyaBevMate]

Do you guys live in Leicester? We're hoping to move to Leicester early next year James and our chosen locations start at Leicester forest East along to ratby then groby finishing at anstey. Cheers

[@DG-uv3zw]

Outside temperature is very important info! Maybe you can add that? In the summer EVs are much more efficient... I wouldn`t be surprised to see almost 200miles of range in ideal situation.

[@barryhaeger4284]

Info on seasonal real world range try this link ev-database.uk/car/1201/MG-ZS-EV

[@MrT33CEE]

Looks a great Car, not sure your panic may have relieved people’s anxiety about range anxiety.... joking aside though like you I have enjoyed tesla superchargers and driven all over europe in my Model S with no range anxiety whatsoever, now having sold it I have been looking at a replacement, living in NorthWales we are a little more sparse for electric chargers so on that basis I wanted something with 200+ miles. One car which has really turned my head is the Peugeot e208, looks stunning and reminds me of my old 205, so I have ordered one. Fingers crossed it lives up to the hype. The MG looks a great car though, would have seriously considered it if it was 200+.

[@jzpwhyyouwantmysurname3638]

We just got our brand new ZS EV on Friday and were doing some test driving over the weekend. Great car, but ... On the motorway with cruise control @70 mph we were doing only 2.1 miles/kWh (M6 > M56), the traffic was light and speed constant. Set to Eco and KERS on 3. That's a range of way below 100 miles! How on earth did you manage to get over 3 miles/kWh? Any advice?