MG ZS EV long-term test review: report 4

The car MG ZS EV Run by Allan Muir, managing editor

Why we’re running it To find out whether it’s worth buying an electric SUV primarily because it’s affordable, or whether there are too many compromises

Needs to Be practical, comfortable, decent to drive and cheap to run while fitting into everyday life without too much drama

Mileage 1010 List price £30,995 (before £3000 government grant) Target Price £30,995 (before £3000 government grant) Price as tested £31,540 Test range 140 miles Official range 163 miles

3 June 2020 – Over the limit (of range) 

As expected, hotter weather and a predominance of short urban trips during lockdown have resulted in the ZS’s range improving to around 140 miles per charge, compared with barely 110 miles earlier in the year. However, that didn’t stop me from managing to run out of juice recently on the M3 motorway, just a few miles from home – a first for me. 

The car was recovered to my house on the back of a lorry with the alarm going off the whole time; apart from that, it was utterly dead. With the central locking not working, I couldn’t even open the charging port flap – potentially a big problem if the car had been taken to the nearest public charging point, as originally intended. By the next day, the regular 12V battery – which had also gone flat – had recovered sufficiently to allow me to open the flap and plug the car in. Remarkably, it made a full recovery. But I hope never to make the same mistake again.

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