MG ZS Test: Started with roaring sales

– We’ll take you back to the airport. But maybe you want to drive yourself?

– Yes, of course I do!

I’m in Belgium at the end of September 2019, at the very first presentation of the MG ZS. It’s on its way to Norway, but MG’s first European office has invited a small number of Norwegian journalists to an initial meeting with the car.

The presentation took longer than expected, and I’ve begun to realize that I won’t make it to the scheduled test drive. It is then that the offer to return to the airport comes. Now the driver takes the passenger seat and I take us to the airport.

It was the very first road trip that I was very excited about beforehand. The first Chinese electric car on its way to Norway. At the same time also something of a comeback model for MG, which joined the endurance race when Rover went bankrupt in 2005.

The rest is – as they say – history. After some back and forth about who would be responsible for importing into Norway, ZS arrived in the country in 2020 and was off to a flying start.

It came out early and was very aggressively priced, from NOK 229,000. So thousands of Norwegians bought up the newcomer. Towards the end of last year, the sales figure surpassed 6,000 cars.

Then it got quieter around ZS. This is of course related to the fact that many new cars have entered the market, many of them from China. The ZS has also received a significant update, with, among other things, a much larger battery pack and longer range. Then the price also increased, now it starts at NOK 308,090.

NB: This is a short test. Click here to read our first test of the MG ZS:

What’s new:

The car we drove in Belgium had a 44.5 kWt battery and an official range of just 263 kilometres. Now we find a 70 kWt battery pack under the floor of the MG, it has increased the range to 440 kilometers.

This should make the car relevant to a lot more people. But at the same time we are talking about a significant increase in prices. Trends in sales data indicate that the low price was important to many buyers. Now the ZS is in a price range where it has a good number of competitors with roughly the same range.

Externally, there are thoughtful changes to the front and rear, with new lights both front and rear. The traditional grille is gone, this one looks more like an “electric car”.

Inside, there are more important news. The dashboard has been modified and a new infotainment system has been installed, with a larger screen. Analog instruments have also been replaced with digital ones.

Read more about our first encounter with the MG ZS here:

How does it work?

To take the range first: 440 kilometers seems absolutely realistic, at least before the cold temperatures set in. Official energy consumption is 17.8 kWh/100 kilometres. We end up at almost exactly 18 when testing under various conditions.

This summer ZS took part in the NAF wide-ranging test. It took place with temperatures that didn’t just feel like summer, from 7 to 15 degrees, and also a lot of rain. Here the ZS barely managed to exceed the official range, more precisely a total of 443 kilometers. It’s also worth noting that he went an “extra” 7 kilometers after the distance meter read zero.

If you drive gently, you should therefore handle the official number in the summer. Now that winter and cold weather are coming, there will naturally be fewer of them.

We don’t expect a racing car and we won’t have one either. But the ZS is certainly nimble, especially when starting out. We think 0-100 in 8.6 seconds is enough for most buyers.

The interior of the ZS needed an update, but you still have no doubt that you are sitting in a budget car. This is reflected in the material choices, it feels both simple and a little cheap.

The sitting position is unusually high and we struggle to adjust the seat to exactly the way we want.

Then there’s the infotainment system. The screen has therefore become larger, which is good. But this really seems like yesterday’s (and maybe even yesterday’s) solution. Ease of use is low and there is a lot of difficulty in using the various functions. It’s also quite slow. We know MG can if it wants to, the system we find in its big brother Marvel R is something completely, completely different. In ZS, they have clearly gone for a cheap solution.

Some small details are also a bit frustrating. Like the temperature sometimes varies a lot, without us regulating anything. 20 degrees suddenly becomes very hot. But when we reduce it to 19, it gets a lot colder. There is something here that is not quite stable.

In terms of space, MG got a lot out of a 4.23-metre compact car. It’s roomy up front, perfectly adequate room for two adults in the back seat, and the boot impresses us: 488 litres. Here, ZS takes over many and larger electric car competitors. Space conditions mean it should hold up as a family car for many, here the increase in range is also naturally a positive.

Finally, a little about design: MG has also made great strides in this area in recent years. The Marvel R and the new MG4 look both cooler and much more modern. When they first drove on the MG marque (which certainly resonates with some of the buyers), they should have come up with something beefier than this.

The MG4 can come and have a good bite in Norway

…and what is the conclusion?

We are among those who were surprised by the huge sales of ZS in the beginning. But here several things clicked at once: early release, very low price – plus, a dealer network (many sold Subaru) that had long been completely starved of news.

It was a small gold streak for MG.

Now it has become much tougher and there is hardly anything that can change that. When the luxury edition costs from NOK 338,090, it suddenly competes with cars that look both more modern and more sumptuous.

If you are from an 8-10 year old Japanese or Korean car, you may not pay much attention to savings solutions. But for most others, it becomes a little too obvious. So, we can probably also say that the time for big sales is definitely over.

– That’s why Rover went bankrupt

The car for you if?

You want a simple and affordable electric car.

Not the car for you if?

You are interested in technology and design.

What do the owners think?

23 owners of the MG ZS have entered an evaluation of their car. Most are very satisfied, but there are also some clear exceptions. Click here to read what they think:

You can also enter a rating, which only takes a few minutes. Click here

The classic car was stored for 41 years

Watch the video of the new MG4 below: