The MG ZS EV gets significant battery upgrades for 2021
Morris Garages has given its EV offering, the MG ZS EV, a key makeover in India. The all-electric SUV now gets a major battery rework, resulting in a pronounced bump in its overall range. The car now boasts of a best-in-class 44.5 kWh Hi-tech battery pack that gives it an ARAI certified range figure of 419km/ charge! (Expect 300-400 kilometers in most real-world scenarios) With the previous model offering just 353 kilometers every charge, this is indeed an impressive 66km bump in the ARAI figures for the EV.
Other than the battery, everything remains unchanged on the mechanical front. The car still has the same FWD configuration and a single speed automatic gearbox as its predecessor. The electric motor on the ZS EV continues to churn 143hp and 350Nm, and can make the car do the 0-100 run in 8.5 seconds. With the new battery in place, you could charge this EV from 0-80% in 40 minutes, using a 50kW fast charger. A normal 7.4 kW AC charging at home/ office would however, require 6-8 hours.
Much in sync with the added battery size, the ZS EV now rides on 215/55 R17 tires and has a ground clearance of 177mm for the car and a good 205mm for the battery pack. The improved ground clearance gives the car better handling over bad roads.
There have been no big additions to the equipment and feature arrays as such. The ZS EV has been decently packed in terms of equipment and creature comforts since its India debut, the same continues on the new model as well. It still gets the same 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with stuff like Apple Car Play, Android Auto and MG i-Smart integrated into it. Plus, there are also things like 360-degree camera, navigation and digital instrumentation on offer.
The 2021 MG ZS EV is available in two variants- Excite and Exclusive. While the Excite bears a price tag of INR 20.99 lakh, the fully loaded Exclusive would cost you INR 24.18 lakh. This essentially means that the prices for the ZS EV have gone up by up to INR 60,000.
The MG ZS EV was the carmaker’s second offering for India after the Hector and was originally launched in January 2020. Though it was initially launched in just 5 cities, the ZS EV is now available in as many as 31 cities pan India. At present, it does not have a direct rival in the country. The other key players in the EV space are Tata Nexon EV and Hyundai Kona.
With the fuel prices scaling new heights everyday, the new ZS EV seems to be just the right pitch from the manufacturer. Morris Garages has not only given the ZS EV a range boost as such, but has also been actively playing its role in establishing an EV ecosystem in the country, to further make the ZS EV ownership hassle-free. It has been setting up charging stations across cities together with Tata Power and is also maintaining a keen eye on the CO savings by its EVs.
