Performance & drive
What it’s like to drive, and how quiet it is
One of the weakest areas of the petrol-powered MG ZS is its sluggish performance. That’s not something that the ZS EV suffers from – the 49kWh and 68.3kWh (Long Range) versions can both sprint from 0-62mph in around eight seconds.
That’s pretty respectable, and you’ll never find yourself wishing you had a little extra zip, even on faster A-roads. True, the Kia Niro EV is slightly faster, but we doubt most buyers will notice the difference.
Oddly, despite being an electric SUV the ZS EV isn't all that quiet on the move, because there's plenty of wind and road noise at 70mph.
It’s not all bad news, though. The ZS EV's brake pedal makes it relatively easy to judge how much pressure to apply when you want to slow down smoothly. The regenerative braking system in many other electric cars wreaks havoc with that predictability, causing you to press the pedal too hard or not hard enough.
So, what about the ZS EV's range between charges? Well, the Long Range version can officially manage 273 miles, while the entry-level model promises 198 miles. For some context, the Niro EV and e-2008 can officially manage 285 miles and 201 miles respectively.
In our real-world tests, conducted in the summer, the Long Range version managed 246 miles on a charge.
