Malkin
Standard Member
Hello everyone, after three weeks and about 1100 km I can express an overall opinion on my MG ZS HYBRID + Luxury (top of the range model in Italy).
I would like to point out that I live in Monferrato, Piedmont, Italy and therefore in a generally hilly area.
Having said that, let's start by saying that the general impression is very positive overall and this despite reading many criticisms on this and other forums had rather worried me.
In particular I was struck by the reports relating to frequent anomalous and unjustified increases in engine rpm and also those relating to sudden and inexplicable drops in power, especially uphill and when overtaking.
Let's say right away that I have never noticed drops in power, in any driving mode and on any route; when necessary the car has always provided me with the required power quickly and effectively, even beyond what one would expect from an SUV without particular sporting ambitions. On even rather long hilly routes the car has always tackled the climbs with determination, drawing if necessary on a rather brilliant power reserve, capable of reaching even significant speeds in relation to the characteristics of the road. Similarly, when overtaking I have never had any problems nor could I have wished for a more prompt and immediate response.
Now let's come to the problem of engine revs. I would like to make a premise. Coming from over fifty years of driving petrol or turbodiesel cars with manual transmission, I must say that I have always driven with two specific parts of the body: the butt and the ears... one to "feel" the car's set-up and the others to hear the engine in relation to the selected gear and the power request. I have discovered that this method with a hybrid car is not only useless, but even misleading. In fact, in a hybrid system (or better at least in this hybrid system) the behavior of the internal combustion engine (and therefore its sound and the number of revolutions at which it delivers power) is very often completely disconnected from what your foot does with the accelerator; this is because the required power is regularly and promptly supplied not only by the combustion engine, but by the hybrid system as a whole, while the combustion engine can autonomously decide to commit part of its power to recharging the battery. So what in a petrol car with manual transmission could certainly be interpreted as an unjustified “over-revving”, in the automatic management of this car appears quite normal. In other words, I have experienced that in 80% of cases the combustion engine travels from 0 to 2300 rpm, at motorway speeds (130 km/h) around 3000 and only on sporadic occasions, when an uphill road is combined with the need to recharge the battery, it reaches 4000. But even when travelling around 70/80 km/h, the number of revolutions is often not immediately connected to what is required by the accelerator (both more and less) precisely because of the need to recharge the battery.
I have to say that even if I understand the logic I'm not completely used to it yet, but it's three weeks of driving against fifty years...
As for consumption, it's still too early to monitor refueling, but the car's system gives me 5.2 litres/100km on the overall route and 3.9 litres/100km on urban routes, which, even taking into account the manufacturer's intrinsic optimism, seems like an excellent result to me.
Finally, a special mention for the excellent 360-degree camera system, which makes it truly impossible to make a mistake even in the most complicated parking.
I would like to point out that I live in Monferrato, Piedmont, Italy and therefore in a generally hilly area.
Having said that, let's start by saying that the general impression is very positive overall and this despite reading many criticisms on this and other forums had rather worried me.
In particular I was struck by the reports relating to frequent anomalous and unjustified increases in engine rpm and also those relating to sudden and inexplicable drops in power, especially uphill and when overtaking.
Let's say right away that I have never noticed drops in power, in any driving mode and on any route; when necessary the car has always provided me with the required power quickly and effectively, even beyond what one would expect from an SUV without particular sporting ambitions. On even rather long hilly routes the car has always tackled the climbs with determination, drawing if necessary on a rather brilliant power reserve, capable of reaching even significant speeds in relation to the characteristics of the road. Similarly, when overtaking I have never had any problems nor could I have wished for a more prompt and immediate response.
Now let's come to the problem of engine revs. I would like to make a premise. Coming from over fifty years of driving petrol or turbodiesel cars with manual transmission, I must say that I have always driven with two specific parts of the body: the butt and the ears... one to "feel" the car's set-up and the others to hear the engine in relation to the selected gear and the power request. I have discovered that this method with a hybrid car is not only useless, but even misleading. In fact, in a hybrid system (or better at least in this hybrid system) the behavior of the internal combustion engine (and therefore its sound and the number of revolutions at which it delivers power) is very often completely disconnected from what your foot does with the accelerator; this is because the required power is regularly and promptly supplied not only by the combustion engine, but by the hybrid system as a whole, while the combustion engine can autonomously decide to commit part of its power to recharging the battery. So what in a petrol car with manual transmission could certainly be interpreted as an unjustified “over-revving”, in the automatic management of this car appears quite normal. In other words, I have experienced that in 80% of cases the combustion engine travels from 0 to 2300 rpm, at motorway speeds (130 km/h) around 3000 and only on sporadic occasions, when an uphill road is combined with the need to recharge the battery, it reaches 4000. But even when travelling around 70/80 km/h, the number of revolutions is often not immediately connected to what is required by the accelerator (both more and less) precisely because of the need to recharge the battery.
I have to say that even if I understand the logic I'm not completely used to it yet, but it's three weeks of driving against fifty years...
As for consumption, it's still too early to monitor refueling, but the car's system gives me 5.2 litres/100km on the overall route and 3.9 litres/100km on urban routes, which, even taking into account the manufacturer's intrinsic optimism, seems like an excellent result to me.
Finally, a special mention for the excellent 360-degree camera system, which makes it truly impossible to make a mistake even in the most complicated parking.
