MG ZS EV essence 2023 - lower kms than promised 320kms

[Filupo]

Here in UK am currently getting 320 miles (510km) from 100% charge in Eco mode. In the Winter I expect that to fall to about 220 miles. I get about 4.5miles (7.5km) per KwH t present...I watch that figure like a hawk all the time - in the first few miles of any journey (while the battery warms up?) it can be below 3miles per KwH - short journeys would keep the overall figure down!

 

[Ruislip Resident]

Here in UK am currently getting 320 miles (510km) from 100% charge in Eco mode. In the Winter I expect that to fall to about 220 miles. I get about 4.5miles (7.5km) per KwH t present...I watch that figure like a hawk all the time - in the first few miles of any journey (while the battery warms up?) it can be below 3miles per KwH - short journeys would keep the overall figure down!

Same here. Particularly in winter. The longer the journey the better the miles per kwh once its heated up.

 

[pollenface]

That explains why it uses the first 10% really quickly

 

[Filupo]

Everyone doing short journeys only in the Winter - see messages above

 

[James in Aus]

We picked our ZS EV Essence SR in Jul this year. The last few months the car has been showing a calculated range of approx 270-280km. Due to the warmer weather here in the ACT this past week we haven't been using the heater and the car's calculated range on the app has increased quite a bit.

The car is on charge at the moment as is showing a range of 308km at 87% charge. At 100% charge this will be more that 340km range.

 

[Malcolm]

Hi - I bought new MG essence EV and in 2 weeks I observed that it is only showing 270kms on 100% charged battery while I was promised 320.

Has anyone else faced same issue?

Hi - If you haven't zeroised your trip stats namely the kms/kWh then that will affect your car's range calculation as the trip info reflects the way & the conditions in which you drive.

Also unlike ice cars where specific amounts of fuel are input enabling accurate calculations the ev battery management system will fully charge the battery by varying amounts dependent on several differing conditions of which temperature & battery degradation will be prominent.

As others on this forum have already said - watch the kms/kWh current trip figure as this tells you if your driving habit is giving you more or less than the range kms. Unfortunately my 21 ZS doesn't have a real time reading of this just the cumulative trip so I have to remember that if I'm on the motorway my range will reduce quicker than the specified WLTP combined cycle than if I'm in a city. A 40% difference according to my ZS specification.

 

[kiera22]

I raised this with mg dealer who has updated battery management system and now it is showing 320 kms on 100% charge. Will monitor how it goes. Thanks all for sharing your inputs

 

[Susanna]

@kiera22 That’s because everything is back to factory settings.

 

[Malcolm]

I raised this with mg dealer who has updated battery management system and now it is showing 320 kms on 100% charge. Will monitor how it goes. Thanks all for sharing your inputs

As Susanna says 'back to factory settings' so you probably won't get any more kms range & the fully charged range will still change over time depending on several factors. From what I've heard the BMS is a complicated piece of software & hardware.

 

[NIghtmare]

EXACTLY like any ICE engine.

My galaxy diesel would do 45 mpg in summer, 40 in autumn/spring and 35 in winter.

EVs work exactly the same.
Your best assertions of economy come on days like today.
On the last hot days, I was getting 4.2 - 4.5 m/kw. Last few days on the dreadful weather is 3.7 average over the last 500 miles. In winter I'll expect 3.2 or so.

So when petrol owners moan about EVs range in winter, their cars are exactly the same, but they don't see it (or don't want to)

I don't really care.
My galaxy would cost £60 to do 300 miles. My ZS Trophy Connect LR costs £5 to do the same distance.
Saving me £55 per week / £2800 a year

My thoughts on people despising EVs is one of 2 reasons:
1 They are jealous because they can't afford one
2 They can't have one because of they haven't got the amenities to fit a home charger

 

[pollenface]

I think it's fear to embrace a different way of thinking.

If it's your only car, i understand the hesitation. It works well for us as the EV does all the daily rounds within 100kms from home. The ICE cars do the long distance and towing stuff.

People ask me, "what happens if you run out of charge?" I shake my head. I've had a gutful of dumb questions.

How long does it take to charge?
As long as you like

 

[Ruislip Resident]

I think it's fear to embrace a different way of thinking.

If it's your only car, i understand the hesitation. It works well for us as the EV does all the daily rounds within 100kms from home. The ICE cars do the long distance and towing stuff.

People ask me, "what happens if you run out of charge?" I shake my head. I've had a gutful of dumb questions.

How long does it take to charge?
As long as you like

Long distance is easy enough. Towing is a different question. I've seen YT videos of a caravan enthusiast using an EV6 and managing, charging every 100 miles or so. He went from a Scottish Island to Germany, I think. But an EV6 is pricey and I don't know how many others are currently capable of towing a caravan or s speed boat or such like. The ZS's limit is 500kg isn't it, which is less than a small caravans weight.

 

[pollenface]

I'm planning to build a superlight trailer to tow my dirtbike

 

[Drop Bear]

Hi - I bought new MG essence EV and in 2 weeks I observed that it is only showing 270kms on 100% charged battery while I was promised 320.

Has anyone else faced same issue?

I’ve had my SR Mk2 up to 399km on the GOM but struggling to get over. Looks like a display or calculation limit. Anyone been over this?

 

[Drop Bear]

I’ve had my SR Mk2 up to 399km on the GOM but struggling to get over. Looks like a display or calculation limit. Anyone been over this?

Yay, 408km potential range today. Not bad for in and around Hobart.

 

[GuV]

Thanks for responding. Yes in NZ. I am getting it checked with dealer as it is not giving expected kms at all.

We live in Whangaparaoa and have a Gen 1 ZS EV. We don't pay too much heed to the GOM. We look at its consistent 16 kw/100km over 20,000km. WLTP range is over enthuiastic, as Gavin on Ecotricity on Youtube says Way Less Than Predicted. Take the WLTP and knock off at least 15% for a real world figure.

 

[Peter WA]

We live in Whangaparaoa and have a Gen 1 ZS EV. We don't pay too much heed to the GOM. We look at its consistent 16 kw/100km over 20,000km. WLTP range is over enthuiastic, as Gavin on Ecotricity on Youtube says Way Less Than Predicted. Take the WLTP and knock off at least 15% for a real world figure.

All depends on car and driving style.

With the Mk1 ZS EV there has been one big issue: the NMC battery has buffers at both the bottom and top end that you don't get to use. But as far as I can tell they never adjusted the WLTP range (or GOM) to reflect that (that still uses 100% battery capacity). In practice the WLTP 263km were mostly unachievable, more realistic would have been 240km, accounting for the reserved parts of the battery.

Then over time the NMC battery degrades. Mine was down to about 95% by the time I sold it with 28' km. GOM did actually reflect that and gave less range, even after a reset of the trip metres.

Fast forward to the Mk2 ZS EV: the LFP battery has a much smaller buffer set aside (only at the bottom end to avoid over-discharge, none at the top end, it can charge to real 100%). Also so far (12'km) I can not notice any degradation.

That means that most of the time my GOM predicts more than the 320km WLTP range, and that the predicted range of around 340km is actually achievable in my day to day driving.

Mind you: I live in Perth where it doesn't usually get freezing cold, and of course there are variations day to day: if winds are strong, my range drops. As it should (physics).

 

[pollenface]

I live in Perth

Hooray another Perth person

 

[buzzyb]

So I’ve just spent 4 full days obsessing over this as I noticed my Kms dropping after just charging the battery to 100%. Even after returning it to the dealer they believed nothing was wrong with it. All they said was…
RESET THE TRIP METER. And I don’t understand why…. But it worked. My full 100% charge range went from 260kms to 319kms instantly. It has nothing to do with the other “estimated trips and conditions etc” it’s a setting.
It will reset the calculated estimations from previous driving (I believe this is what it’s showing)
I don’t yet understand why this is something that is occurring, I’m still very confused and trying to get answers from the dealership as to why the trip meter needs to be reset in order to show the “correct” amount.

 

[Gadget Geek]

So I’ve just spent 4 full days obsessing over this as I noticed my Kms dropping after just charging the battery to 100%. Even after returning it to the dealer they believed nothing was wrong with it. All they said was…
RESET THE TRIP METER. And I don’t understand why…. But it worked. My full 100% charge range went from 260kms to 319kms instantly. It has nothing to do with the other “estimated trips and conditions etc” it’s a setting.
It will reset the calculated estimations from previous driving (I believe this is what it’s showing)
I don’t yet understand why this is something that is occurring, I’m still very confused and trying to get answers from the dealership as to why the trip meter needs to be reset in order to show the “correct” amount.

The 319km is not the "correct" amount, it is the default, factory amount calculated in a standard test cycle in laboratory conditions.

The 260km is a representation of what you can expect to get based on your previous driving style, weather and terrain driven.

If you try to drive more than 260km after reseting your trip counter, you will see the range fall off a cliff as the GOM recalculates based on current km/kWh of the journey.

All EV's do this and there's nothing wrong with your car.