My 6-Month Experience with the ZS Hybrid+ (10,000 km)

[Hans Gerd]

What does not seem consistent to me is that the overrevving may start at two-thirds of the way up an uphill and does not stop for a longer time when just keeping the foot on the accelerator. But when you manually stop accelerating, the revs drop down.

What's good: driving in Eco mode and recuperation level 3 can result in really good consumption—about 3.5 to 4 liters per 100 km—though, except when driving on highways.

 

[Stephen L]

I Think that when the revs rise unexpectedly I may be unconsciously backing off the accelerator?
the first time it happened I watched the revs rise fast and the speed drop just as quickly, perhaps if the salesman had given me a heads up on what to expect I may have been more prepared and If MG included more sound dampening the engine noise may not be so obvious.
The second time it happened I was waiting for it but still kind of feathered the throttle so the speed fell away and I lost momentum, but, both times it felt like the gearbox was in neutral and the revving engine was just supplying the battery and not driving the wheels.
I also drive a Nissan Xtrail, by comparison when going up an incline, when the revs drop due to the hill and I accelerate, in the Nissan the revs rise and the car surges forward. When the same occurs in the ZS it seems to just rev and either maintains the the current speed or decelerate. I believe when going uphill and the battery is exhausted the engine sends all the power to recharge it and not enough to the wheels to keep going forward. Does that make sense?

I thought the battery can never be exhausted with the pd52 update. It isn’t supposed to be allowed to drop below 30% full.

 

[Lollipopman]

I bought our zs hybrid plus in October and at first thought worst decision of my life, but now I do realy like the car, as everyone else we do have the high revving but when you just back off on the accelerator it goes back to normal. I use. The adaptive cruise control at every opportunity it's so economical even when driving arround town and when approaching traffic lights I just cover the brake as it stops itself then just a tap on the accelerator still in acc and away it goes, it practically drives itself, don't get me wrong I don't rely on it stopping as I said I allways cover the brake. I love it so much we have decided to upgrade and we get our new car on Tuesday.

 

[Lola]

I've now had my ZS Hybrid+ for exactly six months, and I've driven just under 10,000 km in that time.
I'd like to share my honest experiences with the vehicle:


Shortly after buying it, I noticed—like others here—the issue with high engine revs and noticeable loss of power, especially under load. After about two months, all available software updates were applied. While those updates didn’t noticeably improve the revving issue, they did improve the cruise control, which had always driven 2–3 km/h below the set speed. Since the update, it’s been much more accurate.

My Daily Driving Profile​

• ~60 km highway (120 km/h limit)
• ~30 km rural roads (80 km/h limit)
• ~15 km urban traffic (30–50 km/h)

On the highway, there's a 2 km uphill stretch, where the car always downshifts by one gear, causing it to rev up to around 4300 rpm, which sounds quite loud inside. Otherwise, it stays at around 2900 rpm, which isn’t exactly quiet but still tolerable.
To be fair, I previously drove larger BMW sedans, so I may be a bit more sensitive to cabin noise.


For the first four months, I consistently used cruise control and all driving assist systems, but never managed to get fuel consumption below 6.6 L/100km. After turning off all assistance systems and driving without cruise control, I managed to bring consumption down to 5.6 L/100km.

Other Observations​

• One time, the remaining range dropped from 100 km to zero within 10 km. Based on the fuel I added afterwards, the tank really was empty.
• The built-in radio is basically useless in Switzerland, since most major stations are broadcast only on DAB and the reception drops every few minutes. I now only listen via Android Auto, and bought a wireless adapter so I don’t need to plug my phone in every time.

---

Conclusion after 6 months​

Pros

• Great car for city and rural roads—as long as there are no long inclines or mountain routes
• Excellent value in terms of equipment and features
• Nice interior and exterior design

Cons

• Cruise control performance is lacking
• Engine very loud under high RPM
• Noticeable power loss on hills
• DAB radio practically unusable
• Not suitable for highway driving with inclines
• No way to manually control battery charging during climbs
• Very poor interior lighting
• Even in the top trim level (Luxury), there is no illuminated vanity mirror, and no sunglasses holder

Because of these issues, I’ve decided to sell the car and have already ordered a replacement vehicle.

I have this model in Australia and l have a sunglass case and illuminated mirrors. I turn off internal lighting most of the he time. But l have the same issues with inclinations as l drive up a range weekly. I'm going to also give it around 6 months.

 

[Lola]

I thought the battery can never be exhausted with the pd52 update. It isn’t supposed to be allowed to drop below 30% full.

I believe that's true and mine does not drop below 30% before regen kicks in I'm sure.

 

[pdm1]

I thought it was 'Build your Dreams'

Yes it is "Build your dreams"

 

[salty]

Beyond Your Dreams, would've been better. BYD missed a trick, there.
Build Your Dreams is a bit, naff.

 

[Lola]

I bought our zs hybrid plus in October and at first thought worst decision of my life, but now I do realy like the car, as everyone else we do have the high revving but when you just back off on the accelerator it goes back to normal. I use. The adaptive cruise control at every opportunity it's so economical even when driving arround town and when approaching traffic lights I just cover the brake as it stops itself then just a tap on the accelerator still in acc and away it goes, it practically drives itself, don't get me wrong I don't rely on it stopping as I said I allways cover the brake. I love it so much we have decided to upgrade and we get our new car on Tuesday.

That's a great setting for around town. l began an open road journey with a full tank last week and along the tree way the an amount of klms left kept going up. So began the trip at 658klm to empty and at the end of trip l was over 700klm l left.

 

[Lollipopman]

The economical part is also down to the way you drive you also sound to be one that is careful with the accelerator pedal .