My experience owning a 2021 MG ZS EV for a year

[ScottFisk]

I’ve owned a first-gen MG ZS EV for about 12 months now and wanted to share my experience to see if others have had similar issues.

I bought it used in Dec 2024 with ~49,000km for $25k, which in hindsight was probably a red flag. Real-world range for me is about 180–220km on a good day, 100–120km on a bad one. I regularly drive between Newcastle and Sydney, which is doable but sometimes requires charging on the way if I don't fill completely.

Early on I found:

• Tesla Superchargers don’t work at all (“unauthorized vehicle”).
• BP chargers were unreliable at first (now mostly OK after app updates).
• TPMS faults and a weak 12V battery from day one.

The big issue has been an intermittent “Control System Fault”, usually triggered by certain start/stop or charging sequences. The worst incident left the car stranded after DC charging and required a tow. MG blamed the charger, the charger provider blamed MG, and I was without the car for weeks with no courtesy vehicle — and ended up paying $220 AUD to get it back as the fault was not related to MG.

The fault later happened again on a road trip, but this time I managed to clear it myself using a cheap Bluetooth OBD-II reader, which immediately brought the car back to life while on the road. Since then, I’ve had no major issues, but I now always keep an OBD-II reader in the car just in case.

Outside of that, the car itself has been good. I’ve done 26,000km in a year, enjoy driving it, and it’s been fine day-to-day. My main takeaway for other ZS EV owners:

• Be careful with charging/start sequences, take it slow and wait for the HV relay to engage or dis-engage before re-starting or stopping the car
• Keep the 12V battery healthy (don't leave the car for long periods of time without a trickle charger and replace every 3-4 years)
• Carry an OBD-II reader — it may save you a tow

Curious if others with early ZS EVs have seen similar faults or had better dealer support, especially with software updates and warranty claims.

 

[Data]

Hello Scott, sorry you've had some issues. I bought my ZS EV new at the start of the year & aside from a minor paint issue that was put right quickly under warranty, it's been plain sailing.

The Tesla charging issue is perhaps due to your car needing the 'Tesla upgrade' from your dealer. It's not a fault but when your car was initially sold new Tesla chargers were probably not open to non Tesla cars & it looks like it hasn't had the update at your MG dealer to enable it to charge at Tesla sites. It's also worth noting not all Tesla sites are open to all vehicles. It's that or your Tesla app is incorrectly configured. Mine works fine.

 

[hmadsen]

Hello Scott, sorry you've had some issues. I bought my ZS EV new at the start of the year & aside from a minor paint issue that was put right quickly under warranty, it's been plain sailing.

The Tesla charging issue is perhaps due to your car needing the 'Tesla upgrade' from your dealer. It's not a fault but when your car was initially sold new Tesla chargers were probably not open to non Tesla cars & it looks like it hasn't had the update at your MG dealer to enable it to charge at Tesla sites. It's also worth noting not all Tesla sites are open to all vehicles. It's that or your Tesla app is incorrectly configured. Mine works fine.

He states that it is a 2021 and 100-120km on bad days, all of that indicate that this is a first gen ZS EV, i dont think there is any Tesla upgrade for the Charger, sadly.

 

[Data]

Oh yes. Missed the fact it's a first gen car! I'd agree, it's not gonna charge at a Tesla site.

 

[ScottFisk]

Yea unfortunately the dealer did say that it had all the updates done, so definitely out of luck with the Tesla charging, to be honest it’s a beautiful car, nice red paint that has lasted well maybe a few chips and with my luck haha although I have seen others with similar issues assuming most the software bugs are related to the fact it’s a first gen, had I done more research I probably would have picked up a 2022 or newer but for the price you get what you pay for I suppose.

 

[Pete G]

Scott it may be worth checking the battery state on your car. We have a gen 1 ZS EV and our range is usually around 250 kilometres in Summer, and 235 kilometres in Winter.
We only drive at around 80 kilometres and hour as our roads are bumpy, windy and have lots of wildlife.
I am guessing that you are driving down the freeway from Newcastle to Sydney so are sitting on 110kilometres and hour for much of your journey.
Oh we only ever drive our car in eco mode too. We live on a mountain so the trip to town is all downhill so only uses about 5 to 10 kilometres of range for a 38 kilometre trip to town. But coming home all uphill uses about 65 kilometres of range so it evens out. We can squeeze three trips to town from one charge of the 44kw battery.
We have only ever had one software problem that required the car to be towed, that was in the early days of owning the car. We have had ours for 2 years now and really like it.