Range Anxiety?

[KasEV]

@Max,
I am not sure these presenters are claiming a formal range of 349 miles by any know standard definition of range. I am not sure if the car was made in India or has the same specifications as or EU ZS EVs.
I think one should be careful with such videos. What they are doing and showing and what you have posted as their claim is two completely different things.
Not sure how this has come about exactly but please do not get confused. What is being shown is not a standard range test. It is a simple distance travelled challenge under unspecified conditions.......
OK so far as range is concerned if one excludes weather and driving style, how far an EV goes depends on size, weight, aerodynamics, type and number of motors, characteristics of the power train and battery size and characteristics.
Now if all the above are the same whether the EV is made in China or in India it is unlikely that there will be a vast difference in range.
What some manufacturers do is that in some countries where there is need for increased range the motor and power train characteristics are changed so the EV is slower but has a higher range with same battery size.
For example the MG5EV may come with a smaller battery and motor with weaker power train compared to ZS EV but all the same MG5EV will have a longer range despite being slower.
In this particular video, there is no attempt to perform anything that comes near to a formal range test.(There is no defined speed range, in-car conditions, external conditions, drive environment ratios etc)
All that is being done is... how far can we go.
We all know that if you drive a ZS EV at 5mph you may be able to do 1000 miles with a single charge and complete this journey in 35 full daylight periods but no one is jumping
Their figures show a drive of 349 miles at average speed of 21mph with all in-car facilities and lights off. It took them 2 full daylight periods to complete this senseless test in a car that was as hot as an oven.

It is absolutely of no use to any Western ZS EV buyer. Not even a city dweller. I think the WLTP city cycle includes speeds of 40mph and I think average @25mph in normal mode (Not 100% sure and f these figures)
Anyway I am sure if one were in Sweden or Norway, one could improve their results by doing similar test on better roads and cooler summer conditions driving at 15mph. Such a test would however be meaningless as no one drives at an average speed of 15mph and uses daylight only.

 

[DangerousDoug]

I think the ambient temperature also contributed - if you can charge the car when the battery is around 26degrees it'll take on it's biggest charge; then discharging at a similar temperature will again extract max. efficiency from the battery. Our MG is showing higher mileage in the last couple of weeks, when compared to Feburary, when we first had it!

 

[Chrispydoc]

The Indian range test was just an extreme exercise in what is possible. Someone was bound to try it one day.

It was interesting, but as been said already, has little relevance to most drivers......it is still.....interesting.

 

[Max]

The Indian range test was just an extreme exercise in what is possible. Someone was bound to try it one day.

It was interesting, but as been said already, has little relevance to most drivers......it is still.....interesting.

Yes that is the only reason I posted it. I found it interesting and further, it’s very useful to know how I should try to drive the vehicle if I am ever 50 miles away from a charger with 40 miles showing on the GOM.
I wasn’t trying to mislead anyone, I just posted a video which I found interesting. I’m glad at least someone enjoyed it!

 

[KasEV]

@Chrispydoc,
You are right it may be interesting but it must be appropriately interpreted.
It should not be sensationalised as a new formal range claim. That then becomes disinformation.

 

[Chrispydoc]

I think most people are bright enough to see exactly what it represents!

 

[DangerousDoug]

I think most people are bright enough to see exactly what it represents!

I agree - we need to be able to assume a certain base level of common sense on forums like this, otherwise we'll self-censor to the point of complete silence! I too found the article interesting - again, an excersise in the art of the possible, rather than a realistic view of real world driving.

 

[KasEV]

@Max,
You wrote
"The Indian manufactured ZS EV claim a slightly larger range despite having the same battery size"
Those were your exact word.
Can your please tell us the factory where it was produced in India and the show the official product documents that prove what you wrote?
If I were you, I would politely apologise for misrepresenting the facts rather than try to put a spin on things and dig myself further in. It serves no purpose.
I myself and several others, sometime back also misinformed the the forum during a discussion on the underside of the ZS EV. As soon as I found the correct information, I was humble enough to point out that we were wrong. We all accepted that and moved on. That is how it is done.
Please post the details of your claim.
Which factory manufactured it?
At least one page from its official manual to substantiate that the manufacturer claims it can do said milage and the details of its battery size.
Thanks.

 

[Chrispydoc]

I wish you'd "lighten up" KasEV...... you are taking a lot of the fun out it for me.......

 

[KasEV]

@DangerousDoug,
I am not advocating that we do not share material we find interesting.
All l am saying is that we share it in a clear and exact manner.
There is a great difference between a report that says look how far someone in India drove with a ZS EV and one that says there is a specific factory manufacturing ZS EV in India and claiming XYZ range.
I hope you can clearly see the difference.

 

[MEH]

It can be done in the UK, in fact if anybody wants to keep towing me back up Porlock Hill I'm game

 

[KasEV]

@Chrispydoc,
You remember the discussions on under engine shield verses air-hole?
This was several months back. I believe you even ordered a shield to adapt to cover.
I came under severe critic, from elsewhere that as someone more informed about EV, I didn't put in the appropriate information but rather added to a misrepresentation of the issue for a day or two before correcting it.
Since then I am careful to ensure appropriate presentation of facts and ensuring that members do not take action based on misinformation.

 

[Chrispydoc]

I was only thinking about that today. As a matter of interest, after waiting for 2 months for delivery of the alternative type of splash shield, the manufacturer in China cancelled my order and refunded me.

I then had a much more detailed look under the motor and the grill of the car. On many EV cars they are virtually smooth at the front, with no apparent air gaps. The MG has loads of holes around and underneath the charger port, in the bumper etc. There are several radiators and fans in there and I wonder how the other EV's manage ?
If you look at the James and Kate Vidio they bravely drive through flood water, with no problems and I have recently seen one where a Nissan Leaf is halfway up its doors! The message seems to be that the motor and Electric connections must be pretty damp proof. I think it's fair to say that MG, like Nissan, know what they are doing. No one has all the answers, that why I like the free, good humoured exchange of views on forums like this

 

[Mgkev]

I watched an Asian YouTube where the owner took an ice ZS to a place where they washed the underside of the car. You can clearly see that they removed the fully enclosed engine under shield prior to cleaning. An ice car is going to generate a lot more heat that an EV so I recon the lack of under shield on our cars is down to cost cutting

 

[Max]

@Max,
You wrote
"The Indian manufactured ZS EV claim a slightly larger range despite having the same battery size"
Those were your exact word.
Can your please tell us the factory where it was produced in India and the show the official product documents that prove what you wrote?
If I were you, I would politely apologise for misrepresenting the facts rather than try to put a spin on things and dig myself further in. It serves no purpose.
I myself and several others, sometime back also misinformed the the forum during a discussion on the underside of the ZS EV. As soon as I found the correct information, I was humble enough to point out that we were wrong. We all accepted that and moved on. That is how it is done.
Please post the details of your claim.
Which factory manufactured it?
At least one page from its official manual to substantiate that the manufacturer claims it can do said milage and the details of its battery size.
Thanks.

I don’t think I’ll be apologising because I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong.
I don’t know if you watched the video but at 340 km (212 miles) the driver said that “This is as far as the car is supposed to go”. I have seen several of the MG ZS EV reviews from India and seen that figure too. In a 30 second google search I also found this.

Best Electric Car in India, 2024: MG ZS EV Price - MG Motor India

Best Electric Car in India 2024 - MG ZS EV price in India starting @ ₹18.98 Lakh, top electric cars in India. Explore the best electric vehicles, accessories & model variants at MG Motor.

www.mgmotor.co.in

(Screen shot attached)


I also added to my "The Indian manufactured ZS EV claim a slightly larger range despite having the same battery size" something qualifying that they perhaps use a different metric.


I really am not sure what you’re accusing me of, but hopefully you see I’m not being disingenuous, I was simply posting a video I thought others might find interesting - I’m sorry you didn’t. Anyway I won’t be asking you for an apology, I’m sure you have your reasons for finding my post so inflammatory.
All the best.

 

[Kithmo]

The lack of under body shield could be to aid cooling of the battery, apart from aerodynamics, some ICE cars have the shield to aid a quick warm up cycle.

 

[Chrispydoc]

Yes..thats what ICE cars do...turn fuel into heat..use some of it, and waste loads of it...

 

[Kithmo]

Yes once the ICE is warmed up the rest is wasted, apart from heating the cabin in colder weather.

 

[KasEV]

@Kithmo,
We have covered the issue of under engine shield in significant detail previously.
In fact the ZS EV has an under engine shield but at the time we were not adequately informed and thought it did not have one. Anyway some made arrangements to have alternative under engine cover but thankfully the correct information was at hand and went to clarify the issue that the Gap we see is actually a air hole.
As to these claims being made by a member about an Indian manufacturer of ZS EVs making various claims, I will leave you to make you own conclusions.

 

[Kithmo]

Ok.