ZS EV Pre-Facelift vs Facelift

danj

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MG ZS EV
Question to those of you lucky enough to have received their new car, especially interested in hearing the views of people who had a Mk1 ZS EV and now have a facelift SR...
What are your favourite features of the new car?
Anything you preferred with the original car?
Thanks!
 
I preferred the sunroof blind on the MK1, you could have it shut with the sunroof open. I preferred the DAB on the MK1.
Favourite features on the face-lift ZS Trophy SR we have are bigger tyres, (better ride), App for pre heat and cool, middle headrest and charge port location and design and 360 cameras
 
The facelift infotainment system is better in every respect - bigger and clearer screen, more responsive. The i-Smart app is surprisingly reliable and functional. The HVAC controls work well with their own dedicated screen and new climate control. The difference with the LED headlights is literally night and day!

The KERs implementation on the 1st Gen was better IMHO - stronger in 3 and more predictable response than the Facelift - hopefully this can be fixed with a software update.
 
Had the Gen 1 model for over two years and almost 20.000 miles and loved it !.
However, I find the face lift model ( Gen 2 ) LR version to be a better car, in a lot of ways really,
For a lot of the reasons that others have already mentioned above.
But here is some of my own personal observations :-
The range of the LR model is the biggest winner for me, totally hands down.
Info unit and the addition of the App is a very welcomed change.
Although the ride comfort in the original model was a little on the “Soft Side” it WAS very comfortable, but the ride in the face lift has been improved.
Not firm, but not extra soft either.
Remember, the ZS EV was never intended to be a sports car, or even close to it !.
The digital dash board has “lifted” and modernised the drivers perspective and also provides all the info you are likely to need, without the need to keep scrolling through loads of menu’s to access it.
After first not liking the front end styling of the face lift model when it was first released,
I now have actually come to prefer its more modern EV styling and the charging door is a big improvement also.
The LED head lights are a massive improvement over the original units.
Third head rest in the test, together with a pull down arm rest in the rear seat is an advantage.
Is there anything that I really miss from the original ZS EV model now ????????.
Sorry ,,……. Still thinking 🤔……, give me a second …,,,,, ?????.
Arh …,,, I have one !.
Regen strength !.
The Regen strength in the Gen 1 in normal mode, was a fare bit stronger that that in the Gen 2 model.
You do find yourself using the footbrake a little bit more offered in the Gen 2 model.
After that, I am struggling to be honest.
Okay …., The diamond cut alloys on the Gen 1 model where a bit more classy I guess, but it does not bother me that much.
Slight tint to the glass is better, but it needs to be darker.
Going forward, it has been announced that MG intend to drop the full electric pano roof from the ZS EV for future orders.
I do see that as a HUGE mistake to be honest.
Offering the voice command feature in part exchange, is a very poor deal if you ask me.
Huge cost saving to MG of course, but a bigger lose to its customers I think.
The Gen 1 model ( when first launched ) offered fantastic value for money, with the lose of the grant AND the increased pricing, the new face lift now has closer rivals in the market price, to other EV models on offer.
Now by now starting to remove big features like the electric sky roof, will make people start to take a second look at other offerings from other EV manufacturers.
Like most things really, as popularly increases, so does the price !.
They are really struggling to hold down the big attraction of their lower pricing structure.
So they are starting to remove features from
the car, in an attempt to keep prices more competitive.
The problem here is of course, this is WHY people where attracted to the car in the first place !!.
It represented a good value for money EV offering equipments level way above the competition, but that situation HAS very quickly been eroded in only a couple of years.
MG held back on releasing the launch price of the ZS EV face lift until after the budget.
Watching carefully what would happen regarding the plug in grant values at the time.
However, the plan failed when lees than two weeks after the budget, they reduced the grant !.
Nothing at all to do with the fact that the COP 22 summit was being held in Scotland at the same time of the budget of course ?.
 
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I only have experience of the Mk1 model.
I have looked at the Mk 2 and thought the front end much uglier but obviously the long range model has a big advantage.
However, the problem is that the new models are £30k plus which puts them into a different market which has a large number of different EV cars to choose from.
I suspect that if I look around all the offerings there could well be a better car to be had for the £30k price.
 
I agree, pretty much the same conclusion that I have come too in my thread above.
Orders placed from this point onward, will continue to offer much less value for money over the earlier cars and the competition.
The deals on the original ZS EV are long gone and never to return I am afraid.
Had it not been for the larger battery in the LR - I would not have upgraded to the face lift model.
Yes, the improvements on the facelift are a great and are very welcomed, but I could not have justify the difference in price, unless I was received a bigger battery pack.
64 Kw’s was what I was hoping and wishing for.
So it could then rival its close competition in the more expensive Kona and the E.Nero at that point in time.
When the 72 Kw pack for the LR was released, that instantly triggered my order for the face lift model in November 2021.
 
I absolutely love my gen 1 and it ticks all the boxes for me except a longer range would be nice for the odd trip to the coast and that's the only reason I would change.
True the infotainment screen is slow to respond, but TBH I hardly ever touch it anyway in day to day use.
I don't need an app as I can do anything I want to do manually when I get in.
We have the range/day out problem covered to some extent by SWMBO having the MG5 (SR) which easily does 230 miles to a charge (212 WLTP) on a warm day on A roads where the speed limits rarely exceed 50mph.
 
I absolutely love my gen 1 and it ticks all the boxes for me except a longer range would be nice for the odd trip to the coast and that's the only reason I would change.
True the infotainment screen is slow to respond, but TBH I hardly ever touch it anyway in day to day use.
I don't need an app as I can do anything I want to do manually when I get in.
We have the range/day out problem covered to some extent by SWMBO having the MG5 (SR) which easily does 230 miles to a charge (212 WLTP) on a warm day on A roads where the speed limits rarely exceed 50mph.
You have both usage cases firmly covered, that's for sure !.
With only 2500 miles covered on your ZS EV in two years, have you not considered dropping down to the one car 🤷‍♂️ .
The MG5 would cover 99% of usage patterns ???.
 
You have both usage cases firmly covered, that's for sure !.
With only 2500 miles covered on your ZS EV in two years, have you not considered dropping down to the one car 🤷‍♂️ .
The MG5 would cover 99% of usage patterns ???.
4,500 miles on mine and SWMBO does around 2,000 a year. It is a case for one car but ATM She always uses her car at the same time as I use mine, but we are thinking of trading both in for the new MG4, depending on what it looks like in the flesh.
The MG5 covers the range and actually drives better, but being the original SR it doesn't have all the safety features of the ZS and the later LR 5's.
 
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