- MG's first EV in India

- Latest update comes with some new features

- Gets a 50.3kWh battery pack

The MG ZS EV is one of the first EVs that the carmaker brought to India. Now, there's the new Comet along with the latest iteration of the ZS EV. We've spent enough time with the latter and also put it through our real-world range test. This test includes charging the car to 100 per cent and driving it on our testing route till the battery depletes. Here's how it went.

To give you an idea, the ZS EV gets a 50.3kWh battery with a claimed range of 461km. We switched on the vehicle and adopted b standard setting, which is the Normal drive mode with the regen setting on 3. We also set the air-conditioning at 23ºC and the fan speed at 4 for the entire range test, with the auto function used only a couple of times. The same route that we use for testing all our vehicles was followed till the battery charge came down to one per cent.

When we started the range test at 100 per cent, the range shown was 340km in the Normal mode. And, by the time we completed our test, we had covered 340km. This included 75 per cent of city driving and 25 per cent of highway driving. The instrument cluster showed 7km/kWh as we averaged 26kmph for our range test. This is our usual speed for tests, and if it increases in your driving conditions, you can surely achieve a better range.

Interestingly, the charging notification on the instrument cluster and the infotainment screen was displayed when the battery charge dropped under 30 per cent. It kept on popping after every few kilometres to remind you to search for a charging point, which is a nifty and smart feature. The display for the estimated range disappeared under 20km but it showed the option to find the nearest charging station through the centre display unit. This can be done by searching manually or using the voice feature, or even getting a call back onto that screen from a customer care centre. Besides, the AC was restricted but still not off when the battery went down to 5 per cent. Another good thing is that the car didn't go into limp mode and could accelerate normally even when the battery was at one per cent.

Though the actual range is way off from the claimed range, it's great that the MG ZS EV has consistently offered 340km or a little more driving range. This was the case every time we tested it as a long-term vehicle in our fleet for three months. It has helped reduce our range anxiety about electric vehicles, which can turn out to be practical if they are consistent like the ZS EV, and if your usage is planned properly.

Like many other electric vehicles, the MG ZS EV also comes with a portable charger that can be plugged into a regular 15A power socket. It's good for partially charging the car to run errands rather than fully charging it in leisure time. The fast charging options are way better with MG's 50kW DC fast chargers that can charge from 0 to 80 per cent in less than 50 minutes. After all, the charging infrastructure in India is only going to get better now.