What's good?
– Cheap and cheerful
– 7 year/80k mile warranty
– 10.1″ info screen as standard
What's bad?
– Isn’t exciting to drive
– Not the best info screen
– Underpowered petrol engines
What's the score?
6/10
MG ZS Review
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Sam Worth
- 2 Comments
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An SUV that’s affordable, roomy and has a snazzy interior. It might be the best budget SUV but doesn’t have much power.
Overview
MG’s return of the ZS isn’t a sporty looking car it once was. Instead, it’s been turned into an SUV. It looks good at the front. The rear, not so much, especially with the chrome that sits along the bottom of the boot, as it looks like the sort of thing you’d find on eBay that a middle-aged man would put on who has no taste or style, whatsoever.
Let’s forget about the back, shall we? Because this sub £17k SUV gets a 7-year/80,000-mile warranty. That’s blimming good. At this point, you’re probably wondering what ‘stuff’ does it come with? The features on the Excite model (that’s the cheapest of the two models) are rear parking sensors, 17-inch diamond cut alloys, roof rails, hill launch assist, cruise control, a leather steering wheel, DRL’s and a 10.1-inch info screen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
The Exclusive model, which I tested, starts at £19,305, and gets blind spot monitoring system, rain sensor wipers, sat nav, 360-degree camera, a fancy six-speaker 3D sound system, a digital cluster, front bum warmers with an electric six-way driver’s seat and a leather-style upholstery (aka plastic).
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Drive
Generally, the word ‘alright’, in a slouchy way, is the best way to describe the ZS. The issue is the lack of power. There are two petrol engines, a n/a 1.5-litre four-cylinder with 105bhp and 104lb-ft or a 1.0-litre turbo three-pot with 109bhp and 118lb-ft. Thankfully, I had the (only slightly) more powerful engine.
You can imagine how pony they both are. Pulling the weight of a 1,264kg car (that’s without passengers) isn’t going to go well. Each time I joined the motorway was a struggle. It was like asking an old crotchety tortoise to trot as quickly as it could in a race. There’s just no go in it, at all.
There is, however, a fully electric ZS (EV). While the handling still feels a bit ropy, there isn’t a problem with the lack of power. It’ll last on average 273 miles on one charge from a 72.6 kWh battery, with 154bhp and 201 lb-ft. The ZS EV starts at £27,745. That’s quite a big jump in pennies from petrol power to green power.
Let’s get back on track with this petrol-powered ZS. If you’re looking for something that feels reasonably nippy, somewhat entertaining to drive and seats your family and the family dog (if you have one that is), this isn’t your best bet. It’s not fun or entertaining to drive. The body doesn’t feel happy being chucked into a corner (I don’t think the dog would be happy either at this point), nor does it feel right when your right foot is down on the accelerator. I get it’s a budget family car, but you’d want any car to feel somewhat playful at times, surely?
The ZS comes with a five-speed and six-speed manual, and an eight-speed auto. So, there’s a good choice of transmissions, although this depends on the model and engine you spec. All ZS’s, however, only come in front wheel drive.
After doing about 500 miles, I managed to somehow come across two actual faults with the car. The first fault was the fuel gauge, which decided to have a mind of its own. One minute I had 65 miles range, a minute later the fuel light came on and it said 0 miles, which wasn’t exactly ideal… Secondly, there was a fault with the cruise control, so I had to use what’s called the accelerator pedal while I was on the motorway. Pfft.
However, I found the seats were extremely comfortable, which helped a lot while I was driving on the motorway. Normally, after driving for a few hours straight, I get fidgety and end up doing an aerobic workout as I’m driving. God knows what people normally think as they’re driving by, but I manged to sit still in the ZS, quite happily.
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Interior
If I’m completely honest, when I first got in the ZS, I was genuinely taken back of how much tech there was inside. You get your bang for the buck in this car. They all get a 10.1-inch info touch screen as standard, which is also blimming good. Now, although the screen is big and has decent graphics, it isn’t quick. The sat nav, for example, takes a good 30 seconds to fire up, which isn’t ideal when you’re in a rush. Aside from the steering wheel which felt rough and plastic-ey, everything seemed fairy well-built, considering the price.
The only things I wasn’t too keen on was the use of shortcut switches at the bottom of the info screen. Most of them are for the climate control and heated screens… What happened to a sat nav or media shortcut button? That would’ve been nice, MG? And because MG have chosen the brightest colours you can think of to appear on the info screen, you’ll find yourself squinting at the screen at night-time. And that’s after the display brightness is set to minimum.
Generally, the car feels spacious and well-equipped. I would say considering the price of the car, you get a good amount of room up front and in the back. Even in the boot there’s a large amount of room and it’s a boxy shape, too. I managed to squeeze two PA speakers, music equipment, wires and what have you. Plus, three peoples luggage in the 448-litre boot on my trip away. I was impressed.
Verdict
So, the MG ZS that starts a few grand less than most of its rivals and comes with enough tech and comfortably sits five people (not forgetting the dog) is surely a good buy? Well, if I wasn’t into cars and wanted something that was big and cheap enough, I’d consider the ZS. The thing is, the MG ZS is a bit like buying shoes from Primark. Sure, they do the job, but you know in the long run (excuse the pun) they won’t be as good as some others on the market, and you wished you’d paid extra £££ for something that is better overall.
After living with the ZS for a week, it got to the point where there were many things I found frustrating, especially that gutless engine. For that reason, I wouldn’t buy it even if it started less than £15k. I know it sounds diabolical, but when you pay a lot of money for something you’re going to spend a lot of time in but doesn’t feel quite right to begin with and may not be fit for purpose in the long run, it just doesn’t seem worth it. And that’s what the ZS feels like. Don’t misunderstand me, if you’re not bothered by a cars’ handling, performance, or niggles in the cabin, then this is a good buy without question. Otherwise, I’d look elsewhere.
2 thoughts on “MG ZS Review”
I bought an MGZS towards the end of 2023. I am very happy with it despite the points mentioned above. Yes it is underpowered, also fuel range is disappointing at around 400 miles. I have made some improvements by adding chrome kick plates all round including the boot, removable carpets and wind deflectors all around. I will also be adding locking wheelnuts soon. Maybe MG could add the above as standard as it would only increase the price marginally but would increase the desirability of owning one.
Had one for a week on holiday. Controls too busy. But the big issue is the dangerous lack of power. Struggled to get up a small hill with two adults and two kids. Had to change down to 2nd.