See all Used Car Buying Guides
What’s it like?
Serving as a rival to vehicles as varied as the Nissan Leaf, Renault Zoe, Hyundai Kona Electric (and, indeed, the Soul EV) and the Peugeot E-2008, among more, the ZS remains an intriguing used proposition and one of those surprisingly impressive Chinese-developed cars that shows how many of these newly minted manufacturers from the Far East have put the pressure on traditional European car firms with the excellence of their electric machines.
Which model to go for?
Prior to 2022, the MG ZS EV was offered with a 42.5kWh (net) lithium-ion battery pack that gave it an official range of around 263km. Power came from a 143hp electric motor, backed up with a healthy 353Nm of torque, pushing the ZS EV from 0-100km/h in 8.5 seconds.
In 2022, however, this was replaced with a far more useful 68.3kWh (net) battery that massively improved the one-shot driving range to 440km. It was also teamed to a more impressive 156hp motor, although peak torque reduced to 280Nm, meaning the 0-100km/h time wasn’t much improved at all at 8.4 seconds.
Prior to 2022, the ZS had a radiator grille up front, but for the much-improved 2022 variant it gained more distinctive, electric-biased styling with a smoothed-off front-end arrangement that helped it to stand out. Usefully, boot space was marginally improved from 448 to 470 litres are part of the facelift, but that’s with all the seats in use – fold the MG’s rear row away and there are 1,100 litres of cargo capacity on offer, no matter whether you go for an older or more recent car.
There’s nothing wrong with the pre-facelift MG ZS EVs, and of course they’ll be cheaper to buy on the used market, but we’d be advocating getting the later model for its much more useful capability and performance.
Does anything go wrong?
There have been reports of issues with the electric motor and non-drive-specific electrics on the MG ZS EV, but in most instances the manufacturer has rectified such matters for owners quickly, so the second-hand stock of cars shouldn’t present any major problems. You’re therefore checking any ZS EV for physical condition more than anything else, as most will have been used as urban and semi-urban runarounds, so may be exhibiting parking scrapes, kerbed alloys and or worn interior finishing.
There are no known recalls for the MG ZS EV so far, which is excellent news for prospective second-hand purchasers.