Our friends' ELECTRIC

With MG’s ZS EV starting to hit the UK roads, we put one to the test to experience the reality of living with an electric MG.

- Jim Jupp And Drury

Range anxiety seems to be one of the biggest hurdles facing fully electric car owners. We love a challenge so we arranged a weekend away to visit friends Rick and Helen, 170-miles away, in a ZS EV with a claimed 163-mile range.

With the MG delivered from MG UK, we were briefed about a few niggles with this pre-production ZS EV Exclusive. The SatNav didn’t work, pending a software update but, with several smartphones in the car, and the car’s ApplePlay built-in, this wasn’t a problem to us. Mark, the guy who delivered the MG, suggested using a smartphone app called Zap-Map, which became crucial to our week’s test. The ZS’s own system would normally locate a charging point for you but this is only as up-to-date as your map system.

We had been excited about the arrival of the car as we’ve been following the introduction and development of electric cars over the last few years. Would the ZS EV make us want one? So, as soon as we had the keys, we headed out for a spin to get a feel for the car. Our initial impressions were really good. There were a few things to get used to. We found the silence of the motor quite strange and, whilst driving round the side of a coach in a small village, a chap walked out from behind to our surprise. It took a moment to realise he couldn’t hear the EV and we needed to be more cautious. Lesson one learnt. Once you get use to the very slight noise from the motor you realise you can easily have a chat with rear occupants, or even clearly hear the very high-end sound system, which could be a revelation to some.