MG ZS EV SUV - Interior & comfort

If you're a lover of soft-touch materials, intricate stitching and metallic trim that's reassuringly cool to the touch, look away now. The ZS EV's interior is best described as functional, with hard scratchy plastics and a steering wheel that adjusts for rake but not reach. Whether you mind this or not likely depends on your acceptance that these foibles are the reason the MG ZS EV is so much cheaper than its rivals. The newer and smaller MG4 has taken a noticeable step up in quality, so it's likely the new MG ZS EV will follow suit when it arrives.

MG ZS EV dashboard

While the quality isn’t up there with the likes of Kia or Honda, the ZS doesn’t feel like it’ll fall apart as soon as it hits the road. The interior looks nice enough but the leather-effect upholstery fitted on Trophy versions feels a little cheap, and owners have told us it gets very hot in the summer. More impressive is the level of equipment and technology on board, some of which is typically reserved for much more expensive cars.

A new 10.1-inch touchscreen is now fitted across the range, with much classier graphics than before and more connectivity. We hope it isn’t as susceptible to as much glare as the last screen was.

Equipment

Two trim levels are available: SE and Trophy. Given that even the entry-level trim includes LED headlights, smartphone mirroring (with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), adaptive cruise control, keyless entry and start, sat nav and a 360-degree camera, we’d recommend sticking to this one to get the best value for money.

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Trophy is £2,500 more than SE and adds the leather-effect seats (heated in the front, and with electric adjustment for the driver), wireless phone charging, rain-sensing wipers and a stereo with six speakers for '3D sound'. 

Options

Besides dealer-fit accessories, you’re limited to choosing a different paint colour than the standard Arctic White. Four metallic colours are available, costing around £550.

Technology

The lack of a smartphone app for the car at launch was slightly disappointing but MG did introduce one, called iSmart, as part of the 2021 facelift. You can now pre-heat the cabin before you get in and schedule charging. The phone app allows you to check the state of charge, as do four new LED lights incorporated into the car’s charging port.