2023 MG ZS EV Excite Electric Review

It’s no secret that electric cars are going through a sales boom in Australia. 10 years ago, there was only three offerings and fast forward to now, and more than 40 are available. As a result, sales are skyrocketing – almost 30,000 of them have been sold up to the end of November 2022, which is a huge 684.7 per cent increase even on 2021. Yet despite this, many electric cars are priced way out of reach for many Australians thanks to expensive battery costs and a lack of infrastructure. Enter the 2023 MG ZS EV Excite, which is Australia’s cheapest electric car. Is it worth consideration if you’re after an EV? Let’s find out.

Priced from just $44,990 drive away across the country, the 2023 MG ZS EV Excite is a very important car for both the country and indeed, MG Motor. It’s priced almost $5,000 less than the next cheapest electric vehicle – the new BYD Atto 3 – and almost $20,000 less than the Tesla Model 3, which is a very popular car in Australia.

Price & Equipment: 9/10

Priced at $44,990 drive away nationwide, the 2023 MG ZS EV Excite is the cheapest electric vehicle that you can currently buy in Australia.

Standard kit on the 2023 MG ZS EV Excite is reasonable and includes 17-inch alloy wheels, automatic LED headlights, single-zone climate control, an auto-dimming rear view mirror, keyless entry with push button start, a digital driver’s display, a 10.1-inch touchscreen with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, satellite navigation, digital radio, a four-speaker sound system, five USB ports (including one for dash cams in the ceiling), selectable drive modes, a leather steering wheel and cloth upholstery.

The ZS EV is also the first MG vehicle in Australia to offer the company’s ‘iSmart’ smartphone app, which allows owners to remotely connect with the car to control the air-conditioning, lock and unlock it, locate it and access diagnostic information like how much charge it has. It also has vehicle-to-load functionality, which allows owners to use its battery to power household devices from its external charging port.

The ZS EV has a five-star ANCAP rating from 2019 and comes well equipped with safety equipment including six airbags, auto emergency braking (AEB), land keeping assistance, driver attention monitoring, rear parking sensors, a 360-degree view camera, auto high beam, adaptive cruise control with traffic jam assist, intelligent speed assist, speed sign recognition, an alarm and tyre pressure monitoring. Blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert are not featured on the Excite – buyers must choose the upper-spec Essence instead.

Stepping up to the ZS EV Essence adds $4,000 to the price ($48,990 drive away) and gains synthetic leather upholstery, a six-way power adjustable driver’s seat, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, a wireless phone charger, roof rails, a six-speaker sound system, auto wipers, auto-folding mirrors, a panoramic glass sunroof and heated front seats. This is money well spent, in our opinion.

There are two standard colours on the 2022 MG ZS EV: ‘Pebble Black’ and our test car’s ‘Dover White’ while ‘Brighton Blue’, ‘Diamond Red’ and ‘Sloane Silver’ are also available for a further $700.

The main rival to the ZS EV is the BYD Atto 3, which is priced from $48,011 plus on-road costs (around $50,000 drive away, depending on your location, which is more than the top-spec ZS EV Essence). It gains an extra airbag, blind-spot monitoring, rear auto braking, rear seat occupancy alert, front parking sensors, 18-inch alloy wheels, auto-folding mirrors, a power tailgate, an eight-speaker sound system, synthetic leather upholstery, an electric driver’s seat with memory, ambient lighting and a rotating centre screen to the ZS EV Excite’s equipment list. The Atto 3 has the ZS EV licked when it comes to standard equipment, though it is priced higher.

Enhancing the ZS EV Excite’s value message even further is that the entry-level Hyundai Kona Electric Elite Standard Range is priced from around $57,500 drive away, a full $12,500 more than the ZS EV. It offers a comparable range to the ZS EV and it can charge at up to 100kW – or twice the speed of the ZS EV – but is it $12,500 more car? Not in our opinion.

Performance & Range: 8/10

Under the bonnet of the 2023 MG ZS EV Excite is a 130kW/280Nm electric motor that drives the front wheels, which is fed by a 50.3kWh lithium ion battery pack mounted underneath the floor. The battery can be charged from 0 to 80 per cent in as little as 54 minutes using a 50kW DC charger – though only 50kW is as fast as it will charge – and it can also be charged up to 11kW using an AC charger too, but that takes around five hours in total.

The WLTP claimed range of the 2023 MG ZS EV Excite is 320km, which is more than other electric cars costing far more money such as the Mini Cooper SE and Mazda MX-30. MG claims that the ZS EV will use 17.3kWh/100km and we achieved 17.8kWh/100km, which is close to the claim and will be good for a 290km range – more than plenty enough for most Australians.

The ZS EV’s claimed 0-100km/h time is 8.2 seconds and while this isn’t a performance car fast, it is more than brisk enough in the real world and more than enough punch for most people as well. Helping this is that the 2022 MG ZS EV has a tare mass of only 1,570kg – 275kg more than the petrol ZS T yes, but it’s also reasonable given a Hyundai Kona Electric Elite Standard Range weighs 35kg less – but it’s a smaller car, it also has a smaller battery and it makes less power.

The ZS EV’s mechanical package is a big improvement on the pre-updated model, which featured a smaller 44.5kWh battery pack for a WLTP-rated range of 262km – almost 60km less than the facelifted car. Its electric motor also pumped out less power at 105kW, though it made more torque at 353Nm. The lower peak torque has made the updated model smoother to drive and it puts its performance down better than before as well, with almost no torque steer.

Ride & Handling: 7.5/10

Along with the exterior and interior, MG has also refined and retuned the ZS EV’s ride and handling characteristics and like every other element of the car, there’s been definite improvement. Firstly, the ride has been better tuned this time around with more compliance and better body control than before. It can be a touch firm but there’s much less pogo stick action than before. It’s not a bad handler either, with a nimble feel to the chassis that’s aided by quick steering, though the steering itself feels a bit lifeless.

The ZS EV has three driving modes – eco, normal and sport – to enhance (or not) range, while there are a three levels of braking regeneration to help recoup energy, though no ‘i-Pedal’ like one-pedal mode. The road noise levels have also been improved compared with the pre-facelifted ZS EV and it’s generally quite a quiet car to drive, which is great. MG’s suite of ‘MG Pilot’ active safety kit is generally good, though certain elements like the lane keeping assistance could be more refined and intuitive to the driver.

Interior & Practicality: 8/10

While it’s not the best quality cabin on the market, the interior of the 2023 MG ZS EV Excite has markedly improved compared with the pre-updated model. For starters, there’s a lot more technology with new software for the touchscreen as well as a new digital driver’s display. The company has also revised the trims with a new tartan cloth upholstery, while it’s also added new USB-C ports and even rear air vents. The quality inside the ZS EV is fine too, with a soft touch dashboard, faux leather on the centre console and doors and harder wearing materials used on the doors.

Storage inside the ZS EV Excite is positive, with big cupholders with a cover in the centre console, a reasonable box underneath the centre arm rest, a tray ahead of the shifter (which is a wireless charger in the top-spec Essence) and big door bins as well. The driving position is solid as well, though the driver’s seat is a bit high and the steering wheel doesn’t telescopically adjust either – we think adding more adjustment would make the ZS EV more comfortable. Thankfully, its visibility is excellent.

Centre of the ZS EV’s dashboard is a 10.1-inch touchscreen with a new infotainment software that doesn’t feature on any other MG product in Australia yet. While it’s not perfect, it’s far better than the old MG system that’s still used in the ZS and HS as it’s far more intuitive to use and the screen quality is better as well. It features wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as inbuilt satellite navigation and digital radio, while the four-speaker sound system sounds a lot better than you’d expect as well.

There’s also a new digital driver’s display in the ZS EV, which has good screen quality and really adds a level of richness to the overall cabin look. Importantly too, it’s easy to gauge information like battery level, regeneration braking level and items like the trip computer. Unfortunately, like the centre screen, it automatically dims when the headlights are turned on, so if you drive with your lights on during the day or when it’s raining, even the brightest setting still makes it difficult to see.

The rear seat of the 2023 MG ZS EV is surprisingly roomy for its size, and two six-footers will fit with no problem at all. There are rear air vents, a USB-A and USB-C charging port and rear door pockets but no map pockets, centre arm rest with cupholders or even a third headrest. The rear seat has two outer ISOFIX points and three tether points for child seats.

Opening up the boot to the ZS EV reveals 359-litres of cargo space, which appears larger in person. Fold down the rear seats and this opens up to a more respectable 1,187L. In comparison, the Atto 3 can hold 440L/1,340L of cargo, though a Kona’s is smaller at 332L. Under the boot floor is space to hide the charging cable, a tyre inflation kit, warning triangle and more storage to hide small items, while the boot floor has two levels of position for extra practicality.

Service & Warranty: 9/10

Like other MG products, the 2023 MG ZS EV Excite comes with a seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, which is more comprehensive than the six-year warranty BYD offers on the Atto 3. The battery pack is also covered for seven years/unlimited km. Seven years of roadside assistance also comes with the ZS EV.

Servicing only has to be carried out every 24 months or 20,000km and the cost to service the ZS EV over the span of six years or 60,000km is just $1,343 for an average service cost of $477.66 (or $223.83 per year) per 24 months. A BYD Atto 3 needs to be serviced every 12 months or 20,000km and will cost $1,754 over the span of five years/120,000km.

2022 MG ZS EV Excite DiscoverAuto Rating: 8.2/10

Based on its price alone, the 2023 MG ZS EV Excite is a car that will invite more buyers into electric vehicles, which has the potential to reduce emissions greatly. Yep, it’s not the first electric vehicle, nor is it the best but we do think the ZS EV has a place in the Australian market. It is cheap to buy, very cheap to own, is a great size, drives well and has a great warranty as well. It’s also a big improvement on the model it replaces, which makes it even better value for money, and makes you further question more expensive electric cars from mainstream brands like Hyundai.

Of course, it isn’t perfect – the Excite variant misses out on some safety kit like blind-spot monitoring, its peak 50kW charging speed isn’t fast and there are little annoyances like a lack of telescoping steering wheel adjustment. But these are small issues in the ZS EV Excite’s overall picture, and as a whole, we think it’s a good offering that proves that a lower budget doesn’t have to result in an inferior product.