Car News

The cheapest electric vehicle in Australia launches

Flip the MG badge to charge up the new ZS EV.

MG has launched the country’s most affordable electric vehicle, priced at $43,990 driveaway.

That’s a discount on the traditional entry-point electric cars, the Nissan Leaf ($49,990) and Hyundai Ioniq Electric ($48,970) which both also add on-road costs. Furthermore, as an SUV, the MG ZS competes with the likes of the Hyundai Kona Electric priced at $60k, representing a significant discount on any EVs near it.

But there is a caveat when comparing to the Kona Electric as it has around 200km greater driving range from a single charge of the lithium-ion battery pack.

The MG ZS EV lands with a 44.5kWh battery, good for a claimed 263km driving from a full charge. Charging comes via a normal house plug or wall box installed at home (about seven hours to a full charge) or fast-charging up to 50kW DC at a public station and neatly performed by flipping the MG badge on its nose upwards. At 50kW, the battery goes from empty to 80 per cent capacity in 40 minutes.

In any case, like all EVs currently on the market and based on petrol or diesel equivalent models, the ZS costs about twice as much as the petrol-driven model. But it does give consumers a new price point to electric vehicle living. If you wonder what that might be like, check out our Living with the Nissan Leaf segment.

Underneath the metalwork of the ZS is a single electric motor driving the front wheels, delivering 105kW of power and 353Nm of torque. The MG ZS EV comes with equipment such as leather interior trim and an 8.0-inch infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Our full review will be available soon, so be sure to tune back in.


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Alex Rae

Alex Rae