2019 (19) MG ZS 1.5 VTi-TECH Exclusive 5dr

By Jonathan Crouch

Introduction

MG Founder Cecil Kimber wanted to make cars that would be, in his words, 'affordable and fun to drive'. Well, this ZS model is a small SUV that claims to tick both those boxes while offering class-leading interior space and exceptional value for money. It all sounds promising and should deliver what ought to be the company's most credible contender yet.

History

You probably won't associate the MG brand with SUVs, but that's what this Chinese-owned maker had begun to concentrate on by the end of this century's second decade. This was their most important one, the supermini-sized ZS. In first generation form (sold between 2017 and 2025) it was one of the most affordable models of this kind, but despite that you might not have considered it as a potential used buy. We're here to decide whether you should. Prior to 2017, the ZS badge had been used before on an MG - in 2001 when it designated a sportier version of the Rover 45 saloon that sold until the wind-up of the MG Rover business in 2005. Fortunately, this new-era MG ZS was nothing like that and it was made by a manufacturer that had very little in common with the way the company was back then. SAIC, the 'Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation', bought the remains of Rover and the MG brand in 2007 in a deal that included use of the once-great Longbridge factory in Birmingham. To begin with, SAIC used this plant to screw together models together from parts shipped over from China, thus imbuing them with a token level of 'Britishness'. By 2017, the brand had long since given up bothering with that. Like its only slightly larger SUV stablemate of the period, the GS (later replaced by the HS), this XS model was made and assembled in Shanghai - but that still didn't make it a completely Chinese product. MG claimed that the version of the car we got here had been re-engineered specifically for a UK audience and developed for optimal ride and handling on our appalling roads. What was certainly clear was that this ZS had one of the most spacious interiors in its class, offered the most comprehensive warranty from new and could be had at a price that saved original customers thousands over obvious rivals. This model was tasked with lowering the average age of MG buyers in this country - which back in 2017 was rather high at 45. And it sold well, shifting 102,000 examples to British buyers by late 2024, with a facelift along the way in 2020. The full-EV version, introduced in 2019 with a 44kWh battery and updated with a 51kWh battery in 2021, helped with these numbers - we've covered that car in a separate review. As part of the 2021 EV update, MG also introduced the option of a larger 72kWh Long Range version to sell alongside the standard model. That EV carried on for a year after the demise of the ZS combustion model in Autumn 2024 (when it was replaced by a MK2 model).

What You Get

This MK1 ZS model aimed to showcase the future design direction for MG, expressing what the brand called an 'Emotional Dynamism' that was due to feature across all forthcoming models. The front end was certainly easier on the eye than was the case with the angled snout of MG's slightly larger compact SUV offering of this period, the GS. This smaller model got a proper conventional grille, with a chrome frame extending into headlights incorporating no fewer than 23 LEDs. In short, it all looked smart enough. But in the past with MG models of the Chinese era, it had been cabin quality that had let the side down. This ZS had to improve on that showing and to some extent succeeded. This was an interior that, at last in an MG, needed no major apologies. Part of that was down to more cohesive 'Europeanised' design. And part of it related to the fact that the Chinese bean counters here seemed to finally be getting the idea that it didn't do to try and make production cost savings in an area so crucial to the day-to-day experience of automotive ownership. Hence, for example, the carbon fibre-style trimming around the centre stack; the soft-touch coating for the upper dash top; the stylised 'jet'-style corner air vents; and the supple faux- leather that trims the steering wheel and gear knob. Talking of leather, you probably wouldn't expect to get it trimming the upholstery within the average budget assigned to a car of this kind, but that was a standard feature on the top 'Exclusive' ZS variant. As was quite a lot else, including a navigation system for the 8-inch centre-dash display. And the rear seat? Well with small crossovers, it's usually in this part of the car that you're reminded of their supermini origins. Not in this case. In fact MG claimed that the kind of room on offer in the rear of a ZS was much more comparable with the kind of space you'd have got from a Qashqai-class family hatch-based SUV from the next class up - and there was some truth in that. Out back in both combustion and EV models, there was a reasonably-sized 448-litre boot. Fold forward the 60:40-split rear bench and the capacity figure rises to 1,100-litres.

What to Look For

We've come across various things to look out for. There are plenty of reports of electrical glitches, with warning lights illuminating on the dashboard and intermittent problems with power windows and door locks. We've also heard of issues with the infotainment screen freezing, unresponsive touch-sensitive controls and audio failures. Some owners have reported engine over-heating issues and potential head gasket failures. And we've heard of suspension issues. Plus of issues with the bodywork and the brakes. With the EV version, some owners have experienced problems with battery range, especially in cold weather. And there have been various charging glitches, so give any car you look at a full charging cycle. Otherwise, it's just the usual things; look out for stone chips and alloy wheel scratches. And insist on a fully stamped-up service history. The drive battery should have quite a bit of life in it, unless you happen to be looking at one of the very earliest '17-plate versions. When the battery is on its way out, you'll obviously find that it won't go as far on each charge - and when it starts to run low on charge, you'll find that the car will particularly start to struggle going uphill. When it gets old, the lithium-ion battery used here can suffer from the ionised liquid in the battery freezing certain cells; those cells are then unable to receive charge. Before going to all that trouble though, make sure the issue really is the battery. If the car won't charge, it could be a problem with your home electrics (or those at the public charge point you're using). Check the charge light to make sure that electricity really is going through the charge port. And make sure there really is charge in the socket you're using to power from - plug something else into it to see - say, your 'phone. If that charges OK, it could be that your charging cable is demanding too much power, so try another power source. Another problem could be that the circuit may have tripped due to a circuit overload. Or perhaps there could be a problem with the charge cable: this needs to be cared for properly. Repeatedly driving over it (as previous owners may conceivably have done) will damage it eventually. Make sure you do a charge-up before signing for the car you're looking at. When you do this, make sure that when you plug in to start the charge cycle you hear the charge port and the cable locking and engaging as they should; that's all part of the charger basically confirming with the car's onboard computer that everything's good to go before releasing power. But if the charging cable fails to lock as it should, then that won't happen. If there is a failure to lock, the issue could be actuator failure, caused by a blown fuse.

Replacement Parts

[MG ZS EV - ukmgparts.com - ex-VAT] MG parts prices are pretty affordable but you'll probably need to source them through an MG dealer. This being an EV, you'll save on a lot of the usual service items - you obviously won't need things like an oil filter and so on. And the brake pads will last a lot longer - possibly the life of the car. Expect to pay around £138 for a set of front brake pads and around £108 for a front brake disc. Expect to pay around £107 for a set of rear brake pads and around £61 for a front brake disc. It's around £40 for a set of wiper blades.

On the Road

MG went to some trouble to engineer the ride and handling for the UK market and the effort paid off, making this ZS one of the more engaging cars in this segment to drive. You'll certainly feel bumps and sharper undulations, but they're not as unsettling to this car as they would be to many of its rivals. Body roll through the bends is kept in reasonable check, unless you really start to push it - but then at that point, the ESP stability control system quite abruptly intervenes to spoil the fun anyway. The decently responsive steering helps too, with most models getting a three-mode system offering a super-light 'Urban' setting and a 'Dynamic' option that artificially weights things up to aid more enthusiastic progress. You'll be wanting to know about engines: for mainstream buyers there are two, both petrol-powered and only offered in a form driving through the front wheels. The most affordable option is a normally aspirated 1.5-litre four cylinder unit developing 106PS and mated to a five-speed manual gearbox. This manages 49.6mpg on the combined cycle and 129g/km of CO2. Alternatively, if you want a little more pulling power, there's the option of a 1.0-litre three cylinder turbo petrol unit, which develops 111PS and could only be had with a sprint-sapping automatic gearbox. What about the all-electric ZS EV? Well that car campaigned initially with a rather feeble, 44kWh battery, which only took the car 163 miles. It's best to try and stretch to one of the post-facelift ZS EV models which arrived in 2021. As part of this update, the standard battery was boosted to 51kWh in size, which can take you up to 198 miles. Plus buyers were also offered the option of a 72kWh Long Range battery, which could take this car up to 273 miles. At the wheel of a ZS EV, instead of the usual gear stick, you select drive from a Rotary Gear Selector, which allows you to switch between three settings for the single-speed auto transmission - Drive, Neutral and Reverse. In front of this is a further control that allows you to switch between three levels of brake energy recovery (or turn the recovery system off). There's 154bhp of power and the 62mph benchmark is dispatched in just 8.2s, though there's a rather limited top speed of 108mph. To match that quoted sprint time, you'll need to have engaged the most urgent of the three provided drive modes - 'Sport'; the other two are 'Normal' and 'Eco', the latter giving you a very restricted level of throttle feel, though it'll be fine in town. What else? Will a ZS go off road? Well it'll certainly handle a dry unsurfaced track, but the lack of all-wheel traction and the relatively modest ground clearance mean that we'd advise against attempting anything more ambitious than that. Like its class contemporaries, this car's more at home in the urban jungle.

Overall

This MK1 ZS was evidence of MG's growing confidence as a car marker. And of the evolution of the brand. In its Chinese-owned era, the company started with a product customers largely didn't want - the MG6 family hatch - then progressed through one that was at least more relevant - the MG3 supermini - to one that properly fitted in with market trends - the GS mid-sized SUV. By the time of this ZS though, they'd progressed as far as offering one that was truly class-competitive. In fact, there are plenty of things about this MG that you might conceivably prefer to some rivals. Were we to be shopping in this segment, we'd certainly be impressed by the class-leading levels of interior space. And we'd value the high standards of equipment you get for the money. And in summary? Well is this the best car in the sector from its period? No. Is it the best really affordable model in the class from its time? Almost certainly, yes. For MG, that represented a significant achievement.