MG ZS EV review: interior, dashboard & infotainment

The ZS EV's interior won't blow you away with radical design or superior material quality, but it has a smart-looking dashboard and there's lots of equipment on offer for the money – including most of the connectivity and infotainment kit demanded by the typical buyer these days.

MG ZS EV dashboard

Sitting in the driving seat, it's clear where MG has saved money producing the ZS EV; there are some hard and scratchy plastics in evidence, particularly in the doors. The steering wheel also lacks reach adjustment - you can only move it up and down. All the screens and switches are laid out in simple and clear fashion, though, and overall it feels up there with most rivals for clean design and ease of use.

Equipment, options & accessories

Both the standard and long-range versions are available in two trims: SE and Trophy, with prices starting from just over £30,000 now. Standard equipment on SE-spec models includes 17-inch wheels, LED headlights, adaptive cruise control, keyless entry, vehicle-to-load charging, a 360-degree parking camera and a 10.1-inch central touchscreen.

Upgrading to Trophy trim adds about £2,500 to ZS EV’s price tag, but in return you get a panoramic sunroof, ‘leather-style’ upholstery, roof rails, heated front seats, a power-adjustable driver’s seat and wireless phone charging. For a brief time, a Trophy Connect trim level was also available which got all of the above, plus additional live services on the infotainment, including weather, traffic and Amazon Prime.

All new ZS EVs also feature a suite of driver assistance systems called ‘MG Pilot’, which includes active emergency braking with pedestrian and bicycle detection, as well as lane-keeping assistance, lane-departure warning, traffic-jam assist, an intelligent speed limiter and high-beam assist. On top of that, Trophy and Trophy Connect specs add rear cross-traffic alert and blind-spot monitoring with lane-changing assistance.

There’s no optional extras list for the ZS EV, not even a different set of alloy wheels. The only choices buyers have to make is the battery size, trim level and paint colour: white is standard, while black, blue, silver and red paint are all £500 to £700 extra.

Infotainment, apps & sat nav

The updated ZS EV features a 10.1-inch central infotainment touchscreen, regardless of which trim level you got for. It’s an improvement over the eight-inch unit in the pre-facelift model, because the menus are logical enough, and it’s sharp and bright, but It could react a bit quicker to inputs. You do get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard though.