MG ZS Petrol or Hybrid

finbaar

born_again said:

injectionday said:

Hi, I'm looking to buy a new car and am very interested in MG ZS especially because of the lower prices compared to other options.

I'm unsure whether it may be worth going for the hybrid rather than the petrol manual version. The price difference is about £2k.  I've never driven an automatic before and I'm concerned about the life of the battery being 8-10 years before it needs replacing.  I got my current car new and have kept it for 12 years and would want to do the same with my next car.

I drive around 8,000 a year. Mainly around town with some longer motorway drives about every 6 weeks. My main concern is they the car is reliable and value for money rather than how it looks.

Go for the full EV.
MG offer lifetime warranty on their batteries.

If you can charge at home.

I've reread the OPs question and they definitely didn't ask about the EV ZS.

finbaar

injectionday said:

Hi, I'm looking to buy a new car and am very interested in MG ZS especially because of the lower prices compared to other options.

I'm unsure whether it may be worth going for the hybrid rather than the petrol manual version. The price difference is about £2k.  I've never driven an automatic before and I'm concerned about the life of the battery being 8-10 years before it needs replacing.  I got my current car new and have kept it for 12 years and would want to do the same with my next car.

I drive around 8,000 a year. Mainly around town with some longer motorway drives about every 6 weeks. My main concern is they the car is reliable and value for money rather than how it looks.

Have a prolonged drive in both versions. Both cars will be reliable enough and last long enough to do the job you want, it's really down to if you want to spend a bit more upfront for the lower running costs. The automatic gearbox needs a proper test to see how you get on with it. Also be aware that all of the climate controls are accessed via a touch screen, there are no "physical controls". Personally that would annoy me but you need to try it. Particularly try adjusting all the controls as you drive along.

born_again

finbaar said:

born_again said:

injectionday said:

Hi, I'm looking to buy a new car and am very interested in MG ZS especially because of the lower prices compared to other options.

I'm unsure whether it may be worth going for the hybrid rather than the petrol manual version. The price difference is about £2k.  I've never driven an automatic before and I'm concerned about the life of the battery being 8-10 years before it needs replacing.  I got my current car new and have kept it for 12 years and would want to do the same with my next car.

I drive around 8,000 a year. Mainly around town with some longer motorway drives about every 6 weeks. My main concern is they the car is reliable and value for money rather than how it looks.

Go for the full EV.
MG offer lifetime warranty on their batteries.

If you can charge at home.

I've reread the OPs question and they definitely didn't ask about the EV ZS.

I know they didn't. 👍
Just throwing it as a idea, as OP was worried about battery life & EV's have a lifetime warranty now.

Also a EV would be far cheaper to run if OP can charge at home. As this is MSE😜 
But that is for OP to decide.

flaneurs_lobster

born_again said:

Just throwing it as a idea, as OP was worried about battery life & EV's have a lifetime warranty now.

Can't find details (or anything at all) about that lifetime warranty on the MG website (mg.co.uk). Can you provide a source please?

born_again

It was in many news reports. Below being one.


https://fortune.com/europe/2024/07/29/mgs-lifetime-battery-warranty-isnt-the-holy-grail-for-boosting-ev-ownership-yet-byd-thailand-china/

Even Dave Takes It On had a u tube on it... Won't link to that as he does drone on a lot..

Although it seems to have been a bit misreported, as it seems to relate to China/Thailand....  🤦‍♀️Just love the media for getting stuff wrong or missing the important bit 🤬

Although you would still get a 8 year warranty on the battery. Still far more than any engine. 👍

Goudy

WellKnownSid said:

flaneurs_lobster said:

How true is it that hybrids are inherently far more complicated than their equivalent petrol-only models and are therefore more prone to breakdowns and/or faults?

Generally untrue.  Ish.

'Strong' hybrids that don't plug in tend to use simpler, older or under-run engines because they can - they don't need to produce as much power, may lack variable valve timing, water pumps etc so a simpler timing train - they also won't have conventional starter motors, alternators, etc probably no turbo and simpler emissions control because of how they're run.  The gearboxes also tend to be simpler - a very simple CVT or a few cogs and actuators - fewer 'speeds', no reverse gear, that sort of thing.

Plug-in hybrids are a bit of an odd one.  They quite often have all of the parts needed for a full-fat EV just quarter to half the battery size.  Plus they have an engine and gearbox which may be just as complicated a setup as the ICE car.  They seem to be a solution looking for a problem ("I cover 36 miles commuting during the week and then do a 900 mile road trip every weekend").  Judging by the number of factory-wrapped charging cables you see in the boot of PHEVs on Auto Trader, one can only assume that they make really poor EVs.

Sort of right except most self generating hybrids will have the ability to alter their valve timings.
Most will run their ICE in a more efficient Atkinson cycle (or maybe even a Miller cycle) instead of an Otto cycle.

They alter the normal valve timings (closing the intake valve later on the compression stroke) to achieve this Atkinson cycle so it means they get more out of the expansion stoke at the cost of torque, which due to the electric part of the engine it no longer needs.

The extent of this late closing of the intake valves will depend on the load on the engine, hence they tend to be variable to some extent.

Plus it's not running as often and some of the time when it is running, it's not powering the wheels but the battery.

This generally means the ICE engine is less stressed.
They are more thermally efficient and there is far less pumping losses than an Otto cycle engine.


As for the traction batteries.
They are far smaller and cost less.
They also generally only utilise a proportion of it, ie won't charge 100% and won't discharge anywhere close to 100% which helps the battery life.

They don't really need to full charge/discharge like an EV would as they are in a state of constant charge/discharge just by being connected to the ICE and generator.

The old NiMH battery in the old Toyota Prius last around 150k plus before they start to give problems.
Li-ion batteries in newer hybrids should last even longer.


I believe MG3 and ZS hybrid+ use a 3 speed gearbox. I think it's a torque converter.
It does tend to drone at motorway speeds and I think it needs a rather expensive service after 4 years.
I hear dealers are quoting around a thousand pounds for it. 

flaneurs_lobster

Goudy said:

......I think it needs a rather expensive service after 4 years.

I hear dealers are quoting around a thousand pounds for it. 

Strangely, this isn't mentioned anywhere amongst the marketing puff on the MG website....

Goudy

You can run a service plan price here
еQuote

I used a reg number from a MG ZS Hybrid+ from an online review of the car.