KONA ELECTRIC v ZS EV
The Kona Electric and the MG ZS EV were the first long-range electric cars in the country. How do they stack up against each other?
Two exciting electric crossovers go head-to-head! Which one should you put your money on?
EEVERY PETROLHEAD GOES THROUGH THE mandatory anti-electric-car phase. It’s almost like a rite of passage. After years of celebrating the internal combustion engine and the joy it brings us, we’re conditioned to hate anything that threatens its existence. And the electric drivetrain does exactly that. Advances in battery technology, throttling regulation (pun intended) and a growing charging infrastructure are making EVs more and more viable every day, threatening to consign the ICE to the history books. Hotblooded petrolheads don’t waste a chance to let their disdain for electrics be known — fuelled by the fallacious opinions they find online, no doubt. And then they drive a modern EV, and more often than not, stick a foot in their mouth. I plead guilty too! For the longest time I held rather strong opinions, based on other people’s rather strong opinions. The first time I drove a properly well-engineered EV was in Germany — an e-Golf, and it was a revelation! The derestricted Autobahn was probably not the best place to drive one and I was paying more attention to not getting rear-ended by Porsches blasting past at 300kmph than what the car was actually doing. But I knew they were on to something there. Fast forward a couple of years, and I’m holding the keys to two proper long-range EVs. India may be a few years behind Europe when it comes to electric mobility, but that hasn’t stopped carmakers from giving us a taste of what they are like. The Hyundai Kona Electric was the first to be launched, followed quickly by the MG ZS EV — they’re clearly trying to ride the wave of popularity that SUVs are on. But do they really need to?
This is a significant test for evo India — the first ever electric car comparison test! And the goalposts haven’t just moved, they’ve morphed into a basketball ring. Refinement, power and torque curves, gear ratios and shift quality — elements of the driving experience that were so crucial to deciding a winner, don’t even warrant a mention. Both these cars are deathly silent, can deploy peak torque in an instant, have a single-speed transmission and the only power that needs talking about is how much more your electricity bill will be. Kitna deti hai has been replaced by kitna kilometre chalegi, generally followed by a raised eyebrow when you tell the nosey parker how many. So while a lot of traditional cartesting lingo is going to be retired for the duration of this story, I’m going to have to introduce new ones as well.
Let’s start with the battery, which is the heart of it all. Both these cars have floor-mounted battery packs — a 39.2kWh one on the Kona Electric, 44.5kWh on the ZS EV that remains the same despite the 2021 update. And the battery has a direct correlation to range. Don’t go by the claimed figures — manufacturers are taking full advantage of the ARAI’s archaic testing cycle where cars don’t even exceed 50kmph with the air-con switched off at that! The Kona Electric’s brochure may quote a mighty impressive 452km but a realistic figure is 290km on a full charge (305km on the WLTP cycle). Meanwhile, the bigger battery gives the ZS a range of around 330km on the 2020 model (though it manages only 263km on the WLTP cycle). MG claims this has increased with the 2021 model, with 419km on the ARAI cycle. Now there’s no denying range anxiety is a thing. When it dips below 50km, alarm bells go off in your head but I’m certain the discomfort will ease the longer you own the car, and the more times you make it home safely with cardiac arrest-inducing low range. But even if you have a 40km daily commute, that is a situation you would find yourself in just once a week IF you aren’t topping up at home every day. And when you actually get down to it, the Kona takes little over 6 hours for a full charge on the charging box Hyundai supplies with the car, and under an hour if you’re using a DC fast charger. Meanwhile, the ZS claims 6-8 hours and 50 minutes on a fast charger.
Torque is measured much like it would be on a regular car, but the way it is delivered is rather different. The acceleration is instant and fairly savage for such unassuming-looking cars. The different modes do dull or sharpen responses in both cars — Sport being the most aggressive with torque, while Eco dials things back and reduces top speed. The Kona also has an Eco Plus mode that turns off the climate control and preserves every ounce of range.
A LOT OF TRADITIONAL CAR TESTING LINGO IS GOING TO BE RETIRED FOR THIS STORY AND I’M GOING TO INTRODUCE NEW ONES
Electric vehicles are notorious for being straight-line heroes, so we did the obligatory drag race. The ZS won every time (swapped lanes, drivers, and accounted for every possible variable) with a 0-100kmph time of 8.04sec, compared to the Kona’s 8.64sec. I found this surprising since the ZS, while having a larger battery, makes less torque. 353Nm to the Kona’s 395Nm. One explanation is that the Kona couldn’t deploy its torque effectively — the TC cut in, or when switched off the front tyres spun up super-aggressively, so you could put that down to low rolling resistance tyres.
One of the biggest criticisms of EVs are that they are one-trick ponies. They can accelerate brutally, but don’t thrill in any other way. I think that’s a blinkered way of looking at cars. Not every car has to pull 1 G in corners, and these electric cars go about doing what they are designed to do — taking you from one place to another — extremely competently. In fact, it is actually soothing to drive around the chaos of our streets in utter silence. I found the Kona an easier car to drive around town with its lighter controls, dartier nature and smaller footprint. The ZS is similarly easy to drive around, but I would much rather have the Kona on a commute.
Should the roads around you be in a sorry state, you’re likely to prefer the ZS EV. It has a far more composed ride over bad roads, feeling more robust and capable and the 2021 spec has larger wheels and a higher ground clearance of 205mm. The Kona Electric’s suspension is set up on the stiffer side and it thuds over bad patches of tarmac, the sensation accentuated by the lack of an engine to drown out these sounds. The ZS has damping that is more sophisticated and doesn’t feel unsettled by poor tarmac. Should you come across a bad patch, you can carry more speed, less of the harshness is transferred into the cabin and up to your backside. The ZS is more SUV-like, if you may.
A contentious bit about EVs is the styling. The lack of an engine, with the fact that the motors can be placed at the wheel hubs or on the axles frees up a lot of room for designers. But that isn’t the case with these two — both the Kona and the ZS have ICE-engined versions that are sold internationally and that restricts their form. There’s no frunk — pop the hood, and you’ll see a motor where the engine used to sit. In terms of their shape too, it’s all pretty conventional. The Kona grabs more eyeballs with the evident lack of a grille and the split headlamps up front. The MG is more conventional and even though the grille doesn’t open up in to anything, the combination of chrome and black plastic make it look like it does. It has a more SUV-like stance as well, while the Kona looks more like a hatchback with cladding slapped on to it. You decide what design works best, but one thing is certain, green plates draw attention.
Something I haven’t touched upon yet is the cabin and quality around it. And this a mixed bag. In terms of out outright quality and the way things feel, the ZS feels better. The Hyundai’s interiors don’t have the same quality to them and does not feel up to the mark at the price it is. What I don’t like about the MG is how unintuitive
THE KONA GRABS MORE EYEBALLS WITH THE EVIDENT LACK OF A GRILLE AND THE SPLIT HEADLAMPS
YOU DECIDE WHAT DESIGN WORKS BEST, BUT ONE THING IS CERTAIN, GREEN PLATES DRAW ATTENTION
it is. The buttons to change the regen settings, the drive modes and battery aren’t very intuitive. The displays are harder to read as well — the icons are tiny and you’ve really got to look hard to register what they are saying. Meanwhile, the paddles on the Kona are far more intuitive to change the regen settings, the drive mode button is simple to use and the displays are clearer. The lighter colour dash of the Hyundai does give it a feeling of being airier. It is worth noting that the MG comes with an in-built e-sim and connected car features (the Kona doesn’t) and it gets the irritating Internet Inside badging like on the Hector. It also gets badging that says ‘electric’ on the sides, in a font size that is 30 points too large. Subtlety is clearly lost on them. If I do have one criticism common to both these cars, it is that the panel that opens up to the charging port feels flimsy.
Finally, prices. The MG ZS EV start at `20.9 lakh (`24.1 for the full-loaded variant) exshowroom, while the Kona EV costs `23.75 lakh. It sounds very pricey but do the math (see the sidebar) and in the long run they make a good business case for themselves. When it comes down to it, the ZS does seem to be the better car overall. It rides better, feels more comfortable and the quality of the interiors feels a step above the Hyundai’s. If you’re willing to live without features like a sunroof and connected car features, you can get the ZS for a fair bit less than the Kona as well and — more to the point — MG seem more committed to the EV space. For instance you can now drive down from Pune to Goa in a ZS EV with an extended coffee break at MG’s Kolhapur dealership to use their fast charger to top up the range. These cars aren’t really pitched as your only car but, if you are of the adventurous type, MG’s push towards expanding infrastructure along with fast chargers at all their dealerships and guaranteed back-up assistance should you run out of charge does make it that much more attractive a proposition. Whatever you pick, though, both make for incredible city cars — quiet, comfortable and cheap to run. Don’t believe me? Drive one. It’ll open your eyes to a whole new side of motoring. ⌧