A year and 12,000 km in an MG ZS EV Excite Pro. What broke, what held up, and whether we’d buy it again.
The car
2025 MG ZS EV Excite Pro, 50.3 kWh battery, claimed 461 km MIDC range. On-road Pune price at purchase: ₹26.4 lakh. Daily driver for a 4-person family. Mix: 70% city Pune, 30% highway runs to Mumbai and Nashik.
Real-world range
- City (Pune, AC on): 340–360 km on a full charge.
- Highway (100 km/h cruise): 280–300 km.
- Monsoon, AC + wipers + lights: 310 km.
- Worst day (40°C Pune summer, traffic): 295 km.
Worth ~340 km from a 461 km claim — exactly the 65–75% derating we describe in our guide to spec-sheet realities.
Charging reality
Home wall-box (7.4 kW) does 10–100% overnight (~7 hrs). DC fast charging on highway: ChargeZone 60 kW does 20–80% in 48 minutes. Tata Power 50 kW is closer to 55 minutes for the same range. We’ve used ~30 different chargers across MH/GJ; 4 were broken on arrival.
What broke
- Infotainment freezing: 3 times in year one. Soft reset fixes it. MG pushed an OTA in April that seems to have killed the bug.
- 12V battery dead: at 9,800 km. Replaced under warranty.
- Rear wiper motor: failed at 11,200 km, replaced ₹0 under warranty.
- Nothing else.
Service experience
Two annual services. ₹3,400 first service (basic, no oils because EV). ₹6,800 second (added cabin filter + brake fluid). Both at MG Wakad, Pune. No upselling. Loaner provided once.
How does it compare to a petrol equivalent on total cost?
Versus a Hyundai Creta petrol over 5 years and 75,000 km, the ZS EV wins by about ₹2.3 lakh — break-even hits at month 41. Full numbers in our EV vs petrol TCO breakdown.
Would we buy it again?
Yes — but only at the right price. The 2026 ZS EV refresh dropped prices ₹1.5 lakh and added vehicle-to-load. At ₹24 lakh on-road, it’s the most no-nonsense electric SUV under ₹25 lakh today. The Hyundai Creta Electric is newer and prettier, but ₹4 lakh more. For the rest of the SUV field across price bands, see our best electric SUVs of 2026 roundup. And if you’re wondering whether next year’s batteries will make this car feel obsolete — short answer no, longer answer in our 2026 battery tech trends piece.
Related reads
- EV vs Petrol — the honest 5-year TCO math
- How to actually read an EV spec sheet
- EV battery tech in 2026 — what’s actually changing
- Best electric SUVs in India (2026)
[This is a developing piece — full review coming June 2026. Updated as we gather more data from Indian roads.]
By the EV-Wala Editorial Team. See our methodology.