The MG ZS EV has set a new record for the maximum range travelled in an electric vehicle on one charge in India, doing 563 km. The record has been set by Autocar India with Rahul Kakar behind the wheel.
The One Charge Challenge started from MG’s showroom in Gurugram and stopped 65 km away from Udaipur. The team started off the challenge with the windows rolled up, AC switched off and the battery regeneration set to Level 1 for minimum friction. These helped to maximise the range along with minimum braking and plenty of highway routes.
Driving for a record run like this involves choosing a route with light traffic, disciplined driving, and a few adjustments to reduce power consumption – like switching off the AC and avoiding night driving – and also keeping the windows rolled up to maximise aerodynamic efficiency. The aim was to maintain speed and momentum and avoid sudden acceleration to prevent wastage of charge.
Rahul Kakar of Autocar India
When the ZS EV reached the outskirts of Ajmer, the car had covered 354 km and had 41 per cent charge left. The last of the juice in the battery dried up 65 km away from Udaipur, after covering 563 km, which is 223 km more than the ARAI-certified range of 340 km. The drive was supervised by officials from FMSCI and the India Book of Records.
MG Motor India had launched the MG ZS EV in 5 cities in January 2020 in two variants – ZS EV Excite priced at Rs 20.88 lakh and ZS EV Exclusive at Rs 23.58 lakh ex-showroom Delhi. The car received incredible response in India with 2,409 bookings. MG has stated that it will honour all the bookings by the end of 2020.
The MG EV is powered by a 44.5 kWh battery pack that drives the electric motor mounted on the front axle. The motor makes 105 kW of power and 353 Nm of instant torque and can accelerate the electric SUV from 0 to 100 km/h in just 8.5 seconds on to a top speed of 140 km/h. The battery can be charged up to 80% in 50 minutes through a 50 kW fast charger.
[Source: AutocarIndia.com]
