While MG is only now starting to sell the ZS in places like Malaysia, the company is pushing ahead with a new second-generation model. The recently-revealed B-segment SUV promises to move the game on significantly in terms of technology, comfort and performance.
That may be so, but while its larger HS sibling – also now in its second generation – has been given a substantial redesign that appears to have ushered in a new era for the brand, the new ZS still seems to have been cut from the same cloth as previous MGs. In fact, the car looks almost identical to the first HS (including the F48 BMW X1-style rear end), save for the MG3‘s massive new octagonal grille.
However, the interior has been comprehensively overhauled, with a far more modern dashboard sporting trapezoidal air vents and a minimalist centre console with a flat gear selector. The in-car tech consists of a seven-inch digital instrument display and a 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen with built-in navigation, live services and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
In the UK, the ZS will come standard with a full range of driver assists. These include adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane keeping assist, rear cross traffic alert, blind spot monitoring and traffic jam assist.
For now, only the Hybrid+ model has been revealed so far, pairing a 102 PS/128 Nm 1.5 litre naturally-aspirated petrol engine with a 136 PS/250 Nm electric motor and a 1.83 kWh battery, resulting in a total system output of 196 PS and 465 Nm of torque. So equipped, the ZS will sprint from zero to 100 km/h in 8.7 seconds, all while achieving a fuel consumption figure as low as 5.1 litres per 100 km on the WLTP cycle.
Details of other variants have not been released, but Australian portal CarExpert reports that petrol variants will arrive Down Under in Australia first, followed by this Hybrid+ and a replacement for the ZS EV next year. No word on when it will make its way to Malaysia, but we reckon it’s still a ways away, given that the outgoing ZS EV has only just been launched here.
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