Affordable Electric Motoring with the New MG Electric Car

This is an advertisement feature. Please note this article was written prior to us test driving another electric vehicle. 

Like many people my age, I don't know much about driving electric cars. I've researched them a little bit but there are still so many questions I'd like to know the answer to. Can I fit an electric charging point to my garage? How many miles can I drive before I run out of battery? Am I likely to run out of battery and what happens if I do? How many charging points are there around the county? What about driving abroad?  How much money will I save by using an electric car? Are electric cars just as powerful as traditional cars? Will driving an electric car really make a difference to the environment? How long do electric cars take to charge? So many questions!

MG is launching their first-ever electric MG car this Autumn. The MG eZS is a compact family SUV which promises affordable electric motoring without compromising on style or performance. If like me, you have a billion questions about electric cars and are interested in hearing more about MG's first electric offering, you can register your interest online here.

You may remember I reviewed the MG ZS from Vic Young in South Shields earlier this year and I was really impressed with how affordable the car was (in fact I couldn't believe the price). I'm delighted that MG has revealed their first Electric MG and the MG eZS will be available to pre-order from Vic Young from 17 May. The electric version promises the same affordability (well, in fact, I think it offers even better value for money) than it's traditional counterpart.

MG Electric Car Q & A 

The lovely folk at Vic Young have answered some of my burning questions about the all-new MG eZS which is a compact SUV, with plenty of boot space and room for 5. If you're looking for cheap electric cars, you can contact Vic Young here to arrange an informal chat.

How far can you travel with one charge? 

Likely to be around 175 miles.

How powerful is the MG eZS? 

The MG eZS comes with a 148 break horsepower electric motor

How long doe the MG eZS take to charge? 

The MG eZS takes just 40 minutes to charge to 80% using rapid charge. Domestic charging with a standard 7kw domestic charger should take around 6.5 hours (recommended for overnight).

How much will the MG eZS cost? 

It's likely to be available from £25,000. Buyers may be eligible for a £2500 government grant and a range of finance deals are available.

Tell me more about the MG eZS

The MG eZS will look almost identical to its petrol counterparts. Because it is powered by electricity, all of the power is available straight away so it's a nice a nippy car for driving around town. The dashboard features a gauge to show you how many miles you have left until you need to re-charge so running out of battery is very unlikely. The Electric MG has zero emissions and is much more environmentally friendly than a petrol or diesel car. This is a big selling point for me.

Key features:

• Adaptive cruise control - automatically adjusts speed to keep a safe distance from vehicles ahead
• Traffic jam assist 
• Autonomous emergency braking 
• Lane detection warning system 
• Blind spot detection system 
• Pedestrian alert system 
• Intelligent headlight control system 
• ISOFIX connections in the rear seats

There are currently 13352 public charging points around the UK and there are lots of different websites and apps listing charging points and costs. I found Zap Map to be super helpful, especially the route planners on there and the more I look at it, the more I think that switching to an electric car wouldn't only save us so much money in fuel costs but it would actually be easier to find a charging point than I anticipated. I was delighted to see that there are 13 public electric charging points in and around my hometown of Cramlington - that's definitely more than I expected.

Tell me more about the costs involved 

• According to the Government's Go Ultra Low Campaign, a typical electric car costs 3p per mile to run compared with a conventional car which costs 12p per mile. This is a huge saving and if you travelled 12,000 miles across the year, an electric car would cost around £360 to run whereas a conventional car would cost £1440 in fuel. 

• Home charging units typically cost between £249 - £1000.

• Electric cars are tax exempt.

• The Government's Go Ultra Low Campaign states that electric cars can cost up to 70% less to service and maintain. There are no oil filters to change, no cambelts or costly items that may need replacing. 

• Electric cars can cost more to insure (I'd advise getting a few quotes before making a purchase).

• The MG eZS will be priced from £25,000 OTR and is available from Vic Young this Autumn. You can register your interest now. 

I have a bit of a confession - we didn't test drive our current car before we bought it. I just knew it was the one. With an electric car, there's no way I could take that leap of faith and I'd definitely have to take one for a test drive before committing myself. We are definitely interested though and I reckon in the next 10 years or so we'll all be driving electric cars. I am drawn to the environmental impact of electric cars and how affordable they are to run/how much money we could potentially save. Hopefully Vic Young will let me take one of their electric MGs out for a test drive when they're available and I can report back my thoughts......

What do you think? Are you interested in driving an electric car? You can contact Vic Young here to find out more and register your interest. 

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