Today we have got a Mega Comparison between MG ZS, Nexon EV and XUV 400 which are all the top-selling EV SUVs coming at similar price points. So we have put Mahindra XUV 400 against its biggest contender, Tata Nexon EV Max and the third SUV is actually a bit on the expensive side but is a good contender, It is the MG ZS EV.
Today we are putting these EV SUVs against each other, and do a Mega Comparison by comparing each and every aspect like Height, space, second-row space, boot space, and sound quality, All these aspects will be compared and let you know, Which is the best choice for you at the end of the day.
So let’s start with the dynamics of each car. The most compact car here is the Nexon. While the ZS EV is the longest the XUV 400 happens to be the widest with the longest wheelbase in the segment. So having the longest distance between the front and the rear wheel of the 400. This indicates having more space in the second row than the other two. The key of XUV has the controls to lock-unlock and boot opening and gets a flip key. While the controls on the key of Nexon are Lock-unlock, headlight, and boot opening and the ZS EV has a premium-looking key with controls of Lock-unlock and boot release.
The ground clearance of the XUV 400 is 180mm and the Nexon EV max is 190mm while the ZS EV is the least at 177mm.
Talking about exterior features, All three cars are equipped with projector headlights. However, they are halogen/yellow lights on the Nexon and XUV. While on the ZS EV, they are LEDs/White colour lights. Also, Nexon EV is the only car here to offer front fog lamps. The wipers on the ZS EV and the Nexon get expensive Aerotwin blades on them. On XUV it has regular wipers, which is a cost cut. Both the XUV and Nexon come with 16-inch alloy wheels But the ZS EV gets 17 alloy wheels. However, all three cars come with disc brakes on all four wheels. Each of the cars gets roof rails that are not functional.
The boot space is the most in the XUV 400 as even after loading with, Big-medium-small bags, some space was still left to utilise. Nexon EV has the second-largest boot. Big-medium-small bags were able to load in it, with a little more space around to play with. Despite having the largest boot space on paper, The boot space of ZS EV isn’t practical, as we had to remove the parcel shelf to load the medium size bag, after loading the large and small-size bags.
The charging port on the XUV 400 is on the left side front fender. On Nexon, it is at the rear where usually the fuel tank is fitted, While on the ZS EV, it is on the front grille. The spare wheel is 16 inches on XUV 400 but having a narrow rubber, it can be only used as a spare wheel. Nexon gets a full-size steel wheel as a spare tyre. While ZS EV has a full-size alloy wheel for spare tyres.
Now let us find out which car has better interiors. XUV 400’s interior feels premium with better touch and feel of materials. In fact, the plastic quality is top-notch. The car has hard plastic on the dashboard and even on the doors. But overall the plastic quality is pretty good. The seats of the XUV are the most comfortable among the three. You will not get tired even after long journeys. The seats are wide with extra side support giving you that better side support. It does not have any unique features as such. However, it is ahead in terms of practicality. Even the knee room and headroom in the second row are better compared to ZS EV and the Nexon EV Max. The boot space is largest too and as the Nexon is the direct competitor, It has 6-Airbags, While the Nexon EV Max comes with just 2-Airbags. The interior of the Nexon EV Max feels pretty good. It feels more premium than the EV Prime. While the interiors are a mix of soft and hard-touch materials. The top of the dash and doors are of hard plastic but the lower part of the doors get leatherette materials on them. Overall it is a feature-loaded car.
Even the seats are very comfortable. Also, after offering leatherette options the cabin felt more premium, but the soft cushion of the fabric seats in the previous model, Is missing on this one. Still, these seats are nice, supportive, and comfortable as well. You get a few unique features like ventilated seats, a Wireless charging pad, an Electronic parking brake with auto hold and rear AC Vents as well.
MG ZS EV comes with the most premium-looking interiors. Almost every part of the interior is covered with a soft touch material apart from the top of the door which gets hard plastic on it. The overall fit-finish and plastic quality are of top quality and I feel this car is most tech-loaded when compared to the other two.
The front seats are wide but the comfort is just decent enough. You might come out tired after doing a long trip. We have already done a Mumbai-Delhi road trip in this car and we really got tired sitting for long on these seats. The list of the unique features of ZS EV is pretty long. It has a big-size touchscreen, 360 Camera, ADAS, Electrically Adjustable Seats, and Panoramic Sunroof and the list is pretty much long.
It gets many unique features that are not offered by the other two. Getting in and out is pretty easy in the XUV400. Be it in the rear or front, You can easily slide in and slide out of the 400. In fact, Nexon is equally comfortable getting in and out. The rear of Nexon is a bit raised comparatively but overall there is no such concern. It is quite comfortable to get in and out of the Nexon EV.
ZS EV is very easy to get in and out of at any given point in time. It is practical and convenient to get in and out. The XUV has manual adjustments for the seats. You can adjust the height and adjust the reclining angle of the seats but it is completely manual.
The same is the story with the seats of the Nexon whereas the ZS EV has electric adjustment for the seats, which is missing in Nexon and 400. The steering wheel of the XUV can be adjusted for height and not for reach. Even on the Nexon, the steering wheel can be adjusted for height but not for reach. The same is the case with the ZS EV also.
The touchscreen in XUV is a responsive unit. There is absolutely no lag and is quite easy to use. While the touchscreen quality in Nexon is decent, with some lags which are evident. Also, it is a smaller screen in the segment. ZS EV has the largest touchscreen and is quite convenient to use. Although the response could have been better however the UI is pretty good.
Reverse camera quality in XUV is the best among the three, It is pretty wide and you will have no problems in daylight or even at night but is grainy at night for sure. Reverse camera of Nexon could have been better. Adaptation to light is only an area of improvement Otherwise, it is good and you will not have any problem as such also the viewing angle is wide enough.
ZS EV comes with a 360 camera but the quality definitely needs a big major update for sure. Even in dark the quality is okayish and needs to be improved. It appears to be very noisy.
In terms of storage space, The XUV has a space to keep big one-litre bottle in the front door along with one small bottle. There are two cup holders in the center console. The glove box is big enough and 2-3 one-litre bottles can be stored. You have decent space underneath the center armrest. In the rear door, you can keep single one-litre bottle with some extra space.
Even it has twin cup holders on the arm rest of the second row. The front door of Nexon has space to keep a one litre bottle. Glove box is deep enough for two bottles to go in easily, actually, three can be stored. It does not have cup holders in the centre console, rather they are placed in the glove box.
You have decent space under the front centre armrest. The rear door has a place to keep a one-litre bottle. While there are two cup holders on the rear centre armrest.
In ZS EV, You can keep two one-litre bottles if they are not too big. Even in the glove box, you can store two bottles showing that there is a lot of storage in it. It has two cup holders in the centre console. While the front armrest has decent enough depth. On the rear door pad, one bottle is an easy fit. In terms of charging ports, The XUV 400 has a 12V and one USB charging port in front. In Nexon EV Max there is a wireless charging pad for smartphones, Along with a 12V and USB charging ports in the front and one 12V charging port at the rear.
The ZX EV has one USB, type-c, and 12V charging port in the front, along with a wireless charging pad for the smartphone. Even at the rear, it has 2-USB charging ports. For phone storage, you have a place to keep it in the XUV 400.
In Nexon EV you can keep the phone on the wireless charging pad itself. and in ZS EV too you have a place to keep the phone in front. when we performed the second-row space test, The XUV happened to be the widest with a good amount of knee room, decent thigh support, and sufficient headroom.
In the Nexon EV the width is good not the best but it is pretty good. You have a good amount of knee room. Thigh support is excellent but the headroom feels a bit tight. In the ZS EV, the overall shoulder room could have been a lot better. This is the least in the category. The knee room is ample while the thigh support is pretty good.
This was all about today’s blog on the three EV SUVs. Also, we will bring many Comparisons in the coming days.