How is the quality and layout?

Like most recent MGs, the ZS’ interior lacks a sense of flair or style. It’s become a hallmark characteristic of the brand, which is a shame given the overall quality of the products. The ZS’ cabin has a no-nonsense tone with its single-colour palette, broken only by the gratuitously large, quite German-like gear lever on the centre console. The small SUV market isn’t brimming with funky interior styles, but even when compared to rivals like the T-Cross or even the cheaper Dacia Duster, the ZS’ appears eminently drab.  

Overall interior quality is okay but not impressive. Beneath a veneer of sleek style, the front section of the cabin feels quite cheap and plasticky, though it’s ultimately forgivable when you consider the price point of the car. 

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Here’s what our Head of Automotive Testing Alan Taylor Jones had to say: 

‘The ZS’s layout is similar to the MG3, although there are a few touches that make it feel plusher. There is more soft touch plastic and fabric covering the doors and dash, plus a large boat-throttle style gear lever that feels excessive. It doesn’t feel as solidly built as a Skoda Kamiq, but it’s certainly better than I’d expect for the money.’

Infotainment and tech

The ZS comes with a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment display as standard plus a 7-inch digital cluster screen for the driver. As with many Chinese EVs, the layout of the digital cluster lacks organisation. The display relays a fair amount of data back to you but it all appears to be thrown together without much cohesion. 

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The infotainment screen is easier to navigate through via the large digital buttons on the right-hand side, even if the software isn’t the fastest. A few extra physical buttons would’ve been welcome to control the climate, but as far as display-dominated functionality goes, it’s an easy system to use on the road.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility is included as standard on all cars.

Comfort

• Reasonably comfortable seats 
• Heated in top spec 
• Nice material feel 

The seats in the ZS are plush enough in their faux-leather trim. The material is pleasant to the touch and comfortable to bed down in, while the bolstering held me in place as well as it needed to.

Heated seats are offered in Trophy trim, along with a heated steering wheel. The seats are manually adjustable as standard, but spec’ing up to the Trophy also unlocks six-way electric seat adjustment and lumbar support, so it’s really the trim to go for if you’re in need of a comfort-focussed cruiser.