Explained: How Useful Will A MG Comet EV (Wuling Air EV) Be As A Fire Rescue Vehicle?

MG Comet’s Indonesian counterpart, the Wuling Air EV’s “Fire Rescue” version gets firefighter livery and fire control equipment inside the cabin.

MG has recently launched the Comet EV in India, which is a 2-door ultra compact electric car which has a seating capacity of four people. Due to its compact dimensions, the Comet EV makes it easy to be maneuvered around city traffic and in tight spaces. A typical firefighter vehicle is quite the opposite by being large and not the easiest to squeeze into narrow areas. So, could the Comet EV be used to overcome the disadvantages of a fire department vehicle for a faster rescue response in congested areas? Well, MG’s sister brand Wuling, which sells the Comet as the Air EV in Indonesia, seems to have had the same idea and built a special fire rescue version of the ultra compact offering.

It was showcased at the recent EV show in Indonesia and you can explore it in detail here:

Modified Looks

The Comet EV is already offering a wide range of cosmetic personalisations and easily adopts a typical firefighting livery. This Wuling Air was painted red and has a “Fire Rescue” lettering front and rear with added graphic decals. It also gets flashing  lights on the top, a must for any emergency vehicle to alert the public.

Also Check Out: Here’s How You Can Customise The MG Comet EV To Your Taste

What’s Different Inside?

On the inside, the front of the tiny cabin doesn’t look that different from the base model with just a digital driver’s display and no infotainment touchscreen. But then you notice a small module just under the dash to control the lights and also a radio broadcast system, used by emergency services officers to coordinate across departments and be alerted to calls for help with a hand-held radio-mic sitting behind the drive selector.

The big change is in the back where the rear seats have been removed to accommodate firefighting essentials. This includes uniforms with the oxygen tank, a couple of full-size fire extinguishers, and a hose pipe to connect to a fire hydrant. 

Will It Serve The Purpose?

The Comet EV (Air EV) as a firefighter version may seem too small to extinguish big fires, but it will certainly have its benefits to the fire department. With such compact dimensions, the 2-door ultra compact EV will have following benefits:

• In a fire emergency, arriving on time is critical since the situation worsens with each passing second. When compared to large firefighting trucks, the Comet EV (Air EV)'s compact proportions will allow it to quickly cut through city traffic and get to the incident on time.

• There are regions and sites in a densely populated city where huge fire vehicles cannot reach without trouble; a compact electric vehicle like the Comet EV may easily handle this problem and offer faster relief until the larger vehicle can arrive.

• With the ultra compact firefighter EV, the fire department can use it to attend to smaller fires and have smaller fire stations set-up for them as first response teams. This could reduce the department’s running costs where large and heavy firefighting vehicles get deployed for every incident. 

Also Read: MG Comet EV vs Rivals: Prices Compared In Detail

Powertrain Details

Internationally, Wuling offers the Air EV with two battery pack options, a 17.3kWh battery pack with range of up to 200km, and a long-range 26.7kWh battery pack, which offers a range of up to 300km. Though Wuling hasn’t revealed which of these battery packs will be offered on the “Fire Rescue” version of the Air EV, we anticipate it will get the larger battery pack with better range.

In India, the Comet EV only comes with a 17.3kWh battery pack which offers a claimed range of 230km. It is mated to a rear-axle mounted electric motor which makes 42PS and 110Nm. Here, the urban EV is a quirky alternative to other entry-level EVs like Tata Tiago EV and Citroen eC3.

Do you also see the benefits of something like the MG Comet EV being used by emergency services in India, as an add-on support vehicle? Let us know in the comment section below. 

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