MG Windsor EV

The MG Windsor is a born electric vehicle that offers you premium exterior and interior styling, advanced features, loads of safety equipment, and space and practicality that can put more expensive compact SUVs to shame. With the bigger battery being introduced with new features, the entire package is now even stronger than it was before. Let’s take a look at what it’s all about.

• The MG Windsor EV has a distinctive design with its overall silhouette which has a slight resemblance to the shape of an egg.

• The illuminated MG logo on the bonnet and the connected LED DRLs look really good at night.

• Apart from the interesting silhouette, the flush-fitting door handles and 18-inch aerodynamic alloy wheels  stand out in profile.

• Base variant of the MG Windsor gets 17-inch alloy wheels with covers.

• The new Essence PRO variant of the Windsor sports a different design for the 18-inch alloys, which has a neat and classy look.

• At the rear, the Windsor appears to be cute and curvy with rounded bumpers and minimal cladding.

• I liked the connected LED tail lights, which have some really impressive detailing.

• Overall, the Windsor definitely has a design that’s fresh for the Indian market, and its road presence shines not because of its size but because of its unique design.

• In terms of colour options, there are 6 monotone shades to choose from: Celadon Blue, Turquoise Green, Aurora Silver, Pearl White, Glaze Red, and Starburst Black.

• The Glaze Red colour really stands out amongst all the other colour options.

Design & Quality

• The minimalist styling approach to the Windsor’s cabin feels premium with interesting contrasting inserts and design elements.

• The standard variants of the Windsor get black interior, while the new Pro variant sports a dual-tone black and ivory theme.

• While the new dual-tone theme looks good and makes the cabin feel even more spacious, it picks up dust and grime with ease and will require constant maintenance.

• The black interior theme is not available with the Pro variant.

• The dashboard is effectively flat and is dominated by the huge TV screen-like 15.6-inch infotainment system. There are no physical buttons as most of the features have been integrated in the screen itself.

• The sofa-like seats, and soft-touch materials on the doors and dashboard make the cabin feel premium, while extensive usage of faux wood trims and rose gold accents add to the visual appeal.

• Overall, the cabin is designed in such a way that it looks more premium than it feels to interact with it, because some of the plastics used in the centre console and door handles feel a little light.

Driving position

• With 6-way powered seats, and tilt and telescopic steering adjustment, everyone can find a comfortable driving position in the Windsor.

• The visibility is good, thanks to the short bonnet and small cut outs in the A-pillar which help reduce blind spots.

• The seats feel super comfortable in terms of cushioning, but the side contours could’ve offered better support.

Passenger comfort

• Rear seat experience is one of the biggest highlights of the MG Windsor.

• The space on offer is so generous that it is comparable to cars from a segment above.

• The seats have a 135-degree recline angle, and for utmost comfort, the front passenger seat can be reclined fully to offer you a business-class like seat at the rear.

• This gives you a chauffeur-driven experience which no other car in this price range can offer.

• Convenience features include a central armrest and rear AC vents. But the rear AC vents can only blow air in one single direction at a time.

• With big windows, the sense of space in the Windsor is great, but rear sun shades would’ve helped block some of the sun and prying eyes on the road.

• You can seat three people abreast in fair comfort, thanks to a wide cabin with adjustable headrests for all passengers and a flat floor.

Storage options

• Front door pockets can accommodate 1-litre bottles, which can also be stored in the central console. It gets three options, one for 1-litre bottles, and the other two for smaller cans or 500-ml bottles.

• The central armrest holds a big space underneath, there’s a big covered space under the central console and even the glovebox size is decent. However, no covered space is cooled.

• Even the dashboard has two cupholders, but I avoid storing any cold drinks there because they tend to get warm too quickly due to their close proximity to the windshield.

• Rear occupants get seat back pockets to store magazines or laptops, two cup holders in the central armrest and open slot underneath the rear AC vents. 

• The door pockets at the rear are only good enough for small bottles.

Features

• The MG Windsor offers a lot of modern day features, but their execution could’ve been better.

• The 15.6-inch touchscreen has bright colours and supports wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. 

• However, using the screen isn’t a smooth experience, as I faced some delays in response times, and the screen sometimes takes longer than usual to switch between menus.

• The 8.8-inch digital driver’s display looks tiny beside the main screen, but it functions as intended. Resolution is crisp and information is relayed in a clean and easy to consume manner.

• 64-colour ambient lighting helps you customise the mood of the cabin as per your preference.

• I like that the Windsor gets one-touch down for all windows. One-touch up is only available for the driver window though.

• Ventilated seats work as intended, but deserve a dedicated button for ease of access.

• The 9-speaker infinity sound system doesn’t offer the same premium experience as its peers. Quality is acceptable for regular usage, but it fails to make you feel the music like other sound systems do.

• I don’t like the fact that the controls for the glass roof, outside mirrors and ventilated seats are integrated in the main display. It takes extra steps to access them and with the screen not being highly responsive, it is inconvenient and dangerous while driving.

• Essence Pro exclusive features like vehicle-to-load (V2L) and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) let you use the car like a powerbank, where it can power appliances or charge other EVs if needed.

• Other features include 6-way power adjustable driver’s seat, ventilated front seats, powered tailgate and a wireless phone charger.

• Standard equipment includes 6 airbags, rear parking sensors, tyre pressure warning system and an electronic parking brake.

• A 360-degree camera and rear defogger are offered in the higher variants.

• The new Pro variant offers Level-2 autonomous driving assistance system (ADAS), including features like adaptive cruise control, lane departure assist, and auto emergency braking.

• Execution of the surround view camera could’ve been better. It tends to lag sometimes, with odd frame drops and glitches.

• The MG Windsor hasn’t been tested for a safety rating by any independent authority yet.

• Surprisingly, the Windsor doesn't offer a rear wiper or washer in any of its variants.

• MG claims a boot space of 604-litres for the MG Windsor’s smaller battery pack.

• Both the number and the real space on offer are impressive, as you can easily store a full set of suitcases and a couple of duffle bags.

• However, this space gets reduced when the rear seats are fully reclined. But even then there's enough space for your family's luggage.

• There's a 60:40 split in the rear seats, which fold flat with the seat base, making it easier for you to push the items inside.

• With the bigger battery pack, you get a 579-litre boot, which is still big enough to pack a family’s weekend worth of luggage with ease.

• The MG Windsor does not get any frunk.

• The top-spec Essence PRO variant comes with a powered tailgate which works with proximity, so even if you have bags in your hand, the tailgate will open if you're standing near it, and I feel that this is a very convenient feature.

• The MG Windsor gets a single 136 PS and 200 Nm electric motor, which is common between its two battery packs: 38 kWh and 52.9 kWh.

• Driving it feels like driving any other mass-market EV.

• Even if you’re a new driver, or haven’t experienced an EV before, getting comfortable behind the wheel of the Windsor won’t take you much time.

• I like how MG has tuned the performance of the Windsor, where the power delivery is instant, but it doesn’t catch you by surprise and builds speed in a linear manner.

• Bumper-to-bumper drive experience is smooth and jerk free.

• Reaching and maintaining triple digit speeds is easy, and even overtakes beyond 100kmph are swift.

• There are four driving modes to choose from: Eco+, Eco, Normal, and Sports. 

• I would recommend the Sports mode only for when there’s full load in the car and you need to make a quick overtake or are driving in hilly areas with steep inclines.

• You get three different settings for the regen modes: Light, Normal, and Heavy.

• Regen increases progressively as you go from Light to Normal, and while the Heavy regen mode isn’t a single pedal mode, it is still aggressive and drops speed rather quickly. 

• Paddle shifters for changing the regen modes would’ve made accessing and changing them much easier while driving the car.

• There is one thing that you need to be careful about, and it's the Windsor’s tyres.

• MG offers it with low rolling resistance tyres, which help in making it more efficient, i.e., increasing its range.

• But these tyres tend to loose grip very easily and any sudden acceleration can cause them to slip

Range and charging 

• You can expect a real-world range of around 260km and 360km, with the smaller (38 kWh) and bigger (52.9 kWh) battery pack, respectively.

• I would opt for the bigger battery only if I had high intercity usage, and wanted the added range and quicker 60kW charging speed.

• The small battery pack has enough range for regular city commutes and even intercity trips, provided that you have a charger at the destination.

• For a family EV, the MG Windsor’s ride quality could’ve been more comfortable.

• Regular road imperfections and small speedbreakers are dealt with easily, and even sharper bumps are fairly well absorbed.

• But over rough roads and really deep potholes, you will feel an impact inside, and the rear occupants will be more uncomfortable due to the side-to-side movement.

• I found that increasing your speed over rough roads helps improve ride comfort a little bit.

• Highway ride quality is good where the car feels stable over any sudden insulation or expansion gaps.

• But while high-speed ride comfort is good, the insulation isn’t up to the mark as you can hear a lot of road and tyre noise inside.

• MG offers the Windsor with low-friction tyres in a bid to improve range. But these tyres slip easily under low traction conditions, and you will have to be super careful when taking the car on a steep or wet incline.

• The MG Windsor is offered in five variants: Excite, Exclusive, Essence, Exclusive Pro and Essence Pro.

• The bigger 52.9 kWh battery is available with the Exclusive Pro and Essence Pro variants.

Excite

• Looks nearly similar to the top variants with full LED lighting setup, flush door handles and turn indicators on the ORVMs. Sits on 17-inch steel wheels with covers.

• Gets fabric seats and leatherette only on the driver armrest.

• Ticks all functional equipment including rear AC vents, cruise control, tilt and telescopic steering wheel, electrically adjustable ORVMs, and keyless entry.

• Packs a 10.1-inch infotainment system, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and a 6-speaker sound system.

• Safety kit gets 6 airbags, rear parking sensors, tyre pressure warning system, and an electronic parking brake as standard.

Exclusive

• Adds 18-inch alloys and chrome inserts on the windowline for a more premium look.

• Richer interior with leatherette on dashboard, door trims and seats.

• Main feature additions include 6-way power adjustable driver seat, a wireless phone charger, auto folding and fully powered outside mirrors, and central armrest for rear seats.

• Features a bigger 15.6-inch infotainment system with an 8.8-inch fully digital display for the driver.

• 360-degree camera, proper tyre pressure monitoring system and LED cornering lights are the new additions to the safety kit.

Essence

• No major change to the exterior and interior styling, but the addition of ambient lighting inside the cabin adds some visual appeal.

• Gets three feature additions - a glass roof, ventilated front seats, and a 9-speaker Infinity-tuned sound system.

• No changes in the safety kit.

Essence Pro

• Gets the bigger 52.9 kWh battery pack.

• The differently styled 18-inch alloy wheels are the only cosmetic change.

• Features a dual-tone black and ivory theme with similar inserts as the rest of the variants.

• In terms of features there are three additions - vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-load (V2L), and a powered tailgate.

• Safety kit exclusively gets level-2 autonomous driving assistance features like adaptive cruise control, lane departure assist, and auto emergency braking.

CarDekho Recommends:

• The base variant of the MG Windsor offers you more style and equipment than the mid-spec variants of some of the similarly-sized compact SUVs. As a result, it is the recommended option for people on a tight budget.

• The Exclusive variant feels the most value-for-money with a healthy list of creature comforts and elements to make the experience feel more expensive than it actually is.

• The Essence Pro variant is a discretionary buy for people who want the peace of mind that comes with additional range and higher charging capacity. Its additional asking price is justified.

Despite the slightly stiff ride quality and tech package that involves a learning curve, especially for non tech savvy people, the MG Windsor is an excellent family electric vehicle. It looks different, feels premium, packs hi-tech features and safety equipment, while offering you space and practicality of cars that are a size or two bigger. And now with the bigger battery pack, the only thing that was missing in the MG Windsor has been added.

Other cars to consider instead of the MG Windsor EV

Tata Nexon EV

Reasons to consider

• More conventional design

• Better infotainment experience

• More comfortable ride quality

Reasons to ignore

• Smaller car

• Less space in the rear

• Smaller boot space

• Not nearly as practical