MG Windsor review: MG's best EV yet

When JSW acquired a stake in MG Motor India, the new joint venture promised a wave of what the company calls NEVs (New Energy Vehicles), which encompass strong and plug-in hybrids and electrics, and the Windsor EV is the first of these to arrive. While everyone is talking about its innovative BaaS or Battery as a Service scheme, there’s a lot more to the Windsor that many will appreciate; the battery rental scheme isn’t for everyone. So, let’s begin with the car then.

The Windsor comes to us from the SAIC-GM-Wuling global portfolio and is sold in different markets under different brand names, for instance, the Wuling Cloud, a car we drove in Indonesia earlier this month. It is a born-EV, but curiously, it is front-wheel driven, unlike other two-wheel-drive born-EVs that are rear-driven. 

MG markets the Windsor as a CUV or Crossover Utility Vehicle, and it isn’t hard to see why. The car is an interesting cross between a hatch and an MPV. It is easy to trip up while blending two different styles, but the Windsor does it well with a very pleasing aesthetic. Being 4,295mm long, 1,850mm wide, and 1,677mm high, it is larger than the Skoda Kushaq in every way, but its size is disguised within the mono-volume silhouette. 

MG Windsor Exterior Style

The nose and bonnet have a distinct two-deck layout, and it works. The horizontal daytime running lamps strip forms the bonnet section’s base, and the headlights sit below – in the bumper. On the whole, the front end looks nice and striking. Integrated into the headlight area is a mirror-like panel that reflects images very clearly. MG has added some black trim bits bracketing the headlights, with the one inside connecting the two units and carrying the Morris Garages lettering, above which sits an illuminated MG logo.

There are plenty of trim bits that adorn the Windsor: on the sides, the wheel arches, the windows’ lower sills, rubber strips on front and rear doors, and at the edges of the wraparound tail-lights, which wrap over to the sides. Some of these, though, are limited to higher two of the three trims. The door handles are flush-type. At the top, roof rails are for aesthetics only. The Windsor has chunky five-spoke 18-inch alloys. At the rear, the LED tail-lights look sleek, and the lower bumper edge is finished off with a nice diffuser-style contrasting black panel. Topping the rear is a spoiler with an integrated stop light.

MG Windsor Interior Space and Comfort

There’s plenty of space inside, both at the front and rear. The legroom for two tall adults – around 5 foot and 8 inches in height – seated one behind the other is more than enough, and there’s good headroom, too. A third person can be accommodated at the back in the middle, but the seat contouring and narrow width means it isn’t comfy. The big party trick, however, is the reclining rear seat that goes back 135 degrees from the seat base and the front seatback that reclines enough to touch the rear seat base, making for a full lounger ride. It is very ergonomic and would make for a fantastic chauffeur-driven experience.

The seats are heavily tufted and resemble a nice expensive sofa, but they found mixed reviews from our team. While I didn’t like feeling the individual mounds, others loved it. What’s nice is that at the rear, unlike many EVs, you aren’t forced into a knees-up seating position. The front seats are also tufted and cooled, with the driver’s seat offering a 6-way power adjustment. 

The boot space is impressive, and there’s a large well below the floor. Together, the space stands at 604 litres for the lower two trims (Excite and Exclusive) and 579 litres in the top Essence trim due to a subwoofer mounted in the area below the floor. Interestingly, this space can also house a full-size spare and subwoofer. The rear seatbacks fold down in a 60:40 split to increase storage options.

There’s a lot of storage space around the cabin in the form of door pockets, cup holders and below the armrest. Moreover, there’s a larger slot below the central console with a neat shuttered lid.

MG Windsor Features

Like its siblings, the Windsor comes packed with loads of tech. The big one, quite literally so, is the 15.6-inch central touchscreen. The instrument panel is narrow and has a far smaller 8.8-inch screen, but the speed readout is legible. On the base version, the central touchscreen measures 10.1 inches, and the IP is 7 inches. 

Thankfully, the large central touchscreen doesn’t intrude into your line of sight and can be switched off while on the move. The unit is responsive to touch; the icons and fonts are easily legible, with a pleasing design to all of its customisable themes. Below that is a neat bank of HVAC control.

What’s not nice is a whole host of controls like ORVM adjustment, headlight control and drive modes that are all backed into the screen – à la Tesla – making for a frustrating experience. There is a customisable hot button on the steering wheel; via a series of toggles, you can use the steering controls to fully adjust things like the ORVMs, but using them isn’t intuitive. When the phone is connected, say Android Auto, it takes over the whole screen, so you are a few touches away from getting to the vehicle control menu.  

However, the menus have a few nice controls, such as sliders that let you adjust stuff like the opening of the sunscreen to a specific degree. Speaking of it, topping the cabin is a massive panoramic glass roof that makes for a nice, airy feel and adds to the openness that the large all-around glass area creates. Ambient lighting is present all around the dash and the classy-looking speaker grilles. The sound, courtesy of a nine-speaker (including subwoofer) Infinity system, is brilliant.

Controls such as the door handles and AC vents all operate with a nice quality feel to them and all surfaces smack of a high-quality finish. The dashboard and doors have a convincing dark wood trim and there’s a liberal use of a very classy-looking muted gold finish. The central console also has nice pinstriping and a neatly integrated wireless phone charger.  

There’s auto climate control and a full suite of connected car features, including some home-to-car functions via JioFiber and onboard Jio apps. The safety equipment roster includes three-point seat belts for all occupants, six airbags and ESC, which are standard on all variants.

MG Windsor Motor, Power and Performance

Unlike most born-EVs that are two-wheel-drive, this one has a front-drive layout. The motor makes 136hp and 200Nm of torque, putting it just below the Nexon Long Range version, whose output is 145hp and 215Nm. But the numbers don’t tell you the real story because the Windsor’s power delivery is more measured, and it misses that instant off-the-line kick many EVs have. But that’s no complaint at all because this is perfectly in character with the Windsor, which is clearly geared for a relaxed drive. Besides, as soon as you’re rolling, power delivery is strong enough and typically linear.

MG claims the Windsor takes 9.4 seconds to go from 0kph to 100, but it feels slower. We’ll know more about it soon as we test this under our standard test conditions. A little oddity is the drive selector that’s placed on the left steering wheel stalk, much like Mercedes, which has it on the right-hand stalk. So, you need to get used to it. But someone with a Mercedes and a Windsor would find this quite confusing.

The relaxed and comfort bias is also evident in the drive modes: Sport, Normal, Eco and Eco+. For everyday city driving, both Eco and Normal feel fine with the regen set to Normal mode. There are three regen levels with no one pedal mode, and all are on the lighter side; even ‘Heavy’ isn’t very much so.

At high speeds, there is a noticeable amount of road and wind noise that comes through into the cabin and the Windsor could do with some additional insulation. Ride quality is good at speeds. The Windsor does just fine over slightly broken surfaces, too. But at city speeds, over larger bumps and potholes, it has a stiff-kneed feel with the impression that it’s trying hard not to bottom out, which it doesn’t, but the thuds are prominent inside the cabin. The steering’s feel and weight are good; it isn’t linked to the drive modes but to the vehicle speed; it is light enough at low speeds and nice and firm as you go faster.

MG Windsor Battery, Range and Charging

Internationally, the Windsor has two battery options: 37.9 kWh and 50.6 kWh. For India, we get the smaller one with a claimed range of 331km on the MIDC (Modified Indian Driving Cycle). We put it through an initial mixed cycle comprising 254km with 75% highway and 25% city driving, and we saw an overall efficiency of 6.69km/kWh, which would mean a range of 254km.

The prismatic cells LFP battery can be heated and cooled to maintain optimum operation temperature and quick charging speeds. MG says that on a 7.4kW charger, 0 to 100 percent would take 6.5 hours, and on a 45kW fast charger, 0 to 80 percent would come up in 55 minutes.

The biggest talking point about the Windsor’s battery is its BaaS scheme, the details of which would be more elaborate than this entire review, but we’ll give you the highlights. While MG says you pay Rs 9.9 lakh for the base model and a rental of Rs 3.5/km, it is really a loan scheme offered by four selected finance partners. You can thus finance the whole car, including the battery, or you can pay for the car outright and then fix an EMI for the battery. Do note that the effective rate per kilometre can vary based on your credit rating.

MG Windsor Price and Verdict

The prices for the Windsor start at Rs 9.99 lakh with the BaaS scheme, and without it, they start at Rs 13.50 lakh and go up to Rs 15.50 lakh, which is still extremely competitive, undercutting other electrics in this space, such as the Tata Nexon EV and the Mahindra XUV400. What’s more, there is very little to complain about. The ride can be stiff and for some, and the tufted seats may not be appealing.

But that aside, MG has done a phenomenal job with the Windsor. The car looks neat and appealing. It is spacious; the lounge seats are certainly unique and comfy, and the feature list is large, much like the touchscreen and glass roof that are going to be a big hit with consumers. The icing on the cake is that it drives nicely, too, moving quickly enough and with a power delivery, throttle and steering calibration that’s set up for a smooth and easy-going drive. MG has clearly put a lot of effort into the Windsor, and as it stands, it’s definitely their best EV yet.

Also See:

MG Windsor video review