Kia Niro EV vs MG ZS EV

The Kia Niro EV costs £1,500 more than the MG ZS EV. For that premium it adds 35 kW more power. The MG ZS EV is not just cheaper - it also offers 26 kW faster peak rapid charging. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the MG ZS EV comes out ahead overall.

The MG ZS EV is £1,500 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £176 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the MG ZS EV comes out roughly £1,420 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 194 miles for the Kia Niro EV and 199 miles for the MG ZS EV - effectively matched, and both well below their WLTP figures because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV.

The two are within 16 mm on width, so neither is meaningfully easier to thread into a tight space. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 591 mm of total clearance for the MG ZS EV and about 575 mm of total clearance for the Kia Niro EV. The Kia Niro EV also turns in a 0.6 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 84% battery health for the Kia Niro EV and 90% for the MG ZS EV. That gives the MG ZS EV a modest edge in retained real-world range. Both use NMC-type cells, so for daily use keep the charge limit near 80% to slow degradation. Both batteries carry a 7-year manufacturer warranty.