Holden Equinox vs MG ZS EV

What's the difference?

Overlook the Holden Equinox LTZ-V and you could miss out on a practical, spacious and value-for-money mid-sized SUV. Concerned about Holden’s exit from Australia and how this affects servicing and parts? Well Holden has assured us that it will provide servicing support for 10 years following its closure at the end of 2020. If anything, you could be picking up a bargain and one of the last cars to wear a Holden badge.

The MG ZS EV Long Range is a practical small SUV that's easy to drive and the 440km it can travel on a full charge makes it the better choice over the standard range ZS EV. The extra 120km offered by the Long Range version reduces anxiety and is truly useful in covering more ground between charging.

The asking price may seem expensive but electric vehicle batteries are extremely costly to produce and will remain so for years to come.

Remember, too, that the MG4 electric car has an even great range for the same money - the only catch is, it's a hatch and not an SUV.

Big cheesy grin grille? Check. Flowing curves? Check. Sharp creases? Check. Irregular shapes? Check.

The Equinox is a bit of a mishmash of design elements which doesn't win this reviewer over.

The sloping, broad grille bears more than a passing resemblance to the Cadillac family face, and hints at the Equinox’s American origins. In the United States the SUV wears a Chevrolet badge, although ours is built in Mexico.

The shape of the rear-side window is also a little jarring to me. If you want to see something you’ll never be able to unsee, take a look at my video above where I turn this mid-sized SUV into a small sedan. That sounds ridiculous but, trust me, watch it and be amazed.

How big is the Equinox? Just when you thought the design of the Equinox couldn’t get any more peculiar it does. The Equinox is longer than most of its rivals at 4652mm end-to-end but about the same width at 1843mm across (2105mm to the ends of the wing mirrors).

Telling the LTZ and the LTZ-V apart is tricky, but you can spot the top-grade Equinox by its sunroof and a metallic window garnish around the widows of the rear doors.

Inside is a premium and modern cabin. There’s a high quality feel here from the materials used on the dash, seats and doors, to the display screen which sits at an angle that’s perfect for my reach, although others in the CarsGuide office aren’t quite as enamored with it.

Many cars are dressed up at the front of the cabin, but lack the same treatment in the rear, and the Equinox is a case in point, with hard plastics used around the window sills and the back of the console.

The ZS EV Long Range has a traditional SUV shape but with a very futuristic looking face thanks to its grille-less nose. That’s because with no radiator needed to cool a combustion engine there’s no need for an open vent or grille for air flow.

MG has used a textured plastic to subtly imitate an old-school grille to lessen the visual impact of a sheet of plastic between the headlights.

I think the effect works although the obvious charging flap could have been cleverly and seamlessly integrated into the nose, in the same way Genesis has done with the GV80 Electric. But the attempt has failed.

The ZS EV Long Range’s cabin looks premium with the sporty seats and red stitching, the landscape screen and digital driver display.

But, while the interior looks great, it feels a little low quality in places such as the vinyl upholstered seats. 

There are some ergonomic issues with the high centre armrest and the raised seating position, too.

The Equinox’s greatest strength is its spaciousness and much of that comes down to its wheelbase.

See, the longer a car’s wheelbase the more room there is for the passengers inside. The  Equinox’s wheelbase is longer than most of its rivals (25mm longer than a CX-5’s) and that goes some way to explaining how, at 191cm tall, I can sit behind my driving position with plenty of knee room.

The longer wheelbase also means the rear wheelarches don’t cut far into the back doors, which allows for a wider aperture and easier access.

So, if you have young kids like me, they’ll find it easy to climb in, but if they’re really little the large opening will make it easy for you to put them into their car seats.

Headroom, even with the LTZ-V’s sunroof, is good in the back seats, too.

Cabin storage is excellent: the centre console bin is enormous, the door pockets are large; there are four cupholders (two in the back and two up front),

Even with all this extra room, however, the Equinox is only a five-seater SUV. Still, that leaves you with a large boot with cargo capacity of 846L when the rear row is up and 1798L with the second-row seats folded.

The Equinox has power outlets galore: three 12-volt sockets, a 230-volt power point; five USB ports (including one type C); and a wireless charging bay. That’s more outlets than any mid-sized SUV I’ve tested.

A flat floor in the second row, large windows and comfortable seats complete a well-appointed and practical cabin.

Really, the only reasons the Equinox doesn't score 10-out-of-10 here is the lack of a third-row seat, and sunshades or privacy glass for the rear windows.

The ZS EV Long Range is a practical small SUV and it fit my little family of four, although my kids are both under 10 years old and not at the lanky teenager point yet.

Space on board is good, offering ample legroom for even me (at 188cm) in the second row and adequate headroom back there, too.

I like the large door pockets, the wireless phone charger, and there are two USB ports for the back seats and another two up front.

The second row also has directional air vents and dark-tinted windows. I liked the panoramic sunroof's retractable shade, too. 

SUVS like the MG ZS offer easier access than sedans and hatches thanks to the elevated ride height which means people of my height don’t need to crawl in and out on their knees.

Boot capacity is decent at 359 litres, but not enormous.  

The MG ZS EV Long Range lists for $55,990 which is about $11,000 more than the standard range ZS in the Essence grade.

The features on this Long Range are almost identical to the Essence, too.

Coming standard are LED headlights and running lights, then there are those 17-inch alloy wheels (which have aerodynamic covers on them), proximity unlocking, roof rails, the rear spoiler and a panoramic sunroof with a retractable cover.

Inside, the seats are a combination of polyurethane and PVC, plus there’s a 10.1-inch media display with sat nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

You can see the battery status from the screen as well along with the energy efficiency. 

Climate, phone and media are all accessed through the screen, but fortunately there are physical buttons for volume, temperature and fan speed.

There’s single-zone climate control and tinted rear windows.

A 360-degree camera view is also standard, but the quality of the picture is pretty murky.

How does that cost compare to rivals? Well, you could buy an MG4 electric vehicle for about the same price with 530km of range, but it’s not an SUV. 

You can even get a Tesla Model 3 for about $61K, but again, that’s not an SUV. The Tesla Model Y is an SUV and lists for $69,300 and has 455km of range.

The closest competitor would be the BYD Atto 3 Extended Range which can travel 420km and lists for $51,011.

There are more affordable EVs coming from brands like BYD and GWM, too, and they’re all competing for your money. 

Compared to the MG ZS EV Essence the Long Range has exactly the same features, apart from the tinted rear windows, but you’re paying $11,000 more. What you’re paying for is a bigger battery which will allow you to drive 120km further.

The MG4 Long Range offers more distance and represents better value, but it’s not an SUV and therefore not as practical as the ZS EV.  

The Equinox LTZ-V has the most powerful engine in the Equinox line-up – a 188kW/353Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine.

The only other grade in the line-up to have this engine is LTZ, although it doesn’t have the LTZ-V’s all-wheel drive system.

It’s a powerful engine, especially considering that it’s just a four cylinder. Only a bit more than a decade ago V8s were making less power.

The nine-speed automatic transmission shifts slowly, but I found it to be a smooth unit at all speeds.

The MG ZS EV has one electric motor driving the front wheels and it makes 115kW of power and 280Nm or torque.

That’s the same power as the petrol MG ZS, but more torque, so it accelerates faster. We’re talking 0-100km/h in 8.5 seconds. 

Sure, that’s not Tesla quick, but being an electric car the acceleration is instantaneous with none of the lag petrol cars have due to turbos or changing gears.

How much can the ZS EV tow? Not much. The braked towing capacity of the ZS EV Long Range is 500kg. But think of it like this: a box trailer can weigh about 250kg and a fully grown Sumatran tiger can also weigh up to 250kg.

So an ZS EV Long range can tow a box trailer carrying a fully grown tiger. That sounds impressive.

For more on what the ZS EV Long Range is like to drive, keep reading.

Holden says the Equinox LTZ-V all-wheel drive with the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder and nine-speed auto transmission will use 8.4L/100km over a combination of open and urban roads.

My fuel test covered 131.6km, with 65km of that being city and suburban roads, while 66.6km were on the motorway almost entirely at 110km/h.

At the end of that I brimmed the tank with 19.13L of 95 RON premium unleaded which works out to be 14.5L/100km.

The trip computer disagreed and reported 13.3L/100km. Either way that’s a thirsty mid-sized SUV and it hadn’t even been carrying a full load of people or cargo.

The ZS EV Long Range has a larger battery than the standard range ZS EV and this gives it the ability to travel further on a full charge. 

The regular version is fitted with a 51.1kWh battery and the Long Range has a 72.6kWh battery which is pretty big - and that gives this an official range of 440km. 

The standard range ZS EV has a range of 320km. So the Long Range will get you 120km further which could make all the difference in whether you make it to your destination or not.

So, is 440km a lot compared to other electric cars? Well, it’s more range than the Nissan Leaf (385km) or Mini Electric (233km), but not as much as the Kia Niro (460km) and 50km less than the entry-grade Tesla Model 3 (491km).

Put it this way, the 320km offered by the standard ZS EV falls short of what I think is enough. But anything with more than 400km is truly useful and I find anything less than this can bring on range anxiety pretty quickly.

The ZS EV Long Range is fully electric and that means you’ll have to plug it in to charge it. 

You can charge up using a household power point, but it’ll take more than 24 hours to get to 100 per cent. So, a much better idea is to use a fast public charger.

A 50kW charger will take the battery from empty to 80 percent in 63 minutes using a CCS Type 2 port/plug.

As for energy efficiency, MG says that after a combination of open and urban roads the ZS EV Long Range will use 17.7kWh/100km.

I drove our ZS EV Long Range every day and used it for school drop offs, city commutes and some motorway running. And while most of the 156km I travelled was urban-based the trip computer was reporting an average of 20.0kWh/100km.

The Equinox’s handling isn’t superb and the ride could be more comfortable, but this is an SUV with far more good points than bad.

Such as impressive power from that four cylinder engine, and an all-wheel drive system which provides excellent traction, to the good visibility, and a stack of safety features.

But while I can excuse the average dynamics, the 12.7m turning circle proved annoying in car parks. Not knowing you can make U-turns in the space provided is an anxiety you should only experience when driving a bus.

Five-point turns aside, the LTZ-V is easy to drive, with accurate steering providing good road feel.

At first, the driver’s seat felt overly high and the lack of reach adjustment in the steering wheel made finding a good driving position harder.

But, the ZS EV Long Range is comfortable and easy to drive, while its size and ‘electric zippiness’ makes this little SUV perfect for narrow city streets and tight car spaces. 

Some EVs have break-neck acceleration and minimalist cabin controls which can feel weird, but the ZS EV Long Range’s cabin looks just like a regular combustion engine car’s and the motor has the same power as a petrol ZS’s engine.

That said, the instant acceleration of their ZS EV Long Range is fun and great for moving quickly out of car space, merging and overtaking when needed.

As with all EVs, passengers who are prone to motion sickness might find the acceleration and heavy deceleration a bit much. My family didn’t complain but the photographer who filmed the video above found it a bit much while looking down at his screen.

The ZS EV Long Range has yet to be given an ANCAP rating, but it is equipped with AEB, rear cross-traffic alert, lane keeping assistance and blind-spot warning. There are front and rear parking sensors and six airbags.

For child seats there are two ISOFIX points and three top tether anchor mounts across the second row.

The Holden Equinox is covered by a five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty. At the time this review was published Holden was offering seven years’ free scheduled servicing.

But normally, the Equinox is covered by a capped price servicing program which recommends servicing annually or every 12,000km and costs $259 for the first visit, $339 for the second, $259 for the third, $339 for the fourth and $349 for the fifth.

So, how will servicing work after Holden closes down? In Holden’s February 17, 2020, announcement that the company will cease trading by 2021 it said that it would support Australian and New Zealand customers in honouring all existing warranties and guarantees, while providing servicing and spare parts for at least 10 years. The current seven-year free servicing offer will also be honoured.

The ZS EV Long Range is covered by MG’s seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranty. The battery is covered by a seven-year unlimited kilometre warranty, too. 

Servicing is recommended by MG at 40,000km/24 month intervals.

According to MG the first service costs $295, then the next is $810, then $295 for the third, $810 for the next and so on. That’s about $233 a year over six years which is excellent value.