MG Comet EV First Drive Review: Enough To Disrupt Electric Vehicle Market In India?

The MG Comet EV has been launched in India as the country's smallest and most affordable electric car priced at Rs 7.98 lakh, and here's our MG Comet EV First Drive Review.

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If you follow the Indian automotive industry, you must be aware how rapidly electric vehicles are becoming popular in our country. More and more EVs are getting launched in the country and with the growing options, people are considering electric cars as their second or third vehicle at home. Having said that, if there’s one thing that's stopping EVs to become mainstream is the affordability factor and that's where MG Motor India comes in. The 99-year-old British-Chinese brand entered India in 2019 and since then, has launched two electric cars.

The first electric car that MG Motor launched in India was the MG ZS EV in 2020, which is a mid-size electric SUV with 500 km range. The second electric car launched by the brand is the recently introduced MG Comet EV, India's smallest and most affordable electric car. On paper, this EV looks like a potential game changer with its price and features, and we recently got a chance to drive the car to find out how good is the electric car in real life. Here’s our MG Comet EV first drive review.

Watch MG Comet EV Video Review

MG Comet EV: Design

Before we go any further and talk about the range and stuff, let's address the elephant in the room, which in this case, happens to be the design of the MG Comet EV. The MG Comet is not designed to be a regular car and one shouldn’t even compare it to the current crop of cars. The MG Comet has a boxy design, with a tall profile, sitting on small 12-inch wheels. It has an overall length of less than 4 metres and a turning radius of around 4 metre as well.

To further accentuate the straight lines, the MG Comet gets horizontal front and rear connected lights. On the top of it, the EV gets multiple funky colour options, like the dual tone Apple Green variant we drove, attracting all the eyeballs in the city. You also get various stickers and graphics pack to customise your vehicle. In many ways, the Comet gets a polarizing design to say the least.

MG Comet EV: Cabin

Like the exterior, the cabin of the MG Comet EV is also unique and new. You get all the features of a luxury car like a dual connected screen, iSmart connectivity with over 35 connected car features and voice commands among other things. The use of a dual tone space grey cabin theme enhances the feeling of space inside a car as small as Comet. The design of the cabin itself is interesting and there's no central tunnel, while the two spoke steering wheel design is also new to the market.

Then, you don't get a push button start/ stop, and have to double tap the brake pedal to start the car. Although it’s a fancy feature, it can be gimmicky for some. The MG Comet EV is a 3-door, 4-seater car which means you don't get the rear doors. Instead, one has to fold the front seats to reach in the back, which can be cumbersome for regular use. However, the use of big aircraft-type rear windows does add the feeling of space inside the cabin.

Speaking of negatives, the material quality is questionable, but I wasn't expecting anything better from a car of this size and price tag and you shouldn't raise your expectations too high as well. The doors don't close properly, without a proper push, and I am not a big fan of window buttons placed at the centre console among other small but negligible issues.

MG Comet EV: Engine & Performance

The all-electric MG Comet EV comes with 17.3 kwh battery pack which is lP67 rated and offers a claimed Range of 230 km. You can charge the car using a regular 16-amp power socket at home using a charging cable given with the car or use a wall-installed charger, to be provided by the company. The charging port is located conveniently at the front and is easy to access.

We got a limited time with the MG Comet EV, mostly driving the car in the city and found it to be a revelation, as far as steering and suspension goes. The car was incredibly comfortable to drive and easy to manoeuvre in the city traffic of Delhi. You get various drive modes like Sport, Eco and Normal to fiddle with the performance, but that will impact the range, so one has to be thoughtful.

It also gets a multi-level regenerative braking, that can be altered using a button on the dashboard. The gearbox gets a rotary knob, which is easy to use and saves space. The small size of the car helps you cut the traffic and park car in tight spaces. Overall the MG Comet EV manages to establish itself as a credible city vehicle that's also green and unique.

MG Comet EV: Verdict

In my honest opinion, the MG Comet EV surprised me with its overall driving dynamics and funky looks. As mentioned earlier, the design can be polarizing, but for me, it was unique and worth buying. MG is clear in its communication that the Comet EV is a city car, and we found the claim honest. Then you also get some interesting features to entice the young audience, which also helps the MG Comet EV create a unique space for itself.

Are there any issues, yes, there surely are a handful of problems! But priced at Rs 7.98 lakh (ex-showroom), MG Comet EV has managed to undercut the cheapest car in the market by at least Rs 70,000, making it the most affordable electric car in the market. MG should be commended for thinking out of the box and bring a product as unique as Comet to the Indian shores. This EV will surely rattle the EV industry of India.