MG Windsor Pro: Owner of Windsor EV reviews the upgraded model
- Better range
- Still value for money
- Practical and opulent cabin
- Greenhouse effect of cabin
- Missing few features
- Road and tyre noise
- The Windsor EV was a big hit for JSW MG Motor India. To build on that only, the brand has now launched the Windsor Pro. Here's our first drive review of the upgraded model.
Check Offers JSW MG Motor India took the market by storm when they first launched the Windsor EV in the Indian market. The brand secured 15,000 bookings in just one day and then it clocked 20,000 sales in just 6 months which made it the best-selling electric vehicle in India. However, there was a bit of hesitation from some potential customers, which the company has decided to address with the Windsor Pro.
We got to spend some time with the new Windsor Pro in Guwahati, where the roads were drenched because of the rain and the brand wanted us to drive the car for 180 km to Umiam Lake and back. Now, I already own the Windsor EV and have clocked almost 5,000 km on it, so I have a fair idea of how it performs. The main focus was on what all MG has improved, and does it feels different from the current model.
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38 kWh
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MG Windsor Pro: What are the cosmetic changes?
For cosmetic purposes, JSW MG Motor India has added three new colour schemes - Celadon Blue, Aurora Silver and Glaze Red. Apart from this, there is Pearl White, Starburst Black and Turquoise Green on offer. Then there are new 19-inch alloy wheels on offer that are borrowed from the Hector. At first, the response from the alloys was mixed but in person, they do look quite good. However, the original alloys that the standard Windsor EV gets were very unique.
There are no other cosmetic changes to the exterior of the Windsor Pro so there might be a few people who might not like the design. However, at the end of the day, design is a subjective thing and I also know several people who love the exterior design of the Windsor.
Then we come to the interior where the black upholstery for the seats has been replaced with an Ivory White colour scheme because of which the cabin has a dual-tone theme. The new colour theme does make the cabin feel a bit more airy but there is a possibility that this colour scheme will be difficult to maintain. Apart from this, there are no changes to the interior.
MG Windsor Pro: How's the interior?
The MG Windsor Pro continues to come with a huge glass area that makes the cabin heat up during daytime and it also reduces the effectiveness of the air conditioner. Moreover, this also affects the performance of Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and wireless charger as the sun's heat directly comes onto the centre console. Fortunately, there are ventilated front seats for the front occupants that do help.
The quilted seats look really good and they do offer good support to the occupants and the driver also gets electric adjustability. Unfortunately, there is no cooled glovebox, which is a feature that I miss. At the rear, the seats get 135 degrees of recline and there is ample amount of legroom and headroom. Three occupants on the rear seat should be able to sit quite comfortably. Once again, the space and the quality is one of the strong points of the Windsor Pro that makes it stand out.
MG Windsor Pro: How is the ride quality?
One of the criticisms that the Windsor EV has is how stiff the rear suspension is, on speed breakers and speed bumps, it sends a jolt. This issue has been fixed for the most part because of the added weight from the battery pack. However, overall, the suspension is still a bit on the stiffer side, which has ensured that the EV feels stable at highway speeds. Show it a corner, and the body roll is minimal, and for the most part, the Windsor Pro will stick to its line. However, do not expect it to handle like a hatchback; after all, it is a tall vehicle with a heavy battery pack.
MG Windsor Pro: How are the brakes and performance?
The brakes on the Windsor Pro do lack the initial bite which is there on the Windsor EV. MG continues to offer all-wheel disc brakes. There are no changes to the electric motor, it continues to sit on the front axle, which puts out 134 bhp of max power and a peak torque output of 200 Nm. There is a bit of motor noise that is audible in the cabin. It always has an ample amount of performance available in all driving modes. Even the Eco+ mode should be fine for driving in cities where there is bumper-to-bumper traffic. There are also three levels of regeneration that can help in gaining back some range as the EV brakes regeneration instead of traditional brakes. The regeneration kicks in quite smoothly. By default, the EV starts in Normal driving mode with Heavy regen braking. During acceleration and braking, you can feel the additional weight of the batteries.
MG Windsor Pro: How does the ADAS perform?
JSW MG Motor India has added ADAS Level 2 to the Windsor Pro. It now comes with features such as Traffic Jam Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control, Bend Cruise Assistance, Lane Departure Warning and prevention, Intelligent Headlamp Control, Front Collision Warning and Automatic Emergency Braking. We tested the ADAS, and we found that it does have a tendency to just give up suddenly, which could be a bit dangerous. We also found that the EV would constantly swerve left or right and would not recognise the solid white line. So, eventually, we switched off the ADAS. What does work decently is the adaptive cruise control, as long as the roads are straight, the driver can also set the following distance. Unfortunately, we were not able to test the Traffic Assist function, which could be quite useful.
MG Windsor Pro: What is the battery size, charging speed and range?
The Windsor Pro gets a larger 52.9 kWh battery pack, whereas the standard Windsor EV gets a 38 kWh battery pack. The claimed range has gone up from 332 km to 449 km. The charging speed has also gone up from 45 kW to 60 kW. A DC fast charger would be able to top-up the battery pack from 20 per cent to 80 per cent in 50 minutes, whereas the Windsor Pro would take 45 minutes. On a 7.4 kWh AC charger, the battery pack would take 9.5 hours, whereas the 38 kWh battery pack takes 7 hours. MG has not revealed how much time will the Windsor Pro will take to charge on a 3.3 kW charger.
MG Windsor Pro: Can existing users upgrade to a bigger battery pack?
We asked this question to the company, and they said that the mounting points of the 52.9 kWh battery pack are different from the 38 kWh battery pack. Because of this, the existing users cannot upgrade to the larger battery pack. Having said that, it would have been nice if the existing customers had the option to get the larger battery at an additional price, considering that there are customers out there who are interested in such an offer.
MG Windsor Pro: What are the new features?
Apart from ADAS, the Windsor Pro now comes with Vehicle 2 Load and Vehicle-to-Vehicle functionality. Through Vehicle 2 Load, the customers can power electrical appliances and through Vehicle to Vehicle, customers can charge other electric vehicles. Both these functionalities would require an accessory that the customer would need to purchase separately. And no, the current Windsor EV does not support both of these features because of hardware limitations, as per MG.
The Windsor Pro now also comes with an electric tailgate whose height, the occupants can set. There are no other changes to the feature list of the vehicle. It continues to come with a panoramic sunroof, a large touchscreen infotainment system, a 360-degree camera, a digital driver's display, ambient lights and automatic climate control among others. A special mention goes to the 9-speaker sound system that is sourced from Infinity.
MG Windsor Pro: Should you buy it?
At ₹18.10 lakh ex-showroom, the Windsor Pro continues to be a great value-for-money vehicle. If you are considering the Essence variant of the Windsor, we would highly suggest that you invest in the Pro variant because of its larger battery pack. The ride quality is better than the Windsor EV; it continues to come loaded with features, and the larger battery pack would help with increased range. The Windsor Pro will continue to write the success story of the original Windsor EV as the brand received 8,000 bookings for the Windsor Pro in just 24 hours of launch.
Having said that, we would have liked it if JSW MG Motor India had addressed a few of the current concerns, such as cabin heating because of the greenhouse effect, which could have been solved with UV-cut glass. There is still no parcel tray, spare tyre, window curtains and rear wiper, which the rivals do offer. Yes, the parcel tray and spare tyre are available as accessories, but then the tyre does eat into the luggage space and makes it difficult to access the underneath storage. A set of front parking sensors would also have been a great addition because few customers feel the need due to the way the front is designed. Again, these are available as accessories, but they are not integrated into the system.
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