MG Comet EV Review: Should you buy this Rs 7.98 Lakh electric car?

MG Comet EV Review: Too much greenery during the MG Comet EV media drive last week. A green car, apple green colour and one of the greenest areas of Delhi, Sunder Nursery. Beautiful place to visit, if you haven’t already. Variety of plants, trees, and shaded spots to chill in Delhi summers. And, loads of peacocks roaming around, always more than willing to photobomb your Instafeed. But, more than everything else, I am thinking about the plastic speed breakers they have over there while writing this. Why? Will get back to that in a bit. First, let’s talk about MG Motor India's latest smallest/cheapest electric car in the Indian car market.

What is MG Comet EV?

MG Comet comes based on the Wuling Air, and its global sale has crossed a million already. A 2-door, 4-seater car which turned heads wherever I took during our drive. MG Comet is fitted with a 17.3 KWh battery, and it will take around 5 hours for 80% charge with a 3.3kw charger and 7 hours for 100%. The battery is IP67 rated and has gone through 16 safety tests as per the company. The power output is around 41bhp and peak torque of 110Nm and the claimed range is 230 km. This comes with 55+ connectivity features, clean and premium-looking dash design, switches, knobs and layout.

The car is pitched as an urban commute for millennials, thus offered in 4 different colour options and 250+ combinations of stickers and body graphics. So young customers can customize and personalize their cars, just like their gadgets.

The shape, size and specifications of Comet has been a matter of debate. The car is 2974 mm long and for reference, Alto’s length is 3445 mm and Nano was 3164mm. Comet is smaller than the later models of Reva as well. The impressive thing about Comet is that these dimensions are not very relevant once you have entered the car. Yes, second-row ingress-egress could be a little tricky for elderly passengers but otherwise, it was quite clean and easy. The space in the second row is pretty impressive, for short distances, and urban usage. Legroom, knee room and headroom are enough for two average-sized adults. Tall passengers might find the seat to be a bit low, so you sit with knees higher than usual and less thigh support, but it is not a deal breaker. The driver seat, however, could use a height adjustment feature as the high seating setup eats up a bit of headroom.

When you are settled and stop focusing on the SUV (or the SUV mentality) driving around you on Delhi roads, you start enjoying the Comet EV drive. Small size, instantaneous torque, and agile drive are the virtues you appreciate in a place like Delhi-NCR. Especially on the best urban roads in India, Comet cruised. It enjoys plain, clean, straight roads. The braking was clean and reassuring. On the flipside, bad-uneven roads bring struggles for Comet EV, transferring most of the undulations to the cabin. And if there are blunt speed breakers like the ones we saw in Sunder Nursery, hearing that thud is a painful experience. The suspension and 12-inch tyre combo is something MG should work on so that the driving dynamics are as enjoyable as the rest of the car.

Is MG Comet Electric the tipping point in the Indian car market?

Small cars for most of us, the Indian car customer, means affordable segment cars. I am not using the word cheap, however for most of us that too is associated with a small car. Now, this is a tricky expectation for a car like the MG Comet to meet. And, that is what makes the MG Comet story so interesting. Comet is a two-door car, with four seats. It has a long list of connectivity, comfort and safety features and is pitched as a pure urban commute. It is based on a Chinese Wulin Air, with more than a million sales internationally. Plus, it is an EV which means that the pricing will be governed primarily by the battery pack. Looking at all of this, Rs 7.98 Lakh could sound like an aggressive pricing as the MG Bosses indicated. I expected it to be a bit more aggressive as Tata Tiago EV isn’t too far with a starting price of Rs 8.69 Lakh (up to Rs 11.99 Lakh).

So, what now? Will the Comet compete with Tiago EV? Yes, it will. Will Tiago score better? Most of the aspects, yes. Should MG be worried? Don’t think so, as the Comet has a very fresh vibe, a premium interior, very cleverly packaged with practical usable space inside and a compact shape outside. Even with a slightly higher-than-expected price, this might have a standalone appeal. This will attract the city dwellers, who know that most of the time we are driving alone, short to medium distances and constantly struggle with parking and traffic issues. And the customers who are looking for a feature-rich quirky ride. If MG manages to better the price, suspension setup and ride quality, Comet could be the EV many electric car enthusiasts and experts are waiting for.