MG Windsor long term review, 13,000km report

After a month with our long-term Windsor, I can see why it’s India’s largest-selling EV. Everyone in your family will love it, even if you, as the driver, don’t. Yes, as the one who does most of the driving, I don’t like it. Not because it’s laidback to drive; that’s fine for an everyday EV. What I hate is the driver controls. Connect your phone, and the entire 15.6-inch screen is given over to Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, even though nearly all functions like ORVM adjustment, cooled seats, drive modes etc. have to be accessed via the screen and a set of complicated steering wheel button presses. Even after you figure this out, it’s not intuitive at all. Hopefully it can be sorted with an OS update. 

Which brings me to another irritant with our particular car. We’ve had quite a few software related issues. For instance, the front left tyre would indicate low pressure even when that wasn’t the case, the music volume would randomly and suddenly increase, and most curious of all was that even after the car had been locked and had powered down, the system would reconnect to your phone and start playing music. MG was very prompt to send over a technician, and a software reset got rid of these gremlins. I was happy to take on the bug-free MG as a daily, and like I said earlier, it really impressed the family. As soon as you open the door, it wows with the amount of space inside. The seats look like an expensive sofa set, and there’s premium bits all around, like dark wood panelling and brushed chrome trimmings. 

My wife and kids loved the tufted seats and found them very comfy. At the rear, the cabin feels nice and airy, even with the sunroof shade closed. The reclining rear seats were also a hit with the kids, their only complaint being the single rear AC vent, which allows only one of them to get a direct draft. Later on, my wife realised you can recline the front passenger seat to create one continuous comfy lounge chair. I think it’s the only way she’ll travel now. Fit for a king and queen, as you can see from the picture (which I guess I need to explain). I’ve been a big Air India fan since childhood and have plenty of memorabilia. The Maharaja, though, has taken up a lot of space and exhausted my wife’s patience too. So, the MG was drafted in to transport it to the office, where I hope to keep it, or perhaps trade it with some other collector.

Coming back to the car, headroom at the rear is decent, and the flat floor means there’s less of a bother for a middle passenger. Plus, the seat is wide enough to seat three abreast, and there’s even a large 579-litre boot, which means airport runs are easy. So, as I was saying earlier, the Windsor may not win over enthusiastic drivers, but everyone else in the family will really love it.

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