MG Windsor EV Pro 52.9 kWh Review: King Of The Range?

The MG Windsor EV, since its introduction in Q4 2024, has received a good reception from the Indian buyer, with the EV leapfrogging the Nexon EV to number 1 in the monthly sales chart. The Windsor has a lot going for it, big, spacious and comfortable cabin, well equipped across variants and with the Battery as a Subscription model, it's also approachable to buyers who would have previously been priced out. However, the biggest chink in the Windsor’s armour has been the range. The 38 kWh battery gave the EV a claimed range of 332 km – up to about 290 km in real-world use as per our testing, making it good in the city, though outside it, you’d get a nice dose of range anxiety as the battery percentage declined.

Also read: MG Windsor EV Pro Bags 8,000 Bookings In 24 Hours; Price Now Hiked By Rs. 60,000

Now, MG has addressed this range issue with the new Windsor Pro, the most expensive variant in the Windsor’s line-up but one that packs in a 52.9 kWh battery and 449 km of claimed range. So, is this the Windsor variant you have been waiting for?

MG Windsor EV Pro: Design & Interior

On the surface, the Windsor EV Pro looks little different from the standard Windsor EV. You got the same layered front end with high-set lightbar and LED DRLs, and large low-set headlamps. You get the same MPV-like profile that has allowed MG to offer oodles of cabin space, and at the rear the tail-lamps too are unchanged.

Also Read: MG Windsor EV Pro Launched At Rs 17.50 Lakh With Up To 449 KM Range

The only real difference comes down to the colours – there are three new exterior shades, the wheels and the badging on the tailgate. The Windsor EV Pro can be optioned in new Celadon Blue, Glaze Red or Aurora Silver exterior finishes. There are new, sharper 18-inch dual-tone alloy wheels as well and around the back, you will notice an ADAS badge on the bootlid.

All in all, the changes to the exterior are far from noteworthy, and unless you know what to look for, this may as well be just any ordinary Windsor and not the Pro.

Moving to the cabin, the biggest change is the upholstery. While the standard Windsor’s cabin was an all-black affair, this Windsor Pro gets a dual-tone black and ivory upholstery, which does liven up the cabin even more, but it also looks like a magnet for staining, particularly during the monsoon.

Also read: MG Windsor EV 38 kWh In-Depth Review: City Friendly EV Offers Much Value

The seats still offer the same diamond pattern padding and stitching, and the rear seats also retain the 135-degree reclining feature. Seating comfort, too, is unchanged, with the front buckets continuing to be large and supportive, while the rear seats offer a bit of a knees-up sitting position but oodles of room to stretch out.

MG Windsor EV Pro: New Features

The larger battery pack and scant cosmetics are not the only changes to the Windsor EV Pro. Based on the top Essence trim of the Windsor, the Pro also offers additional features for its premium price tag. The first of these new features is a powered tailgate that can be operated via a button on the tailgate, key fob or from the car's central command unit – the 15.6-inch touchscreen. Also new are Vehicle-to-Vehicle and Vehicle-to-Load capabilities that can be used via an accessory socket for the Windsor Pro’s CCS charge port.

The biggest feature addition, however, is Level 2 ADAS functions. The Windsor EV Pro offers a host of autonomous assistance functions ranging from adaptive cruise control (ACC) to autonomous emergency braking, lane keep assist and more. The key highlights here, however, are the inclusion of a Bend Cruise Assistance function for the ACC that adjusts the vehicle’s speed when cornering. The second is the Traffic Jam Assist, which works in conjunction with Lane Keep Assist to make driving in traffic jams notably easier.

Also read: Pre-Booking For All-Electric MG M9 Luxury MPV Begin In India For Rs. 51,000

We, however, were not able to properly test the capabilities of the ADAS system in open world conditions, but whatever we experienced of the Lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control and bend cruise control worked well enough.

As for the other features, the Pro gets all the bells and whistles from the standard Windsor Essense including a panoramic glass roof, 360-degree cameras, powered driver seat, ventilated front seats, 8.8-inch digital instrument cluster, single-zone auto climate control, auto headlamps and wipers, connected car tech, 9-speaker audio system and more.

MG Windsor EV Pro: Powertrain, Ride & Handling

Starting things off, MG has retained the electric motor from the standard Windsor on the Pro. This means that the larger and heavier 52.9 kWh battery pack continues to be paired with a front axle-mounted electric motor pushing out a peak 135 bhp and 200 Nm. MG says that the Windsor Pro weighs around 93 kg more than the regular Windsor and that the suspension, too, has been retuned to account for that additional weight.

The first thing we noticed was that the suspension has been firmed up some more compared to the standard Windsor to counter the additional weight. The ride feels firmer at low speeds, with more surface imperfections felt within the cabin. The roads in Assam and neighbouring Meghalaya, for the most part, were quite smooth with seldom any potholes, and that seemed to work in the Windsor Pro’s favour. On the highway, the ride remained flat and composed for the most part, while the hills of Meghalaya allowed us to put the Windsor Ev Pro’s cornering ability to the test.

As with the standard Windsor, the steering’s weight feels quite artificial, though the firmer suspension did mean that body roll was better contained. Yes, you still feel the car’s weight transfer during sharp cornering, but for the most part, the crossover is quite capable of being driven through the bends with a little gusto.

Focusing on the powertrain, in daily driving, you are unlikely to feel any major difference in the level of performance over the standard Windsor. Power flows in immediately when the accelerator is pressed, and the Windsor Pro remains a happy camper at highway speeds. Yes, the Windsor and Windsor Pro are not quick by EV standards, but then again, these are large MPV-like EVs that put greater focus on the in-cabin experience and passenger comfort.

The drive and regen modes are unchanged from the 38 kWh variants and offer similar characteristics. Normal mode is the default drive setting with Sport sharpening up throttle response, while Eco and Eco+ are aimed at maximising range. Heavy regen is also the default mode, with users able to change the regen setting between Heavy, Normal and Light via the touchscreen. Heavy offers strong retardation to maximise energy gains from deceleration while Normal feels more akin to engine braking. Light offers minimal retardation and works well while cruising.

We weren’t able to test outright performance numbers for the new heavier variant, though we’d expect it to be a smidgen slower than its lighter 38 kWh sibling.

MG Windsor EV Pro: Range & Charging

The larger battery pack has liberated substantially more range from the Windsor. Compared to the 332 km of claimed range offered by the 38 kWh unit, the 52.9 kWh unit pushes the Windsor Pro’s range to nearly 450 km (claimed). Of course, claimed and real-world range figures seldom match, though based on our usage during the drive we expect you could get in the region of 380-400 km out of the Windsor Pro – a big plus considering that our testing showed a range of between 275 and 290 km for the standard Windsor. We, however, do plan to put the Windsor EV Pro through a proper range test in the coming months to give you a more accurate figure.

Moving to the charging, the Windsor EV Pro also supports a higher 60 kW of peak DC fast charging – up from the Windsor’s 45 kW peak. MG claims a 20-80 per cent charge at peak DC charging can be completed in as little as 50 mins, 5 mins faster than for the 38 kWh. As for AC charging, the Pro is offered with a 7.4 kW charger as standard, which is claimed to juice up the battery from 10 to 100 per cent in 9.5 hours, 2.5 hours slower than the 38 kWh models with the same charger.

MG Windsor EV Pro: Is It Worth It?

The Windsor EV Pro is offered in a single fully-loaded Essence Pro variant priced at Rs 18.10 lakh (ex-showroom). At this price, it costs almost Rs 2 lakh more than the top-spec Windsor EV 38 kWh, which does feel like quite a steep margin. Of course, there is the Battery Subscription model as well, which knocks down the Windsor Pro’s price to Rs 13.10 lakh (ex-showroom) - about Rs 1 lakh more than the Windsor 38 kWh. What, however, has to be kept in mind is the per km cost for the battery. At Rs 4.5 per km, the battery rental cost is higher than the Windsor 38 kWh’s Rs 3.9 per km, which means that in the long run, you would end up paying quite a bit more for the larger battery variant once you start packing in the miles.

What, however, works in its favour is that there are few other options at that price point offering similar levels of space, features and range. The Nexon EV and Curvv EV certainly have the features, though the Nexon EV 45 lacks the sheer cabin space, while the Curvv EV at that price gets you a smaller battery with reduced range and that too not a top variant. Another option that buyers will have is the entry Pack 1 variant of the Mahindra BE 6 which, while offering a larger battery, is unlikely to feel as spacious as the Windsor.

That said, if range is not a concern and missing out on ADAS isn’t a sore point, you can still consider the standard Windsor, which in top-spec trim gets you nearly all the bells and whistles while saving the additional outlay. Maybe a mid-spec Exclusive Pro variant with the larger 52.9 kWh battery could hold more appeal? After all, the Windsor Exclusive only misses out on the glass roof, ventilated front seats and the 9-speaker audio system offered on the Essence, which shouldn't be a deal breaker while also helping lower the asking price.

So, in the end, it all comes down to one simple question – is it worth shelling out the premium? Well, the MG Windsor 38 kWh did get a lot of things right in the first try itself, and the Windsor EV Pro addresses the biggest fly in the ointment – range. To that end, the Windsor EV Pro certainly delivers, and for someone wanting a spacious EV that can handle intercity journeys with fewer chances of needing to be charged, the Pro will certainly hold appeal.

Add to this the addition of Level 2 ADAS functions, and you have an EV that is both capable of long journeys while also promising to keep you and your family safe, so the premium does feel justified. So, if the range and/or ADAS had been your primary hiccups in not picking the Windsor EV, well, the Windsor EV Pro might just sway you back to your local MG dealer.