In our previous reports, we have discussed how our neon green MG Comet garners serious attention wherever it goes—some look at it with admiration, while others seem curious to know more about it. Besides the attention, the Comet is also proving to be an ideal second car. You see, I reside in Mumbai in a building constructed over a century ago. Hence, my parking spot isn’t designed keeping modern car dimensions in mind; it is tight for anything wider than a hatchback, and the Comet squeezes in with absolute ease. So, with its battery fully charged, I eagerly drove the Comet home on a Monday evening.
At the very first corner on the curvy 2km-long JJ Flyover, the Comet humbled my enthusiasm. Its body leaned to angles far greater than the Tower in Pisa. Its limited travel suspension made it hop over small bumps if taken at speeds. Braking with more force on the pedal can make it feel unsettled. But that was me treating these curves like those on a racetrack. When I switched to a more relaxed manner, the car felt perfectly capable for the job. In fact, the more I drove it, the more I liked it. The Comet’s light steering, good frontal visibility and tiny dimensions make it feel adept while squeezing through gaps in traffic and weaving past slow movers. It feels surprisingly peppy, too, and getting to 60kph or 70kph feels effortless.
I drove it in Normal mode and switched to Sport a few times. The AC was always on and working hard with outside temperatures above 40-deg C. As a result, I had to plug the car into our office’s 11kW AC charger on Thursday morning, with the battery level falling to 13 percent over the 92km I covered from Monday. That evening, with the battery topped up again, I used Eco mode for the latter half of the week.
The Comet comes with its fair share of irritants: the icons on its screen are small, and touch sensitivity isn’t smooth; steering buttons are often unresponsive; and storage areas are few and poorly designed. Sure, these are small things, but they play a big role in shaping the overall user experience.
What impressed me, though, was how easily the Comet swallowed two suitcases—an extra large and a large one—with half of its rear seat folded. My friends, too, were surprised by the ample space inside. On one occasion, onlookers at a busy eatery were gob-smacked upon seeing four adults exit this micro hatchback. Range in Eco mode? 146km with an efficiency of around 8.46km/kWh—not close to our road-test figure due to the varying loads and the very high ambient temperatures.
In other news, MG picked up our Comet for the second service and returned it a few hours later. Besides a general check-up, its steering buttons were ‘inspected’, and the only paid item was reducer oil, costing Rs 990.
Also see:
MG Comet long term review, 1,500km report
MG Comet long term review, 430km report
