MG6 - static review
Discussion
So, MG Rovers are s
t, right? We all know that the head-gaskets last 5 seconds and they are driven by pensioners. Thank god it all went tits-up.
Well, you might have noticed they are back. I was at the Earls Court Top Gear motorshow thing this week, and they had a brand-new MG6 on display. Cue lots of people walking past and making snorting noises or jokes about head gaskets...
But I thought I'd go and take a closer look. The car itself doesn't look very exciting. It's not in the slightest bit ugly, but it's no eye-catcher either. It's smart and neat, but possibly a bit bland.
Under the bonnet, a 1.8 turbo engine will be the first available. It's surprisingly "visible" for an engine these days, and blissfully not hidden under acres of plastic. It looks like you could actually do a bit of home servicing should you wish to.
Inside, the interior is dark and modern, smart and neat, but again, it's nothing to write home about.
So far, so Korean. You wouldn't think this was a Chinese car, which is what MG is these days.
On re-emerging from the car, I met an older gentleman in an MG shirt, who turned out to be an MG engineer. We started chatting about the car, and it turns out the MG6 has been mostly designed at Longbridge, and will mostly be built there too. The Chinese versions will be similar, but we won't be getting them over here, and Europe will only get Longbridge-built cars.
The European version of the MG6 has been benchmarked against the Focus ST, and although it lacks in straight-line speed against the ST, apparently it is better handling and better refined than the Ford. This is supported by a copy of an Autocar test that was handed to me. Good news. It could be a driver's car.
But who's going to buy them? Fleet buyers? Apparently not. According to the guy from MG, the 1.8T will be available for £14,000, which is pretty astonishing really, and pits the car very competitively against KIAs and Hyundais, which I think will be the natural competition at launch. The only problem is that the car doesn't come with a sumptuous 7 year warranty, instead, it's given a less reassuring 3-year warranty, which I think will hold it back considerably with the private buyers. The guy from MG was exasperated about this it seemed... he said the car was designed with a 5-year warranty in mind, but they couldn't get approval from their Chinese overlords for a better package.
Over-all, the impression that I got was that the guys from MG are really, really upbeat about the launch of this car and very confident in its abilities. I hope this confidence transfers into sales for the sake of British jobs etc, but it would be nice also to see MG go on to greater things and experience a revival in the same way Triumph motorcycles has done.
Good luck to them, I hope the work they have done on the product transfers into sales.
t, right? We all know that the head-gaskets last 5 seconds and they are driven by pensioners. Thank god it all went tits-up.Well, you might have noticed they are back. I was at the Earls Court Top Gear motorshow thing this week, and they had a brand-new MG6 on display. Cue lots of people walking past and making snorting noises or jokes about head gaskets...
But I thought I'd go and take a closer look. The car itself doesn't look very exciting. It's not in the slightest bit ugly, but it's no eye-catcher either. It's smart and neat, but possibly a bit bland.
Under the bonnet, a 1.8 turbo engine will be the first available. It's surprisingly "visible" for an engine these days, and blissfully not hidden under acres of plastic. It looks like you could actually do a bit of home servicing should you wish to.
Inside, the interior is dark and modern, smart and neat, but again, it's nothing to write home about.
So far, so Korean. You wouldn't think this was a Chinese car, which is what MG is these days.
On re-emerging from the car, I met an older gentleman in an MG shirt, who turned out to be an MG engineer. We started chatting about the car, and it turns out the MG6 has been mostly designed at Longbridge, and will mostly be built there too. The Chinese versions will be similar, but we won't be getting them over here, and Europe will only get Longbridge-built cars.
The European version of the MG6 has been benchmarked against the Focus ST, and although it lacks in straight-line speed against the ST, apparently it is better handling and better refined than the Ford. This is supported by a copy of an Autocar test that was handed to me. Good news. It could be a driver's car.
But who's going to buy them? Fleet buyers? Apparently not. According to the guy from MG, the 1.8T will be available for £14,000, which is pretty astonishing really, and pits the car very competitively against KIAs and Hyundais, which I think will be the natural competition at launch. The only problem is that the car doesn't come with a sumptuous 7 year warranty, instead, it's given a less reassuring 3-year warranty, which I think will hold it back considerably with the private buyers. The guy from MG was exasperated about this it seemed... he said the car was designed with a 5-year warranty in mind, but they couldn't get approval from their Chinese overlords for a better package.
Over-all, the impression that I got was that the guys from MG are really, really upbeat about the launch of this car and very confident in its abilities. I hope this confidence transfers into sales for the sake of British jobs etc, but it would be nice also to see MG go on to greater things and experience a revival in the same way Triumph motorcycles has done.
Good luck to them, I hope the work they have done on the product transfers into sales.
Who have they designed this car for? Certainly not the British market. It's nothing special to look at (saw a white one the other day and was very underwhelmed), it comes with a turbo petrol engine and a 3 year warranty. It's trading on the bad image of MG Rover and isn't cheap enough to undercut the Koreans. I'm sure it's not a bad car but I can't see who will buy it.
Risotto said:
Is this the thing Quentin Willson was talking about on the Today programme the other morning? He seemed to think it was a reasonable stab at a generic hatchback.
From what I've read, I think that sums it up. Of course it will never sell in serious numbers here until there is a (good) diesel engine available. What proportion of Focuses are petrol? Risotto said:
Is this the thing Quentin Willson was talking about on the Today programme the other morning? He seemed to think it was a reasonable stab at a generic hatchback.
I don't know about Quentin Wilson, but I think it IS a reasonable stab at a generic hatchback. It may not be pure PH sex-appeal, but it is a good effort on first appearances.It's a shame it is not some revolutionary new concept like a Chevrolet Volt (for example), but that is a high-stakes game that GM are playing, and who can blame MG for being conservative in this market.
Edited by Mr Gear on Monday 8th November 11:22
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