Tipex Posted May 9, 2011 Report Share Posted May 9, 2011 Ok, so I saw this MG6 at the local car show a few weekends ago, took some pics, and booked a test drive. I didn't get long on the test drive, only about 10 mins in fact, as I think they new I wasn't ever going to buy one. First off, the interior - Well, I was pleasantly suprised to be honest, it wasn't anywhere near as bad as I thought it was going to be, in terms of quality, fit & finish, it isn't going to compete with any of the mainstream brands like Ford, VW, Vauxhall etc etc, but probably would be comparable with Renault, as while it seems screwed together well (unlike Renaults), the quality of the materials is clearly not great, and some parts, most notably the air vents feel about as cheap as it would possibly be to make them, and still retain a degree of functionality, but as I say, it wasn't anywhere near as dire as I was expecting. In terms of design, the instruments are tiny, the picture doesn't really show it, but for some reason, the dials are disproportionately small, the display in the middle of the dash is annoying and distracting, and handbrake mechanism feels like it's going to fall off in your hand, as well as looking like they forgot they needed one, and threw it in at the last minute. The key (not a real key, one of those push the whole thing in the dash things) is bulky and annoying, and the slot seems poorly positioned on a RHD car. I found the interior claustrophobic, mainly due to the high door line, and narrow windows, not to mention the expanse of black plastic, but given it's a smallish car, rear space was ok, and the boot a decent size. So, how does it drive? Well, a bit of a suprise to be honest, I was expecting a properly rough engine of some Chinese description, and I didn't realise at the time, but the engine is a Rover K series, in 1.8 turbo guise, and it's pretty quick, bit rough sounding at higher revs, but the K series is a good engine (forget all those old tales of head gaskets, that was sorted years ago), it pulled well, very well infact. Handling was also a suprise, in the short distance I drove it, it felt sure footed and confident, sporty, didn't roll much and also soaked up bumps very well, the biggest suprise however, was the steering, nicely weighted, direct, and with very very good feel, believe me, some more mainstream manufacturers could learn a thing or two about feel from this. In summary, given the short distance I drove it, I actually thought it was a really good little car, the looks are subjective, and it's too expensive, but if you can overlook the cheap bits inside, I think you'll be pleasantly suprised, probably not enough to actually buy one, but as a first effort, it really not bad at all, if it wasn't for those few cheap bits inside, you wouldn't know it was Chinese. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabby Posted May 10, 2011 Report Share Posted May 10, 2011 Interesting review. Loving the fact they decided to include the word 'Turbo' on the boot badge! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stooH Posted May 10, 2011 Report Share Posted May 10, 2011 Loving the fact they decided to include the word 'Turbo' on the boot badge! Flynn's name is down already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_Bangle Posted May 10, 2011 Report Share Posted May 10, 2011 The Turbo badge looks very halfords. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theduisbergkid Posted May 10, 2011 Report Share Posted May 10, 2011 Tipex's Hawaiian shorts look very Primark. Good review though, more positive than the slating I gave it, glad it drives OK too. I still don't think anyone will buy it aside from a few patriotic Brummie pensioners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted May 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2011 I can't see anyone buying it either to be honest, it's just too expensive given what else you could have for the money. If they dropped the price by a couple of grand, I could see it doing well. Think the shorts came from Matalan, the mrs got em, it's almost like living in Hawaii down here, so has to be done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theduisbergkid Posted May 10, 2011 Report Share Posted May 10, 2011 The price is a big thing. The car smells of Tata CityRover to me, built in the 3rd world, a few bells and whistles added and flogged for a premium in the UK. Koreans are cheaper and have better warranties, French are cheaper and offer more economical engines, this is far from the premium product they claim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted May 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2011 I'd say go and drive one, it apparently was designed in England, and all the suspension and such like have been set up here by English engineers. Yes it's mostly built in China, they ship it here and stick the engine and gearbox in, presumably so they can claim it's built in England? It is sh1t, but no where near as sh1t as you'd expect, if you ignore the interior, it drives very well, and is about as far from a CityRover as anything else! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malagus Posted May 10, 2011 Report Share Posted May 10, 2011 They stripped down a ford focus to get the basis of the engineering, and they did a lot of work at Millbrook and probably MIRA too to tune suspension and handling. It's just a bit TOO much money for me. If it was hyundai money I would be tempted. But would still probably go korean because of the warranty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted June 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2011 I don't know what the official sales figures are like so far, but I have to say, I'm somewhat surprised by the number of them I've seen out on the roads. Aside from the one I test drove, which was sold a few days later, I've also seen a blue one, I didn't think there were that many people with more money than sense? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark_90 Posted June 14, 2011 Report Share Posted June 14, 2011 I'm somewhat surprised by the number of them I've seen out on the roads. What, none? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted June 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2011 What, none? No 2, as I said, I didn't think there were 2 people that stupid in the country! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stooH Posted June 14, 2011 Report Share Posted June 14, 2011 Check the site from the other thread to see how many are registered Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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