The Morris Dancers of China
On test... MG6 1.8T Luxury
The Opium Wars... not Britain’s
proudest moment. In a nutshell: during the mid-1800s, the Brits were making a
fortune flogging opium to the Chinese. When the Chinese emperor objected to
both the amount of coin leaving his land and a growing number of addicted subjects,
Her Majesty dispatched an expeditionary force to remind this impudent regent of
his place. Which they summarily did. Not only did the British navy once again
open up the opium trade, but they claimed Hong Kong for Queen and country too.
It’s not surprising then, that revenge
figured prominently in Chinese thinking. What is surprising though, is the
manner in which they took it. Instead of send their hordes to invade that
small, damp island in the North sea… they bought the MG brand.
It was a cunning move. What
better way to teach those foreign devils a lesson than reach out halfway across
the world and pluck out the very heart of British heritage. Until then, Morris Garages
had been one of Britain’s most venerable automotive brands. For the best part
of 80 years, MG had produced cute little convertibles that smelled gloriously
of leather, wood and hot oil. Unfortunately, and most inconveniently, though in
2005 the MG Rover Group went bang.
Sensing its opportunity had
finally come, China, in the guise of Nanjing Automobile, snapped up the rights to
the MG badge and went about serving that dish best served cold. Which brings us
to the MG6…
Thing is, the MG 6 is not a bad
car. Sure, the styling might be a something between a new Hyundai and previous
gen. Renault, but both the fastback and the sedan are nonetheless handsome
automobiles. Performance is reasonable too, although one would expect a little
more go from its 118kW 1.8-litre turbo (the car’s two ton heft is a bit of an
issue). And while it’s not totally at ease changing direction in sharp
cornering, the handling is assured and planted through fast, sweeping corners.
It offers decent value for money
too – at R239 000, the MG6 fastback Luxury we tested is in the same price bracket
as a top-spec Hyundai Elantra, a mid-spec Toyota Corolla or a low-spec Ford
Focus and VW Jetta. Up against these, the MG offers both a bigger engine and
considerably more space. You could fit an old MG Midget in its cavernous boot.
So it’s not bad…And that’s the
nature of the Chinese revenge.
The MG is simply “not bad”.
Unlike its ancestors, this car is not quirky, interesting or even charmingly
awful… which many old MGs were. This is simply “not bad”. They’ve given back
the British an adequate, but bland version of a brand they had once loved.
It has the right badge, but it’s
not all there. Like it’s been smoking opium…
Prices
for the MG6 Fastback and Sedan range from R229 900 to R269 900
**as appeared in the Oct 2012 issue of the Kulula in-flight mag
