MG and LDV drive day

Chinese manufacturer SAIC Motor has run a drive program at the Tianma racetrack just outside its home base, Shanghai. Journalists from around the Asia/Pacific rim, as well the Middle East took part on the day, sampling various products from the parent company's three brands, LDV, MG and Roewe.

Some of the cars we've already driven in Australia, although not around a racetrack. The reasoning behind the closed venue was either to keep Chinese taxi drivers safe from Aussie motoring journalists or vice versa. Maybe both…

<a href="https://motoring.pxcrush.net/motoring/general/editorial/img_2157.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-csn-inline-image wp-image-248533" src="https://motoring.pxcrush.net/motoring/general/editorial/img_2157.jpg?height=427&width=640&aspect=fitWithin" alt="" width="640" height="427"></a>MG6 and eMG6

Riding on Bridgestone 245/45 R18 tyres, the conventional MG6 promised (and delivered) reasonable performance and cornering around the 2km racetrack. It's a car that deserves a longer drive than just two laps for a fuller assessment however.

The eMG6, the plug-in hybrid version of the MG6, was committed to motorkhana duties. As a slippery, agile slalom weaver, the eMG6 makes a good plug-in hybrid… we think. As one would expect of a front-wheel drive passenger car tuned for the road, the eMG6 was prone to understeer, and with firm instructions to leave the stability control enabled still ringing in our ears, there was never any likelihood it would step out at the rear.

The eMG6 was reasonably quick from a standing start, its engine supplemented by the electric motor, but as the day worn on, battery power diminished under the relentless demands for more acceleration – until the petrol engine was left doing all the work, trying to maintain inertia in between witches hats and simultaneously recharging the battery.

At the end of the day, around the racetrack proper, and with the battery recharged slightly, it felt quite a bit livelier. It was also much more composed through the wider radius turns. A brief glance inside revealed that the eMG6 comes with a tyre repair kit underneath the shallow boot. Otherwise it's packaged much as for the conventional MG6.

LDV (Maxus) FCV80
Some orbits of a (dry) skidpan in an FCV80 provided some context for this pre-production/prototype vehicle based on the V80 bus, with fuel cell trappings and electric drive. It drives much like any other electric vehicle, but with 16-seat capacity and relatively good dynamics for a commercial vehicle. While it does away with diesel emissions and clatter, it does produce a high-pitched whine at times, which was the sound of water being expelled from the fuel cell stack, we were authoritatively informed. That's the downside of the sophisticated drive system, but the beauty of it is the range – up to 500km between hydrogen refuels, according to a technical expert.

There's no word on whether the FCV80 will ever go into production – and with a new V80 coming out soon, a production FCV80 wouldn't be in the current shape anyway. Since China reportedly has relatively little hydrogen resupply infrastructure, the FCV80 seems to be more a proof of concept than a viable alternative in the near future.

But it is proof positive, nonetheless.

LDV (Maxus) EV80

An electric version of the V80, the EV80 van has the sort of torque one might expect from a diesel-engined van, but like the fuel cell, without the NVH. Unlike the FCV80, the EV80 doesn't expel water from a fuel cell stack, so it's as free of noise as any commercial vehicle could ever hope to be. It's also ridiculously easy to drive and makes no real packaging concessions for its zero-emissions powertrain.

And the EV80 is already in production for the Chinese market. Spokesman for the LDV brand in Australia, Edward Rowe, says that more electric commercial vehicles on the road – particularly vans – could help reduce Australia's “localised pollution” in high-density urban areas, but the importer doesn't have a start date for it, due to lack of interest from governments.

It's not tax concessions or other incentives LDV distributor Ateco Automotive seeks from the government, according to Rowe, it's simply standardisation for fast-charging outlets. Tesla can be recharged using three different plug types. Rowe suggests that until a government settles on one standard for recharging, electric vehicles will continue to be hobbled by the 'Betamax versus VHS' quandary likely to concern customers.

<a href="https://motoring.pxcrush.net/motoring/general/editorial/img_2139.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-csn-inline-image wp-image-248525" src="https://motoring.pxcrush.net/motoring/general/editorial/img_2139.jpg?height=427&width=640&aspect=fitWithin" alt="" width="640" height="427"></a>Roewe RX5

A brand we don't see in Australia – and are unlikely to see here anytime soon – Roewe is what was once Rover. The brand's RX5 SUV is essentially a mid-sized vehicle, but surprisingly roomy in the back for adults. Eased over the 'off-road' course, the RX5 proved itself to be as capable as similar SUVs available in Australia. It would push on with one wheel cocked in the air. In dynamic and off-road terms it seems to be around the same level of competence as a Mitsubishi Outlander, based on admittedly limited data available.

Although the assessment of the RX5 was limited to SAIC's 'off-road' course, I also rode in the back of the all-electric version, the iRX5 for the run into Shanghai's CBD from the airport. That vehicle was practical and quick in Shanghai's atrocious traffic; the driver cutting in and out without care or concern for range. The 45-minute journey from the airport grew to over an hour, but there was no doubt that the vehicle would reach the destination without running the battery flat. It shows how quickly EVs are progressing.

<a href="https://motoring.pxcrush.net/motoring/general/editorial/img_2159.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-csn-inline-image wp-image-248535" src="https://motoring.pxcrush.net/motoring/general/editorial/img_2159.jpg?height=427&width=640&aspect=fitWithin" alt="" width="640" height="427"></a>MG3

The MG3, tested on the racetrack alone, acquitted itself better than expected for a 1.5-litre shopping trolley with a four-speed automatic. It was a little slow off the mark, but would deliver more performance once the engine was working higher in the rev range. There's a sequential-shift facility (with the lever alone... no paddles) and it works fine, but its really only of value on downchanges – triggering engine braking for hills and corners.

Whether shifting sequentially or leaving the transmission in drive, the MG3 would pick up the next gear very smoothly, even under full load. A six-speed transmission would be better, but at the projected price for this car in Australia, that's just unlikely from any car company.

And frankly, what sort of buyers want track-day performance from a car like the MG3? Few... we figure.

The LDV T60 is a vehicle relatively familiar to us by now. It was subjected to an artificial off-road-style course, comprising different situations to test traction and wheel articulation. It coped very well with the off-road test; traction was no problem, nor wheel articulation. Left in 4H, it just motored around without any great fuss.

<a href="https://motoring.pxcrush.net/motoring/general/editorial/img_2178.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-csn-inline-image wp-image-248554" src="https://motoring.pxcrush.net/motoring/general/editorial/img_2178.jpg?height=427&width=640&aspect=fitWithin" alt="" width="640" height="427"></a>LDV (Maxus) D90

Something of a surprise package on the racetrack rather than the off-road course was the LDV D90, another vehicle we've already seen in Australia. The D90 goes moderately hard in a straight line, for an SUV based on a one-tonne pick-up and powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder. But even more surprising was its tidy handling around the racing circuit. You'd never pick a fight with a hot hatch from behind the wheel of a D90, but its handling and grip seem to be in the same ballpark as Ford's Everest.

<a href="https://motoring.pxcrush.net/motoring/general/editorial/img_2177.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-csn-inline-image wp-image-248553" src="https://motoring.pxcrush.net/motoring/general/editorial/img_2177.jpg?height=427&width=640&aspect=fitWithin" alt="" width="640" height="427"></a>The rest

Punting the LDV V80 around the track and the MG ZS around the motorkhana course took both these vehicles out of their respective comfort zones. The ZS dialled up understeer and body roll at lower speeds, but one of the Chinese test drivers did perform a jaw-dropping (albeit disturbing) Hopkirk turn, in which the inside rear (left) wheel lifted clear off the ground.

For its part the diesel-engined V80 could be driven around the track holding third gear in tight corners, thanks to the level of torque available. It was naturally ponderous in corners, but did stay on the island.

And that was the day. It didn't cast a lot of light on the respective products sampled, but it did provide an opportunity to drive advanced powertrain products and vehicles not yet released in Australia, even if the venue were an unlikely test environment for such vehicles.