WHEN the MG Rover factory at Longbridge in Birmingham closed its doors in April 2005 it was a dark day for UK car manufacturing.
The demise of a factory that had at its height employed around 30,000 people was hard to take in – even though the writing had been on the wall for some time as far as MG Rover was concerned.
Fast forward six years and car manufacturing is underway once again courtesy of MG Motor UK under the ownership of China’s largest car maker SAIC.
Although the number of workers at Longbridge these days numbers hundreds rather than thousands it’s good to see cars rolling off the production line again.
In rather timely fashion the first cars were produced in April this year in the shape of the MG6 GT hatchback, followed soon after by the four-door saloon version of the MG6, the Magnette.
As far as first appearances go the new crop of MG cars don’t look too bad, yet they don’t boast design lines that are particularly distinctive or classy either.
When it comes to looks a good comparison would be a Skoda Octavia – a kind of middle of the road design that neither disappoints nor delights.
In fact the new MG has more in common with the Octavia than one might think.
Both are rather cleverly classed as medium-sized family cars, competing against the likes of the Focus, Astra and Golf, yet in reality they are actually considerably larger, though not quite as large as a Mondeo, Insignia or Passat.
Consequently they offer considerably more room, both for rear seat passengers and in terms of boot space.
The MG6 GT boasts 498 litres of boot space, which compares very favourably with the Golf’s 350 litres.
Sit in the driver’s seat and first impressions are good. The dash and the cabin overall look and feel well put together, with the sort of switchgear that wouldn’t look out of place in a BMW.
However, in some respects it does flatter to deceive and closer inspection reveals a few bits and pieces that aren’t quite as top quality as they first appear. Oddly though it’s a mixture of the very good and the not so good.
Perhaps the worst example is a key that kept coming apart almost every time I took it out of the ignition.
I wasn’t overly keen either on the starting mechanism either, which involved inserting the key and then pushing it in. Strangely it’s not a million miles removed from a similar Aston Martin system and just as complex – at least until you get the hang of it.
All MG6 models currently utilise a 1.8-litre turbocharged petrol engine that offers impressive performance and actually helps give the car something of the sporting character one would expect from any MG.
Even if it s components come from China and get put together at Longbridge the car has been designed and engineered at MG Motor UK’s Birmingham technical centre and clearly some time and effort has been put into delivering a car that delivers decent dynamics.
You get an excellent suspension system with MacPherson struts up front and ‘Z-axle’ multi-links at the rear.
As a result it’s a car that handles pretty well and doesn’t compromise on ride quality either. Combined with that 158bhp engine under the bonnet it offers a rewarding enough drive for a car in its class.
Sensibly-minded people may well prefer to wait for a smaller and less thirsty petrol engine, or a diesel. And it would also be nice to see a six-speed rather than a five-speed gearbox.
Gripes apart, it’s worth noting that the MG6 GT is this fledgling company’s first foray into the automotive world and given the backing of a global powerhouse it will be interesting to see what models come on stream over the years ahead.
Given the time it has taken to get the ball rolling at Longbridge I expect MG Motor UK’s Chinese owners will have both a patient approach and big plans for the brand as it targets new markets in the West.
FAST FACTS
MG6 GT TSE
Price: £18,995
Mechanical: 158bhp, 1,796cc, 4cyl petrol engine driving front wheels via 5-speed manual gearbox
Max speed: 120mph
0-60mph: 8.4 seconds
Combined mpg: 35.6
Insurance group: 14
CO2 emissions: 184g/km
BIK rating: 26%
Warranty: 3yrs/60,000 miles