Early verdict on first in new breed of MG

Motoring editor Peter Carroll gets a sneak preview of the first all-new MG since the MG F of 1995. . . and here he gives his thoughts on the Longbridge assembled car.

It's been a mighty long time coming, but the first all-new MG car for 15 years is finally nearing the end of its development for the UK market.

The MG6 is a sportily-styled, family-sized hatchback that will herald a whole new series of vehicles from the Chinese-owned marque when it goes on sale towards the end of the year.

What's more, from October it will be built, or at least assembled, at historic Longbridge - the car plant that refused to die, despite the collapse of MG Rover in 2005 resulting in the loss of 6,000 jobs.

The MG name was acquired by Nanjing Automobile, which pledged to retain a UK manufacturing base at Longbridge while building up the firm as an international brand.

That may well have been the intention but the firm lacked the clout and expertise to carry it out - and it's only since the takeover of Nanjing by the larger, wealthier Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) that things have really started to happen for MG.

The first of the new breed of MGs was conceived by the firm's Birmingham-based team of designers led by Tony Williams-Kenny. The MG6 is a five-seater 'fastback' hatchback with coupe-influenced styling, marked by its narrow windows and a steeply-raked roofline. It straddles market segments in that it is bigger than a Focus but not as large as a Mondeo.

Unlike the outgoing TF roadster, the MG6 will be a volume model which must sell in the thousands rather than the hundreds. It also faces the challenging task of restoring people's faith in a brand which has, to put it mildly, endured a chequered history over the years. So no pressure then.

I visited Longbridge for a quick spin in a pre-production Chinese-spec version of the car. Its handling is being sharpened up for European roads and the interior upgraded too - but otherwise it's pretty much the same car.

I was unable to carry out a full road test but did come away with a good idea of what the new model is about - and there are plenty of grounds for optimism for MG if carries out its intention of pricing the MG6 'aggressively'.

For a start, it looks better in the metal than in pictures and while the design does not break any boundaries, the look is sleek and clean.

The car should seat three in the back easily enough and there's a decent sized boot for luggage, too. The doors shut with a solid European 'thunk' but parts of the cabin, like the plasticky gearknob, are outclassed by the competition. These should be upgraded before the UK car comes out.

The MG6 will be available initially only with a 1.8-litre turbo-charged petrol engine. This is a development of the old K Series power plant, though the notorious head gasket problems have been sorted, according to MG. A 1.9-litre diesel will follow in 2011, which is when the car will launch on the continent.

The petrol car feels nice and peppy and should be good for a 0-60 time of around nine seconds. The top speed will be restricted to 120mph as this has insurance benefits.

The steering is nice and sharp and ride quality seemed good, too. I found the seats on the shallow side with not enough thigh support - but these are being replaced by European-spec seats.

Prior to driving the car I was given a quick tour of the factory - and it's a long way from being the stripped-out shell some would have you believe.

Though only around a quarter of the original Longbridge site remains in use, it's still capable of producing thousands of vehicles a year.

Marketing manager Guy Jones, who joined MG after his previous employers, West Midlands van firm LDV, went to the wall in October last year, showed me round the refurbished visitors' centre. It has plush conference and training facilities, as well as a large showroom.

For bigger events, the conference centre can accommodate several hundred delegates, while next door is the new design centre, where all future SAIC cars will be created. It is already up and running, providing work for around 25 designers.

The former MG Rover office headquarters remain in use just around the corner, while car assembly takes place at CAB A, one of two huge plant buildings remaining on the site.

Although Nanjing shipped large parts of the production machinery to China, two of the three former production lines remain in operation. One is being used to assemble what is likely to be the last batch of 150 TF roadster's, while the other is being prepared for the arrival of the MG6.

As yet, only a handful of staff are assembling cars and gone are the days when staff on the production line would have only one job to do.

Multi-skilling is the name of the game these days and workers are even helping set up the MG6 production line to save calling in outside contractors.

This flexibility also extends to communications with their Chinese colleagues: staff at Longbridge have even been given the option of learning Mandarin, one of the most difficult languages to master.

But it's the busy engineering centre that does the most to convince that Longbridge is finally back in business. It employs around 250 staff, all helping to develop new models.

And there are plenty more in the pipeline, ranging from a sports car replacement for the TF to the new Zero concept which was unveiled in China last week. Perhaps most importantly, however, Longbridge at last has the air of a proper car plant about it.

And that can only be a good thing for the region's motor industry.