It’s Test Day again!  Humble and Pogson at UTAC (Millbrook)

Call me boring, call me predictable if you wish.  Come to think of it, I do have what one could describe as an anorak, but is in modern parlance a “down-filled jacket” and I have been seen at the sunny end of platform 11b in New St. Station, mobile in hand, so I could be mistaken for a railway enthusiast.  Similar to Mike, I am, actually.  I volunteer on the GWSR (Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway) as a Drainage Team member and I work on restoring a steam loco that hasn’t turned a wheel since 1967.  So, shoot me, but I like process and order, playing in water and rusty hulks.

That is why I like (with my host’s approval) to have a “theme” for our days out driving in the expansive environs of UTAC, Millbrook on the SMMT Test Days.  This year, one had to be thoroughly vetted before being allowed to attend, in order to cut down on “tyre-kickers” and free-loaders who have often  got in the way of serious reporting in previous years.  It costs these manufacturer/importer attendees a great deal of money  to support such events, so they do not want to have their time and money wasted.  

But anyway – on with the show. Mein Fuhrer Mike has asked me to pick three cars and give you a couple of paragraphs on each, so here goes.  It has to be said that all were good cars, well-designed, executed and presented.

MG Cyberster

As I was for 10 years an employee of SAIC/SMTCUK (Shanghai Automotive/Technical Centre UK), I decided that I HAD to drive the Cyberster.  My son told me to do it and I wanted to do so!  It looks great, it feels great and yet I had no driving experience of this beauty.  I had nothing to do with its creation, so there was a chance that it could be really good.  For those ten years, I and about 300 other ex-Rover Engineers and support staff had trained kids who were straight out of University how to be Automotive Engineers.  At the beginning (in 2005), these kids literally couldn’t oil their own bicycle chains, as on most street-corners in Old Shanghai sat a Pythonesque “Bicycle Repair Man” (Episode 34: The Cycling Tour. This episode aired on November 19, 1971).  So, they didn’t need to know!

This car looks right. It is full of detail that engages the eye, textures that beguile the hand (I witnessed my Hon. Ed. Passenger stroking the centre console “flying bridge” as if he were admiring a lady’s thigh).  The switchgear is interesting, the storage options are considered and we liked it  – quite a lot.  Off we went, heading (as in all my tests at Millbrook) to the “Hill Route”, with its searching cross-banding bumps plus twists and turns.  We were childishly delighted to hear an “engine noise” generated through the speakers, which of course I played on as driver.  The performance was as expected for an EV, outstanding.  The ride was expected to be possibly harsh or even to display some scuttle-shake, but not a bit. 

This is an accomplished car and makes one smile from first view to walking away, glancing over one’s shoulder.  The back end is glorious, for example.  I suspect that leaving the car in one’s garage or on the drive would entail a look back in some appreciation of the flowing lines or the scissor-doors in action.  Beautiful.  Two crazies from the MGCC bought one and had it wrapped as they could not buy one in their preferred shade of blue.  £6k later they were still happy.  (Safety Fast August 2025).

My dictated notes for the day were “star of the day.  That was totally amazing; way better than I thought it would be.  No undue chassis-flex, it was solid, nicely trimmed, a well-engineered car”.  It was to be my bench-mark for the day.

Jaecoo 7 PHEV

This was one of two Jaecoo’s that I tried, a straight petrol and then this, a £35k PHEV.  The petrol car had seriously impressed me with the interior trim variety, tactility and appearance and its ride quality.  I expected the more expensive PHEV to be a step above and indeed on static, first hand-shake (the door handle) it did feel like a better car.  However, the driving experience was not as good, with too many rattles and shakes, particularly in the rear.  Door shut quality was however good, and the car full of features, such as the ability to adjust the front passenger seat from the rear seats, all of which pleasantly surprised me.  There was a Jaecoo “family” feel to the trim, which featured a wealth of piano black, brushed aluminium effect, chromed plastic, illuminated LED strip, soft-feel geometric trim and even a piano-keyboard fascia piece in the petrol which amused me.

How would I feel having spent the required GBP on this?  Not happy with the rattles, but maybe that was just this example.  (The MGS5 was so much better).  The usual twin-screens were clear and expensive-looking.  It was imposing and had big-car feel, but may benefit from some European Engineering finesse.  It startled me how thoroughly well it did drive (for an “unknown” manufacturer) and I was suitably impressed.

 

BYD Sealion 7 EV

And now….. for a car that you may have seen advertised on TV.  You may also have spotted a dealership (there is even one in Worcester – saucy).  Who would name a car Sealion, except for perhaps a certain aquatic mammal?  I was intrigued to try it, having been brought up on a diet of allegedly exploding BYD EV’s from my time working in Shanghai and seeing the Build Your Dream offices almost daily.  BYD has been around for a while, in fact 23 years as a car company.

Presentable door-handles featured a BYD logo, in case you weren’t sure, but what a great way of introducing itself to the driver, during the car’s “hand-shake”!  The vehicle is a comfortable place to be; the build quality looked and felt good, the stitching of seats and leather/suede trim excellent, all panel and trim gaps looked to be at class standard, but this is 500bhp and over £50k!  The seat style and shape are welcoming and catch the eye – it looks to be aerated trim, so no sweaty bits when driving?  The “flying bridge” (as there is no transmission tunnel on an EV) was well-executed with good storage and the drive, even in Normal setting was exceptional.  So fast and thoroughly competent on the bumps and lumps of the Hill Route.  It was an enjoyable drive and I felt well up to class standards again.  None of these “unknowns” disappointed.

 

XPeng G6 EV

I know I promised three cars, but as there was only one of these, imported by IM (International Motors) and I used to work for a Mr. Ping in Shanghai, so it was close enough for me. This is described as an “Ultra Smart Coupé SUV” on their web-site and claiming a 550km range (wanna gamble on that?) with ultra-fast charging, I found it sadly amusing as JLR backs out of making a similar car in the i-Pace, that these people, who have only been around just over a decade, should present something as good as this.

This was a very competent car, well set-up on the motor retardation; i.e. just how I like it as an ex-motorcyclist; lots of “engine braking”. Presentable door handles like a Tesla or an i-Pace were not as user-friendly as the BYD, but a neat touch. Not as easy to navigate on the central screen as the others, but a few annoying “bings and bongs” noises that the Chinese love so much (I had to pay to have them turned off or down in volume on our MG-HS)

This car featured a column gear-selector, rather than a central lever, but again, it drove with aplomb and carried me in comfort over the bumpy bits, only stepping out a little as the car was unsettled/unloaded, so it became a little choppy compared to the others.  I could not really fault it otherwise and it went like stink, so plenty of smiles up and down the hills. I was quite impressed at about £45k, but this is an unknown Chinese brand and despite what some of the company representatives thought at this event, there is still some doubt, maybe even badge snobbery about cars from the Middle Kingdom. Yes, I know most of our i-phones come from there, as do many of our manufactured goods, but there is still an element of “it should be cheaper”.

So, there we are. Not a bad car amongst them. I was surprised at how good all of them were and also at the prices. That reminds me – I recall being asked by MG Motor in 2013 how much they should sell the base MG3 for and we were stunned as Engineers to be asked, but to their credit stuck with our “below £10,000” suggestion. We were never consulted again