Currently reading: New MG 6 revealed for Chinese market ahead of 2018 UK launch

Revealed at the Guangzhou show, the 6 has taken a leap upmarket over its predecessor

The new MG 6 has been revealed for the Chinese market at the Guangzhou motor show ahead of an anticipated UK launch next year.

Following the design of the new GS SUV and hugely popular E-Motion electric sports car concept, the 6 has a Mazda-like front end, with the intricate pattern in the grille inspired by Mercedes-Benz’s ‘Diamond’ design. MG calls the grille ‘Star Rider’. 

Guangzhou motor show 2017 report

Other higher-end touches include sequential indicators and LED lights. 

Inside, the 6 takes a leap upmarket over its predecessor, with the option for a red leather interior in its home market. The seats are electrically adjustable.

Motorshow 66

The new car also moves with the industry trends with an electronic parking brake, a central infotainment touchscreen and a smaller LCD driving information screen between the two dials. The dashboard is largely button-free, with the steering wheel housing the majority of the controls. Voice control is also included. 

More upmarket details on the dashboard, as well as round air vents and silver trim across the interior, give the car a less plastic-heavy look than before.

Underpinnings are shared with the Roewe i6 saloon, which has a wheelbase of 2715mm, making the 6 a future rival to the Hyundai i40. This also means that engines are likely to be carried over from the i6 - these are a 123bhp 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol with 125lb ft of torque, and the 1.5-litre petrol unit with 164bhp and 184lb ft of torque that's also used in the GS.

A plug-in hybrid option also features in the i6, combining the 1.0-litre petrol unit with an 82bhp electric motor. If this is carried over to the 6, it will be MG's first hybrid. 

2018 MG 3 to get new interior and more power

Internet connectivity is available on the Chinese-spec car, adapted from a system used across parent company SAIC’s other models. 

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An MG spokesman couldn’t confirm details of the UK-spec 6, but it’s likely that the UK car will be revealed at the London motor show next year, following the reveal patterns of the GS and XS SUVs.

It’s also likely that the second-generation MG 3 will make its debut at the London show.

Read more: 

New Roewe i6 to become next-generation MG 6

MG E-Motion EV sports car for production in 2020

MG Motor GS review

Mark Tisshaw

mark-tisshaw-autocar
Title: Editor

Mark is a journalist with more than a decade of top-level experience in the automotive industry. He first joined Autocar in 2009, having previously worked in local newspapers. He has held several roles at Autocar, including news editor, deputy editor, digital editor and his current position of editor, one he has held since 2017.

From this position he oversees all of Autocar’s content across the print magazine, autocar.co.uk website, social media, video, and podcast channels, as well as our recent launch, Autocar Business. Mark regularly interviews the very top global executives in the automotive industry, telling their stories and holding them to account, meeting them at shows and events around the world.

Mark is a Car of the Year juror, a prestigious annual award that Autocar is one of the main sponsors of. He has made media appearances on the likes of the BBC, and contributed to titles including What Car?Move Electric and Pistonheads, and has written a column for The Sun.

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russ13b 17 November 2017

styling etc

would you be able to live with the styling being so copied/generic if it drove and rode like a peugoet 405? cars looking generic is a far bigger problem than with just this one, it's almost an industry-wide cancer.

kboothby 9 August 2018

All the manufacturers are scared of change

None of them want to blink first, they are not prepared to spend billions on bringing a new car to market only for it to bomb.. no one can afford to be "radical" anymore

giulivo 17 November 2017

Looks like an i40 or Optima

And I mean it as a compliment. Now it needs an estate version, a long warranty and a competitive price. Am I alone in thinking that this would stand more of a chance with a brand new badge, much like Qoros or Great Wall or Geely; without having to try and pretend that they are something (MG) which they clearly are not. People may warm to the brand if it stands for honest unpretentious quality and good value, like they have to Dacia, Skoda, Hyundai and Kia, or in other industries, Huawei, Ryanair, EasyJet, Decathlon and such.

Mikey C 25 September 2017

The Longbridge assembly plant

The Longbridge assembly plant was an irrelevance anyway, the number employed was miniscule when compared to a proper factory

MG do still have some engineers in the UK, so there is a slight British link still