On August 1st, I was invited to attend the track test drive of MG MULAN in Hangzhou. As a two-door A-class pure electric rear-wheel drive car that focuses on sport, this car indeed gave me some surprises.
Sports Section
It is worth mentioning that MG MULAN and SAIC’s flagship IM L7 actually have the same origin, as they are both products of the E2 platform. Therefore, after experiencing IM L7 and praising its driving experience, I began to look forward to MG MULAN’s actual driving experience because although the two cars are completely unrelated in terms of pricing and level, some parameters and configurations of MG MULAN are identical to those of the “big brother” IM L7.
For example, both cars have a center of gravity height of 490 mm and use the German Continental MK C1 decoupled electric brake control system + One-Box electric brake system.
MG MULAN currently offers only rear-wheel drive single-motor versions, which are divided into two versions of 150 kW and 125 kW. I drove the 150 kW version this time, and I used the SPORT mode throughout the whole process.
This test drive was very short, and I had three laps (excluding drifting) on the above track. The first lap was to follow the coach’s guidance and get familiar with the track. On the first lap, I found that MG MULAN’s flexibility as a small car began to play a role in the turning radius of 5.3 meters and the steering ratio of 14.8 when making a U-turn. The turning angle of the car body was larger than I expected, and the steering wheel only needed to be handed over between the left and right hands when making a U-turn.
Of course, many people say that race cars do not require the use of both hands to make turns, and can complete large radius turns by themselves. You have to remember that MG MULAN is essentially a family car. Therefore, all my opinions are relative to ordinary family cars.
As for the front MacPherson and rear five-link independent suspension configuration, it is actually mainstream for family cars. In the test of quick cornering on the track, the vehicle’s center of gravity quickly shifted, but there was no repeated sway of the suspension, indicating that the suspension support was sufficient.
The MG MULAN tires used for the test drive are Premium Contact C from Pirelli, with a size of 215/50 R17. The tires in the photo have been subjected to drifting by the coach. Under full throttle, the 215mm tire surface did not slip before 80 km/h.
As for the steering feel of MG MULAN, I personally think it is still a bit light in the track test drive. The brake pedal response is also relatively linear when braking heavily.Overall, when it comes to the performance of the MG MULAN SPORT mode in off-road driving, I believe this car has the hardware foundation to provide a good driving experience for daily use. To give a conclusion on the daily driving experience, I would need to get a production version of the car and have a thorough experience.
As of now, the known battery information is divided into two different versions, 51 kWh and 64 kWh, which correspond to phosphate iron lithium and ternary lithium batteries respectively. Later on, MG MULAN will also release a four-wheel drive version with 330 KW/600 N·m and an acceleration of 3.8 seconds, which will be sold for less than 200,000 yuan. This acceleration, indeed, is unique among cars in this price range.
Exterior
The appearance of the entire car has been released for a long time, and the overall sporty atmosphere is very strong.
The front face adopts a closed shape, and the front of the car protrudes forward like a bullet. The headlight shape is also very sharp, with a “sawtooth” shaped lamp strip arrangement on the upper edge and a far and near light source on the bottom. In fact, if you look closely, the lines on the headlights and the shape of the lower body form an “X” shape, with the center of the “X” being the MG logo. The pointed corners of the headlights are also focused on the logo.
The length, width, and height of the entire car are 4,287 x 1,836 x 1,516 mm, with a wheelbase of 2,705 mm. From the side, the B and C-pillars are all designed in glossy black, and the overall solidity is stronger after applying film to the rear window.
The overall proportion of the appearance doesn’t look much like an SUV or a traditional fuel two-door small car. In the words of Shao Jingfeng, the Deputy Chief Designer of SAIC Group Innovation and Development General Institute, this is an XFV model, which can be simply understood as a crossover vehicle.
The tail design of MG MULAN is the most exaggerated and complex, with a divided hollow wing on the upper part, a interrupted through-type light group in the middle, and MG’s logo embedded in the center. When lit up, the prominent taillight group also displays the constellation of “Cygnus”.
At the bottom, there is a relatively large air-diffusing comb.
Interior Section
The interior style of MG MULAN is different from the strong sports style of the exterior design, and is relatively simple overall. Unlike some newcomers who focus on the large screen, the visual center here is a 7-inch instrument and a 10.25-inch central control screen.
The two-way steering wheel adds a return-to-center mark at the six o’clock position, echoing the “sport” theme. At the three and nine o’clock positions, it also features more comfortable concave-convex design.
The 7-inch instrument display provides abundant information: the left displays vehicle visualization, the center shows speed and battery life, and the right shows vehicle status information.
The central control screen is 10.25 inches in size, but as it wasn’t the final version during the test drive, it was not able to log in or access internet-related functions, so I was only able to enter the vehicle settings menu.
The menu logic is clear, but I couldn’t find any features related to driver assistance settings.
The gear knob and electronic parking brake of MG MULAN is placed on the suspended operating platform below the center console, with a tabletop reserved for mobile phones. The space under the gear mechanism is also excavated by suspended design.
The front seat of the vehicle has two interfaces: a regular USB interface, which should provide audio and video sources to the car radio through a USB flash drive; a USB Type-C port, which has become the standard interface for most mobile phone chargers, as well as a 12V cigarette lighter.
The back seat of the vehicle has a regular USB interface for charging only.
The interior style of MG MULAN is more suitable for family use, which is reflected in the design of storage space. In addition to the conventional door panels, armrest compartments, and glove box storage, MG MULAN also adds “pockets” at the back of the first-row seats, expanding storage space for rear passengers.
The trunk opening is relatively large, and the second-row seats can be folded in a 4:6 ratio. There are also storage nets on both sides.
Conclusion
According to SAIC’s description, the mission of MG MULAN is to benchmark the legendary “Model 2”. This means that it carries two expectations from SAIC: one is explosive product sales, and the other is product support for the MG brand.
It is apparent that MG MULAN aims to be a “good electric family car” and SAIC has put in a lot of effort to achieve this goal. However, the test drive was very short, and the official selling price of MG MULAN has not been announced in China, so it is difficult to say whether it can achieve the above goals.
Related Links:
On June 13th, MG unveiled the MG MULAN for the first time.
Zhang Liang, SAIC’s Vice President of Data Business Department, Chief Digital Officer (CDO) of Passenger Car Company and CEO of MG brand, and Zhu Jun, SAIC Group’s Vice Chief Engineer, and General Manager of Jieneng Company, who is called the “Father of SAIC New Energy”, gave detailed explanations about the positioning of MULAN, the whole MG brand, and specific technologies such as LBS lying battery technology and Cube battery ecology:
MG CEO, Zhang Liang: MG MULAN is benchmarked against Model 2# June 24th MG MULAN Exterior Review:
Not an SUV, Not a Sedan, is MG MULAN an XFV? (with Real Shot Photos)
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.