Roewe 350 to be produced this month! Final pictures out!
The above car is the Roewe 350, the third self developed car from SAIC for their Roewe brand. The 350 takes on the design cues of the Roewe N1 concept car that was first seen at last years Shanghai Auto Show and shows that SAIC can take a car from concept to production in just a few months. The car itself is still a mystery, rumors of a 1.5T engine have been floating around for quite some time, but it is likely to launch first with a 1.5VVT (producing 76KW of power) engine which will cater to first time buyers and those who are searching for a car in the 100,000rmb sector. Gearboxes will come in the choice of a 4 speed autobox or a 5 speed manual, which are slightly archaic in 2010 but will suit the Chinese market and intended price segment quite well.
The 350 is also likely to make it to the UK as an MG3 or even MG5 if the small hatchback MG is set to be the MG2. For MG fans in the UK and Europe, it appears that 350 is on a similar size to the MG ZS or the Rover 45.
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Nice work Roewe. Whilst it probably won’t succeed in Europe due to being Chinese this car does prove that with a good base (the cutdown Rover 75 platform, in fact you could say over engineered for this segment of the market … how very Mercedes!) and with no-one to impress but themselves and Chinese consumers … Roewe have produced perhaps the best Chinese car to date.
Rover 75 platform?
Don’t think so!
It’s not based on the 75 platform, and if this was the best Chinese car, then the Chinese would kind of in trouble. Get your facts straight.
Very nice car, but in Europe as an MG ?
For a owner of a Rover 400 and a 45 no way
What?
It looks great and will make a great MG.
I have owned a 45 and now have a ZS (one of the last) and I think this new car moves the game on well.
Designed by Ricardo in the UK and funded by SAIC, I think it’s a real success.
It might be made in the UK for Europe – and even if it’s not, why should China be any less successful than, say, Korea’s Hyundai at marketing cars in the UK?
Well done SAIC.
@ Mark
> why should China be any less successful than, say, Korea’s Hyundai at marketing cars in the UK?
Hyundai’s actually a world-class auto brand now and the 4th largest auto maker in the world. It just toppled Toyota in 2010 Brand Loyalty Index in the US, largely because Toyota’s so screwed up nowadays with endless recalls and stuck gas pedals.
Anybody who says “Look, Chinese will be just like Hyundai in 10 years” don’t know what they are saying.
http://www.autospies.com/news/OUCH-Hyundai-Ranks-Replaces-Toyota-As-Tops-In-2010-Brand-Keys-Loyalty-Index-52472/
Thanks for the link blithering idiot…. was more interested after reading the comments at the bottom so had a look and did a search which led me to this…
http://247wallst.com/2010/02/01/brand-keys-laughable-loyalty-awards/
Exactly, they will be even more successful with better products than Hyundai.
The Roewe 350 will be the Elantra-killer.
As far as I know this car was not desigined by Ricardo. I was under the impression it’s been largely creditied to some wizz kid designer at SAIC, (seem to think there may even have been an article on it on this site).
76KW? Thats 102bhp, or to put it another way slightly less powerful than the 1.4K series even though its 100cc larger. What is the point of this engine?
Well, how about reliability for a starting point?
engines are not all about power, and it’s a 1.5 WT engine.
im from Malaysia. Good job SAIC for build Roewe 350 and hopefully this model will bring to Malaysia. RMB 100, 000. I think it is wothd for money for luxurious design both exterior and interior plus turbo engine althought it lack power. but its dvvt
Nice looking car, should fit in well in the shiwan price segment. With the right colour the 350 should look pretty sporty.
One thing I dont get, SAIC or nanjing at the time bought the K-Series and apparently renamed it the N-Series, so why is the N-Series not being used or is it?
As Rover never had a 1.5!
Chris
But on another note,
The 350 is a very nice car, shame it wont come to the UK as is and unfortunately will only be MG’d for the UK
The MG will be a nice car but I would like to see the “Rover” version also in the UK
Anyway, getting back to the car!! a good effort, a decent looking car, yes ok it maybe slightly underpowered for some these days, but in the current enviromentalist climate then maybe its not such a bad thing.
This design certainly is not based on the 75 platform and Ricardo were not involved in the design of this vehicle in any way.
Ricardo are currently in a joint venture to remould Nanjing Automobiles for the UK and European markets, heavily involved it is said in the up and coming MG6.
Fingers crossed for a bit more of a bright future for the MG brand.
You are correct that Ricardo had nothing to do with this car, but they also have nothing to do with SAIC, Nanjing Automobile or with any work being done on MG or Roewe cars. The last SAIC car that Ricardo had anything to do with was the Roewe 550.
SAIC bought Ricardo out the JV several years ago and the SAIC UK Technical Centre is fully owned by SAIC and based at the MG UK plant.
The work to create the MG6 based around the basic architecture of the Roewe 550 was done by in-house by SAIC and the work to turn the Roewe 350 into an MG will also be done, in-house by them.
Los Rover no fueron nunca coches fiables en nuestro país, ni en Chile ni y en la Argentina .- Tenian muchos defectos en la instalacion electrica y parte de su motorizacion .- Y ni hablar de los precios de los repuestos .- Hoy los chinos han invadido al Uruguay en autos, Camiones y motos .- Todos dejan mucho que desear .- Esperamos que con esta nueva marca mejore los materiales usados, y haya un mejor control de calidad.- Los autos britanicos siempre fueron de una buena confiabilidad, pero con los Rover ultimos se les bajo al 50% la confianza en los mismos.-