Agent47 Posted December 5, 2021 Posted December 5, 2021 The cheapest new car you can buy in the UK today is the Dacia Sandero, whose prices start at £9845. If you’re after a cheaper way to get around on four wheels in something new, the Citroën Ami (officially classed as a quadricycle) is likely to set you back just under £6000 when it goes on sale in the not-too-distant future. But if you want a real motoring bargain, you need to go to China. The cheapest car on sale there is the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV, which will cost you the equivalent of £3400 – merely the PCP deposit on most cars. Unsurprisingly, such affordable motoring has proven po[CENSORED]r: Wuling has sold 370,000 examples in just 12 months. Wuling is a Chinese car firm you’re probably not too familiar with. It was founded in 2007 in the city of Liuzhou, near the border with Vietnam. But you will know the others involved in the joint venture that builds the Mini EV: General Motors has a 44% share and MG parent firm SAIC 50.1%, with Wuling the remaining 5.9%. The Mini EV is a three-door electric microcar, and while those aren’t new in China, this is the first one to truly have success. Part of the reason for that is its stripped-back nature. Some of this stems from its development: the model supposedly went from clean sheet to production in only around a year – which is entirely believable when you get close to one. Compared with the heavier but more stylish Baojun E300, the Mini EV really goes back to basics. A dual waistline along with obvious arches for the 12in wheels accent very boxy looks. Still, much like Dacia has made the Sandero a little posher over the years, the Mini EV isn’t as bare-bones as it was when first launched. Our recently introduced Macaron version adds some much-needed safety equipment, along with less essential but funky avocado pastel paint and white wheels. There’s also a Macaron badge on the driver’s side C-pillar. The interior is utilitarian at best and its plastics have the tactility of an emery board. Still, splashes of avocado matching the body colour around the radio controls, door-pulls and passenger cupholder jazz up the interior somewhat. A digital dial screen is the only real concession to modern technology and shows driving data such as speed and range along with a nice graphical rendition of the car, plus it acts as the reversing camera’s display Much like in a 1980s Citroën, the controls for the electric windows are located on the centre console, next to the drive selector knob. There’s no Park setting, though: the handbrake is the only way to hold the Mini EV. The car measures a diminutive 2920mm (about 500mm longer than the Ami and 1000mm shorter than the Sandero), yet four adults can fit in without too much contortion. Mind you, access to the back is predictably quite tight from both sides, and once you’ve squeezed yourself in there, leg room is minimal. And the lack of rear headrests would make anything but short journeys tiring on the neck. The boot is basically non-existent when the seats are up: at best, you might be able to fit in one very thin painting. Charging cables fill up the space at the bottom of the boot. If you need a bit more capacity, the back seats simply push down and pull up via a strap. Similar clues to the budget nature of the build quality are shown in areas such as a simple bare screw attaching the door pulls in the front. Once in the driver’s seat, you immediately notice two issues. First, the driving position is very high and the seats are non-height-adjustable. Second, the pedals (marked with ‘+’ and ‘–’ signs, like in the Volkswagen ID 3) are offset to the centre. Link : https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/features/china-your-hand-wuling-mini-ev-driven
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