THE BRITISH Empire may have ruled much of the old world through its spread of colonial empires. But after taking a nasty beating during the recent recession, it’s lost a lot of the clout it once had and in the meantime, it’s also lost a lot of its automotive brands.

For instance, Jaguar is now owned by Tata Motors. The British automotive marque, Mini, is owned by BMW and the latest victim? Morris Garages or MG as its fondly known was consumed by the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation Group (SAIC).

But truth be told, it was either this, or these icons disappear into the pages of time. And I for one would rather drive a Chinese MG than no MG - and that’s exactly what I did.

Return of MG

MG returned to South Africa in a rather low-key affair and I’m sure a lot of you are saying: “What? MG’s back?” The answer to that is: “Yes!” And it has been for a few months now, with about ten dealerships countrywide and countless promises that this time MG is here to stay.

It didn’t take long before I found myself behind the wheel of different MG6 derivative, courtesy of MG East Rand. Currently the MG6 is the only vehicle on offer in the MG stable but it does come in fastback and sedan styling with a host of different spec levels.

Admittedly, at first glance, the design of the sedan may not appeal to everyone, but there is something alluring about the fastback.

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