A while ago we showed the first images of Roewe’s new compact sedan called 550. Today, the Chinese automaker, which acquired the rights to build MG-Rover cars from the Brits in 2005, released a whole bunch of pictures of the 550. Despite the fact that 550’s exterior design has been inspired from a variety of cars including the VW Passat and the Lexus IS, we must admit that its styling is more than decent. Same goes for the sedan’s interior even though from what we know, Roewe did not acquire the rights from BMW to imitate its dashboard design… Still, we think you’ll agree with us when we say that the 550’s cabin looks a whole much better than many Japanese, Korean and American cars. The 550 will be available in
11 Comments:
It's looks like the new Citroen C5 in the back...
Not a bad effort to be honest. Maybe Roewe could do a deal with Tata,(if it now owns the Rover name), and start using on it's future products.
You've got to hand it to them, it looks great. The dash looks like a mix of BMW Mercedes and Passat... but is that so bad afterall? I mean you can't expect every element of a car to have a unique design, it's not a copy and that a great start!
They might be copycats but you have to admit, Chinese cars are improving in leaps and bounds. Just compare this to any Chinese car from 5 years ago
Apart from the slightly overdone grille design and unappealing front lights, this looks great - an appealing mix of styling cues inspired by (not copied from) Lexus, Volkswagen and several others that comes together into a very harmonious overall package.
The interior does look to be something a triumph for a Chinese manufacturer, despite its passing resemblance to BMW's interior design style. Everything looks like it's of good quality and reasonably well finished.
I can't help but wonder though, how much of this car is actually Chinese? As far as I know, the platform is largely derived from the Rover 75, while most of the development work and production engineering was carried out by Ricardo in the UK.
i do understand why the chinese are copying designs from other brands (insuring that the car will sell, as having similar design will attract buyers)
but i hope that soon they will have, there own unique design, as people who are designing this way is giving bad image to designers.
I am living in China now for the past eight years. I have decided to buy a new car and will be picking up my new Roewe 550 soon. I picked this over the nearest VW rivals because it not only competes with them, but beats them. It was indeed designed by Ricardo (UK) and is produced in a plant that was basically transplated from the UK to China. They have foreign and local lads working on this project since 2005. Five star saftey award. Quality inside and out is top notch. People may be wary of Chinese quality (sometimes justified) but this is a great exception. Super to drive and be seen in. Great job, boys!!!
i just love it!! it is a great type of car and a would love to have one of them. great job!
I've just got back from China today and saw quite a few of these whilst out there. They look really good in the flesh. Just some slightly awkward bits, like the grill, but otherwise really good.
Okay, a few corrections here: Shanghai bought the rights to the Rover 75 and Rover 25 and the Rover K-series engines prior to Rover's collapse. Nanjing bought the Austin-Morris-MG part and the MG sports car from the receiver in late 2005, but ran into financial trouble and was itself absorbed (I believe) by Shanghai. The Rovers were good cars and very modern. This car appears to be a further development on the Rover replacement for the Rover 45 mid-size car that was based on a Honda.
The dashboard is a further interpretation of the Roewe 750 dash design unveiled years ago. As for imitation and flatery, I also do not remember BMW getting permission from Triumph (a nameplate they now own) back in the early 1970's to use the Triumph Dolomite as the inspiration for their original 5 series (E12) design!
The car looks great and I wish SAIC had been able to buy Rover as was originally intended, but the British union made that impossible. SAIC has spent the last 30 plus years working with VW and GM to learn how to design and build modern cars and is quite capable of designing a modern car that can compete on the world stage. They are the one Chinese car maker that really can.
jeff savage
we need to know when is it coming to Africa
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