BAIC MZ40

The interior is again as you would expect a commercial van to have. Made of hard plastics and fabrics, it is made to be durable and cheap. There is, however, no lack of space thanks to the 2700 mm wheelbase and the nearly 1400 mm front and rear track width. This creates a lot of legroom and elbow room. The tall design means that even people taller than 6 feet will not find it difficult to fit inside. There is some space behind the third row of seats for storing cargo. But larger loads will need for these seats to be removed, which is thankfully not difficult. The engine lies under the front row in a sideways position. But there is enough space for the driver and one passenger. The seat is also not too high while still providing a good view outside. The driver gets a power side view mirror on the transporter models. Also standard in these models are power windows, remote central door lock, and remote keyless entry. These also get dual manual air conditioners with roof mounted blowers for the second row. There are plenty of storage cubbies and a dash-mounted cooler box in all variants. Infotainment is handled by a 1-DIN audio system with 4 speakers supporting MP3 and USB connectivity.

Considering the price and the commercial nature of this van, there is not much to be expected when it comes to looks. Everything is functional and made to be cheap to repair or replace. Large halogen headlights and fog lights flank the grille and the bumper that are molded from the same piece. But at least are in the same color as the body. Speaking of body color, there are four combinations to choose from – silver with either silver, white, grey or gold. The luxury comes with chrome door handles while they are body colored on the others. There are turn signals mounted on the rear-view mirrors. The wheels are 14” alloys on the Luxury and steel rims with plastic covers on the others. The tires are 175/70. There is a high mounted brake light on the rear. The dimensions of the MZ40 are 4030 mm (L) X 1636 mm (W) X 1907 mm (H) with short 558 mm and 772 mm front and rear overhangs respectively.

The MZ40 uses a body on frame construction with a mid-front mounted engine balanced to avoid the tall van from rolling too much while turning. The driver sits behind the front wheels and is afforded a good enough view outside. The van has a car like steering characteristics and ride thanks to the independent McPherson struts with coils up front and a rigid axle leaf spring setup in the rear. The ride does get bumpy as expected for the third-row passengers. But the van is easy to steer in city traffic with a turning radius of 5.2 m. Keep the speed below 90 kmph and there should not be a reason to worry.

The engine running the MZ40 is a 1.2-litre inline 4 A12 unit from Mitsubishi mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. Producing 85 hp at 6000 rpm and 108 Nm of torque at 4400 rpm. This is comparable to other minivans in the same class but overall feels a little underpowered. There is, however, sufficient amount of torque that allows the van to carry its gross weight of 1850 kg. The top speed hovers around 140 kmph while the fuel economy is around 10-12 kmpL while the fuel tank has a 45-litre capacity.

The MZ40 is provided with disc brakes on the front along with drum brakes in the rear. There are seatbelts for all seats, but no airbags. There is a load proportioning valve on the rear axle that keeps the van from skidding under hard braking.

The BAIC MZ40 is the cheapest van with 8 seats. And for many people, that itself is enough reason to buy one. It is not the most feature-packed van but works well in its intended role. Chinese brands have come a long way in terms of reliability and service availability. But it still has ways to go before it is comparable to something like its Japanese partners. If despite these little niggles, the MZ40 seems appealing, do give it a test drive and decide for yourself.