THE common perception of China-made vehicles is of cheap but low-quality vehicles, heavily “borrowing” from other marques when it comes to exterior design and engineering for their products.

However, the Foton MP-X aims to break that wall of perception. Surprisingly, to this writer, they did it with unprecedented success.

You won’t see it in the exterior, which looks like Foton leaned heavily on the current Hyundai Grand Starex for inspiration. The only differences are the thick but sporty six-spoke rims and the front fascia—which sports a more pronounced lower grille, the telltale Foton crest (which looks like an upside down Adidas logo), and a lot more slats on both grilles than that on Hyundai’s passenger van.

But when you check out the cabin, you’ll see that much thought went into the MP-X’s product planning. At the front is a wide windshield with surprisingly little blind spots, and all controls placed in logical areas. It actually feels like you’re driving a van from a Japanese or Korean marque as the gauge cluster readouts, steering column stalk knobs, middle dashboard aircon/radio controls, and even the rear row aircon controls are similar to that on the MP-X’s competition. The only thing odd about the front row is the wood trim, which sticks out like a sore thumb among the black and gray plastics and (occasional) aluminum trim.

The rear section is the highlight of the MP-X, as it offers comfortable seating for seven. Yes, you read it right, comfortable for seven, in both second and third rows. Three average folk per row, no one feels like he or she’s squeezed like a sardine in a Ligo can, even with the second row moved fully toward the back. The interior lighting (especially the white lighting above the third row) is a great aid for looking for small items in the dark, while the large side windows offer great panoramic views of what’s on the rear flanks of the MP-X. The cold air that comes out of the rear ceiling-mounted (immediately behind those in front) aircon vents can be controlled by a number of knobs in front of second row occupants’ knees. Lastly, the dual sliding doors on both sides make ingress and egress easy, helped a lot by a sunken “step board” of sorts (within the cabin floor, near the sliding doors) that’s a great aid for those with arthritis in their legs. One negative—closing the rearmost hatch is an effort, as for some reason you need to put your back (not just your arms and shoulders) into getting the said door to close.

The MP-X takes a lot of effort just going from point A to point B, but it does so with a dignity that doesn’t make its occupants complain. A notch past 2,500 rpm gets you into the powerband and by 3,000 rpm the turbo wakes up. The effects of the van’s narrow rev range can be observed in its top speed (131 kph), zero to 100 kph time (20.92 seconds) and consumption (8.23 km/l, five days mixed driving). The clutch is light and engages easily without chatter, but rowing through the gears is an effort—your right wrist and arm get a workout every time you put the M/T stick into a particular ratio.    

Like any van, handling isn’t a strong suit. Surprisingly, the unit is composed on turns, and the MP-X has ride comfort that can rival—or even better—its Japanese or Korean competition. It can be a bit stiff especially at the third row, but there’s little rebound, and (thanks to the thick cloth-lined seats) you feel like your backside is riding on pillows. The steering is light, but feedback is sloppy. Brake grip is inconsistent, but exterior lighting is bright and the unit has dual airbags. Foton also was thoughtful enough to incorporate parking sensors into the MP-X to aid in parallel parking. There’s even a dashboard readout that indicates the distance (in centimeters) from the van’s rear bumper to the front bumper of another vehicle.                

The Foton MP-X may have some serious transmission, brake and powerband flaws, but its overall driving and riding impressions definitely improve motorists’ perceptions of Chinese vehicles.