MG's Mystery Compact MPV the Cloud Spied: Here's What to Expect

Introduction

MG may not have the cloud moniker in their line-up, but its sister company Wuling does. Internally codenamed the EQ100, it is a compact MPV co-developed by SAIC and General Motors which competes with the BYD Dolphin and VW ID3 in China. It is sold under Baojun in China and as Wuling in Indonesia, both subsidiaries of China’s SAIC (Shangai Automotive Industrial Corporation) along with MG. However the Indian iteration will be under MG, and it will be their third fully battery electric offering along with the MG ZS EV and the MG Comet coming this year. Although there are no specific details from MG, here are some things you can expect from some of the spy shots surfacing on the internet. 

Dimensions (Perspective)   

The Cloud EV stands at 4295mm long, 1850mm wide, 1652mm tall, along with an impressive 2700mm wheelbase. This makes it roughly 30mm shorter than the MG ZS EV on sale in India, however the wheelbase is 115mm longer than the ZS EV’s promising a roomier cabin. Compared to some traditional MPVs on sale in India such as the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga and Kia Carens, the Cloud is considerably shorter than both by 100mm and 245mm respectively. Comparison with the Innova Crysta is unlikely considering the Cloud is a compact MPV.         

Exterior  

Although the Cloud was heavily camouflaged, it is expected to come with a stepped front resembling a step seen on the Wuling Air or MG Comet. Like the MG Comet, the bonnet opening will be small which reveals an absence of a frunk that is due to the drivetrain comprising of the motor, inverter, and gearbox, plus other power electronics placed upfront. It can be safe to assume there will be no frunk, however that liberates more storage room at the rear, more on that later. 

Below the stepped front, there will be connected LED DRLs with the main headlight unit below. Although the front of the car was heavily camouflaged, the Cloud is unlikely to have a fake grill instead there is a clean, sheet metal across the front as seen on Wuling and Baojun’s iteration. Again based off of the same iterations, there will an opening lower down for the radiator to cool the battery coolant. 

The Cloud EV has an Interstellar Geometry, as Baojun claims, which is essentially shorter overhangs at the front and the back with a long wheelbase like many ground up BEVs. Nothing different here really, the side profile is expected to be clean with minimal creases and lines. However it is hard to miss the amount of glass area at the side, there is loads. There is glass around the A-pillar for added visibility for the driver, and the glass area continues to the back around the C-pillar. All the glass area will lead to an airy cabin with the amount of light coming in. Lastly, the flush door handles will likely make it to the Indian version as seen in the spy shots which are camouflaged. These will be similar to ones seen on Tesla Model 3 that will have to be pressed on one side to open.

As for tyre sizes, they will likely come in a five-spoke design whether they will be 18” alloys as on the Wuling spec is very much under wraps. We will have to wait till further details surface along with the location of the charging port. Although seen on the left side placed diagonally above the wheel arch, it will be interesting to see where MG will place it.

At the back, the same stepped design can be seen on the top half even in the camouflaged version. It is expected to carry forward the same, near close, wrap around taillights which are connected from the Wuling version. 

Wuling Cloud scores big on practicality with a 382L space which can be increased to 1700L by folding the rear bench. Plus there is additional storage space underneath the boot floor which can increase the boot capacity to 600L by removing the boot floor cover without folding the rear seats. Whether this storage makes room for a spare tyre in the India version remains under wraps. Going by the Wuling’s iteration, the MG version is expected to have loads of practical storage space in the boot.   

Interior

As seen from the spy shots, the MG Cloud is expected to carry forward the dual screen setup (both LCDs) from the Wuling and Baojun versions. The central screen is 15.6” big while the driver’s display is 8.8” both of which run on the LingOS 2.0 operating system. The central touchscreen is expected to control most of the car’s settings including the HVAC, however there are stalks behind the steering wheel for the wipers seen on the right-hand side and the gear selector stalk on the left-hand side. The indicator stalk was not visible in the spy shot, however the controls for the indicator are on the same stock as for the wiper on the Baojun. 

The spy shot reveals a two-spoke design with physical buttons on both sides of the wheel. It is easy to mistake the steering wheel for a three-spoke design, however the supposed third spoke is part of the storage space underneath the central console, more on that soon. There seem to be no paddles behind the wheel to adjust the regen which likely be controlled from the central touchscreen.

Further down, there is a floating console which houses three cupholders apart from the ones seen on top of the dash. The club shaped cupholders from a deck of cards holds up to three bottles as seen in the image. There is additional storage space underneath with two USB charging slots. A wireless inductive charging pad sits in front of the central storage between the front seats. 

The seats on both the Wuling and Baojun versions have bubble quilted seats which is straight out of a lounge, and the test car has the same seats in black. Given the warmer climate in India, it would be nice to have a lighter colour which we will have to wait till further details emerge. However the bubble quilted seats seem likely to make it from the test car.  

Despite the camouflage all over, there will be glass area around the A-pillar which on the test car is covered from the outside. Speaking of the space inside the cabin, the glass areas around the car will add a sense of space and airiness inside the cabin. The Cloud sold overseas does come with a panoramic glass roof, however even the roof was covered. Fingers crossed for the glass roof making it to the production version.

At the back, the Cloud is known for its spacious backseat credited to its 2.7m wheelbase which translates to a roomy backseat. What’s more, the backseat can recline up to 135° to get comfortable. To further pamper rear seat occupants, there is a dedicated almost circular vent at the back. Although the details about the reclining seats making it to the final car remain undisclosed, however it is safe to expect the Cloud will be amongst the most spacious cars in both its category and price range. 

Battery, Range, Charging, & Performance

The Cloud is offered with two battery pack options, mainly the smaller 37.9kWh and the bigger 50.6kWh with an LFP chemistry. Both these battery packs come in a single, front-mounted motor that churns out 137 horses and 200Nm of torque. Unlike the Tata Nexon EV which uses a more powerful motor for the long range version, the Cloud uses the same for both of its battery packs.

Regarding range, the Cloud delivers 360km for the smaller capacity and 460km for the bigger pack both on the optimistic Chinese CLTC cycle. While a 30-80% top up takes roughly 30 minutes on a DC fast charger.   

Whether the India spec car will come with two battery pack options or just one leaves room for speculation as the MG ZS EV’s battery pack is comparable with the Cloud’s bigger 50.6kWh which offers similar amount of range. More details soon.  

Tech

For prices ranging from 13,500-17,500 USD in China, the Cloud isn’t sparse on tech. It comes with 6-speaker sound system, 256 color ambient lighting, electrically operated tailgate, auto hold, automatic wipers, driving modes, and a DJI developed ADAS suite which includes adaptive cruise control (ACC), lane keeping assist, lane centering, blind spot monitoring, lane changing assist, park assist, and 360° parking camera. The ADAS suite remains a possibility, but not confirmed yet. However, it is safe to expect the Cloud to be well loaded for its price.   

Launch & Pricing       

The Cloud is expected to be priced around Rs. 14-18 lakh mark pitting it against the Tata Nexon EV, Punch EV, Mahindra’s XUV 400 and the upcoming XUV300 electric. Although a compact MPV, it is unlikely to be a BYD e6 competitor because the Cloud will be a 5 seat MPV while the e6 has 3 rows of seats to accommodate more people. MG plans to introduce the Cloud in 2024 itself, and it will be interesting to see how the 14-18 lakh segment will shake up with the new kid on the block.

Image Sources 

Title Image & Thumbnail: Wuling Indonesia 

 ^1,2,6,9 Rushlane 

^3,4,5,7,8,10 SGMW via Car News China

Would you wait for the MG Cloud? Or go right ahead and buy the Nexon EV? Let me know at [email protected]