If you find that the well-equipped Maxus Mifa 9 is a little too big for your needs (and wants), the Mifa 7 is its smaller sibling, which comes complete with its own bag of tricks

Photos: Clifford Chow

GUANGZHOU, CHINA

Maxus may have had its roots in LGV production in its formative years under the SAIC umbrella, but with them moving into the passenger car business, producing people carriers is not a new thing to them. A few years ago Maxus introduced the G10 Executive van-based MPV to Singapore, and more recently, we had a go in the Mifa 9 electric MPV.

The Mifa 7 carries similar front and rear design language to the Mifa 9, which includes a cleaner interpretation of their “π” headlamps. Interestingly, Maxus has added retractable door handles to the slab sided MPV, to keep things neater, and perhaps to improve on aero… because the ‘a’ in Mifa probably stands for ‘aerodynamic’. Speaking of wind-cheating, the Mifa 7 is available with the option of door-mounted rear-view cameras, very much like those on the Audi Q8 e-tron, which Lionel and I took a drive with in Germany.

On the inside, the Mifa 7 features three 12.3-inch displays, all of which are integrated into a flat panel across the dashboard, all-of which are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8155 chipset. The Mifa 9, when launched in Shanghai, had a similar setup; but sadly, we did not see that trickle to the Singapore-spec car… or for that matter, cars destined for most other markets. However, in the Mifa 7’s case, the car was recently released to the Hong Kong market sporting all three screens. Other features up-front include twin wireless mobile device chargers, located on the bridge-style centre console, and audio provided by JBL.

You can choose between a six or seven-seater format, where interestingly, the six-seater version has its seats arranged in 2+1+2. Unfortunately, you are not going to sit in the middle of the universe, like an emperor in the middle row, but rather, that middle-of-the-middle seat is located on the driver’s side of the car, while the front passenger seat, which Maxus calls their "Queen Stretch Seat", can be rotated to face the rear.

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The seven-seater variant adopts a more conventional 2+2+3 layout, leaving a pathway in-between the middle row seats, providing shuffle access to the rear. The seats are coated in luxurious nappa leather, which is rare for a vehicle in its class.

The Mifa 7 is available both as a regular plug-and-charge EV, and also one with a swappable battery. Both variants are available in 77kWh and 90kWh outputs, where the former provides a lab-tested range of 527km, while the larger battery delivers 605km (CLTC). The battery swap technology is part of a joint collaboration between SAIC and battery manufacturer, CATL. The current battery swap network leader with around 2,000 stations globally is NIO, which produces the ES8 luxury SUV. The battery can be charged from 20 to 80 percent in 36 minutes via a 120kW DC charging system. Drive comes from the same front-mounted motor as the Mifa 9, which is capable of producing 189kW, or 241hp, and 350Nm.

Rumour has it that the Mifa 7 will arrive at our shores within the next two years.