Until the 550, both Roewe and MG had been churning out rehashes of the inherited designs from the collapsed MG-Rover. So at first glance, this new car seems a bold move by Roewe. But scratch the surface and the Rover underpinnings are obvious.
Based on a shortened version of the Rover 75 platform, it shares a heritage with the stillborn RDX60, which was meant to be the medium-sized car to save Rover. Much of the design work for the 550 was done by Ricardo 2010 in Britain, which is largely staffed by ex-MG Rover engineers.
Despite its British design, the Roewe 550 could pass for a premium effort by any number of manufacturers: its modern looks are a match for designs such as the VW Sagitar (Jetta MkV) and it could even be mistaken for a baby Lexus.
The modern theme is carried through to the interior. Sit in the driver's seat and you are struck by the largely red digital instruments clustered around the central rev counter. There's a centrally mounted LCD display, which in our top of the range 550G test car is linked to the GPS, rear reversing camera and DVD/entertainment system.
Unusually for a Chinese car, there is a choice of interior trim. Seats come in either black or tan leather. With the plastics there's a choice of black with chrome highlights or split black uppers and cream lowers accented with fake wood and chrome. Just below the split and nestled between the air vents is the control knob for the LCD information display. Further down are the controls for the entertainment system including a slot for an SD card.
Bristling with equipment, the 550G covers all bases. As expected, there are electric windows, wing mirrors and sunroof, along with air conditioning. Hidden in a hatch near the steering column is a connection for an MP3 player. There's also a Bluetooth mobile phone system and cruise control.