THE MG6 was in some ways a frustrating car. As the first vehicle produced by MG Motor UK at MG's historic Longbridge site it promised much.

In some respects it delivered but in other areas it was lacking. It had many good points, offering oodles of space, elements that had a premium feel and it delivered a decent enough drive.

On the flipside the styling was uninspiring, there were elements that were distinctly un-premium and initially it only came with a petrol engine.

A diesel engine did come later and interestingly the second generation version, which is described as a heavy facelift, dispenses with petrol power altogether in favour of diesel.

Another change sees the Magnette saloon version discontinued, with all models now a hatchback.

Perhaps more pertinently the price has been cut by several thousand pounds in a bid to persuade potential buyers to put the car on their prospective ‘shopping list'.

What MG hope is that the heavily revamped 6 will replicate the success of the car-maker's MG3 supermini, which has seen it lay claim to being the fastest-growing automotive brand in Britain.

As well as featuring an extensively revised exterior and an all-new interior the MG6 also boasts a number of engineering enhancements.

The price reduction is in part designed to see the car compete in the C segment against family-friendly hatchbacks like the Ford Focus, Vauxhall Astra and Skoda Octavia.

MG say their car comes better equipped than rivals while also delivering an exhilarating drive. Also that it offers a diesel engine for a similar price to a petrol one.

Side-stepping all the marketing spiel there's a fair measure of truth in what they say.

A family-friendly diesel-powered hatchback for £13,995 represents excellent value for money.

That's for the entry-level T model, though MG expect the mid-range TS (£16,195) and top-of-the-range TL (£17,995) models to be the main sellers, accounting for 50 per cent and 45 per cent of sales respectively.

The T's price tag is around £3,000 less than one would have paid for its predecessor.

MG are also promising transparent pricing with the price advertised by a dealer or on the internet being the price you will pay.

The enhanced exterior certainly looks better and includes features such as sharp angle headlamps, new LED combi lights and bumpers.

The premium elements of the outgoing model's interior have been reinforced to achieve more consistent good quality throughout and the 6 features quite a classy looking cabin with decent quality instrumentation and switchgear. Best of all the awkward looking and clunky handbrake has been replaced by an electronic one.

It's also comfortable and spacious with a generously sized boot.

Performance-wise the 6 has stepped-up, too.

It's 0-60mph time is around half a second quicker, while at the same time fuel economy is much improved and emissions reduced.

This has in part been achieved by an average weight-saving of 70kg and this, along with other engineering enhancements boost driving dynmamics.