Wuling Xingwang LZW6358E3 Is A Cool Chinese Minivan With A Weird Bumper

A Wuling Xingwang LZW6358E3, seen in the Chinese city of Changchun in 2016. The little old van was in a great shape albeit in need of a cleanup and some car. The front bumper may look very aftermarket but it was in fact factory standard at the time, and so were the shiny wheel arch extenders.

The Wuling Macan Xingwang was a long-running series of minivans and minibuses. Production at Wuling Motors started all the way back in 1990. The early Xingwangs were produced under license from Mitsubishi Motors and based on the Mitsubishi Minicab.

However, when the Wuling Xingwang LZW6358E3 arrived in 2009, that agreement was long dead, and production of the series had been taken over by the SAIC-GM-Wuling joint venture (SGMW).

Xingwang (兴旺) means thriving. In some export markets, the Xingwang was sold under the Wuling Dragon name.

The interior with the steering wheel in a truck-like position. Power came from a 1.0 liter four-cylinder petrol engine, good for an output of 46 hp and 71 Nm. The engine was mated to a 5-speed manual transmission. Top speed was 98 kilometers per hour. Well, that almost a hundred.

A 2009 factory photo of a brand new example. Red body color makes the weird bumper even more visible. Beautiful little car! They were very cheap. Base price in 2009 was just 27.500 yuan!

The Xingwang LZW6358E3 was a tiny vehicle: 3500/1445/1895, with 1780 millimeter wheelbase. However, in China, the Xingwang was classified as a minibus, and thus allowed to operate bus- and taxi services. Due to its box-like shape it had a of space inside, enough indeed for a maximum of 7 passengers and a driver. I have been inside these vans a lot when traveling down countryside, and 7 folks do indeed fir in, but it is thighs, especially when passengers take a lot of stuff, as they are wont to do.

The full designation is LZW6358E3. In China, every car maker has its own unique initials that form the first part of a designation. At Wuling, the initials are LZW, which stands for Liuzhou Wuling. Liuzhou is a city in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, where Wuling was founded and still got its headquarters. Most car makers include the initials in the designation badge on the car but at that time Wuling did not.

Badge time! Top: 五菱兴旺, Wuling Xingwang. That is the brand Wuling and the type Xingwang. Bottom: 上汽通用五菱, Shanqi Tongyong Wuling, SAIC-GM-Wuling. This joint venture was born in 2002 with three partners: SAIC, General Motors, and the original Wuling Motors. The joint venture took over minivan and minibus production but kept using the Wuling name. Today, the JV is best known for its successful small electric cars.

The seats in the middle were removed. The seat layout was: 2 front/2+1 foldable middle/3 in the back. But with kinds included these vans carried far more people, and smaller folks would find a place between the front seats too.

Wuling still makes various minivans and minibuses, most of them still petrol powered but ever more electric. However, none of those is as cool as the Wuling Xingwang LZW6358E3.