The Maxus G50 Made Us Appreciate The Safety Features We Take For Granted

The Maxus G50 is one of the most compelling MPVs that we’ve driven. It’s not just good for a Chinese car, but it’s good period. As a matter of fact, this is something we’ve already concluded through a comprehensive review we made of the Premium variant. So when Maxus Philippines arranged a media drive for an MPV that’s already been in the market for a couple of years now, what’s left for us to discover?

As it turns out, there’s one aspect that we rarely ever get to learn, and that’s in terms of safety. No, we did not crash these cars, but thanks to the controlled environment of a media drive, we were able to test a couple of safety features that we often take for granted, yet one that if I find out that it isn’t equipped in a vehicle at any price point will get a bad mark in terms of safety. That would be the anti-lock brake system (ABS) with electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD) and electronic stability control (ESC).

Through a slippery and soapy wet course, we pushed the Maxus G50 to its grip limits, braking both in straights and in corners. Without ABS with EBD, the wheels would have locked in these situations, rendering you unable to stop the car in the shortest distance possible or even worse, collide with an object that you were avoiding since the slippage will also prevent you from changing directions.

Likewise, if your car does not have ESC, steering the Maxus G50 during hard braking situations will also be almost impossible. But more importantly, with ESC, the risk of spinning out, especially during harsh weather conditions is greatly reduced. These scenarios to which we’ve subjected the Maxus G50 to are at their absolute extremes, and it’s one that most drivers probably will rarely experience in their lifetime. And yet that’s what makes these features important. You’re practically assured of the car’s controllability if these rare driving scenarios ever happen to you since these safety systems still let you place the car where you intend it to be.

What this media drive highlights are the importance of ABS with EBD and ESC, and why I commend Maxus Philippines for not scrimping on these safety features. I continue to stand by my view that every single car sold should come with these necessary safety gear, because even to this day, there are a number of cars that still don’t come with these features, which are already required by law in numerous other countries.

On the other hand, Maxus manages to equip the G50–even in its base Comfort variant–with these necessary safety features that are often taken for granted. That is unless you’ve actually been subjected to such a scenario yourself and you would have been thankful that your car came with ABS with EBD and ESC.