VinFast is a new manufacturer from Vietnam that brands itself as “the first volume automotive manufacturer” in the nation, as well as the first to ever take part in a major motoring venue such as the 2018 Paris motor show. It used the event to reveal its first two models in production trim, the LUX A2.0 sedan and the LUX SA2.0 SUV, models whose planned production is set to kick off in mid-2019 out of a brand new plant built in the north of the country.

Both vehicles are meant to evoke the beauty of their land of origin, and both vehicles are modern and pleasant to look at. But it’s the A2.0 sedan that looks like the classier design of the two, featuring a clean overall design with striking front and rear fascias and an interior that looks a lot like what Volvo is doing with its latest models.

VinFast apparently asked the local public to vote on the car’s design, and a reported 60,000 people cast their vote and choose out of a total 20 possible models designed by Italdesign Giugiaro, Pininfarina, Torino Design and Zagato. Most popular designs for the sedan and SUV were two by Italdesign Giugiaro, but they were further refined by Pininfarina with which VinFast collaborated to create the two cars that debuted in Paris.

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Exterior

An LED strip runs inward and then downward from the top part of the each of the car’s front light clusters, and this highlights the brand’s V logo which is prominently displayed in the middle.

It features quite slim headlights - we don’t know which part of the front light cluster does what, aside from the obvious daytime running lights, but the top part may just be for daytime running duty and the lower part may house the actual low and high beams for driving at night. The hood has a prominent bulge running from the front and tapering back towards the back - this brings further emphasis on the V badge and also gives the car a muscular stance.

There is a hint of modern BMW in the front bumper, but it actually looks pretty good and it flows very well with the A2.0’s design. Moving down the car’s sides, the long engine compartment and hood reinforce the fact that this is a front-engined, rear-wheel drive car with some sporting aspirations.

The rear end is dominated by the prominent LED light clusters each of which has a light bar running towards the badge, then taking a dive just before it to follow the contour of the V badge. It’s really not a bad design from a fledgling company with zero experience in making cars.

It measures 4.97 meters (195.7 inches) in length, it’s 1.9 meters (74.8 inches) wide and 1.46 meters (57.6 inches) tall with a 2,97-meter (116.8-inch) wheelbase. That means it’s just slightly larger in all directions than the current Mercedes E-Class sedan.

Interior

In total, there are four buttons and one rotary knob below the screen, then another four buttons next to the gear selector, for starting the engine, disabling traction control, activating the electric parking brake or turning off the stop-start system.

The rest of the cabin looks less Volvo-like, though, with design cues closer to what you’d see in a new Mazda vehicle - the interior’s lines are highlighted by very strong mood lighting which even in the photos taken live at the Paris motor show under hard light is still very visible.

It comes with physical analog gauges that flank a large 7-inch screen in the instrument binnacle, but we’re not told which functions it will be able to show. Regarding the infotainment itself, the manufacturer says it is very simple and easy to use, taking inspiration from smartphones instead of other infotainment solutions from other manufacturers - you can even simply swipe down to create shortcuts, just like you do in any Apple or Android device.

Three color themes will be available for the infotainment “to reflect the dramatic use of color in the Vietnamese culture and nature,” but users will be able to upload their own custom background image.

It also wants to emphasize that it will rely on a single supplier for all interior parts, in order to keep their look and feel consistent.

Drivetrain

Powering the A2.0 sedan is a 2.0-liter engine which will be available in two states of tune: 176 metric horsepower and 300 Nm (221 pound-feet) of torque or 231 metric horsepower and 350 Nm (258 pound-feet) of torque.

Power is sent only to the rear wheels in the sedan, via an eight-speed automatic transmission. All-wheel drive is not available for the sedan, being reserved solely as an optional extra for the SUV.

Pricing

No word on LUX A2.0 pricing yet, but for reference it is billed as a premium sedan and is about the size of a Mercedes E-Class or a BMW 5-Series. It should obviously be priced under these established cars in order to get people really interested in it.

At first it will be launched on the local Vietnamese market where its performance will be gauged and afterward it will be rolled out across other southern-Asian markets.

Competition

Mercedes E-Class

Mercedes makes one of the most accomplished midsize luxury sedans in the world, the E-Class, so any car in this size brackets needs to judged according to it. The E-Class has a wide range of powertrains, very good levels of quality, fit and finish as well as prestige.

Even if the VinFast proves to be a very good car, in spite of coming from a brand new manufacturer from a country with little tradition of building cars, the E-Class, which is now in its fifth generation, will be very hard to beat.

Read our full review on the 2017 Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

Lexus GS

Lexus GS should be in the same size class as the LUX A2.0, and it too is a difficult opponent to overcome. It has legendary reliability, bold styling in its most recent incarnation, efficient hybrid powertrains and supreme levels of interior quality and comfort.

It, like the E-Class, is available in Vietnam and it will be one of the cars on local buyers’ shortlist when looking for a vehicle from the segment. Even this Lexus, which is a far newer newer brand that’s not as prestigious as Mercedes, will still be an easier sell than a brand new sedan from a brand new manufacturer with no track record or experience.

Read our full review on the 2016 Lexus GS.

Conclusion

VinFast has high ambitions for its LUX A2.0 sedan, and by that I mean it wants it to be a competitive premium sedan to rival what the establishment has to offer. The car they showed in Paris certainly has the looks needed to attract the right kind of attention, thanks to some Italian design flair, and even its interior is not bad by current standards.

Its one powertrain option will limit its appeal, especially since rivals offer V6 and even V8 engined versions of similarly-sized sedans. But even so, the one engine offered looks competent on paper, but before the car turns a wheel in a review, we can’t know what it’s like.

If it was judged on looks alone, then it’d clearly deserve a chance, but since it a car, it needs to do many things very well, so well you don’t know it’s doing them - that’s how high the bar is in the industry right now and it’s even higher in the premium segment.

Further Reading

Read our full review on the 2017 BMW 5 Series.

Read our full review on the 2019 BMW X5.