The spacious electric MPV people need

The seven-seat Maxus Mifa 7 comes with a very attractive price tag

- Lee Nian Tjoe

Smoking, as the warning on cigarette packs says, kills. The Maxus Mifa 7 electric vehicle (EV) is so committed to snuffing out the habit that it sounds an alarm if it detects the driver puffing behind the wheel.

The car monitors the driver constantly with the camera mounted on the front pillar, so there is no hiding. You can deactivate the "Driver Smoking Behaviour Detection" and "Driver Phone User Behaviour Detection" features using the touchscreen infotainment system.

I am not sure if smokers will be prompted by the Mifa to quit, but if they do, they will get to appreciate how quickly the Maxus' power windows wind up, not to mention how much better food will taste.

The Mifa 7 is the smaller sibling of the Mifa 9. Well, relatively smaller, because at 4,910mm long, the car is bigger than the Honda Odyssey (4,860mm), but 100mm shy of the Toyota Alphard. It may be just the perfect size for families needing the space, but find the Toyota a bit too big.

Crucially, the Mifa 7 is a value buy, at slightly over $240,000, compared with the $400,000 Alphard. This puts it in contention against smaller people-movers like the Nissan Serena and comparable models from parallel importers.

Its fashionably slab-sided design screams tech, complete with powered sliding doors. Its door handles retract automatically with a very loud thud, like a vault.

The cabin is spacious, if not particularly luxurious. It has a two-two-three seating arrangement.