Naming your vehicle using two digits may not seem like such a great idea — heck, even James Bond needed three just to make his call sign catchy. That didn't deter Lynk & Co from calling this model the 06. The name is ambiguous, to say the least. Fortunately, the premium Chinese brand gave it noteworthy features and equipment.

Lynk & Co calls the 06 an SUV on their website, but its subcompact size and unibody construction make it a crossover at best. The grille has two parts: a slim upper and a wider lower, which is good because this isn't a hybrid, and its engine will need proper air cooling. Its front looks a bit like the Porsche Macan, with the LED headlamps designed and framed by the haunches on the side of the hood. At the rear are Euro-inspired 'Energy Cube' LED taillights, a diffuser-type rear underbody cladding, and a dual exhaust system. It sits on 18-inch two-tone alloys.

The 06 doesn't have a striking design, but its clean lines, understated styling, and, more importantly, fancy equipment (panoramic sunroof, power tailgate) make it sophisticated enough to match the brand's image. Short overhangs give its profile compact proportions, while the sleek roofline and body cladding give it a touch of sportiness.

One thing Lynk & Co has to redesign is the chunky key fob. It's a lot to swallow for shallow pockets, but thank goodness for its passive entry system, which meant I didn't have to fumble around for it as I approach the 06; and the welcome lights turning on as I do is a neat feature.

Its all-black interior offers different textures: leather seats (with white stitching), shiny chrome, piano-black accents, and a foam-like padding over the dashboard. It also has a flat-bottom leather-wrapped multi-function steering wheel (with paddle shifters), a 10.25-inch digital instrument display, a 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen (with six speakers), and a dual-zone climate control system (with rear vents).

The bucket-type front seats aren't as snug as their form appears, but these have nets behind the backrests for storage. As compact as the cabin is, the second row gets a generous amount of legroom and will comfortably fit three people.

For a subcompact, the cabin is impressively roomy. There is even a wide center console with multiple pockets for storage. It also has all the bells and whistles of a top-of-the-line grade, but requires a learning curve. Some familiar icons representing features such as cruise control and auto-hold were either different, weren't there, or hard to find. I could use cruise control, but the button to activate it was circular, and I couldn't find a way to deactivate the auto Start/Stop feature. It may have been buried in the touchscreen menu, but like I said, it's not in plain sight, which means you'll have to do some hunting.

All grades of the 06 use a 1.5-liter turbo engine that sends 181-PS and 290-Nm of torque to the wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. Acceleration is smooth despite its enormous pulling power, which makes merging on the highway a pleasant maneuver. The gearbox is intuitive, as it should be, and smartly anticipates upshifts and deceleration. Fuel consumption was 10.7-km/l in mixed driving conditions.

Ride comfort is much higher than rivals in the segment. It feels more solid over humps and keeps noise, vibration, and harshness level very low. Handling is firm but needs some fine tuning as it feels much looser, especially at high speeds.

At P1.598 million, the 06 is at the price ceiling of the segment, and some competitors at this level have electrified powertrains, which means it is in the crowded and highly competitive subcompact crossover category. It has the 'tools' to match its rivals, but like I said, some fine-tuning is necessary before the emblem and name become familiar to Filipinos.