Chinese manufacturers have been making waves in the UK in recent years with the likes of Jaecoo, BYD, Omoda, and Geely launching car after car after car to the British market. While some models haven't made much of an impact others, like the BYD Seal and Jaecoo 7, most definitely have. Chinese cars may look in some cases like their European rivals, but they often give people more range for their money.

One of the most intriguing cars due to arrive in the UK is the Denza B5, a competitor to the Land Rover Defender, both of which I had the opportunity to drive at Goodwood's Media Day earlier this month. It should be said, first of all, that whilst I had the opportunity to drive both, they were under vastly different circumstances. As the B5 is not yet road legal in the UK, I was limited to the track.

Although this allowed me to push it as hard as I dared, this was in sharp contrast to the Defender that I took on public roads and could not take on track.

Nevertheless, the B5 was an intriguing prospect. The car itself is a hybrid with a 1.5 litre turbocharged engine paired with an electric motor on each of its two axles and A 31.8kWh battery sitting on a ladder frame chassis. In total, this means the B5 has 677bhp and 561lb ft of torque moving along a car that weighs nearly three tonnes.

Despite the laws of physics working against it, the B5 performed admirably on track. Yes, there was a lot of roll, but what do you expect with such a platform designed for conquering rough tracks rather than hitting apexes?

Furthermore, the hybrid system was able to keep the B5 travelling at a brisk enough pace down the straights where, for a moment, you forgot about the immense weight underneath you. Thankfully, the brakes were strong, and though there wasn't much time to assess this, it had decent ride at low speeds too.

Judging the inside is difficult as the interior isn't quite in UK specification yet with a dashboard featuring a series of three screens and a couple of physical controls. It won't be until we experience the UK specification that we'll get a full idea and give a complete verdict.

The Land Rover Defender I drove at Goodwood's Media Day was a special edition of the car the Denza B5 will be competing against in the UK market. Specifically, it was the Land Rover Defender 110 D350 Trophy Edition, with a starting price of £84,815. The car, a mild hybrid, has 350hp and 700 newton metres of torque (around 516.32lb).

The Defender, long a bastion of off roading excellence, was very civil on it. Inside it has the de rigueur touch screen alongside many a physical control and all manner of driving modes.

In terms of driving impressions it was relaxed with the diesel engine purring away and pulling the car with ease up inclines and across some of Sussex's most cavernous potholes.

With the only Defender I've driven being someone else's 90 variant from the 2000s, it was fascinating to be behind the wheel of a car I've been intrigued by for a while. I came back satisfied that, on tarmac it was a well handling vehicle.

The biggest surprise was when I asked myself whether I would opt for it or the Denza if I had to choose one to live with for a period.

To my genuine surprise, I choose the Denza. Maybe it's the fact it's the underdog, maybe it's the fact that its behaviour at the limit had put a smile on my face.

The car's price in the UK has not yet been revealed, as it still waits to become road legal. If it is close to the price range of the Defender's it may not replicate the success of the Jaecoo 7 - a car that has been aesthetically compared to the Range Rover.

But I couldn't help but come away wanting to know and experience more.