PIZZA HUT BOX TRIPLE TREAT ♥ GIANT REVIEW
We drove the first three Chinese cars coming to Oz - the city runabout Chery small hatch and softroader.
The narrow, winding, 1 km test track behind one of the four factories in the province Wu Hu Chery about four hours drive west of Shanghai is too short for a test drive itself, but it is enough to get a glimpse of what we can expect when the first cars of Chinese brands arrive in Australia later this year.
vehicles manufactured in China are already on sale in Australia through the rival brand Great Wall Motors, which started selling a pair of utes and a wagon 4WD in Australia last year by the independent distributor Ateco Automotive Before briefly sold Volkswagen sedan made in China Polo between April 2004 and May 2005.
Ateco plans to begin importing Chery vehicles by the end of this year and is in the process of appointing the small car called 40 to 50 dealers nationwide and this trio of models Chery J1 called the Light Car, J3 and J11 Tiggo softroader called China the first Chinese passenger car brand to come Down Under.
More cars are due to follow Chery, Geely and Great Wall Motors brand that has just bought Volvo Swedish manufacturer.
In addition to being able to sit in the cars, the doors slam, pop open and close doors and glove boxes and discover secret cubbyholes, we were free test lap of 1 km in Chery three cars as often as we wanted an hour.
As is the case with many tracks adjacent validation tests with distinct auto plants of high-speed test tracks where cars are developed, the circuit we rode on was dotted with smooth surfaces, bumps, undulations and ripples to highlight squeaks, rattles or loose bits of each car leaves the production line through the final round before being loaded on transporters.
To keep things interesting, there was a steady rain during our visit, which allowed us to sample at least antilock brakes and windshield wipers.
In summary, there was often pleasant surprises, some examples of quality ho-hum, and some areas for improvement Here's how they stacked.
Chery J1 Chery J1 Light Car softroader and J11 will be the first Chery cars in Australian showrooms Both vehicles go through the final design rules Australian ADR approval and should be available on site during the last three months of 2010 .
Although the price is still announced the Chery J1 is designed to compete with budget cars such as the Hyundai Getz, Kia Rio, Holden Barina and the Suzuki Alto, which will all prices from 12990 to 13990 driveaway.
To remain competitive, the Chery J1 will be priced below those rivals have established a number of 9999 vehicles travel has a nice ring to it, but the dealer had not been referring to any RRP that this test was written.
We will decide on the price closer the launch, said the head of new businesses Ateco Automotive, Dinesh Chinnappa.
It really depends on the currency we want to come in Korean, but not by much and we want to offer a better value proposition more equipment for the same or less money.
To this end, the Chery J1 will be better equipped than the cheaper Koreans because, in addition to a body of five doors instead of a body with three doors, all J1S Chery will have anti-lock brakes and wheels alloy both are standard option on the cheapest Korean models.
Standard equipment includes two airbags, air conditioning, electric windows, remote central locking, CD player, USB audio input and tire size spare Radial relatively small CHAMPIRO GT 165 60 14 tires not it difficult to find space for a full size spare under the trunk floor.
Only the Suzuki Alto Indian manufacturing has more equipment than the Chery J1 The little Suzuki gets six airbags and stability control for 12,990 driveaway and is available with an automatic transmission for an additional automatic 2000 is not available on the Chery.
J1 may seem small in the photos he almost Daihatsu Move type proportions with its narrow top part, but it is more spacious than it appears the cabin has plenty of headroom front and rear and design and interior quality were both pleasant surprises.
The quality of equipment indicators and windscreen wiper rods, electric window switches and climate controls felt comparable to the current crop of cheapies of Korea and Malaysia.
Powered by a 1 3-liter four-cylinder with a five-speed manual transmission, J1 is highly refined and reagent, the latter presumably due to its weight feathers.
It covers the work without much ado The suspension is comfortable, not get excited by larger bumps Chery test track could throw.
The sweep of the wipers reviews on the windshield is low speed wiper on the highest setting does not seem fast enough to heavy rain.
Braking performance was her but we'll reserve further comment until the test in Australia in a few months.
Chery J11 Chery J11 is likely to fill the void left by the two Korean softroaders as they move upmarket, the Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage.
Both vehicles were replaced by larger, all-new models which is why Chery J11 believes could be his biggest seller in Australia at the beginning.
The price is yet to be confirmed, but if the Chinese Great Wall Motors X240 is made with all driveaway 23990 Sturdy clasps 4WD, then surely the only front wheel drive Chery J11 has to enter this award.
Chery J11 is powered by a 2 0 liter four-cylinder engine and is provided with five-speed manual or an automatic four-speed transmission.
At first glance from the front, it looks like just another softroader relatively anonymous, but from behind, you could be forgiven for thinking you're looking at the previous generation Toyota RAV4.
It is even behind the wheel design and layout of the dashboard and instruments are likely to be familiar to anyone who had a RAV4 to 2000-06.
The J11 is also about the same size as the previous generation RAV4, so those who think the news is too important fraction can find a call here.
As with the J1 Light Car, the J11 softroader felt quite spritely The engine revved cleanly and smoothly, and overall he drove quite well, especially on bumps and rough surfaces.
We'll reserve final judgment on the performance of Maxxis MA501 215 65 16 tires until we are on earth local firma.
Reviews Most plastics in the cabin were hard and the joints and gaps in the dashboard are below average in performance.
Chery J3 stick Ford badges on this car and it could go as a new generation Ford Focus Not that the car its copycat rather this comment was intended as a compliment to the Chery distance and China came in design in a period relatively short time in the automotive world.
Chery J3 is particularly important because the brand that once broke by General Motors to borrow the design of Daewoo Matiz for one of its cars in the city, has its corporate pride on one side sponsored respected Italian design house Pininfarina styler its new sedan.
The J3 is on sale in China last year and should follow the J1 and J11 models in Australia by about four months, put it in local showrooms in early 2011.
Chery was originally designed to compete with D3's most beautiful Europe, it has a higher level of structural safety and a higher level of standard safety equipment.
This car may be the first Chinese car brand sold in Australia with side airbags in the front seats and stability control.
The European accent with the word game also explains the smooth design with its carefully designed surfaces, including a clever rear stop lamp that background as a bump in the roof line and rear door handles hidden ala Alfa Romeo it is a work looking sharp.
So it was very disappointing, then, to see that the drive brief experience didn t match expectations or printing of vehicle quality and integrity of the design.
The four-cylinder engine 6 liter 1 felt lethargic ordinary, perhaps because the body stronger, you can see the extra thickness of the structure of the car in the roof and doors added too much weight.
The cars of this size and weight in Australia have generally August 1 or 2 liter engines 0 A Chery official said the Carsales network 0 a 2 liter is being developed for the J3 and follow 12 months after the Australian release the vehicle can t come soon enough.
Unfortunately, this is not the end of the J3 misfortunes The rack management vibrated on rough surfaces, even when driving straight Hopefully this will not happen in the right wheel versions sent to Australia the cars tested were all the left hand drive.
space rear seat is comfortable, and headroom is limited by the roof that tapers at the rear, I'm not tall 178cm and my head hit the headliner.
The thick rear pillars also block rear parking sensors hope visibility three quarters of Let are standard but sound better than the drone of those on one of the cars we tested.
There was no wiper for the rear hatch window and part of finishing the detailed cabin left a little to be desired Example of an exposed screw near the auxiliary audio port I have not seen one of these last in a cabin since I was driving a Land Rover Defender.
Chery J3 Positives seems strong, has a great start and manufacturer with quality tires at Goodyear Eagle NCT5 vehicle 205 55 16, and included a full-size spare in the market.
Challenges Chery J3 must be less than 18,990 driveaway, which is where quality small cars begin as Kia Cerato Kia also gets an unlimited guarantee of five kilometers compared to the three years 100000 km treat that will be offered with all Chinese manufactured vehicles distributed by Ateco Automotive.
Chery J3 was the car I wanted to love the most, but ended up loving the least.
If Chery wants to make a good impression with this vehicle, the need for much more polished J3 in several areas before being put on a ship to Australia.
About Chery Chery is pronounced ree-che and, roughly translated from Chinese into English, means that unique Chery cars may not have always been unique style, but its phenomenal growth rate is certainly special in automotive world.
With only 10 years of experience in manufacturing and selling cars, Chery is one of the youngest car manufacturers in China It is a feat he has already become the largest independent car manufacturer belonging to the country and China's largest exporter of vehicles bearing the brand.
Chery began to build its first factory in 1997. The first car rolled out of the production line in December 1999 and the company sold its first vehicle in early 2000. He now has four assembly lines of cars, two factories engine and transmission plant Respecting 2 8 million square kilometers meters of land owned by it, he built another five auto assembly plant to be operational next year.
While Chery is partly owned by the Chinese province where it is based, there are other private shareholders.
The company is on track to produce 1 million cars this year, well ahead of forecasts has been the biggest seller among Chinese brands for nine consecutive years in the last three years, Chery has remained among Chinese automakers top 10 and was the largest selling brand behind Volkswagen, General Motors, Toyota and Hyundai.
Chery exports to 80 countries account for almost half of its total production.
The company has 20 models in its range, including hatchbacks, sedans and vans, but the Australian distributor says it will choose a fraction of them, perhaps to five over the next three years.
Chery is also developing a hybrid system and a pure electric vehicle.
Of the 25,000 employees, Chery employs 5,000 engineers in research and development, including former Japanese engineers, German carmakers and North American The company says that by the end of 2009, he asked 4323 patents, more than any other Chinese carmaker.
Chery could only Chinese, but the company has form for copycat design In 2005, he settled a lawsuit from General Motors that challenged the design of the Chery QQ, a city car that bore a striking resemblance to the Daewoo Matiz.
Zhou Biren, vice president of Chery Automobile and General Manager of Chery International, said the network Carsales this week, we had a peaceful settlement with GM five years ago In other words, a fee has been paid.
When asked to comment on the similarities between the new van Chery H5 and the latest model Toyota Hiace, offsider in a roundtable with Australian media said different No other comment was offered.
But Chery seems serious about developing a unique design as evidenced by the development of Italian design house Pininfarina to the latest hatchback and berline Chery pen and improving the safety of its vehicles.
When asked how he expected the first Chery vehicles perform in crash tests ANCAP in Australia, Zhou said In China we have a saying that everyone has a gap course, cars are the same If we have a shortcoming, we will do the shortest period of time improvement.
When the date is determined for the first crash test of our vehicle in Australia, we will send our engineers in Australia.
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