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| The Chery J2 leans a bit, then handles normal driving with aplomb. |
Simon Haw writes
“NOW everyone can afford to be sexy” is Chinese automaker Chery’s
tagline for the J2 1.5TX, recently released in South Africa.
I can only presume that the carmaker’s marketers have a very low
arousal threshold, for “sexy” is hardly the word I would use to describe this
new B class contender.
Not that the car’s outward appearance in the currently popular
jellybean school of styling is in any way offensive. It’s a neat if rather bland
looking product, but sexy it most certainly ain’t.
The sexy label seems even less appropriate for the hatchback’s
interior, which is something of a dirge in funereal blacks and greys, with only
the odd bits of silver plastic on the centre console and doors to lighten the
sombre mood.
Perhaps the sexy label refers to the instrument panel, which flames
up in a passionate Chinese good luck red when the lights are switched on. This
renders the small gauges difficult to see clearly, as is the mileage and clock
readout which requires quite a bit of squinting at to make out the red figures,
both by day and night. I found the large, high-mounted sound system easy to
access, but the radio never worked completely to my satisfaction, largely I
suspect because I needed an instruction manual of which there was none — not
even in Chinglish — in the test car. A decided plus was the provision of a USB
port.
Sticking with the interior — which smelt like an explosion in a
glue factory when I first made my acquaintance with the car, but seemed to have
shed most of its aromatics by the end of the week’s test — there is some fairly
tacky finishing in areas where the manufacturer hopes you will not look too
closely.
Said tacky bits came to light when I subjected the car to my highly
sophisticated and scientific Great Dane test. This consists of folding down the
rear seat and loading the Great Dane into the space thus created.
It was when the tester’s paw nearly penetrated the back covering of
the rear seat that I discovered that it was nothing more than an untidily
applied piece of felt-like material. However, while my cunning test revealed
some tacky finishing, in other respects the Chery — which is longer than most of
its rivals — fared well in the Great Dane test.
The hound fitted comfortably into the space and the fact that the
rear seat folds down completely flat is to my mind a bonus. This roominess
translates into a good-sized boot and better than average legroom and headroom
for back seat passengers.
Under the bonnet lies a bit of a mystery. According to all the
sources that I could track down the car is fitted with a twin-cam 72 kw 140Nm
1,5-litre engine. However, our Chery clearly had a single overhead cam set-up,
unless the company have found a way of hiding the extra camshaft. Be that as it
may, the engine gives the car reasonable grunt and seemed to give promise of
better things to come as the mileage clicked up. Fuel economy is about
average.
The brakes come with ABS and EBD, but, subjectively anyway, seemed
a bit on the anaemic side. However, in normal operation they pulled the car to a
stop without any histrionics.
All of the above might sound as if the Chery J2 is a bit of
non-starter on the South African market at least, and certainly my initial
impressions were not particularly favourable. However, familiarity, far from
breeding contempt, gave me increasing respect for a car that proved easy to live
with. The ride and handling, while not top of the B class, ensured that the car
was comfortable and easy to drive in everyday use.
And this brings me to the J2’s price sticker, which places it in
the middle of some ferocious competitors. The list shows the Etios, Figo and
Vivo are cheaper, but they are also lesser-specced and — on paper at least —
less powerful.
For its asking price of R129 900, the Chery, offers an extremely
effective air-conditioner and electric power steering and all sorts of
nice-to-haves, including electric operation on all four windows and the outside
mirrors, mag wheels and important safety features like the aforementioned ABS
and EBD.
On top of this the factory in China gives a two-year or 30 000 km
service plan and a five-year or 120 000 km warranty, as well as five years of
roadside assistance.
How many buyers at the lower end of the B segment market will be
prepared to give this Chinese marque a whirl, rather than buy one of the more
established makes either new or second-hand, only time will tell.
R122 800:
Etios Hatch 1,5 (66 kW, 132 Nm) — spartan, big boot
R126 800:
Ford Figo Trend (62 kW, 127 Nm) — best parts basket
R127 100:
Polo Vivo 1,4 Zest (55 kW, 132 Nm) — the barest basics
R129 900:
Chery J2 1,5 TX (72 kW, 140 Nm) lots of extras
R129 900:
Renault Sandero 1,6 Dynamique (64kW/128 Nm) — just two electric window buttons
short of the Chery J2
R129 995:
Tata Indica Vista 1.4 Ini (55 kW, 114 Nm) — the bare basics
ALWYN VILJOEN tries
for a wheel cock:
As behooves the
youngest reviewer, I push the cars we get to review a bit in the corners.
Nothing to get the speedcops and insurers worried, mind you, I just don’t tap
off much below the legal speed when going into some corners.
The J2 handles better than I expected. Expecting a lot of
understeer from the plaint suspension, I picked my corners carefully to leave
room for error. Surprisingly, the J2 leans into its soft suspension and then
makes like that pony that came in third against the odds: it finds that sweet
spot where three of the wheels have enough grip for the inside rear wheel to
feel like it is just about to lift. Other mom’s hatches, specifically the Clio
and Fiesta, do this too, and a lot faster, but I would not want to push the J2
faster than the urban speed limit in a bend. The budget buyer can, however, be
assured that the Chinese suspension will keep the Chery’s wheels on the tar even
on a bumpy road, without comprising on comfort in normal driving.
