[iolk888]

Changhe-Suzuki released it's new mini van, the Landy. last Sunday. The top of the line model features 4 speed auto. trans.,dual air bags & ABS. This is the first mini van made in China that offers auto. trans. The price is 69,900.00 RMB or about 9k USD.(not bad!) I gave it a close inspection at the auto show in Shanghai - it's a solid, well built, nice little vehicle, fit & finish is very good, seating & cargo functionality is very well conceived. (7-passengers-small ones for the third row!) The marketing people must have smoked one to many joints when they speced out the audio system - only available with a radio & tape player!!!! I guess they figure the "farmer" segment that they are targeting still listens to tapes! What no CD's yet in Henan province? Come on guys at CS, join the rest of us in the 21st century and give us a simple CD player already!!!! Never the less, it will kick the Changan CM8's butt, which is similarly priced and available with a manual trans only - with terrible built quality to boot. I pulled off the horn cover, on the steering wheel, on the CM8 with my little finger at the show. A very disappointing vehicle. The Landy is light years ahead of any mini van produced in China (cool colors too) Even with the ridiculous tape player, I think I am going to buy one so I can putz around Shanghai.

 

[AXLE]

Is this sold in Japan? if so then it was probably developed by the Japanese, thus it fairs better when compared with other similarly sized/priced Chinese offerings.

 

[iolk888]

Yea, Suzuki sells a Landy in Japan, but it's pretty much a different vehicle. The interior layout is the same in both models, but the bodies are very different. So are the power plants & trannies. The Japanese model has a 2.0 engine & a CVT trans. (and a CD player!!!!!!!) The "home grown", designed in China, JV version comes equipped with a 1.4 Suzuki engine, that was developed a couple of years ago and is manufactured in China & the auto trans. is a basic 4 speed configuration. The engine also powers Changhe-Suzuki's "R" vehicle(1.5 Box). When you look at the Changhe vehicle, you can tell that it's DNA is derived from the ubiquitous "Bread Wagon" Chinese minivan. The Japanese model's appearance lineage is closer to the more convential "Big Three", MPV look. I'm gonna test drive one real soon.

 

[CCF mod]

Japanese Landy is a rebadged Nissan Serena. It's available only in Japan.

 

[iolk888]

Thanks for the clarification.

 

[CCF mod]

Chinese Landy:

http://car.autohome.com.cn/photo/1000716/1/100005249.html
http://car.autohome.com.cn/photo/1000716/1/100005248.html
http://car.autohome.com.cn/photo/1000716/1/100005132.html

 

[CCF mod]

http://car.autohome.com.cn/photo/1000716/3/100005134.html
http://car.autohome.com.cn/photo/1000716/10/100005205.html
http://car.autohome.com.cn/photo/1000716/10/100005163.html
http://car.autohome.com.cn/photo/1000716/10/100005168.html
http://car.autohome.com.cn/photo/1000716/3/100005177.html
http://car.autohome.com.cn/photo/1000716/3/100005220.html


pics:
http://car.autohome.com.cn/pic/series-s1000716/2534.html
http://car.autohome.com.cn/pic/series/2534.html
http://product.xgo.com.cn/pic_list/3044/

 

[iolk888]

Nice close-ups! Every time I see the ridiculous tape player(instead of a CD) I am totally flabbergasted! What were the marketing people at Changhe- Suzuki thinking about! You design a slick, little "bread wagon" with a comprehensive feature set and you screw it up with a lame, obsolete audio "head unit" It's easy enough to pop out the existing unit(it looks like a standard DIN head) and replace it with a decent CD player, but no one, and especially a rural resident of China, should have to when purchasing a brand new, top of the line vehicle in 2007. I would love to get the email of one of the marketing clowns at the JV and let them have it. I searched to no avail. I found one dead link on the Changhe web site, thats it. If anyone has a email contact, please let me know. As a potential purchaser, I would like to voice my opinion. The dealers here in Shanghai are pretty much a joke, but they did confirm that no CD player is available. Although the factory man at the Shanghai Auto Show assured me that a CD player would be an available option. I hate to sound like such a weenie, but I deal with marketing nit wits in my business all day long. Boy, can they screw up some potentially decent products.

 

[CCF mod]

 

[CCF mod]

 

[CCF mod]

2009 Landy:

http://img.autohome.com.cn/upload/spec/6221/u_6221858904543.jpg

http://img.autohome.com.cn/upload/spec/6221/u_6221291318810.jpg

http://img.autohome.com.cn/upload/spec/6221/u_6221284897464.jpg

http://img.autohome.com.cn/upload/spec/6221/u_6221750580907.jpg

 

[CCF mod]

2009 Changhe Suzuki Landy

 

[CCF mod]

2009 Changhe Suzuki Landy

many photos at:
http://k.auto.mop.com/group/154_1_5.html
http://product.xgo.com.cn/pic_list/3044/183393.shtml