[ChinaDriver]

Well, I went over to the Brilliance Showroom in Qingdao and came away disappointed.

The Jinjue BS4 may look great in photos and even "live" from a distance but sit inside one and you soon realise there is no comparison with other similarly priced vehicles on the Domestic Market. There is a total lack of attention to detail shown in the design of the interior. Large, poorly fitted lumps of foam plastic are ugly and uninspiring and give way to doubts about the integrity of the vehicle as a whole. I was attracted to look by the sub 100k price tag, but compared to the 11,7800 price of the Buick Excelle 1.6 MT it's a joke! OK the Export Model Junjie is somewhat better but the price goes up just under 160k which puts it in the same ball park as the Honda Civic, the very attractive Ford Focus 2.0 MT ....no contest. Shame...cause I really wanted to want one:nono:

 

[ChinaDriver]

It's unbelievable really, I don't understand why they have learnt nothing from their collaboration with BMW :nono:. They seem to have taken what, essentially is a well designed and attractive car (except for the interior which needs to be totally redesigned) and proved themselves totally incapable of exercising the kind of quality control that is required to maintain the integrity of the design. They should know by now (from the European engineers that BMW must have on the production line) that you have to "fight" for quality...it doesn't just happen .

We spend far more time inside our cars than looking at the outside...yet the design and execution of the interior of the Jinjue looks like an after thought. They made a good enough job of the exterior to entice me to their showroom....which is an achievement in itself considering the competition! Unbelievable ..truly unbelievable :nono:

 

[ChinaDriver]

So what are you going to bye then?

I think I'm going to have to be really boring...and buy another Excelle . I'll go for the 1.8 MT this time....it's quite simply the best Saloon/Sedan at the price point that is available in China right now. I think I would have to pay another 30-40k get something as good, and at least another 70-80k to get something substantially better.

 

[ChinaDriver]

For all the criticism of this manufacturer, I am not seeing anything specific from you people. I'm not seeing any photos that would tell us just what quality glitches, this otherwise nice looking car, is suffering from.

Like I say.."sit inside one and you soon realise there is no comparison with other similarly priced vehicles on the Domestic Market". That's the nub of it, I'm not an industry insider or auto journalist, just an enthusiastic consumer with a passion for quality.

As far as I know it may well be a brilliant car in all other aspects, but I spend most of my time inside my car and the cabin space design and quality is important to me. I opened and the tried to close the glove box in the 1st Junjie I looked at in the showroom, on closing, it would not catch on the latch. The salesperson opened the passenger door and slammed the glovebox shut 3 times (harder and harder each time) until it finally caught. It was probably just in need of a slight adjustment, but that kind of oversight doesn't exactly inspire confidence.

Because that aspect of the vehicle is so lacking, it naturally makes one feel uncertain about the other less visible and tangible aspects of the vehicle. That is not a feeling I want to entertain as I motor down China's expressways :nono: