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Not as bad as you think.........
In response to the question regarding handling of chinese cars........
Recently I have been "test driving" various models of economy chinese cars (those in the sub-100,000rmb range) in consideration for purchase. Since I am living here for the "long term" now and am a american with almost 30 years of driving experience, I think I can speak with some experience.
So far I have tested models from Hafei, Xiali and Geely (I am not considering the Chery QQ - it is TOO small for my needs and the BYD Flyer is just too ugly for me to be seen in it :lol
. I am also not testing any of the microvans - not my style. Anyway, here is what I have discovered......
Xiali - I drove both the A series and the N3. Typical understeer for a small front wheel drive car, fairly soft suspension (but not bad) and a transmission that has long throws (i.e. not short, tight shifts) and somewhat "loose". The N3 had adequate power (at least the 1.3 version) but I found the interior to be ill fitting and somewhat "cheap looking".
Hafei - I drove the 1.1 version of the Lubao. EXTREMLY long shift points and a very loose transmission. Brakes were somewhat "mushy" which did not give me much confidence and the fact that the car is built somewhat tall (for interior room) didn't help the handling much. Also, very small tires which also degraded handling. I was overall really dissapointed with the Lubao - it LOOKS good (design by pinanfarina of Italy) but the driveability is another issue.
Geely - I drove two models - the Haoqing 203A and the new Merrie. Both cars were remarkably "tight", especially the Merrie. Also, the 1.3 Merrie REALLY had a powerful engine, even with the air conditioner on. Good short shift throws (at least compared to the other cars I drove) and the tightest suspension of the all the cars I drove. Interior was also decent (as far as quality is concerned) with good room. Hands down, the Geely was the winner as far as how the car DROVE. Geely needs to improve on style somwhat, but compared to their cars from 3-4 years ago, they are learning fast!
As far as chinese roads..........for the most part, quite good. Highways in particular seem to be of great quality (I regularly travel from Nanning to Liuzhou or Guilin and the highway is smooth, comfortable and with plenty of rest stops) and are a pleasure to drive on. It can be different in the cities though......in Nanning they are working hard to make the roads better, but in other smaller cities it can still be pretty jarring to deal with the roads. For me, it seems to be the quality of materials - the older roads used some pretty poor concrete, whereas the new roads seem to be using a higher quality mix......creating a better road surface. I've driven on roads just as bad in Los Angeles, so the difference is pretty minor to me.
Since China is just now developing a "car culture", everything that comes along with that is also developing - and very fast. Aftermarket shops are opening up all the time (at least in Nanning) and I see a growing number of cars that are heavily customized. It's easy now to get quality engine and oil treatments (Slick 50 and things like that are easily available at Wal Mart) and as the "car culture" grows and matures, so will the awareness of proper care and maintinence. THIS will in turn help to create a better used car market.....which will then open the doors for even MORE chinese people to be able to afford to drive a car. The critical question - can China keep up with the infrastructure needed to support all of this? I'm talking about more roads, more parking areas, better repair facilities, better driver education, better enforcement of traffic laws, etc.? The quality (or lack of) chinese roads today is directly affected by the number of cars using them now......a lot of older roads were never meant to handle the amount of traffic currently common nowadays. Nanning is building new roads, bridges, repaving older roads, etc. at a feverish pace - is it the same in other chinese cities as well? I'm also starting to see more traffic police enforce the laws, giving traffic tickets, etc. - which helps to create a safer driving environment. Anyone else want to add to this? I AM curious about other chinese cities and what is happening there!
In response to the question regarding handling of chinese cars........
Recently I have been "test driving" various models of economy chinese cars (those in the sub-100,000rmb range) in consideration for purchase. Since I am living here for the "long term" now and am a american with almost 30 years of driving experience, I think I can speak with some experience.
So far I have tested models from Hafei, Xiali and Geely (I am not considering the Chery QQ - it is TOO small for my needs and the BYD Flyer is just too ugly for me to be seen in it :lol
. I am also not testing any of the microvans - not my style. Anyway, here is what I have discovered......Xiali - I drove both the A series and the N3. Typical understeer for a small front wheel drive car, fairly soft suspension (but not bad) and a transmission that has long throws (i.e. not short, tight shifts) and somewhat "loose". The N3 had adequate power (at least the 1.3 version) but I found the interior to be ill fitting and somewhat "cheap looking".
Hafei - I drove the 1.1 version of the Lubao. EXTREMLY long shift points and a very loose transmission. Brakes were somewhat "mushy" which did not give me much confidence and the fact that the car is built somewhat tall (for interior room) didn't help the handling much. Also, very small tires which also degraded handling. I was overall really dissapointed with the Lubao - it LOOKS good (design by pinanfarina of Italy) but the driveability is another issue.
Geely - I drove two models - the Haoqing 203A and the new Merrie. Both cars were remarkably "tight", especially the Merrie. Also, the 1.3 Merrie REALLY had a powerful engine, even with the air conditioner on. Good short shift throws (at least compared to the other cars I drove) and the tightest suspension of the all the cars I drove. Interior was also decent (as far as quality is concerned) with good room. Hands down, the Geely was the winner as far as how the car DROVE. Geely needs to improve on style somwhat, but compared to their cars from 3-4 years ago, they are learning fast!
As far as chinese roads..........for the most part, quite good. Highways in particular seem to be of great quality (I regularly travel from Nanning to Liuzhou or Guilin and the highway is smooth, comfortable and with plenty of rest stops) and are a pleasure to drive on. It can be different in the cities though......in Nanning they are working hard to make the roads better, but in other smaller cities it can still be pretty jarring to deal with the roads. For me, it seems to be the quality of materials - the older roads used some pretty poor concrete, whereas the new roads seem to be using a higher quality mix......creating a better road surface. I've driven on roads just as bad in Los Angeles, so the difference is pretty minor to me.
Since China is just now developing a "car culture", everything that comes along with that is also developing - and very fast. Aftermarket shops are opening up all the time (at least in Nanning) and I see a growing number of cars that are heavily customized. It's easy now to get quality engine and oil treatments (Slick 50 and things like that are easily available at Wal Mart) and as the "car culture" grows and matures, so will the awareness of proper care and maintinence. THIS will in turn help to create a better used car market.....which will then open the doors for even MORE chinese people to be able to afford to drive a car. The critical question - can China keep up with the infrastructure needed to support all of this? I'm talking about more roads, more parking areas, better repair facilities, better driver education, better enforcement of traffic laws, etc.? The quality (or lack of) chinese roads today is directly affected by the number of cars using them now......a lot of older roads were never meant to handle the amount of traffic currently common nowadays. Nanning is building new roads, bridges, repaving older roads, etc. at a feverish pace - is it the same in other chinese cities as well? I'm also starting to see more traffic police enforce the laws, giving traffic tickets, etc. - which helps to create a safer driving environment. Anyone else want to add to this? I AM curious about other chinese cities and what is happening there!
