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SINCE
its arrival in August 2007, the Chery QQ has been a
source of fascination for many a motorist, considering
its variants, size, price and the reputation that comes
with Chinese-made cars. Combine that with seemingly
perpetual never-ending oil-price hikes, and you have a
car that can serve as a strictly urban point A-to-point
B mover. But is it worth looking past competition such
as the Kia Picanto, the Chevrolet Spark and the Suzuki
Alto?
The
exterior is similar to the Daewoo Matiz, with striking
similarities at the headlights, front fascia and
taillights. Not surprisingly, Daewoo and Chery got into
a legal tiff not long ago over the latter’s alleged
“copying” of the former’s Matiz exterior shape, and the
latter coming out with a super subcompact with nearly
the exact same design. Nevertheless, the QQ attracts
attention wherever it goes, with bystanders giving an
occasional curious stare at the bug-eyed front
fascia.
The
interior can be given a passing grade but buyers must
take a long, hard look at its features. The cabin is
expansive for two and tight for three, but very much
squashed for four. Seating can be hard on the lumbar
area, despite the comfortable fabric wrapping. There’s
one touch down power assist for all four windows, and
unlike the Chana Benni, there’s power assist for
adjusting the side mirrors. There’s only one interior
lamp and it’s between the front sun visors, just like in
the Suzuki Alto. It may not be as distracting to the
driver at night, but the location of the lamp makes it
tough looking for lost items in the rear when the sun
goes down. Irksome, too, is the radio—there’s no
frequency-lock feature and the sound is tinny.
Storage
is small given the dimensions, but it can be an
irritant, too. There are only two front cup holders, but
they can hold a large McDonald’s soft-drink cup. The
rear seats don’t fold flat. There’s no rear-door hatch
handle on the outside. You have to open the driver’s
side door and pull on the lever near the driver’s seat
doorsill to pop up the trunk. Now, imagine if you’re
lugging groceries in both hands, it’s raining and you
have a lot of stuff in the rear row, giving you no
choice but to open the rear hatch. Lovely.
Getting
into the narrow powerband (3,750 rpm onwards) is hard
with the QQ, but a given considering the displacement.
Surprisingly, despite a 900-kg curb weight, the QQ can
reach up to 145 kph yet go 14.28 km/l on four days’ city
driving. The gearing is even, but the unruly A/T has a
mind of its own, be it on level or incline tarmac. For
example, it downshifts if you’re 100 to 150 meters from
the apex of a crest. Irksome, too, is a lot of shift
shock during gear transition and shifting to neutral.
You practically have to slam the A/T stick all the way
to the right to put it in neutral; doing it gently just
makes the car remain in first gear.
Normally, super subcompact hatchbacks display little
body roll due to their low ground clearance. The QQ is
the exception to the said rule, listing and
understeering frequently on turns like Jacky Chan in
Drunken Master, and traction breaking at 75 to 80 kph.
The ride is hard but tolerable enough to get shuteye,
should you become a lucky passenger. There’s lots of
steering-wheel wander and little steering feedback, but
steering feel is light, though. The brakes and hand
brake provide good bite, but using the headlights is an
experience. You turn on the headlights via the fog-light
switch below the leftmost A/C vent, thus negating the
use of the headlight-switch stalk at the steering
column’s left side until you push the said stalk forward
to use the headlights’ bright setting.
The
Chery QQ comes at a time when increasing fuel prices and
cramped city parking lots make the SUV obsolete and
motorists look for fuel-efficient vehicles.
Unfortunately, this China car must overcome the crisis
of serious transmission, handling, safety and loading
issues for it to become a serious super
subcompact-segment contender. |
