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Read the WELCOME ALL BMWFANATICS post.
My Chinese Acquisition
- Thread starter Nish_H
- Start date
Thanks Vicks
Thank you.
Correct on both counts. I’m an Apple user and it does have Car Play.
One week and a bit review.
Covered about 600kms, with mix of urban and highway driving. Car is comfortable, with plenty power with torque from quite low down. It’s one of the more powerful 1.5T engines you get in the myriad of Chinese cars.
You have to get used to the driving dynamics as it’s quite “jumpy” on take off. You do get used to it very quickly how not to hop off the line or spin the tyres.
Petrol consumption is very Chinese
. Averaging 9.7l/100kms for now. May get a bit better once I’ve done more mileage.
Open road from Centurion to Alberton was decent at 7.4l/100kms.
Can’t fault the comfort, toys and gadgets. Doors close with a solid thud and good quality materials all round.
Extremely spacious especially in the rear but boot is just decent. Loses some space due to the spare.
Nifty 360 degree camera system with acceptable resolution.
Has level 2 autonomous driving which works well. Consistently monitors/scans the road and shows you cars/trucks/bikes and even pedestrians on the screen.
Will continue to report and update as I’m also very interested in how this plays out.
Will also post updates on dealership after sales and general interactions.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Covered about 600kms, with mix of urban and highway driving. Car is comfortable, with plenty power with torque from quite low down. It’s one of the more powerful 1.5T engines you get in the myriad of Chinese cars.
You have to get used to the driving dynamics as it’s quite “jumpy” on take off. You do get used to it very quickly how not to hop off the line or spin the tyres.
Petrol consumption is very Chinese
. Averaging 9.7l/100kms for now. May get a bit better once I’ve done more mileage.Open road from Centurion to Alberton was decent at 7.4l/100kms.
Can’t fault the comfort, toys and gadgets. Doors close with a solid thud and good quality materials all round.
Extremely spacious especially in the rear but boot is just decent. Loses some space due to the spare.
Nifty 360 degree camera system with acceptable resolution.
Has level 2 autonomous driving which works well. Consistently monitors/scans the road and shows you cars/trucks/bikes and even pedestrians on the screen.
Will continue to report and update as I’m also very interested in how this plays out.
Will also post updates on dealership after sales and general interactions.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
AshG108
///Member
Congrats Nish,One week and a bit review.
Covered about 600kms, with mix of urban and highway driving. Car is comfortable, with plenty power with torque from quite low down. It’s one of the more powerful 1.5T engines you get in the myriad of Chinese cars.
You have to get used to the driving dynamics as it’s quite “jumpy” on take off. You do get used to it very quickly how not to hop off the line or spin the tyres.
Petrol consumption is very Chinese
Open road from Centurion to Alberton was decent at 7.4l/100kms.
Can’t fault the comfort, toys and gadgets. Doors close with a solid thud and good quality materials all round.
Extremely spacious especially in the rear but boot is just decent. Loses some space due to the spare.
Nifty 360 degree camera system with acceptable resolution.
Has level 2 autonomous driving which works well. Consistently monitors/scans the road and shows you cars/trucks/bikes and even pedestrians on the screen.
Will continue to report and update as I’m also very interested in how this plays out.
Will also post updates on dealership after sales and general interactions.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
It seems these cars are the culprits for Radar detectors going bonkers on the highways because they consistently scanning lol
I’ve covered over 2 000 kms with the GAC.
This has been mostly school run and office use in peak traffic, and the weekend running around.
In this time I also did a weekend away to Bela-Bela.
No real complaints thus far. Enjoyable office commute and comfortable especially with the increasing rate of deterioration of our roads. Tackles the potholes and occasional gravel road which I have to use as a detour based on traffic volume, very very well.
Not wanting for any extras in a car. Fuel consumption is at 9.3l/100kms. Even on the trip to Bela-Bela, best I could manage was around the 8.0l mark.
Initially I was having ‘issues’ with the wireless Apple CarPlay connectivity needing to use the cable. But have now figured it out and wireless connection is seamless.
Car has developed no rattles or squeaks, still feels very solid and reassuring on the build quality (Apparently GAC won the build quality award for many consecutive years in China from all car manufacturers).
One thing I was weary of with Chinese cars were the myriad of intrusive safety warnings. This was a big consideration in eventual choice of car, and the GAC doesn’t suffer from this. You can switch off what you don’t need on day one, and it stays off. The usual safety features that are in use on a daily basis is not irritating.
Some interesting nuances to mention:
Adaptive cruise control, while it works well, can only be set to a maximum speed of 130km/h.
When I top up with fuel, range takes a few minutes to reset.
While the car is feature rich, some are not needed or probably will hardly be used.
Such as controls for opening the windows and panoramic roof shade via the touchscreen as there are buttons for these:
It has a light show which is pretty nifty, which also has music. Nice party trick, like a musical fountain type of thing were the lights and music are in sync.
Will continue to post updates. Car needs its first ‘run in’ service at 5k kms. Will share dealer experience once I’ve covered this mileage.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
This has been mostly school run and office use in peak traffic, and the weekend running around.
In this time I also did a weekend away to Bela-Bela.
No real complaints thus far. Enjoyable office commute and comfortable especially with the increasing rate of deterioration of our roads. Tackles the potholes and occasional gravel road which I have to use as a detour based on traffic volume, very very well.
Not wanting for any extras in a car. Fuel consumption is at 9.3l/100kms. Even on the trip to Bela-Bela, best I could manage was around the 8.0l mark.
Initially I was having ‘issues’ with the wireless Apple CarPlay connectivity needing to use the cable. But have now figured it out and wireless connection is seamless.
Car has developed no rattles or squeaks, still feels very solid and reassuring on the build quality (Apparently GAC won the build quality award for many consecutive years in China from all car manufacturers).
One thing I was weary of with Chinese cars were the myriad of intrusive safety warnings. This was a big consideration in eventual choice of car, and the GAC doesn’t suffer from this. You can switch off what you don’t need on day one, and it stays off. The usual safety features that are in use on a daily basis is not irritating.
Some interesting nuances to mention:
Adaptive cruise control, while it works well, can only be set to a maximum speed of 130km/h.
When I top up with fuel, range takes a few minutes to reset.
While the car is feature rich, some are not needed or probably will hardly be used.
Such as controls for opening the windows and panoramic roof shade via the touchscreen as there are buttons for these:
It has a light show which is pretty nifty, which also has music. Nice party trick, like a musical fountain type of thing were the lights and music are in sync.
Will continue to post updates. Car needs its first ‘run in’ service at 5k kms. Will share dealer experience once I’ve covered this mileage.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I’ve completed just over 5000 kms and took the car in on Friday for the 5k oil change and check. Service was good, took about 2 hours with a car wash. They hooked me up with wifi and an office to work and take my morning meeting.
The last 3 months of ownership has been positive with no issues to report. Car continues to provide the level of comfort and daily requirements I was looking for.
Having a Chinese car that serves the daily and family duties almost perfect at the right price point allows me to have other ‘toys’
3 months, all good, all green ticks.
The last 3 months of ownership has been positive with no issues to report. Car continues to provide the level of comfort and daily requirements I was looking for.
Having a Chinese car that serves the daily and family duties almost perfect at the right price point allows me to have other ‘toys’
3 months, all good, all green ticks.
Mrvaughng
Active member
Congrats Nish. Well done. And a detailed write up
These Chinese cars has its positives and negatives. A huge positive being value for money. The negative being we german car owners always looking for something to pick on. But once u own these u get pullinto the Chinese ecosystem.
I think over the next 2 years we gna start seeing alot of those tanks also on our Road.
These Chinese cars has its positives and negatives. A huge positive being value for money. The negative being we german car owners always looking for something to pick on. But once u own these u get pullinto the Chinese ecosystem.
I think over the next 2 years we gna start seeing alot of those tanks also on our Road.
Agree!
My car history has always been one of the mainstream ‘safe’ options. When you open your eyes and remove the blinkers, there’s a whole world of possibilities. For me, it’s having a variety of options and you still have the right to choose.
If your choice is still outside of the Chinese options then it’s ok. Like how it’s ok for those who chose Chinese as well.
Like with everything, not all Chinese cars are equal and cut from the same cloth. Despite having many commonalities like the 1.5T engine, some have more cons then others. Again, the choices are endless and that’s the positive.
For the price I’ve paid and what I’ve been getting in return is mind blowing. Again I don’t want to jump up and down just yet as it’s only been 3 months.
The petrol consumption is averaging around 9L/100kms. For me this is fine, for others that may be considered excessive, however it’s a large family SUV so can’t expect too much on the fuel front.
One very important caveat:
Would I be ok owning this car if I didn’t have the other 2 cars in my garage, probably not.
What I’m saying is that I would most likely not shopped in this space if it was my only car. And that for me is where my opinion of Chinese cars differ to others. As a life long car fanatic, this would not be my one car garage.
Like I said earlier, owning an option like this at the price point and the multiple roles it serves as a car thus allows a bit more financial freedom to buy other dream cars.
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Mrvaughng
Active member
Valid points plus you have others cars also, same on my side i got the x5 then friends said why i got the 3l and not 5l but in my garage is a mustang gt
Sometimes you have to be practical.
By the way it will take sometime on a new car for the consumption to get better
I’ve driven various Chery derivatives, Haval Jolion and the Beijing. And if the price point is the only comparison, they are all good value.
All have their issues but in terms of the driving dynamics, personally I felt the GAC, while not completely gone, had the best gearbox/drivetrain calibration. After 5k kms, it pretty much feels normal and even after jumping in from driving another car, it’s hardly noticeable.
For the price of a 1.0 Polo, I’m not complaining and will forgive some of the ‘shortcoming’ but live with these cars, and you will realise these shortcomings are in no way game changers. Temper your expectations, have the right mindset, know what you bought and then you will be smiling.
