2005 Chery QQ EZDrive 0.8 from Egypt

Summary:

Good sensible small car

Faults:

The internal boot release stopped working, will fix on my next visit to the dealer.

General Comments:

Well, after driving my chery QQ EZDrive for 450 kms, I feel I can give some points on my experience.

1st, the car is certainly very good. I had a lot of fear buying a chinese car, but I think it is no worse than any egyptian (127, Uno), indian (Alto, Zen) or korean (Matiz) assembled car.

1. The Seating:

The seating is a little high, which gives a nice view of the road. The chair is more comfortable than my Regata, but less than the Toyota Yaris I sat in once. But good and comfy overall. My pregnant wife sits nice and comfy too. I always put on seatbelt, and it is not a bother at all, and is smooth, more than my Regata. My old mother sat in the back and was comfortable enough. Not as much room as bigger cars in the back, but you won't feel cramped.

2. The Boot:

It's very small compared to my Regata. 190 litres vs 513 litres for my Regata, but the rear seats fold 60/40 to give a flat floor, which I think compensates, and will be very useful someday. Also 190 litres are enough for shopping bags and some small handbags.

One thing that upsets me is that the internal release of the boot stopped working. I know that it is minor and will be fixed in my next visit to the dealer, but still it bothers me.

3. The Interior:

All the switches and knobs feel of good quality. I feel they can last well.

The low beam light switch is placed a little far away on the dash, which is annoying, but most other switches are within reach and work well.

I have 4 electric windows and they work fine. Also the wipers. The water at the front wipers sprays very low, so cleaning the windshield with the wipers is not always enough, you have to pour water yourself to reach the high end of the windshield. The rear wiper works great, and the rear water spray reaches all the glass well. The fit and finish is good at best. Nothing really bad, but as I said just good.

The interior space is fine. It is actually larger inside than the external dimensions would say. Front leg space is good, rear leg space is adequate.

4. The Engine:

I'm still in the run in period for the 1st 1000 kms, but I have reached 90 kms in the car. I feel the acceleration and speed are more than adequate, and a little more than I expected from a 3 cylinder 52 hp engine. I went up slopes with 3 people in the car including me, and with minimal planning, I can take the slope with no loss in speed at all.

The car is an automatic, so I believe a manual that is run in should be even better on slopes. Start stop traffic acceleration is good, and I rarely feel left behind, but in the end I'm not really trying to win any races.

Fuel consumbtion is just great. On my first fill up, I did 397 kms with 21 litres. Much much better than my Regata, which did 160 kms with 20 litres. NOTE: approx. 44.5 miles per gallon

This car is great for the rising price of petrol. This was done with 70% highway and 30% city driving, but I do have a heavy foot and accelerate a lot.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 27th April, 2006

30th Apr 2006, 06:12

I'm the original poster.

I went today to the dealer for the 1000 kms service. I paid for the oil and filter, but not for the work. They fixed the boot release and the A/C; it was a little weak, but now is much better.

As the run in period is now over, I took the car to 100 km/h and started driving aggressively. The car doesn't disappoint. Just the USB port in the car fried my iPod!!! And a flash disk. They should either cover it or provide an MP3 player that works with this USB port.

Anyhow, nice car, but a somewhat inexperienced dealer.