The Benni hatchback, launched in South Africa about a month ago, came with some ready-made celebrity status from being in the well-publicised 21 000km Chana Trax expedition from China to South Africa in 2007.
The trip was a great demonstration of the Chinese brand's reliability; the Chanas drove on roads full of rocks and potholes up to nearly 5000m high, at temperatures ranging from eight degrees below freezing to 53 above.
I took part in a week-long leg of the expedition and developed a soft spot for the Benni. It came across as a little car with a big heart and survived torture-testing in some really dreadful conditions without major mechanical hassles.
The drivers weren't wild about the noisy engine and general lack of refinement but felt the Benni would still find a niche in South Africa if offered at the right price; I'm not sure that's happened.
The Benni 1.3 is available in two five-speed manual models, the Lux at R77 900 and the Exclusive (reviewed here) which sells at R89 900.
On paper, good value. The Lux has aircon, colour-coded bumpers and side mirrors, fog lights and a radio/MP3 player; the Exclusive adds power windows, driver's crash bag, anti-lock brakes with electronic pressure distribution, power steering, alloy rims, and a rear wash/wiper/demister.
The packages are wrapped in modern styling with an Italian touch (Chana outsourced the styling there) but the car's downfall is its lack of refinement. The standard in this segment has been set by the much more sophisticated Kia Picanto, Citroën C1 and Peugeot 107.
The Benni is noisy and feels cheap and tinny, mainly because of the 1.3-litre, four-cylinder engine that drones so loudly that a cellphone conversation - hands free or not - involves a lot of shouting.
Performance is adequate, if no livelier than the 1.1-litre Kia Picanto and one-litre Peugeot 107, despite the Benni having an advantage on paper. There's enough pace to flit around town without feeling sluggish, however, and it can cruise easily on freeways at more than 120km/h.
The gearshift is notchy, discouraging quick changes, but the Benni is otherwise easy to drive with power-assisted steering and a light clutch. The lack of a left-foot rest is really annoying, however, as is the snatchy throttle that brings in power with a jerk.
The ride is choppy. Bumpy roads make the body creak and judder; the Benni was far back in the queue when they were handing out torsional rigidity. On the positive side, the higher-than-average 155mm ground clearance means steep driveways won't scrape anything but the handling is messy; plenty of body roll will discourage you from pushing it through bends.
On the plus side the Chana has decent directional stability and feels quite self-assured, even at 150km/h, with no twitching or over-sensitivity in the steering.
Mechanical durability
The Benni proved its mechanical durability on the Chana Trax expedition but other aspects of build quality are suspect. Something - perhaps a washer or bolt - worked loose behind the test car's fascia a few days into our time with it and rolled around noisily at every corner.
The handbrake light flickered randomly and the rubber cover of the side-mirror adjustment stalk came loose.
The cabin finish is acceptable, if still behind the rivals mentioned above. The cloth-covered seats are comfortable and the fascia has no offending panel gaps, although it's hard plastic and not the classier soft-touch type
Rear legroom isn't bad for a tiny hatchback; the back seat will take two adults with adequate head and knee clearance - at the cost of a tiny boot, although that expands by folding the rear seats.
The worst part of sitting in the Benni, however, is the smell, a strong industrial odour that sticks to your clothes. An air freshener on the mirror (and a couple more around the cabin for good measure) should be standard issue.
VERDICT
This car might be on your shopping radar if you're looking for one of the cheapest ways to buy features such as aircon and power windows but at R89 900 the Benni Exclusive's shortcomings are hard to swallow.
It feels like a Third World car against far more refined models at similar prices that smell a whole lot better inside.