It's South Africa's cheapest car, the first since 2001 for less than R60 000. It's Chinese; it's made by Chery, it's called a QQ3 and it's imported and backed locally by retail giant McCarthy.
State-owned Chery is China's biggest motor brand and sells about 650 000 vehicles a year - about the same as South Africa's entire motor industry. The first Chery came off the production line in December 1999, the 10 000th in June 2001, the 500 000th in March 2006 and the 1 000 000th in August 2007.
McCarthy has invested R46-million in local infrastructure, training and a spares warehouse and has put the QQ3 through extensive durability testing.
At R59 900 the 812cc Chery hatchback is nearly R7000 less than it nearest SA competitor, he Chevrolet Spark, which retails at R66 500 and is the car on which the QQ3 is based.
South Africa has four derivatives: entry-level TE in 800cc and 1.1-litre variants, an 800cc TX (Comfort) spec and a 1.1-litre TXE (Luxury) spec. The "Cheapest car in SA" title belongs to the three-cylinder TE, good for a claimed 38kW at 6000rpm and 70Nm at 4000.
This review, however, is of the top-of-the-range, four-cylinder, 1083cc TXE that claims 50kW at 6000rpm and 90Nm at 4000. At R79 900, it's about R20 000 more than the TE but still almost R10 000 shy of the range-topping one-litre Chevy Spark LT.
Let's make those prices more relevant with some highlights from the spec sheet. The TE has power steering, split folding rear seats, a rear spoiler and wiper, side-impact protection bars and a third brake light.
The TX adds a radio/tape deck (odd, I know), four speakers, alloy rims, power mirrors and windows (all round) and remote-controlled central locking with immobiliser.
The range-topping TXE gets a USB MP3 port on the radio and a manually operated sunroof and is the only model with front crash bags and anti-lock brakes.
Aircon is standard on the 1.1-litre models.
The QQ3 stands out among the Chinese cheapies for its build quality; it's not the greatest but is better than most. Wind and engine noise are acceptable but you still have to play with the radio volume to overcome them.
The seats are comfortable, the fabric upholstery soft to the touch and the instrument cluster neat and legible.
In the debit column: When closing the driver's window the door armrest moves inwards slightly to accommodate the internal electric mechanism and the sunroof, though standard, looks aftermarket. Its tint isn't dark enough to block the sun (there's no sliding shade) and its tilt-only mechanism is plasticky and fragile.
Rear legroom is child-friendly only and the 190-litre boot is, well, modest, although you can drop the rear seats to load extra bags. And, unlike the
The QQ3, like most of its Chinese rivals, is no box of fireworks even in 1.1-litre guise but felt responsive enough to handle the daily commute. We recorded 6.5 litres/100km (Chery claims 5.2) so the 35-litre fuel tank should give you more than 500km.
At higher speeds, however, directional stability on the short-wheelbase Chery becomes questionable. The power steering, a big plus that's standard across the range, is OK for urban driving, vague and light at highway speeds.
I also couldn't make friends with the five-speed manual gearbox; it's vague and notchy - not a good combination.