2009 Chinese Year of the Ox

The classic war treatise Art of War has 13 chapters, each devoted to one aspect of warfare. The aspects have been applied in modern business and military ventures, often with tremendous results. They include laying plans, waging war, attack by stratagem, manoeuvring and energy. These are being stealthy employed by Chinese car makers to break into a market dominated by Japanese and European cars. ERIC MWENI hopped from Dong Feng to Foton, Haojing to GWM, and brings you this report on Chinese motor vehicles in Kenya.   
When the first Chinese vehicles vroomed their way into Kenyan roads a few years ago, many a sceptic thought it was a mere ba rnstorming. There were wrong. For the Chinese vehicles, especially the heavy and light commercial ones, have stamped their presence in the local market and are now threatening to upset the dominance of traditional Japanese and European makes.
Jiefang and Faw were the trendsetters. In the three and seven tonne categories, there were used by garbage collection companies and driving schools, two areas where, one might say, public scrutiny on brand quality is bland. Then, construction and transport companies noticed the gulf in pricing between the Chinese models and their payload contemporaries imported from other markets. Some models were not only cheaper than other new cars but also second hand Japanese imports. Gonow, Sailor, FAW and Foton pursued the competitive Kenyan market with a relentless moxie, price being their selling point. Cars from the People’s Republic were on high gear to becoming the peoples’ cars. But what are their selling points? How do their pros measure up against the cons? Will these vehicles that have set the blogosphere abuzz appeal to the larger Kenyan population of brand snobs?

PASSENGER CARS
The saloon Lifan 520, and SUVs Hover CUV and Landwind X6 are the only  Chinese passenger cars in the market. They are guinea pigs in a potentially very lucrative market segment –if only they can convince Kenyan motorists to steer away from used Japanese cars and go Chinese.
The Lifan, sold by Automart Ltd, part of Associated Motors, is directly targeted at the motorists who’d otherwise buy a used Toyota Corolla, Nissan Sunny, Mitsubishi Lancer or Subaru Impreza. Its pricing is right –Ksh 995,000 –, the same price range as a used Corolla NZE manufactured in 2002. It’s actually the cheapest new car in its class in Kenya today.
So what makes its cheap? It’s a question I’d like to ask its makers at Chongqing Lifan Industry, China. But the enthusiastic brand manager at Automart Ltd, Antonina Kongoro is quick to throw down the gauntlet: The car’s performance is as competent as its appearance, she says. I had mixed feelings after the test drive.
Well, to start us off, this is a simple, no frills car that doesn’t have the fake pretence so common in Chinese vehicles. Yes, it has all the bells and whistles you’ll find in its Japanese competitors –air conditioning, CD player, double airbags, bucket seats, power windows and mirrors, mirrors on sun visors etcetera –but there is a simplicity about it that’s hard to describe.
The styling is inoffensive, but a quick inspection shows that the material and build quality is a long way from world class, with flimsy, cheap-feeling plastics and textiles, large and variable panel gaps. Its interior fit and finish are good, impressive even, while its dashboard and dials layout somewhat reminds me of the new Subaru Impreza.
On the road however, the Lifan is incomparable to an Impreza in terms of handling though its 1342 CC engine responds favourably well. Driving up the steep Mbagathi Road, I easily did 90kph at about 3,00rpm, without down shifting from gear number four. Its hydraulic-assisted rack and pinion styling added to the fun of the Lifan, but as temptation set in to tap the maximum 65kw power (delivered at 6,000rpm), concerns of safety kicked in. I’ve not driven a manual transmission car for some time now but the Lifan has a joyous appeal that tempted me to get rid of my automatic car.
Off the traffic lights, the Lifan, a magnet for roving eyes, thanks to its garishly large headlights and awkward, sloppy behind, will out-sprint many a 1.3L cars; 115Nm maximum torque at 4800rpm means 0-100kph in 14.5seconds. Claimed top speed is 155kph.
One interesting thing about this car is how it ‘adopts’ design aspects of BMW, Corolla and VW. The 520 inscriptions are the same style you’ll find in a Beemer, while the engine (4cylinders, 16 valves, MPI) is a near replica of what you’d find in a Toyota Corolla 110. The mirror controls and front seat adjustments are another example of this ‘derived inspiration’, a politically correct Chinese term for ‘copy catting’.  The adjustments to lumbar support are done by rotation of round plasticky discs while that to the mirrors also have a design first used by VW. 
In terms of safety, the Lifan debunks the notion that Chinese vehicles are an accident waiting to happen. Tested last year, it passed the European New Cars Assessment Programme (Euro Ncap) with three stars.
Its makers claim it can do 18 kilometres to the litre in urban driving and 20 kilometres to the litre on the highway, that is, at an average speed of 90 kph.
The car comes in several colours; white, tropical red, sapphire blue, black and silver. The Lifan brand is also sold in Nigeria, Algeria, Spain, Russia, Ukraine, Brazil and Vietnam. Automart will sell it to you alongside a two year warranty or 50, 000 Km (whichever comes first). 

PECULIAR LOT
Kenyan car consumers are a ‘peculiar’ lot, to borrow the words of a telephony executive in describing our calling habits. With Ksh1.5million, they’d rather buy a used 4x4 than a brand new super mini. The Chinese are good at reading trends and this explains their success in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China). Hover and Landwind are meant to tap into this obsession with with big cars.
But the obsession (some will call it fantasy) comes with brand consciousness too, and elaborate pride behind the wheel.
Hover costs Ksh2.35 million, and Landwind Ksh600,000 more. While the Hover is a urban type SUV, clearly targeted at the image-conscious Nairobi executive who rarely steers off-road, the Landwind, an Isuzu Wizard look-alike is clearly for bundu bashing, a Russ with lipstick and high heels, if you like.
It is the more serious off-roader amongst the two, and its figures prove it. The Landwind has approach and departure angles of 37 and 23 degrees respectively, which betters the Hover with 28 and 27.5. The Landwind has a maximum gradibility of 60 percent, compared to Hover’s 40 percent. A ground clearance of 220mm, (Hover’s not specified) and tyres of 245/75R/16 against the competition’s 235/65R/17 vindicates the Landwind as the better off the tarmac. It also boasts of all-round disc brakes, against the Hover’s hydro-vacuum brake for front and discs for the rear, most commonly associated with saloon cars.

TORQUE TALK
The Landwind’s 2.7L turbo diesel engine delivers 62kW power at 3,600rpm and 200Nm of torque at 2,000rpm, compared to the 2.4L petrol-engined Hover, which manages 100kW at 5,250rpm and 200Nm of torque at between 2,500 and 3,000rpm. Both cars comes in two power trains, 4X2 and 4X4. Diesel variety of the Hover is yet to be sold locally. 
That Hover is designed to make its drive enjoyable on the asphalt is accentuated by it’s 4G64 2.4L SOHC petrol engine, a smooth runner that purrs away softly; it doesn’t have the aggressiveness you’d associate with a SUV inching for a slice of the Toyota Prado, Kia Sorento and Rexton markets. It’s claimed top speed is 160Kph, compared to the Landwind’s relatively sluggish 140kph.
The inside story as told by these two cars is as different as the performance. The basic similarity is in that both are five-seaters (all leather) but when it comes to adding frills, the two cars are miles apart. The Landwind is more brash, masculine and performance-oriented, while the Hover is a blonde that can give a deadly kick if provoked.
Clearly, even the choice of interior hues suggests the target purpose of these off-roaders. Hover’s sexy, bright cream, for urban sojourns. Landwind’s an indefinable dull colour that cuts between grey and cream. It suggests the car is ready to get dirty. Both have a manual transmission gear box but the Hover goes further by having push buttons for differential lock, as opposed to the tedious manually-selectable found in the Landwind.

BLOODTHIRSTY
So much innovativeness went into designing the interior of the Hover that some aspects are simply laughable. Cup holders for front passengers for example, are opened by a push button, which, appropriately shaped like a sickle, ejects with the urgency of a blood thirsty matador. The dashboard outlay is smart and thanks to the Chinese for saving the planet (we hope the plastic on the dashboard is recycled), this is ‘complex simplicity’ at its best. Several On Board Diagnosis ports ensure that you can charge your phone while on the move. The Hover’s front passenger seats are power adjustable (driver’s position and lumbar support); the Landwind adopts the conventional manual methods. Rear parking sensors complement it claim as a luxury SUV. On frills, the Landwind just sprinkled a few, like a passing wind. A split tail gate opened by push of a button on the dashboard, very ingenious cabin lighting (under the interior rear view mirror) are examples. There is nothing to write home about these two cars in terms of entertainment as the inbuilt CD players produce a shrill that’s incomparable with the sound quality found in Japanese competitors. Shouldn’t a luxury SUV worth its salt have arm rests for rear seat passengers?