For the first time in my life, I got to test drive a Chinese car, a Haval Jolion, while in South Africa. The verdict? It felt no different than many others SUV crossovers I have driven over the years.
Driving A Chinese Car (Haval Jolion) In South Africa
At the Avis car rental agency in Durban, South Africa, we were assigned a brand new Jolion. These cars are made by the Haval division of Great Wall Motor and began production in 2022 (they are produced in China, Russia, and Thailand).
Over the next couple of days it took us around the KwaZulu-Natal province and operated flawlessly. It’s not that I expected anything different, but I’ve never seen one in the USA before and even on my several past trips to Mainland China prior to the pandemic I recall only driving in Toyotas and the occasional Mercedes.
With prohibitive duties in the USA that eliminate the comparative advantage in Chinese labor costs, I do not expect Haval to be a challenge to U.S. automakers in my lifetime (same story with Chinese-made aircraft like the Comac C919…), but I suspect many South Africans appreciate that a new automobile can be purchased so reasonably (starting at under $20,000).
We drove it over some dirt roads as well as some poorly-paved roads and I felt that it performed perfectly fine, just like driving in any SUV crossover. It reminded me of the Skoda Kamiq I drive in Germany last summer.
In the backseat, where I spent most of the time, the legroom was a bit tight and the USB-A chargers in the center console did not have enough juice to charge my mobile phone.
But our luggage fit in the trunk, Apple AirPlay worked fine, the a/c quickly cooled the cabin down, and the gas mileage was decent (around 7L/100km).
CONCLUSION
While there was some novelty in stepping into a Chinese-made car for the first time, it performed just like any of the other entry- to mid-grade SUVs I have rented in the past.
Just one thing to note about these “lesser known” brands is that US based credit card insurance may not always cover the rental under the exclusion that these are “exotic”. When in doubt, always request for a more familiar brand just in case.
Excellent advice.
I wonder if the price in Thailand is closer to $40k after taxes?
Nice review of the hard product, can you share a bit more about the soft product?
Vehicles made in the People’s Republic of China have already entered the US. The Buick Envision is only made there. Lotus is coming out with a SUV soon, too.
The Ford Ecosport’s last model year in the US is 2022. It is made in India. I have rented one at JFK.
At one time or another, cars in the US market have been made in Austria, Finland, Hungary, Brazil, South Africa, Turkey, etc. Even Australia but the last car plant there closed in 2017 or so. GM’s Holden division closed. GM has left the Australian market but does intend to re=enter with one or two specialty models, but not mainstream cars like it used to sell. Holdens used to be very common.
The stitching on the backseat cover is already coming apart. seems like great quality from china.
Chinese cars are common here in Australia and sell quite well because they are cheap. From all reports, they are great for the first 10000km, but after that, they are nothing but trouble.
mate just get a Hilux, she’ll be right
My Volvo was made in China. Most of the ones sold here are made here, the large suv is still made in Sweden, and a few models are still imported here from Belgium though most of the Belgian ones go to the European market.
Idk why people assume quality is bad just because something is made in China. Almost everything electronic is made in China. We don’t even have a choice. Some of the worst quality products are made in China and so are some of the best. If something made in China is poor quality it’s not because it’s made in China. I detail cars for a living and I can tell you Teslas are some of the poorest build quality I’ve seen in any brand but they are made here.
Some of the best airline catering comes from LSG and so does some of the worst. When it’s bad it’s not because it’s made by LSG it’s because the cheap ass airline that ordered it was trying to save money