LUCIANRIDERS

I have been following, with interest, the introduction of Chinese made vehicles to the St. Lucian market with several companies importing pickups as their introductory vehicles which have been reasonably well received.

Now, for the first time, a vehicle for the masses has been imported from the world’s largest economy in the form of the Geely MK2 five door hatchback. It almost seems strange that it has taken this long for Chinese made cars to make it to the Caribbean. Just about everything is made in China these days and products (baring the Made in China emblem) are no longer perceived as inferior grade products. One just has to look at the back of any ‘Apple’ computer or iPhone to find that some of the best products in the world are being made or assembled in China.

In addition, most products made in China have a reputation for good value for money and this appears to be the case with the Geely car that I had a chance to test drive recently.

Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd is one of the biggest Chinese automobile manufacturers not to be a state-owned enterprise. Geely is also among the top ten Chinese automakers.
In August of 2010 Geely purchased Volvo cars of Sweden from Ford.

The Geely models being imported by Pinnock Brothers Inc. are two hatchback models the GS and GT and an almost identical sedan model that all list for $49,000.00 EC dollars. The most expensive is the GT version that I tested at $54,000.00 dollars. The difference between the GS and GT is mainly found in the interior with leather seats and a sun roof as standard on the GT, in addition, it gets fancier and sportier rims. The GT also has reverse sensors with its own display in the dash board.

All models are for the time being only available with a five speed manual gearbox, Charles Pinnock of Pinnock Brothers Inc. indicated that automatics should be available by years end due to the conversion to right hand drive which requires some additional parts that have yet to be put into manufacture.

The two button remote control that was attached to the key provides much more than the basic lock and unlock functions. By holding down the lock button any open windows can be wound up via the remote so if you forget to wind up the back windows and exit the car, you don’t have to put the key back in the ignition etc. The headlights can also be turned on and off by using the remote controller which would make easy finding the car on a dark street, parking lot or to light a path when the driver walks away from the car.

The horn sounds 3 times if any of the doors or sun roof is ajar when you try to lock it. Unlocking the doors causes the indicator lights to flash notifying you that the doors are ready to open.

The standard chrome door handles require a fairly hefty pull but otherwise the feel of the doors is like any other vehicle in its class.
Once you settle into the firm but comfortable leather seat the view from behind the wheel immediately gives the impression of simple but adequate furnishings. As would be expected of a vehicle in this price bracket, there are few bells and whistles, this is an honest car that has what you need to get from A to B without coddling you in luxurious appointments.

What is considered normal when it comes to power this and power that is included. The windows are all power (with the driver’s side having an “auto down” feature), the locking is central although flipping the drivers side lock does not unlock the rest of the doors; one has to use the dedicated button for that which falls nicely to hand on the right side arm rest. In addition, all the doors lock when the car passes a speed of 5 MPH. There are also power side mirrors and in the case of the GT model, a power sun roof. Other standard features include a “CAUTION” triangle for tire changes, a fire extinguisher, CD/MP3/USB stereo coupled to 6 speakers, a handy compartment for your sunglasses, front and rear fog lights, factory tinted windows and the list goes on.

There is at least one slightly annoying omission and that is a trunk release, one has to use the ignition key to open the hatch back. The saloon does not have this issue and can be unlocked using the traditional lever on the vehicle floor in front of the drivers seat near the ubiquitous gas cover release. Looking at the gas gauge you will not find an arrow to indicate which side the filler is on, in this case it’s on the left and you can see the door when open in the side mirror which will help you remember on which side it is.

The leather front seats are adjustable fore and aft and the seat back can be adjusted to varying degrees of angles, there is no lumbar support adjustment. The steering wheel can be adjusted up and down although you would have to be a very tall person to want to move the wheel up from its lowest position. At my height of 5’ 10” the wheel fell comfortably to hand, however shorter drivers might find the reach to the wheel a bit high.

There are drivers and passenger side air bags which is a nice safety feature, the seat belts are standard in all regards and the shoulder height can be adjusted for comfort.

Starting the 1.5 Liter engine requires a standard type key, no fancy FOB anti-theft device here to give problems and getting a replacement key should be quite simple. The engine started easily and ran smooth with no unexpected noises. The gearshift lever has a reasonable throw and the clutch has a decent engagement point, there was however a slight vibration from the pedal when riding the clutch. It’s almost like it’s there to warn you of your bad driving habit. One other thing I did notice which seemed to get a bit better the more I drove the car is that between shifts the engine revs had a tendency to not drop quickly enough for my style of driving. It’s as though the throttle plate return spring is not pulling the butterfly closed quickly enough or it might simply be the nature of the car that one needs to become accustomed to.

Suspension and ground clearance are more than up to the task and I would consider it above average, particularly for our roads and even some fairly rough dirt roads. Compared to some of the other vehicles in its class, the Geely rides quite a bit higher and should have no problem clearing most normal road obstacles.

The disc front breaks and rear drums are nothing out of the ordinary but seem to do the job asked of them. I did not try any panic stops but the car is equipped with ABS as standard equipment.

The hatchback has a pair of fold down rear seats, these are split 60-40 and when both are folded flat provides a reasonable amount of carrying space. There is also a parcel shelf which can be removed; I find these invaluable for hiding your valuables in the back when you have no choice but to leave them in the car.

Generally the fit and finish is quite good but there are a few areas where the build quality is lacking but certainly on par with the Japanese. Probably the most obvious is the roof mounted rear view mirror. The stalk for this is very flimsy and the flip lever for night time use is not very well placed and did not work well. The mirror is designed to be removed and is in fact easy to do so; why one would wish to remove the mirror escapes me.

Disregarding the fact that the GT model I tested is a bit better featured, the sweet point is either the Sedan or the GS model at a very affordable $49,000.00! To get a new car this size (think larger that the Swift) and with these features for less than $50,000.00 is almost unheard of. Also, banks are more willing to lend on new cars and should make purchasing a Geely a no brainer for someone on a budget.

The warranty is also a fairly generous at three years or 100,000 kilometer on the power train. You won’t find used cars or even some new cars with this kind of warranty.

Full size spare tire.

It seems that Pinnock Brothers are leaders when it comes to testing the waters for introducing Chinese made vehicles for the masses here in St. Lucia. The first Chinese cars available for sale are a huge step up in quality when compared to the various Chinese Pickups that we have become accustomed to. The build quality of the Geely is closing the gap between the Korean and Japanese cars that dominate the local market.

Geely still has work to do, but the company has passed all the crash, safety and pollution standards of countries like Australia and New Zealand and are selling well with the price difference making the brand very attractive. When the quality is directly comparable to a Japanese car, there may not be as big a price gap thus making a choice between the two countries more difficult.

One also has to remember that with the purchase of Volvo automobiles, there is bound to be a one way exchange of technology that will surely benefit the Geely cars that will be manufactured in the near future. Geely is poised to be one of the first Chinese manufacturers to enter into the American market and when this happens the benefits of a cheaper alternative will be easy to justify mainly because of brand recognition.

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