Chery QQ reviews ONLY

[Glyuen]

Want to start a new thread about QQ for the benefit of all. The 20plus page thread on QQ has lots of OT and other comments.

 

This thread is only for MCFers who have personally test-drove the QQ before and bother to give a detailed review.

 

Pls keep it clean...

 

 

For a start, I will extract posts from the 20plus page QQ thread over.

Edited July 16, 2006 by Glyuen

[Glyuen]

1st Review by Six_ghz

 

After all that's said and done, be it good or bad, real or perceived, I went down to Ubi to take a close view of this QQ myself this afternoon...

 

Plus:

 

1. Spacious, for a 800cc car. I've drove the Suzuki 800 before, and this QQ is really big in space. Once I was comfortable in the front, I went to the back, and my knees are not even rubbing the front seat back (I'm 1.78m). There are room to tuck in my feet too.

 

2. Power is so-so, but with the car weighing less than 0.9 ton, pickup is relatively brisk. Wouldn't say much about going fast on long distances, but for everyday cut-and-thrust traffic, it's pretty adequate. Those who say 800cc CMI probably didn't and wouldn't drive anything less than a litre.

 

3. Economy. Can't really verify but based on its capacity and its weight, I can safely say I can return smelly-smelly 20km/L!

 

4. Split rear bench. Can't all cars come with this? It really helps in increasing the versatility of an already small car. Maybe Kia can learn something from QQ and change theirs to 60:40 splits.

 

Minus:

 

1. The car is flimsy. Yes, flimsy. When you open the doors wide (you'll realise the QQ doors doesn't open as wide as you would want it), you'll see the hinge on the body starting to flex. Not a very safe sign here. Engine bay also presented its shoddy works, with just an L-shaped piece of metal holding on to the reservoir intake. All in, just one word - Flimsy. And provided you don't knock into anything, the car might not last a full 10 years out in the tarmac jungle.

 

2. Spongy seats. It reminds you of those cheap and thin 4" tilam. You feel every poke if someone sitting behind is pushing his/her knee into the front seat backs. It reminds you also of Osim massage chairs, only it's just plain irritating.

 

3. Sticky gears. The auto will come next year (as I was told), and the manual gear is a nightmare. It is stiff and sticky as if there were no lubricants inside. I know it's a new car, but the tightness is a killer for, say, a lady driver. I did have some reservations in shoving and yanking the gears, they're just not well-oiled at all.

 

Mine and my Verdict only:

 

If you really need this genre of a car, in my personal view, and in order of merit,

1. Kia Picanto

2. Perodua Kelisa (close second)

3. Chery QQ (very distant third)

 

No flames please, just my dua-puluh sen.

[Glyuen]

2nd Review by Vit4wd

 

I went with an open mind that this is a 812cc car for basic transport.

 

My immediate reaction upon inspecting the car is the very poor built quality.

 

 

Cons Thumbs Down

 

- Very noisy & unrefined engine engine. I have test driven the 1991 Subaru Viki 700cc and 1996 Subaru Vivio 660cc before and both win hands down in terms of refinement and low cabin noise. Car Buyer's Nick Syn was very diplomatic is writing that "the 800cc 3-cylinder engine is actually quite sweet... relatively smooth... makes nice sporty noises"

 

- Engione runs out of breath very easily.

 

- The very soft, spongy and short throw clutch had zero feel.

 

- Gear stick was exceptionally stiff, much worse than the Proton Savy's.

 

- You need a very strong right foot to stop the car - inefficient brakes.

 

- I had problems inserting the key to start the engine. It reminds of those cheap China made locks that I bought to lock my luggage.

 

- When I stopped at a trafic light, I saw the speedometer fluctuate between 20km/h and 0km/h. The needle kept going up and down for about 3 seconds.

 

- Engine was very unrefined and rough, even for a 800cc car. You need to rev to at least 3500rpm for reasonable pick up, and the engine sounded very strained with just 3 full sized adults on board.

 

- At 880kg, the 812cc QQ is no feather weight. The 999cc Kelisa weighs just 800kg, while the 1086cc Picanto weighs 930kg (all for manual version). How can it be more economical than the Kelisa, at least? (Small engine needs to move heavy body).

 

- Check out the welding at the doors and booth area. Very badly done and exceptionally rough (I would have taken some pictures to post here if not for the crowd). Looks like that of the Lada Samara & Skoda Rapid of yesteryear.

 

- Seat and cushioning are very soft and offers hardly any support.

 

- Steering wheel is unadjustable and my knees kept hitting on the steering wheel.

 

 

 

Pros Thumbs Up

 

- Cheap road tax of just S$450 a year

- Economical (as claimed by manufacturer)

- Easy to park

- Cheap to buy

- Great looking instrument on dash

- Ample head room even for 6 feet tall passengers

- High equipment level (windows wind up autionmatically when you lock your doors, 4 remote windows, immobiliser.

- Good steering feel

 

 

 

 

Verdict

 

Personally, I would give this QQ a miss altogether. I'd rather pay S$2K more for a Kelisa or Picanto.

 

In comparison, the Kelisa feels like a Merc S-Class and the Picanto, a Rolls Royce Phantom (no kidding). Immediately after test driving the QQ, I went to see the Kelisa and Picanto, and sat inside them. The kelisa loses out on headroom but wins in everything else.

 

The Picanto is the most spacious of them all & built quality is superb when compared to the QQ. Most obvious is the extra width in the cabin.

 

My main fear is how long this bone shaker QQ can last - 5 years?

 

Given a choice, I would pay an extra S$2K for the Kelisa or Picanto and have peace of mind and a better drive and comfort level (world of difference in Kelisa & Picanto which I have test driven before) and that extra space in the car. Never mind the slightly higher rd tax and insurance, because that is meagre when spread over 10 yrs.

 

 

I had a look at the test drive form where you have to sign before test driving, and most were in their early to mid 20s - IC no. mostly starting with '8', very likely to be first time car buyers - I just wish these people have tested the Kelisa and Picanto before making a sound decision.

 

As saying goes : You pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

 

 

* No offence to QQ fans, but seriously, those who are facinated by just the the looks of the QQ, please consider carefully before committing. Practically and long term reliability are primary concerns too. You don't want to buy this QQ, only to sell it next year, because you don't like it when that Love at First Sight "Crush" is gone.

 

The pix of the attached is that of a QQ dressed up to look like a panda. Pretty cute looking.

[Glyuen]

3rd Review by Glyuen aka me

 

Hi Bro, i visited the showroom this evening after posting. I went with an open mind to see if it is a worthy contender to Picanto. After testing the QQ, i went across the road to try out Kelissa. Here are my comments. I will post pictures later.

 

QQ Showroom/Test Drive report.

 

When i went there, the showroom was rather empty except for a family whoose dad is seems to be buying the car for his teenage son.

 

I went to sit inside. The interior is surprisingly spacious. The seats were spongy as mentioned by Vit4wd...but i kind of like that kind of feel. The leather seats were not too bad but not the fabric. Interior built quality was much better than I had expected and the front doors closed rather solidly. the rear doors were very filmsy though and seems not being able to shut well.

 

It feels very basic but the 4 spoke steering wheel seems more upmarket and the dashboard look quite nice.

 

Exterior it looks cute. There was one with bodykit which looks very sporty. The front bonnet was just a very very thin and light sheet of metal. Don't look very safe to be.

 

Now for the interesting incident. I asked the SE for a test drive. She replied that I cannot go on the roads cos it is raining. She mentioned that one of the test drive cars nearly crashed. Laugh Laugh Laugh

 

Hello, i have test drove almost 20 cars in the past two months, most of them when it was raining to really test their capability. I was very happy when it rained but was super shocked to hear the reply from the SE.

 

The comments from the SE is not very reassuring. anyway, she agreed to let me drive within the building. For those who know its the technopark quite big.

 

Now for the test drive. The key looks quite "expensive" but the feeling when inserting it into the key hole and turning it to start the engine is much to be desired. like operating a toy car.

 

Once the car was cranked up, the whole car vibrate really hard. there is like no dampening at all...worse than my friend's liteace van. This car has the worst vibration of all cars i have sat in. The engine sounds very rough and unrefined. Totally no soundproofing cos when i in the car, i can hear the other SEs talking outside.

 

Went a few rounds. The steering is very light, making it very easy to drive. the gearstick and clutch are rotten i would say. the stick was so stick and cannot shift properly one. The clutch was so low that dunno how to get biting point (i drive a manual car so i know how to operate one...).

 

The engine feels very powerful for a 800cc one. It feels that it accelerates quite quickly. But it feels shaky at 40km/hr. I will not drive this car at speeds higher than 50km/h. The engine brake is very powerful in reducing the car's speed.

 

Brakes were bad. Like cannot stop the car properly. need press hard...

 

Handling was quite ok and i realised from the SE that this test car has front strut bars to reduce roll...haha.

 

Some b.u.l.l.s.h.i.t from the SE:

 

1. The SE claims that this is the most fuel efficient car in singapore. She says teh Picanto gets only abt 13km/l in real life and QQ gets 22km/l in real life driving.

 

2. The SE claim that this car is based on Conti design. (of course lah...copy GM Daewoo Matiz, but it shuold be korean design rather than Conti)

 

3. The SE claims that the engine is from Germany, built by Siemens. ( Huh??????? )

 

Haha...really interesting visit. She even pressured me to buy saying wad colour running out, must quickly etc etc. I tell her i test drive kelissa then say....haha

 

Now for Kelissa.

 

The guy SE was very friendly and not pushy.

 

Interior quality of kelissa a bit better but i prefer QQ's design. Kelissa interior sapce a lot smaller.

 

Kelissa's engine is much much more refined. Like lexus when compared to QQ....haha...very responsive. The SE took me a long round Ubi. I travelled at 60km/h still feel quite "safe"...but such K cars should not try fast any way. best to potter around. Engine was very responsive. handling was much better and gear shift is so so so much better.

 

BUT Kelissa is very ex at $33.9k.

 

 

I had test drive Picanto a few months back and it wins both hands down.

 

That's all. dont flame me, i just offering my opinion. I'm not going to get a small car anytime soon. I rather get tried and tested Proton Wira at $36k.

[Glyuen]

4th review by S4vtec

 

went down to UBI with an open mind to test the new comer , showroom was empty except for a malay family with 6 kids in tow . and another chinese couple. was greeted by a SE whom started off with the text book sales pitch . some " funny " quotes

 

 

1) this car has "limp back mode " due to it's advance ECU . ( er... thought all modern cars use ECUs?)

 

2)MIC , with german parts ...

 

3) high specs ( all round power windows , global alarm * i still don't get it .. )

 

 

Overall points of the car

 

Pluses

 

1) Cheap

2) Cheap tax

3) proclaimed 24km/l * discount to 21 km/l cause normally manufactuer's figures are exaggerated . still a good figure i would say ... 35 L x 21 =735km!

4) nice looking instrument cluster. though i could barely read out the tacho readings cause it's too small ...

5) light steering ( good for ladies )

6) small , easy to park .

7) cute outlook . looks like the car is perpetually " smiling " wifey fell in love with the Tarepanda model .

8) wide range of striking colors to choose from

 

 

now to the cons .....

 

1) cheap feeling materials .....

2) seats too soft ! feelks like a sofa ... but this is a brand new car , the seats are supposed to get softer with usage and i cannot imagine how it would be when that happens . feels like a COE car seat ....

 

3) engine vibrates too much . no doubt a 3 cyl . but the kelisa also a 3 cyl does not do the " hibby jibby " as much.

 

4) engine too noisy regardless stationary or in motion ... a new car .. 5 yrs down the road will it sound like a COE charade? it can only get noiser... SE says this can be tuned ...

 

 

Sweat Drop

 

5) clutch is ridiculous ! spongy is an understatement . it is as if the the clutch has a master pump fault . depress the clutch and there is no return feel . i had to lift the clutch pedal back up after every gearchange ... again SE says that this can be adjusted ... ( i have driven manual cars forever and this is the worst clutch feel ever experienced .

 

6)brake pedals and clutch pedals too near to each other for my liking ...

 

7) NVH reminds me of the SAF rovers during our NS times...

 

8) car runs out of breath easily . ( 3 subjects in car only ) imagine full load up sheares bridge ....

 

Sweat Drop

 

 

conclusion ?

 

i appreciate my getz so much more now ....

unless you are really looking for a really basic pt A to B vehicle ... IMO a PICA or a Kelisa would be a wiser choice for a few K more.

[Glyuen]

5th review by Barcode

 

What a boring saturday, i think to myself. No activities planned but the weather looks cool and fine for a day out. Ok shouldn't waste such a fine day, and after hearing so much abt the QQ these days, decided to go down myself for a test drive, beats listening to my colleagues and friends whom w/o even seeing the car in real life but blabbering abt how bad the car is, like a broken record... going on and on for days... non stop. I for one, believes in experience than mere hearsay and assumption.

 

Ok so arrived at the vertex showroom clad in my usual bochup attire of t-shirt and bermudas. No problem with getting the attention of an SE with that Wave . The showroom was empty and an old couple left as i entered. Soon after, 2 young men came in and was greeted by another SE promptly. Attitude of SE deserves some praise.

 

Started looking ard the small car and here goes a summary of my opinions...

 

On the positive side, I would say it does look refreshing. Reminds me of the reliable workhorse Suzuki Viki of yesteryear. Ok looks are only surface deep so let's try to see what else is worth complementing on...

 

Overall exterior body finishing is not as bad as i thought will be.. though got some gaps (not that big) between here and there. Gave the body some presses and it felt decently strong.

 

Was told by SE that FC can reach over 20km/l, well nothing new, but still a plus point.

Basically road tax and other payables are cheap as well.

 

Power windows all that.. all in all high equipment level which is good but if i am a QQ owner, i will be a happy one only if all these can work without failure for at least 5 years. 1 thing abt the power window is that as i play ard and lower the driver window, somehow when the window panel reached almost the bottom... the mechanism stopped moving for a second b4 it starts to move again. machiam jammed for an instant.

 

Build quality in the interior... Plastic and very budget feeling. Well, it's a budget car but i certainly dun expect to be driving something which feels like it is bought from Toys'R'Us. Esp when $32k is still big money to me. How much will better material cost? I like the neat looking speedo, though.

 

Driver seat is surprisingly spacious and not cramped. Went to sit behind and head room, leg room looks adequate for 3 small sized adults. Just my estimation. Went back to driver seat, glanced at rear view mirror.. looks a bit small to me. Prefer wider ones. So i sat there, looking ard the dashboard area... steering wheel... this feels a bit rubbery. Isit made from some rubber material after all?

 

Requested for a test drive and so after signing name and all that, took the QQ out for a spin with the sweaty SE still busy telling me the vehicle stats. The moment the car cranked up, i tot i was back in my dad's Datsun C20 van 10 years ago. Shaky and perhaps noisy for a NEW car. Shifting into gear one, wow the gear stick very hard to shift... could have oiled it some more... or perhaps it's the gear mechanism itself causing the stiffness.. i dunno. But this certainly pushes my confidence down another level.

 

Hand brake released without much problem. However the clutch pedal feels too "fake" Like the distance between the clutch pedal and floor is too small.. feels weird and u know... toy car feeling. Depressed the accelerator and the engine responded according... Somehow i like the engine sound, which sounded assuring. Shifting into the higher gears were somewhat smoother but still .. stiff.

 

Came to abt 50km/hr b4 reaching the red lights. Engine brake applied and the car slowed down without problem. The foot brakes felt ok to me, though i did read abt inefficient brakes. Maybe i am a slow driver who will always stop in advance progressively... Should have tried the foot brake more aggresively. But if one dun drive too fast, i do think the brakes are ok for putting the car to a halt. Budget car, so let's cut it some slack.. i dun expect WRX handling.

 

Steering wheel on the move, is rather light. Some may like it, some may not. But road feedback (or steering feedback watever) is there, perhaps due to the small vehicle size.

 

Came back to the showroom and the sweaty SE isn't very sweaty now... efficient aircon. But my butts do hurt after i got out of the car. The seats too thin. Really.

 

As for me, took a namecard from the eager SE and said goodbye. Did feedback to him that the overall package isn't really appealing, the QQ will be a worthy budget car if at least, they provided a more decent gear shift and clutch pedal. Come on, these two are the most used gadgets of a manual driver... provide so many other gadgets but the 2 most basic driver's tools aren't even working well?

 

All in all, I can sense a better deal somewhere else, not very far away, as i walked out from Vertex. Good try though, Chery.

[Glyuen]

6th Review by Cheerios

 

Well.. seems like this topic has been pretty hot...

 

I would like to give some feedback too..

 

Went to the showroom today.. likewsie like what some people mentioned, the service attitude of the SE is good... well i believe they have too, for Chery is really an unheard brand.. and made in china? Hur i went with an open mind...

 

sure its looks nice, but once i sat in... mmz... it started to disappoint.. all the cons about the finishing and etc stood out like a sore thumb... the clutch feeling and the manual gears are quite Thumbs Down not to mention about the seats... i seriously wonder will it last 4-5 years? Unsure

 

enough about that.. yup.. when i started the engine.. vroom... err.. how should i put it across.. for a new car with new engine.. it's even worse than some 10++ COE cars which i have drove before... it sounded like a 10 year van to me.. its vibrating and noisy.. very very poor insulation and worksmanship... a lift of the bonnet confirms what some people highlighted here.. the engine compartment is poor assembled and i seriously felt whether it would be able to last more than 3 years.. since most products are designed to outlast the warranty period... perhaps this is what one is getting, paying peanuts and getting monkeys in return...

 

the handling on the road is okie.. but not sufficient.. i tried jam breaking @ 60km... and it almost skidded... the road was dry and sunny today... with my heart almost out to the floor.. rem our days where we had to jam break during our driving test... the car sounds very resoundingly to a halt.. today the QQ almost skidded.. well it skidded, but managed to put in under control... almost fainted... the SE looked at me sheepishly... mmz.. maybe he is aware that i have driven quite a number of cars before.... so there's nothing really to hide here...

 

yup.. during acceleration, the car runs out of breath easily... pick up is quite poor, nothing new for a small car... seriously after test driving it.. i agree with the mass views of the people...

 

QQ is really a budget budget car, buy it only if you think you can't afford other makes... Well, driven a Picanto and Getz before.. the handling are much much better than QQ...

 

So all in all.. no go for QQ.. Go for QQ if you like the looks.. else i can't think of any reasons why you should buy this car.. my recommendation, a Kia Picanto or a Hyundai Gentz.. these cars are priced in the same price category...

 

no wonder the showroom was so empty today.. i went ard 2....and that's bad for a saturday afternoono... Service attitude of SE is good.. but one is driving the car, so services rendered apart.. seriously with QQ, if the SE's attitude are like those from BM.. i think QQ has alreadie nailed itself to the grave... though right now, its not far from it though..

 

my apologies for being so frank, blunt and straight to the point.. It's no good for QQ.. My recommendation, a Kia or Hyundai would be a batter choice.. even kelissa is better than QQ...

 

if CherySE sees this, i am sorry but we must be realistic with this.. thanks.. i have one of your colleagues' namecard, but no if i were to get a 2nd car for emergencies.. QQ is out of my list...

[Barcode]

Good effort there Hope to see more reviews here.

[Luv_presea]

yup.. great reviews bros..

[Mercs]

No doubt this car is cheapest but I think but safety wise is a big concern...

[Kelpie]

Want to start a new thread about QQ for the benefit of all. The 20plus page thread on QQ has lots of OT and other comments.

 

This thread is only for MCFers who have personally test-drove the QQ before and bother to give a detailed review.

 

Pls keep it clean...

 

 

For a start, I will extract posts from the 20plus page QQ thread over.

 

Good effort. Easier to digest that way.

 

Regards,

[Cheryqq]

Want to start a new thread about QQ for the benefit of all. The 20plus page thread on QQ has lots of OT and other comments.

 

This thread is only for MCFers who have personally test-drove the QQ before and bother to give a detailed review.

 

Pls keep it clean...

 

 

For a start, I will extract posts from the 20plus page QQ thread over.

 

hi glyuen,

 

good effort! really appreciate all reviews, something that we can all benefit.

 

cheers!

[Cheerios]

good enough and thanks for the time and effect put in...

 

the other thread has become and downgraded to some human attacking thread.. that is real degrading to MCF.. speaks what kind of person one MCF member is... Personally human attacking on another MCF member, who only dui si bu dui ren... From what i see that MCF member who human attacked people is a real sore loser.. Hope the moderators and he can knock some sense in himself.. Coz only losers would human attack on others... I need to run for my meeting..

 

Let's keep this thread clean.. i think no more posting of whatever other irrelevant comments and posts... The other thread has become a grunting ground..

 

Take care and God Bless.

 

[Glyuen]

Thanks, hope all MCFers will keep this clean. Hope to see more 1st hand reviews here. Those who feel like bashing pls go to the super long thread.

[Nutty]

After reading this thread, I feels like going down and test drive one myself.

 

May I know where is Chery Showroom?

[Luv_presea]

ya lo.. think should spend a few Ks more for a car that's safer.. or maybe Chery will bring in other cars which is more solid..

[YellowFlash]

maybe we should juz keep this thread clean with review and stop posting many replies.

[Luv_presea]

ok.. sorry bro..