WHAM, BAM, THANK YOU VAN!

InFlight RECENTLY HAD A CHANCE TO TAKE THE CHANGAN MINI VAN OUT FOR A SPIN – AND DISCOVERED THAT IT’S NOT JUST A BREAD VAN.

I know what the Changan Minivan is meant for. In fact, more crucially, I know what it isn’t meant for, but I did the school run in it anyway. But before we discuss the car, I think I need to elaborate on the cargo.That’s myself and my three boisterous boys aged eight, nine and 17.You see a delivery vehicle, they see a tiny party bus. A party bus with seating for five, a hold for school bags and aftercare duffels – or our Staffies, if my boys had their way.

There’s the 1,243 cc engine and the thimbles of power and torque it could fill with its 71 kW and 119 Nm, hooked up via a five-speed manual box of gears. According to the brochure, the Changan has a top speed of 120 km/h.To which my boys replied: “You can go faster than that, Daddy!” And for science’s sake, I did – albeit really not by much. But to begin once again at the beginning, that’s not really what the Changan Minivan is for.