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The Chinese are as progressive a society as they are ancient. They gave the world paper, the compass, gunpowder and, arguably, even the pants you wear today wouldn’t be, if it weren’t for this intelligent Eastern influence. But that was yesterday! Today, pretty mucheverything, every commodity we use, household or otherwise, is Chinese- made.
It was only a matter of time before they started making cars en masse. Amongst those brands forging a future in this industry of ‘ steel and wheels’ is Chongqingbased Changan. You may or may not have heard about them, but they built their first automobile way back in 1958 and, coincidentally, that too was an SUV. But the automotive industry has evolved since then. Vehicles are no longer seen as just commuters; they need to be reliable, quick, tech- laden and comfortable. Add to that the reputation about the quality of anything that comes out of China and you can tell that Changan has its work cut out for itself.
To solve this curious case of Chinese crossovers and to assess whether the brand’s latest offering — the 2016 Changan CS75 — is a legitimate people- mover, we drove it for a few days. Here are our thoughts.
DESIGN & AESTHETICS
Imitation is the highest form of flattery and Chinese manufacturers have made an art and science of it. Keeping that in mind, how does the Changan CS75 stack up? Is it a botched- up doppelganger of something European or American or does it have an identity of its own? The truth lies somewhere in between.
The CS75 has a conventional but balanced SUV profile that doesn’t take the form of a camouflaged MPV; neither doesitlooklikeahatchback. At4,650mm in length, 1,850mm in width and 1,705mm in height, it is very comparable to its rivals: the Honda CR- V, Toyota RAV4, Hyundai Tucson etc. And although it draws similarities between rival vehicles, there are a few arbitrary elements that give it distinction, like the dual blue highlights in the headlamp clusters, which are an easy cosmetic diversion from the herd. Creases on the hood and a segmented front bumper, in black and aluminium, give it a subtle complexity and muscularity. But from the side i. e., if you see one passing by, you’d find it rather inconspicuous; even the plastic wheel arches, like on Lexus models, don’t do much. The rear, however, is a much bolder rendition of the crossover styling with a hint of Ford Escape in its rear lighting.
In a nutshell, the CS75 is a neatly proportioned crossover SUV that enjoys some exclusivity due to its freshness in the market — and that’s a good thing.
The surprise to us, was seeing a very clinically- styled interior with a predominant black dashboard with oblong air vents, resembling interiors found in Honda’s luxury brand Acura. And that sort of makes sense in a very obscure way, considering that the Changan emblem is the inverted version — a sort of reflection — of the Acura.
The layout of the centre console, though, is very Infiniti- esque with a touchscreen inset and an angled idrivelike controller beneath it. You have easyto- use hard buttons and knobs for operating the HVAC controls and sufficient number of storage facilities that make it acceptably ergonomic. As for fit and finish, for all the duration of the test drive, we didn’t hear a single rattle or squeak… these Chinese cars seem to be better than where the Koreans were 10 years ago.
The instrument binnacle looks like a sophisticated set of engine scores with a mix of traditional gauges for speed and rpm; at their centres are legible digital readouts for fuel and temperature. The blue lighting is a tasteful touch. We also liked the toggle switches for the volume control on the 3- spoke wheel and general damping of the switchgear.
The driving position is a nice arrange-