[kamilharis]

Hello BHPians, this is my first thread in Team-BHP hence bear with the mistakes if any.


Here is the Index for you if in case you want to skip to any particular section :

• Preview and "What Car ?"
  
  
• "Which Car ?"
  
  
• Booking & Delivery
  
  
• Issues on new car - The Predicament
  
  
  
  Want to Jump straight to the review? Find the Index below :
  
  
• The Brand Summary, About the Car & Exterior
  
  
• Interior
  
  
• Driving and Safety
  
  
• Ride & Handling, GC & Braking
  
  
• Other Key Points

Preview

After my studies, I had moved to Saudi Arabia by mid-2017 in search of a Job. My family was already settled here in Saudi, hence it was my preferred job location too. God's grace, I myself found a job by August of 2017, and the need for a car came in no time, as my office was a good 45 km away from my home. As I was requested to join in just a couple of days, much time wasn't there to buy a car. Since my parents don't drive, we had never had a car in my family until then. Hence father arranged a Hyundai Accent 1.4AT (Verna) on lease through his ex-colleague. Initially, I had the plan to buy the same Accent after few months of using it, from my own savings, but later I dropped the plan after 6 months and replaced the Accent with a 2012 Nissan Sunny 1.5AT considering the space on offer (Family of 5 members). So Nissan Sunny was officially my first car purchase. Sunny served me for another 6 months and the itch for a first 'new' car purchase hit me by May 2018. It was not just about the new car itch, I wanted to drive my family around in a new car as in the back of my mind, I wasn't confident enough with my Sunny, which was already around the 1,25, xxx kilometer mark then, though there was nothing wrong with the car.

Put the Sunny for sale straight up and began the hunt for a new car. Sold it in a few days for around 10% profit and used half of that money as a down payment for the new car.

Now comes the question "Which Car ?"

By then, I had become eligible for taking a car loan from the country as an expat. I set a maximum EMI amount in my mind and began the search for my new car. I had considered all the cars which came in my planned budget and it included C segment sedans to entry-level D segment sedans and very few compact SUV. Note that I was ready to choose from any brand, my only condition being, it must be a Value for Money Car.

The Rejected List :

Mazda 3 - I loved this car but it's Super cramped, best suitable for a 2+2 family.

Toyota Yaris - Nothing, in particular, left an impression on me. Add to this the 1.3L & 86HP CVT petrol engine, poor equipment list from Toyota, and super hard plastics everywhere.

Kia Rio - Slightly better interiors & equipment list than the Yaris but everything else was pretty much the same as the latter.

New Accent 1.4AT / Nissan Sunny 1.5AT - I had no complaints about these cars except for the hard plastics in Sunny and lack of space in the Accent. Just kept them as the last options as I wanted to experiment some different car this time.

Renault Duster STD - I really love the looks and ride of Duster, and here in Saudi, it came with a much better 2L petrol engine. Went with my family to check out the car and the moment I opened the front door, I was ! Super hard, poor quality plastics, ugly looking pull-type door lock, gear & hand brake lever, no power windows, and the list became longer. My family wasn't impressed with the car either but was OK with the top-end variant with bigger alloys and a 4x4 option. However, it was out of my budget.

Hyundai Elantra 1.6AT & Creta - Elantra was rejected as they did not have stock for mid variants of 1.6AT. They had higher variants for 1.6 AT or 2.0L AT which was outside my budget. Creta was rejected due to its tiny boot space ( Spoiled by Sunny! ) + unavailability of STD variant. Moreover, the underwhelming showroom experience was the final nail in the coffin.

Toyota Corolla - Atrociously overpriced. DOT.

Nissan Sentra - My colleague had this car and it was leagues ahead of Sunny in terms of interior quality, fit & finish, and plushness. Went to the showroom and they did not have any latest stock of Sentra, yes it was a low-selling model & I never wanted to buy a car from a previous MFY. I had asked them to notify me once the new lot arrives, but sadly, the notification never came.

I had visited showrooms of Chinese brands like BYD, MG & Geely. BYD had the ugliest and cheapest looking cars I have ever seen in my life with poor quality everywhere, starting from the interior to exterior painting. Wasn't impressed with the quality of MG cars too either, add to this that - MG cars felt better when I checked it out in 2020. GEELY cars were far better than BYD and MG. Hence two of their cars got shortlisted to the serious contender's list - Geely GS and Geely GT ( All time fav and still! ).

Pics courtesy: Google

[kamilharis]

"Which Car ?" - The Serious Contenders.

Geely GS -
Paid a visit to GEELY to checkout the GEELY Emgrand GT, my hot favorite. Unfortunately, they had stopped the import of Emgrand GT then, anticipating that the facelift would be launched soon internationally. Instead, they offered me another car, the STD variant of Geely Emgrand GS which itself was loaded with bells and whistles. Even the base variant came with a huge panoramic sunroof to be specific! Went for a test drive with my family the same day. It came with a 1.8L engine producing 130HP and 170NM torque. Good on paper, but, the response from its AT transmission was too underwhelming for me. Family was impressed with the car as the interior was too good, and felt durable as well. But it was rejected due to reasons such as driveability, and most importantly, the boot space was almost nonexistent.

Emgrand GT






Emgrand GS

Kia Cerato -
My friend had this car, and moreover, Cerato was a hot seller in the Kingdom ( This car is actually an Elantra in KIAs cloth, but cheaper and feature-loaded than Elantra! ), so there was nothing left to go wrong with it- a proven reliable car. Took my family and headed to KIA for TD of Cerato. The same 'no stock' story came up there as well since the model was due for a major facelift. The facelifted model had been already launched internationally and they were yet to receive the cars then. So neither the old model nor the newer ones were available with them. I was able to find zero-kilometer Ceratos outside the dealer at a few multi-brand showrooms but wasn't interested to take that route, hence dropped it. To all those who might be wondering why many of the cars mentioned in my list were out of stock, my purchase time was just before the Ramadan-Eid season during when they would launch the facelifted international models over here. Since all the cars sold here are directly imported and there is no production locally, companies do not take the risk of bringing in new lots of pre-facelift model. And I couldn't wait for that much time, as mine was an urgent requirement. The search continues.

Pre-facelift :


Facelift :

Renault Megane
When I paid a visit to Renault to check out the Duster, the newly launched Megane was displayed there. And it was a love-at-first-sight moment. Oh my God! I hadn't seen such a striking design for a car in a long long time. Checked out the STD variant, which was a tight fit into my planned budget. However, I was ready to go for it, as it was feature-rich. The cabin had a nice, clean European vibe to it, and the STD variant was decently equipped for the price, except for the absence of an LCD screen. But I was okay with that, as the sound quality from the 4 stock speakers were excellent, and reverse parking sensors came factory fitted and free of cost. It came with the Smart card key which gave a premium feel, One-touch electric front & rear windows, Height-adjustable front / rear headrests, Electric demisting door mirrors, Driver’s seat with lumbar adjustment, Seatbelt reminder for driver + front passenger + 3 rear passengers, Cruise control and speed limiter, Front & Rear 12V socket, Chrome exhaust tail pipe, 16“ Flexwheels with Complea hubcaps ( Looks like an Alloy Wheel! ), and my favorite feature of the lot Welcome sequence when opening the vehicle with lighting signature illumination, the car welcomes you like a boss .

My family was super happy with the cabin feel and space, immediately requested for a TD and the TD car was provided in no time. Closed the door and..*silence*..! The cabin was super silent! I couldn't even make out whether the engine was running or not! Megane came with 2 engine options - 1.6L and 2.0L petrol mated to a CVT transmission. My choice of engine was 1.6L which produced 115 HP & 156Nm torque. Low power figures mated to a CVT obviously equates to poor driving experience and it was as said. Floor the throttle and it takes ages to reach 100kph. It offers a smooth and softly sprung ride, slow and steady and it proves a nice companion. The response from the engine was in a linear manner, one who has got a sedate driving style won't find much fault with it, as it is livable for someone of that kind. I fall under that category and I was ready to live with this mediocre engine. Maybe it was also due to the fact that there was nothing else which I could hate in this car! Reached back to the showroom after the TD and asked them to proceed with the finance evaluation. My preferred finance provider gave me the quotation printed, I accepted the offer and asked them to proceed with it. On top of this I was offered 5000 Saudi Riyals cashback + Free Tinting + Free Service ( Oil & filter included ) up to 30000 KM or 2 years whichever was earlier. Left the showroom waiting for the call from the bank. After a day or so, the bank representative called me and said that the final quotation was ready for my verification. I went to the showroom and he was there waiting for me already. He explained to me a few terms and conditions and handed over me the prepared documents for review. And what happened then was so uneventful! The final quote provided for EMI and Balloon payment was way different from what he had provided me the last time. I wasn't ready to accept anything more than the previous quotation as it was already the maximum which I could afford. I let him know clearly that if he could give me something closer to the first quote, then the deal would happen. Shook hands with him and left the showroom drooling at the Megane with wet eyes! Yes, you read it right, I was in love with Megane to that extent and already had plenty of dreams with her! The search continued.

After this Renault Megane saga, I lost my interest in the search for a new car for a short period of time. I decided to wait for the launch of newer models from the primary rejected list. That was when I saw a random ad of Changan brand on Instagram, that they have launched their new showroom in my province and it turned out to be pretty close to my home. I had seen a Changan car previously too in my locality, but, did not try the brand as the only one showroom they had in the Kingdom then was a good 1400km away from my place. I checked out their website the same day and I found a couple of cars that would fit my bill, the Changan CS35 and Changan Eado.

I paid a visit to the showroom on the same day to check out the cars. The showroom was of medium size and all the 5 models they had then, were arranged beautifully for display. The sales guy came and greeted me with a wide smile. His name was Hashem Al-Ali and he was an excellent guy! I have a good connection with him even now, after 2 years of ownership. So, he welcomed me and asked me what snacks and drinks would I prefer, I thanked him for his gesture and said we'll check out the cars. I told him my requirements and budget, to which he said they have 2 models in the list which would suit my requirements, the CS35 and Eado. He handed over me the brochures for both and guided me. I checked out both the cars thoroughly and took the quote for EMI, both the cars fitted perfectly in my budget - the full option variant for Eado and base variant of CS35. Thanked everyone at the showroom and went back home. Showed the brochure to my parents and sisters to which their initial reaction was " WHHAAT, CHANGANNN ? What on Earth is that! ". I politely explained to them about the brand and both the cars, to which they responded well. I told my sisters " There is a Sunroof!" , which sealed the deal for them! Add to this, they were always confident that I wouldn't go wrong with a car selection. We planned for a showroom visit the next day before the meeting was dispersed. In the next 24hrs, I did all the possible research about both the brand and their cars. Everything was pleasing, even though the information available was too little. Let's move on to the showroom visit episode.


Changan CS35
Entered the showroom, and Mr.Hashem Ali was there, ready to welcome me. I took my family and showed them the CS35 and Eado which were parked next to each other. Everyone with no doubt whatsoever walked to CS35, yes all of them preferred the SUV stance! And my father loves SUVs! He always says that there is some sort of richness when you arrive in an SUV. CS35 - I would call it a cute little hatch on high heels, and a bit girlish too. Family checked out the car and everything was okay for them, except for the tiny little trunk space ( Again the Sunny effect! ). Sunroof and touch screen unit with a rear camera was a miss in the CS35 base variant, and it came in beige fabric upholstery too. Moreover, the alloys were boring compared to Eado. The base variant of CS35 and the full option variant of EADO were priced exactly the same. Technically both cars were the same inside out. Engine, gearbox, performance figures, etc were the same. So CS35 was basically an EADO in an SUV disguise. Hence we decided that we will check out the EADO thoroughly so that we would know what all 'extras' we would be getting in the full option variant of EADO for the same amount of money.

Changan EADO
EADO was parked near the CS35, full option variant in a subtle red color shade. Family checked out the interior of the car and came out happy with the quality and comfort. Interior came in beige shade with plenty of leatherette materials everywhere, and most of the touch points were made of soft-touch materials. Fit and finish were excellent throughout, with no visible cost cuttings anywhere. The most important for us, the trunk was big enough to meet our weekend requirements. As everyone was equally happy with the car, decided to do a TD and book the car. Unfortunately, TD was not available as it was too late that day, but I don't remember why, I just decided to proceed with it without a TD !! Maybe I was already tired of this car search saga + EADO seemed like a perfect fit for all my requirements. My sales guy Mr.Hashem Ali showed me his daily runner which was an EADO itself in a white shade, he had done close to 70000km and everything was in place and felt durable. Hence the deal was confirmed and I asked him to proceed with the finance documents.

Few Points :

• The choice of color was kept for the day of booking as he said the inventory data changes every day.
  
  
• Once the EADO got confirmed I sold my Nissan Sunny the next day to the confirmed buyer.
  
  
• Meantime I was using a Nissan Pathfinder which was arranged through my father. It was an amazing experience with the 4.0L V6 Petrol engine for a few days even though it was a 10-year-old vehicle!
  
  
• My Grand Parents had come for a visit during that time and I wanted to take the delivery of my new car in their presence.
  
  
• My family ( except father & me ) too had booked their tickets to India for their annual vacation. So since everyone would be leaving the country in a couple of weeks I wanted the delivery to happen within that period.
  
  
• Meantime I received the call from Mr.Ahmed, representative of IJARAH FINANCE through which I was financing my car. He informed me to visit the showroom to see the final quote.
  
  
• I told him over the phone to re-calculate the EMI in such a way that the monthly payment amount would be 900 Riyal. I agreed to make the required down payment to bring down the EMI to my requirement.
  
  
• On 11 June 2018 I went to the showroom to complete the booking and make the down payment.

Some Photo Credits for Google

[kamilharis]

Booking and Delivery

I went to the showroom on 11 June 2018 as instructed. He provided me the final documents meeting my requirements. The EMI was adjusted to a fancy figure of 899 Saudi Riyal per month. The down payment was calculated to meet the specific EMI requirement, which was 4748 Saudi Riyal. I made the down payment and took the receipt of the same.

I had a talk with Mr. Hashem before this regarding the colors available in stock. I was planning for White color as usual but unfortunately, they had no stock of white with them. Instead, they had Black, Bronze, and Red color in stock. Bronze and Red were available for display at the stock yard but the black one was at another yard which was far away, he had shared with me the pictures of all colors.

White

Black

Bronze

I was in two minds then, whether to go with the Black or Red. Just made a call to my family and took their opinion on Red color, they nodded yes and said to go for Red itself if I am okay with it, and the color would stand out a bit too. Confirmed the booking and that was it, finally, I felt like I have successfully completed some seriously humongous task. Upon accepting my booking I got informed that I will receive a call from the bank, after which I must pay a final visit to the bank directly to Sign on the original contract. Once the contract is completed, the bank will deposit the money to the dealership upon which they would send the vehicle from their yard to the Motor Vehicle department ( called Muroor here ) to complete the Vehicle Registration process, here the vehicle registration document is known as Istemara which is nothing but the RC which comes in the size of an ATM card.

So a couple of days had passed and I received the call from my financer to pay them a visit, to sign the contract, and finalize it so that they can release the payment to the dealer. I went there and he clearly explained to me the details in the contract one by one, but howsoever he explained I just couldn't understand a few of the calculations. Anyway, he asked me to sign the contract if I can agree to all the points that he had explained, it was signed and he assured me that he would release the payment to the dealer in couple of working days.

Car Price and Total amount after 5 years(Interest + 5 years full cover insurance Incl.)






Just a snapshot of my first 10 monthly payments to see how the calculation is done.

Some numbers :

Car price: 45900 Saudi Riyal
After Discount : 41353 Saudi Riyal ( APX. ₹8,00,000 @ ex. rate of 1 Riyal= ₹19.3 )
Down Payment: 4748.1 Saudi Riyal
Monthly Payment: 899.17 Saudi Riyal ( x 59 months )
Last month Payment: 12400 Saudi Riyal ( 60th Payment )

Apart from the discount on car price, I was offered free service up to 50000 km or 2 years whichever comes first, along with a warranty for 1,50,000 km or 5 years.

Warranty terms and conditions :

Few Uneventful days & Delivery :

• Got dealer confirmation regarding the payment in a couple of days' time.
  
  
• They said they had processed for the transfer of my car from their main yard to the showroom.
  
  
• After a few days I got confirmed that they had received the car at the showroom from their main yard.
  
  
• Process for registering the car was initiated accordingly.
  
  
• Someone designated for this job delayed it and by the time EID HOLIDAYS had started in Saudi, during which all the government offices will remain closed, including the Motor Vehicle Department, which eventually delayed everything and the dealership informed me that I will get my car registered post the EID HOLIDAYS which was almost 2 weeks.
  
  
• My Mom, Sisters, and Grand Parents had left for India during this time as it was pre-planned and could not be postponed further. This was a disappointing situation for me as no one would be there during the occasion of my first new car delivery.
  
  
• After the EID holidays they sent my car with priority for registration, and I got a call from them informing me that on 08-July-2018 my car would be ready for delivery. But a day before 08th they informed me they won't be able to deliver on 08th, but promised me that I will receive it on 09th July. On 09-July-2018 I left early from my office with my cab guy a and he dropped me at the showroom, I had made good relation with that cab guy as he was the one who fulfilled all my commuting needs for the last 15 odd days when I had no car.
  
  
• I entered the showroom and I was told to wait, after few moments he informed me that everything is complete but the cleaning and number plate fixing was remaining. it was already 4 PM and they said they would take 2 to 3 hours to complete all this, and suggested me to take the delivery the next day or accept the car without being cleaned. I lost my temper but politely told them that " I need my car today at any cost, I am ready to wait till midnight. "
  
  
• He discussed with their team and immediately assigned 2 or 3 guys to get my car cleaned and fix the number plates. I got into the cleaning bay and stood beside them to make sure that everything was done properly without hurrying into it.
  
  
• In the meantime I was informed by my representative that I won't be getting the original RC as it came with some printing mistake. It was printed " JEEP " instead of " Sedan " in the vehicle category. I told them to give me an authorization letter explaining this to which he promptly agreed. I had received the revised RC after a couple of days without any more drama, thank god!
  
  
• So it was almost 7 PM by then and my car was ready for delivery. Here generally the delivery is done in a casual manner. No photos no key exchange etc. I was handed over my car key along with the warranty documents from the showroom, I went to the cleaning bay and took my car myself.
  
  
• So that was it, booked on 11-June-2018 and delivered on 9-July-2018. No family no friends no celebrations. Added my dream car GTR's key-chain to the fob and Drove my car home, eureka!

[kamilharis]

The Day 1 Story : Predicament

First sight of my EADO from the cleaning bay.




The first sight of the cockpit. Did check all the Electricals and the car was idling for good 15+ minutes. No PDI was done before registration, this was my only PDI.





Took the car straight to my apartment and parked it there and clicked some pictures, again all alone.

I parked the car and was waiting for my father to return from his office. He reached late in the evening and I went down to the parking to show him our new car. He checked out the car from outside and was very impressed. I opened the car and sat in the driving seat to take him for a short drive. I inserted the key for ignition and the car wouldn't just start, not even cranking!

I tried then by removing the key and it failed again and again. On the console, IIRCC 2 lights were ON. One is the battery and the other being the warning light. My father's driver checked few things but no change. The DRLs and all other electrical were working perfectly fine and just checked the battery which looked like a new one straight out of the box. I was helplessly sitting in the driver's seat of my new car which didn't even run for good 10 kilometers, with thoughts like " I made a wrong decision by choosing a Chinese brand? My first new car's ownership will end up as a horror story in my life ? "

I made a call to my sales representative Mr. Hashem and explained him everything, sent him the pictures of MID through Whatsapp. He called me after a couple of minutes and said to me that " Don't worry, this might be some small issue like a blown fuse or something, you can send us the car tomorrow on a flatbed (we will pay) and our team will take care of it. If in case there is any manufacturing defect or serious issue with your car, don't worry we will replace you with a brand new car as per your wish. Just leave it to us. "

I thanked him for his gesture and politely told him : " I will not send the car on a flatbed, you guys can send your team here and take the car. I will send the keys of my car to your showroom by tomorrow morning with by cab driver and you can take the car of your own from my apartment parking. "

That was how my first day of ownership went. I left for my office the next day with cab guy again, and in couple of hours I received a call from the workshop manager, a gentleman from Mumbai, Mr.Tajammul Pasha informing that they have taken my car and it is being diagnosed. Assured me that everything will be perfect and expect the car to be returned on same day. In another 3 hours or so I received another call from him informing that the issue has been resolved and the car can be collected from the showroom anytime. After my office hours I hurried to the showroom and met the service manager. He apologized for the ordeal and he took me to the service station. I asked him what was the issue but he just said it was some fuse issue or something. He did not elaborate anything in detail even though I asked him couple of times. No Service Report was provided as well. Anyway I don't basically prefer to think about negatives beyond a time. So left all the sour thoughts of 1st day of ownership there and drove my car home.

And this was the only issue I had with my car in 2 years and 1,72,000km of ownership.

The story finally begins here...

[kamilharis]

The Brand Summary

Chang'an Automobile (Group) Co., Ltd. is a Chinese state-owned automobile manufacturer headquartered in Chongqing, China.Its principal activity is the production of passenger cars, microvans, commercial vans, and light trucks.

Chang'an designs develops, manufactures, and sells passenger cars sold under the Chang'an brand and commercial vehicles sold under the Chana brand. It operates joint ventures with Ford (Changan Ford), Groupe PSA (Changan PSA), Mazda (Changan Mazda) and Suzuki (Changan Suzuki) which respectively produce Ford, DS Automobiles, Mazda and Suzuki branded passenger cars for the Chinese market. It also has a joint venture with Jiangling Motor Corporation Group (JMCG) and Aiways, which produces SUVs sold under the Landwind marque.

Chang'an is considered to be one of the "Big Four" Chinese automakers (along with SAIC Motor, FAW Group, and Dongfeng Motor Corporation), and the manufacture of 3 million units in 2016 saw the company rank fourth among China's automakers by production volume. It is China's second most popular car brand, with 1.4 million Changan cars sold in 2016.

The EADO

The first generation Changan Eado started sales in 2012. The vehicle was styled by Changan’s Italian design center in Turin and debuted as concept car C201 at the Beijing Auto Show 2010, the production car was shown at the International Motor Show 2011 in Frankfurt. The delivery of the sedan started on March 27, 2012. The later Changan CS35 crossover is also based on the Eado.

The drive-train is powered by a 1.6-liter gasoline engine. Comes with a 5-speed manual transmission & a 4-speed automatic transmission.

EADO comes in 4 more different forms:

1. Eado XT/Eado XT RS is a hatchback variant that comes in an optional RS turbo performance version as well.
   
2. Eado Blue is a PHEV, or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle version of the Eado sedan.
   
3. Eado EV/EV300 is a fully electric version of the Changan Eado sedan.
   
4. Changan Eado Plus is an enhanced version of the normal EADO. Eado Plus measures 4,730 mm in length, 1,820 mm in width, and 1,505 mm. For the sake of comparison the longer, wider, and taller than the 11th generation Toyota Corolla (4,639/ 1,775/ 1,460) however the 2,700 mm wheelbase remains exactly the same as normal EADO. Also comes with an optional 1.4-liter turbocharged engine producing 157 hp.
   

Source

About the Car

What you will like :

• Modest looking, you can love it but won't hate it.
  
• Nice plush interior with plenty of soft touch points.
  
• 5-star C-NCAP safety rating & kit. ABS, EBD, ESC, TCS, ESP, HBA, HHC, 4-wheel disc break, etc.
  
• Excellent kit for what you pay, true VFM wiz. typical Chinese.
  
• Enjoyable stock 6-speaker ICE. Far far better than the one in Corolla & Elantra.
  
• 5 years/1,50,000 km warranty.
  
• D segment sedan for a C/C-SUV segment money.
  
• Tried and tested model introduced way back in 2010. Almost niggle free.

What you won't like :

• Paint finish is excellent but the layer of coat is thin, even the smallest of impacts leaves some marks.
  
• Aisin 4 speed AT brings some limitations to this 1st gen model's drivability ( 2020 Gen2 comes with 6AT).
  
• Fuel efficiency averages around 12.5kmpl (Culprit - 4AT gearbox). Softest of the foot gives 15-16kmpl, rarely.
  
• Limited availability of spares outside the authorized dealer, but it is improving.
  
• Suspension is on the stiffer side, a bit underwhelming on bad roads especially at lower speeds.
  
• A small concern on the future part availability & maintenance as Gen2 was introduced in 2020.

Exterior

The design of this sedan was developed in the Italian Designing Center of Changan, which opened in Turin. So Italian specialists had worked on the exterior. The car was designed by Luciano D'Ambrosio, the CEO and Design Chief of LDA Design. The team was lead by Carminati Stephano. EADO has its own distinctive design elements and they didn't try to mimic any other car's styling on it, note that Chinese cars then were very good at copying other companies' designs.

A sleek and perfectly sized 3-slat chrome grill is present at the front. Not too big or ugly like the grill of current cars. Wide air dam with a chrome strip at the bottom

The outer dimensions of the body are 4620 mm in length, 1820 mm in width, 1490 mm in height. The size of the wheelbase is 2660 mm. The front-wheel track is 1550 mm, the rear wheel track is 1569 mm.

Slightly flared wheel arches are provided. The upper body line is carried over to the tail lamp cluster and the lower body line remains on the door only.

The headlamp cluster doesn't get any chrome/black bordering. Headlamps extend to almost half of the bonnet and fender.

Foglamps are placed low on the bumper. Front indicators are in line with the foglamps which form an L-shaped cluster on the bumper. The remaining portions get a honeycomb pattern covering.

Projector headlamps are provided with LED DRL at the bottom, the DRLs are wide and bright enough even under scorching sunlight. No auto-headlamps. The DRL is always on even before the ignition.

No turn indicators on the fender. Instead gets a neatly integrated chrome finish like this with a small honeycomb pattern in it.

[kamilharis]

Interior

The front door opens and shuts in two-stage action. The opening is good enough to make the ingress and egress comfortable. The doors have very good amount of sheet metal and shut well, though you won't feel much of a 'thud' in it.

As soon as you are seated an airy cabin welcomes you. The flushed 7" touch screen system, gets Baidu Carlife instead of Android Auto / Apple Carplay.
The legroom and headroom won't leave anyone in discomfort. The interior is finished in Black & Beige combination. Ample glass areas and sunroof add more airiness to the already airy cabin. No one is going to feel claustrophobic here. The fit and finish is good and there are no noticeable panel gaps. Everything falls in place and is tight.

The dashboard design is clean and classy. It is designed in 3 layers to be specific. The uppermost layer finished in black which most of us won't be touching and hence it is finished in plastic, but of excellent quality. The middle portion is finished in black soft-touch material. It has stitches running over it which adds to the aesthetics factor. The lowermost portion is finished in beige shade, again of high-quality plastics. Plastic cowl on top of the instrument cluster is finished in soft-touch material. Not that sturdy if you press it hard. But no squeak and creak whatsoever.

Windscreen is wide and huge providing great visibility. A pillar is thick but I didn't feel much of a difficulty with it. Pretty much the same in every car these days. Leather-wrapped steering unit is chunky and feels great to hold, sadly it's not a flat bottomed one. Dark silver inserts are present and it comes with contours for your thumbs. Steering controls for the MID are on the left side along with the Volume control and mute button. Telephony controls along with buttons for the infotainment system at the right. Steering is only adjustable for height, reach adjustment is a notable miss. No engine start-stop button in any variant, but there is a provision for it which says that it was removed for the specific market. Anyway, in their 2020 model, it comes from the mid variant onwards.

Speedometer console is completely analogue and I love them. Looks great at night. To nitpick, maybe we can say that the design resembles the instrument cluster from the previous gen Hyundai Elantra! Black & white MID is kind of minimalistic I would say. It has a digital fuel gauge, two trip meters with average fuel consumption, distance to empty, outside temperature, etc. One of the options shows " Vehicle Normal " when you switch through it. Yes, I don't what the MID to display " Your Vehicle is Abnormal " any day. . If the car goes automatically to Hill Hold Control when you are on a steep, it is displayed on the MID for a couple of seconds just to alert you that HHC is activated. Usual stuff like door open alerts ( will display the exact door which is open ), bonnet and boot open alert, etc. are activated graphically whenever the action is detected.

All the AC vents have a thin chrome finish which looks classy and then another thick border panel finished in silver. All again of excellent quality and will age well. Air flow can be completely shut using the roller. Side AC vents are designed horizontally and center AC vents are designed vertically. Center AC vents on both sides of the touch screen unit. Chrome touches around the vents are excellent. You can completely shut the airflow using the roller adjuster. AC controls & other switches are housed in a piano black panel. All the switches are made of rubber-like plastic which feels very soft to touch and not plasticky. The feel, quality, finish, and tactile feedback of these switches are great.

At the storage bin below the AC controls, you can find a 12V port, USB port, and the old school cigarette lighter socket, positioned equidistantly. No Aux-in port provided! And by the way, the storage bin is nicely finished in a rubbery material to keep the key rattling noises away.

Driver Seat- Manually height-adjustable are comfortable and support is adequate. Side bolstering is good enough for a long highway drive. I felt like the under thigh support could have been better if a tad bit longer. The seats get single tone leatherette upholstery in beige which makes the cabin feel spacious. Yes, the color can be difficult to maintain as time goes. Behind the steering wheel, you can find the stalks for other usual controls. Headlamp controls, lane change indicator control on the left, and wiper controls on the right. No Auto headlamps and wipers. The stalk feels durable and the feedback is good. Headlamp leveler is below the steering to the left. The door pads have a black and beige theme, carried over from the dash. Beige leatherette insert are present with padding on the armrest area. Gets dirty easily, so be careful.

Power window buttons are designed beautifully with a thin chrome border. These minute touches feel great. Child lock button and door lock/unlock button are placed on top. Driver's window gets a one-touch-down feature. All 4 door pockets are deep and wide. 1 bottle holder and the remaining space will be more than enough to stuff in your remaining knick-knacks.

The rear seats are extremely comfortable for 3 Adults. Comes in same biege finish all around including the door pads. There is a center armrest with 2 cupholders, the fit and finish of cupholder area was not that great.

[kamilharis]

EADO (2020) is available globally in ICE and PHEV options.

EADO with 1.6L naturally aspirated engine producing 125 hp with a five-speed manual or six-speed automatic
EADO with 1.5L turbocharged engine producing 170 hp with a 7-speed Dual-clutch transmission
EADO+ with 1.4-liter turbocharged engine producing 157 hp, mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox, a 6-speed manual gearbox, and a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission.
EADO Blue (EV) with an electric motor producing 100 kw with a claimed range of 405 km with a full battery.

Driving the 1.6 AT

The EADO driven here is from the first generation(2009-2018). It comes with the same 1600cc 124hp engine which has made it's way to the second generation(2019-) as well. The only difference with the second generation is that it is paired to a 4-speed AT. The second generation is mated to a much better 6-speed AT. The gearbox (both 4AT & 6AT) is a torque converter unit from AISIN.

So here are the specs - a 1.6L engine with 4-AT produces a healthy 124HP of power & 160NM of torque. A glance at the specs with it's competitors below.

You might have already concluded upon the weakest link of Gen1 EADO by now, yes it is the 4-speed AT. The same engine and transmission units were also shared with two other cars during 2018, Changan CS35 and Changan V7. All these cars were updated in 2020 with 6AT (AISIN) & 7-DCT (In-house) transmissions.

With your foot on the brake pedal, insert the key into the ignition and make sure that the gear is slotted either in P or N (won't start in D), there is no PUSH BUTTON to start so twist the key and the 1.6L engine comes to life. It's a fairly silent startup with no vibrations felt inside the cabin.

Release the brake pedal and the car takes off the line smoothly without any accelerator input, it crawls around a speed of ~10kmph which will be useful in bumper to bumper traffic. To move on further, press the accelerator and then you realize this is not a DSG/DCT, it takes a second or two like a typical TC transmission and responds to your input. Don't get me wrong, this does not equate to an annoying level of driveability in city traffic, just you need to get used to it and that's it. Once you are in the powerband and then you are into a jerk-free driving experience. It is best to drive the EADO in a sedate manner, the gearshifts are butter smooth and you won't notice a shift either. Maybe the driver can feel it if carefully noticed, passengers won't feel any of the shifts. First shift happens quickly under 2,000 rpm, there is nothing much you could do in the first gear.

There are no 'quick' shifts like a DSG or 6-speed torque converters. Kickdown the pedal there is a slight delay before the downshift, but the gearbox doesn't get confused at any stage like some of the other TCs, this is tuned well even though it is just a 4AT unit. Anyhow, the best way to drive this car in a sedate manner with gradual accelerator inputs. The shifts are never jerky even when you drive it aggressively, but you can feel the shifts during aggressive kickdows followed by a sweet engine growl. (I like it!)

Get on the highways and the EADO is a good mile muncher if not excellent. The throttle response is good when the engine is in it's powerband. The overtakes can be done easily with a little bit of planning, far better than a CVT response during overtakes. The car cruises at 100kmph in 2500 rpm and 120kmp at 3000rpm. Would have liked the same speeds around 2300 and 2800 rpm's respectively. 150kmph comes around 3750 rpm, haven't pushed the car beyond that but it can reach speeds of 160kmph without too much of an effort, the claimed top speed is 185kmph. Would have been better if it had a 6-speed AT as the engine has got a decent amount of power & torque (124hp/160nm), but the gearbox restricts the true potential of the engine. Also note that the car weighs around 1.4 ton and it is the heaviest in the category, still has a healthy power to weight ratio of around 95bhp/ton.

Doesn't get any paddle shifter, instead, there is a SPORT mode when you slide the gear lever to the right from the 'D' position. This is nothing but a manual gearshift without a clutch. It gives you some fun on open highways by holding the rpm to the maximum possible point for each gear, that's all about the SPORT mode. No cruise control provided.

Claimed fuel efficiency is 7.2L/100km which translates to 13.88 kmpl. Real-world fuel efficiency is almost the same as claimed, which returns you around 13.5 to 14 with the normal foot. It has gone down to under 11kmpl when driven in city traffic conditions or aggressive highway drives, and has returned a maximum of just under 17.5kmpl during winter, very rare! Results would've been better if it as a 6AT gearbox instead of the 4AT unit.
Below are a few of the efficiency data from the Fuelio app :


Data of 5 consecutive fuel fill-up details with efficiency:



Detailed efficiency/consumption graph which will give you the exact picture:



Overall readings:



About the Safety Warnings :

• Speed alert comes at 120kmph with 5 continuous beeps, along with an alert flasher on MID.
• Speed alert goes to silent for 10 seconds and comes in again, this is repeated & it is not annoying.
• Seat belt warning comes only for the driver, no alert for passengers even though all 5 passengers get dedicated belts.
• Beep for driver seat belt warning kicks in after 10kmph itself, i.e. crawling speeds.
• Beep for seat belt warning stops and repeats like that of the speed alert itself, but the alert light keeps flashing.
• Beeps if in case if any of the doors are not shut properly on the move, also displays on the MID which door is not properly shut, very useful.
• Beeps if the headlights are ON after key fobs are removed, extremely useful.
• Beeps and restricts you from locking the car if any door is not shut, be it with the key fob or internal central locking.

About the Safety Features :

EBD (Electronic brakeforce distribution)
ESC (Electronic Stability Control)
TCS (Traction control system) with TCS OFF switch.
ESP (Electronic stability program)
HBA (Hydraulic Brake Assist System)
HHC (Hill Hold Control)
4 Airbags
3 dedicated seatbelts for Rear passengers
ISOFIX

[kamilharis]

Ride & Handling, GC & Braking

The front suspension of the Eado sedan is independent on the usual McPherson struts, and the rear is a semi-dependent unit with a torsion beam.

The car is tuned for a sportier ride I would say. A combination of chunky wheels (205/55/R16) + Hydraulic Steering + Stiff suspension adds more fun to it. This obviously means that the ride comfort has been traded a bit making the ride stiffer. Speaking frankly the EADO doesn't drive as good as a Corolla on bad roads especially at lower speeds, you will always know what kind of tarmac you're driving on. The ride is not plush on bad city roads if you don't drive carefully, but don't get me wrong the suspension isn't bone-jarring either. Big potholes will bother you as the thuds intrude to the cabin easily if the potholes are not taken well. 35psi is the recommended pressure on the 16" wheels. Reducing both would have given a better ride quality on bad roads, and yes CHANGAN should soften the suspension.

Now get on the highways, press the gas pedal and the suspension matures beautifully to your liking. The ride quality at higher speeds on the highway is excellent. The steering which feels a bit heavy in city speeds (Hyundai folks will know this better!) performs really well on highways, it'll guide you exactly to where you want. The car doesn't bounce, it runs flat and straight. On good highway speeds, the small potholes are eaten up so well and it doesn't disturb the ride as it does in low city speeds. For some bigger potholes, the suspension makes audible clunky noises. The only mantra to avoid this is " drive carefully on bad roads ".

Stability is again good on highways, none of the passengers has complained yet regarding that. Feels planted on to the tar and there is no nervousness felt. Thankfully no one has yet vomited too due to motion sickness. 205/55/R16 tyres are chunky and provide excellent grip. But at the same time, the tyres are noisy at higher speeds and it intrudes to the cabin, the only way to escape from this is by making use of the excellent quality music system. Might be better on some better rubber, the stock tyres are from MAXXIS. Also downgrading to a 195 section rubber might gain you better low-speed ride quality and lesser tyre noise, but it comes at the cost of losing out on good handling.

Ground clearance stays at 160mm which is average. Scraps big bumps if not attempted politely on full load. With just two members on board, it doesn't create much of an issue on any kind of roads, you just need to be a little bit careful when you have 5 people on board or if the 510L of boot space filled with luggage. Do note that this is being driven on the roads of Saudi Arabia which is well built, for Indian conditions the 160mm ground clearance won't definitely be enough.

Now coming to the brakes, EADO is equipped with 4 disc brakes all around. The brake lacks bite despite coming in an all-disc form. Most of them who had borrowed the car for a spin had mentioned this. You have to plan the braking a bit in order to avoid "bad surprises" while driving. But you gradually get used to the braking and then it's all fine. Definitely, there is some minor room left for improvement in the braking department.

[kamilharis]

Other Points

• Periodic Maintenance comes in at every 10,000 km or 6 months.
  
  
• Maintenance schedule is as listed :
  
  
• 
  
  
• Normal service consisting of Engine Oil (Synthetic) and Oil Filter replacement costs around 300 Saudi Riyal (with tax), which translates to around 6000 INR.
  
  
• Some of the parts are exorbitantly priced, for instance, the spark plug is listed at an equivalent of INR 2300 per plug! And it is mentioned in the service schedule to be replaced at every 65000km, all 4 of them!
  
  
• Cost of some common parts in Indian Rupees (Appx. 1 Saudi Riyal = 19.3 INR)
• 
  
  
• Standard warranty of 5 years/1,50,000km, great!
  
  
• Power window switches works for a couple of minutes even after removing the key, this is really helpful if you miss out on rolling down any of the windows before removing the key fob.
  
  
• Beeps continuously if the headlamps are "ON" after removing the key, and the doors don't lock without switching it OFF.
  
  
• If any of the doors are not shut properly, the car honks if you try to lock it using the remote key. You have to shut the door again to lock it.
  
  
• Gets 52L fuel tank, tank range of around 725 Km.
  
  
• Horn sounds nice like that of VWs.
  
  
• Gets wheel cladding for all the wheels.
  
  
• Steering-Meter Console gap is covered with a leatherette sheet.
  
  
• Door ajar warning (in the MID) tells you specifically which door is open. It covers the tailgate (trunk) and bonnet too.
  
  
• Changan had plans to enter India, their introduction was delayed due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

SHARING SOME OF MY FAVORITE CLICKS

[kamilharis]

Years Later..

I sold my beloved EADO on 2024 June 13 (My Birthday!) with a heavy heart. Was with me for almost 6 Years, travelled together for 1,72,000 kilometers without skipping a beat, touchwood with regular services.

Happy buyer was my colleague, who drives it happily and I see him daily!

Few pics that I clicked before the final good bye!

GOOD BYE, CHAMP!

[Omkar]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[kamilharis]

Thanks mods for the support!

So the EADO was replaced with an SUV in August 2024.

Guess? It's another Chinese

[czar6502]

This thread was a great read, really enjoyed it! I really understood how you felt about the Renault Megane because, boy what a looker!

Congratulations on your new car! Hoping to see another great thread from you on it.

[Nissan1180]

Thank you for sharing this detailed review of the car. It was fascinating to read about the value on offer by the Chinese cars. For a price of ₹ 8 Lakh, you got a well engineered car with a good quality interior and a 150,000 km warranty! This is unbelievable in India and goes on to show how cost-efficient the manufacturer is.

Wishing you many happy years with the vehicle.

I have one question - since you’ve driven for over 170,000 km, did you experience any rattles or squeaks from the plastics?

[kamilharis]

Originally Posted by czar6502

This thread was a great read, really enjoyed it! I reallCongratulations on your new car! Hoping to see another great thread from you on it.

Thanks a lot! Will start a new thread for Haval JOLION.

Originally Posted by Nissan1180

Wishing you many happy years with the vehicle.

I have one question - since you’ve driven for over 170,000 km, did you experience any rattles or squeaks from the plastics?

Thanks! There was one small rattle which used to come from the left corner of the dash board once in a while. Apart from that , there was nothing. The plastics and soft touch material aged well and still looks new fresh a microfiber job.