"Compact urban crossover" (as it is positioned by the manufacturer) Chery IndiS has been presented in the Russian automotive market since August 2011. Since then, the "Indian" (so "affectionately and original" this car was nicknamed by its Russian owners) has received a large number of both praise and reproaches - let's try to objectively understand what he is.
Let's start with the fact that in fact "IndiS" (also known as "Beat" - in the Ukrainian market and as "Riich X1" - at home) is a subcompact front-wheel drive hatchback with a "high roof" (for more capacity) and with " a body kit made of unpainted plastic "(for" off-road capability ").
The plagiarism of the exterior and interior design of well-known auto brands by Chinese automobile companies is not spoken about unless people who are not interested in automobile life in principle. Copied, stolen, copied - a lot of epithets. We will not touch on this topic about manufacturers from the Middle Kingdom.
Our review is about Cheri Indis, who looks original and was created from a clean face by Italian craftsmen from the body shop Torino Design. Italian designers have been cooperating with Chery for a long time, the no less discussed Cheri Veri and Bonus are also their "handiwork". In the case of the hero of our review, the auto artists were faced with the task of creating a memorable original image and adjusting the new body to Kimo's compact platform. It is clear that Chery has a budget that is not the same as that of Mercedes-Benz or Audi (the Germans say they spend hundreds of millions of euros on the development of new items - "let's take their word for it"), but every yuan was spent on the appearance of IndiS sensibly.
This "mini-SUV" turned out to be bright and playful, as befits a small car. It seems strange only that the wheelbase of the "Indian" (2330 mm) is reduced by 60 mm in comparison with the platform donor and the body is very narrow - only 1622 mm. Otherwise, Chery IndiS looks cool: large headlights, high body height (1638 mm) with large and easy-to-fit doorways, stylishly placed rear door handles, a generous plastic body kit that covers the most damage-prone elements of the "body" of the car ( bumpers, sills, edges of arches), roof rails, a large tailgate providing easy access to the rear of the cabin.
Of course, there were some drawbacks - in the form of flimsy door handles, uninformative rear-view mirrors, the possibility of opening the trunk only from the passenger compartment. You close your eyes to all these little things, knowing that the minimum ground clearance is 180 mm, and under the front bumper is generally 230 mm, and most importantly, the price of Cherie Indis (at the start of sales) is from 379 thousand rubles!
You can safely storm a serious rut and park with your wheels resting on a curb, and Chery IndiS will not take much space in the parking lot, the length is only 3866 mm. The tires are 185 / 65R15 on iron or light-alloy wheels R15. Well, can you find a SUV on the Russian market, even with a front-wheel drive for that kind of money? Don't even think - you won't find it. The arguments are ironclad, especially if we take into account the quality of roads in Russian regions and the level of income of the population in the same regions. Well, we sort of figured out the exterior, the car may be liked or not, but to call its appearance faceless and insipid - even the ardent opponents of the Chinese car industry will not turn their tongues.
Salon "Indian" can be safely attributed to the four-seater. In the first row, the seats are quite comfortable, but with a short cushion and flat - they lack lateral support. It is not easy to achieve an optimal fit while driving, and drivers of short stature can do it; it will not be comfortable to sit behind a tall driver behind the wheel (the base is only 2330 mm). The front panel with the devices located in the center is informative, but somewhat tires the eyes in the dark with a poisonous blue backlight. The architecture of the dashboard and center console with smooth lines and a convenient location for the control of comfort functions.
In the second row, the two of us are just right, the third is clearly superfluous, and you will have to sit as vertically as possible, so as not to rest your knees on the backs of the front seats. Finishing materials, of course, budget, and over time, the interior plastic begins to "talk", but everything is assembled efficiently and accurately.
The volume of the trunk in the stowed state with passengers in the back seat is declared by the manufacturer at the level of 275 liters (actually - more, according to the owners), by folding the second row you can achieve a cargo capacity of 1000 liters, but ... a flat platform will not work, you need to remove the rear head restraints. And not every owner will be able to get behind the wheel after that. The transformation of the rear row is such that the front seats must be moved forward, so that there is enough space for the cushion, which becomes vertical, and the backrest falling down.
A bonus from Chinese manufacturers will be quite rich, as for a budget car, basic content: radio with connectors for MP3 and USB (2 speakers), air conditioning, front power windows, fault indicator, information display, roof rails, foglights, ABS, power steering, 2 pillows security, alarm and central locking. In a richer configuration Chery IndiS will be added: CD radio (4 speakers), heated front seats, heated electric mirrors, rear electric windows, alloy wheels, rear wiper.
About the technical characteristics. For Chery IndiS, only one 1.3 liter SQR473F gasoline engine (83 hp) with 5 manual gearboxes is offered, a robotic gearbox is available as an option. "Horses" are not enough under the hood of Cherie Indis, and the low torque (122 Nm) makes it necessary to get under way "with gas filling", and do not forget that the mass of the car in running order is a little less than 1200 kg.
Fuel consumption in mixed driving mode is 6.5-7 liters. The mechanics with clear inclusions are pleasant to use. Not so long ago, Chery IndiS was offered an "automatic", well, as an "automatic" - a robotic version of the manual transmission. "Robot" is a little annoying with "jabs" when changing gears, it's too early to talk about its reliability and durability (it appeared just a few months ago). The suspension is traditional for compact cars, MacPherson strut in front, torsion bar in the back. Suspension settings allow you to confidently move on bumpy roads, the car is stable and obedient on the track, but at a speed of 120-130 km / h, the information content of the steering vanishes. Is it worth it to "fly" at such a speed in a car with a low-power motor?
In general - Cherie Indis is an excellent, compact car for the city, for motorists with “limited budget” and tired of Russian “reliable and comfortable” cars.
We can say for sure - the car is worth every ruble paid for it (out of 379 thousand - the price of Chery IndiS 2012 in the basic configuration). Well, the surcharge of 20,000 rubles for options seems ridiculous, as well as 439,900 rubles for a car with a robotic gearbox.
