The first pre-production Kaiyi E5 sedan was presented in Russia: it will be assembled at Avtotor in Kaliningrad, and sales will start in March. Autonews.ru was one of the first to get acquainted with the novelty
Read full version
In March, sales of cars from the new Chinese brand Kaiyi will start in Russia. First, the E5 sedan will go to dealerships – its production was launched at the Avtotor Kaliningrad plant. The correspondent of Autonews.ru studied the car one of the first: we understand what the novelty is.
Express dating
For the first time, cars will be produced according to the principle of SKD – that is, from car kits. In the future, there are plans for partial localization. Avtotor directly negotiated the production with the leadership of Kaiyi in China itself. Therefore, the Chinese division of the concern, which oversees the Russian market and is called Chery International, is not involved in Kaiyi’s expansion plans in Russia.
What the future E5 models will look like, we managed to find out by getting acquainted with the very first copy in Russia. Representatives of Avtotor-Holding immediately warned that the car was pre-production and they could not yet provide the exact technical characteristics of the model. The first acquaintance showed that the model was assembled in a factory way, the E5 does not have any noticeable flaws and workarounds, which are often found on pre-production samples.
The mid-size sedan is comparable in size to the Hyundai Elantra and Kia Cerato, and in the appearance of the novelty you can notice light sporty accents: black rear-view mirror housings, bifurcated exhaust pipes, one of which, however, is decorative. 17-inch wheels received Chinese Atlas tires.
The interior has a sports beveled steering wheel, a dashboard with red stitching, seats with developed lateral support and a monolithic headrest stylized as sports bucket seats. But that’s where the “sport” ends. In the central tunnel there is a conventional gear selector, a multimedia system with a touchscreen: the graphics, at first glance, are clear and work without freezes. The dashboard is analog, with a small on-board computer display. Interestingly, the climate control is touch-sensitive: physical keys are suggested to be used only to set the temperature and fan operation. At the same time, the climate control itself is single-zone.
What’s inside “Kai”
Sitting in the driver’s seat, you can immediately notice the three-stage heated seats in the front row – this is a rarity for many Chinese cars that come to Russia. But there is no heated rear steering wheel and windshield. As promised in the company, in the future the model will still receive these options.
The steering wheel itself is height adjustable. A tall driver will most likely not be very comfortable: despite the fact that the driver’s seat is electrically adjustable, there is no lumbar support adjustment.
On the left under the steering wheel, not very convenient, in the Japanese manner, there is a mirror control unit, there is also an ESP disable button and a Sport / ECO drive mode switch. The windows are all automatic. In general, the interior leaves a pleasant impression: the plastic of the front panel is hard, but textured, there is a small washer that duplicates the control of the multimedia system and several menu keys on the central tunnel, there are also a couple of cup holders and a small glove compartment.
Behind Kaiyi E5 is spacious, but without frills. The rear seats are also decorated with combined red inserts, but there is no heating there anymore. Passengers in the second row got one air deflector, one USB port and a pair of cup holders in the armrest: there are no hooks for clothes, no light bulbs. The back sofa develops in a ratio 2:1.
The trunk is medium in size: the company has not yet given exact measurements. Offhand, it holds 430–450 liters, is upholstered on the inside with soft material, and opens with a key fob or a regular button. A single light bulb is used for lighting; a dokatka was found in the underground. The trunk lid is held on hydraulically, but there is no handle for closing. But there is access to the castle from the inside: in case you were suddenly locked inside. Of course, we also looked under the hood: we had to work hard to open it: the lid is unusually heavy, and it is inconvenient to open it: the lock is somewhere in the depths.
Representatives of the company said that while the exact configuration and prices have not been determined. In addition, official measurements of the speed indicators of the model have not yet been carried out – this will have to be done in the near future. In Russia, the E5 is equipped with a 1.5-liter turbocharged engine with a power of 147 hp. The fuel consumption in the combined cycle declared by the Russian manufacturer is about 9.8 liters of fuel per 100 km, while the engine allows the use of AI-92 gasoline.
The first Russians were presented with the basic version, and in three months a more expensive equipment with a similar engine should appear. As expected, part of the auto components will already be localized in Russia, including the bumper and grille.
What will happen to prices
Official prices for the car have not yet been published. Some time ago, Avtotor-Holding noted that the starting price of the E5 could be below 1 million rubles. But this is only taking into account all kinds of subsidies and state programs, including for the purchase of cars for taxi companies and carsharing. At the same time, cars of higher configurations are expected to cost more. During the premiere, the company did not name approximate prices for the car. Nevertheless, exemplary competitors of the model can already be named. This, for example, Lada Vesta – now a sedan on mechanics from old stocks in a large Moscow car dealership was estimated at 1,429,900 rubles. But soon AvtoVAZ should restart the production of the model, and prices may drop. In terms of equipment, the Kaiyi E5 is also close to the Kia Cerato. You can also add the Volkswagen Bora to the list, which in the Elite configuration costs about 2.5 million rubles, and the Chinese FAW Bestune B70 front-wheel drive liftback at a similar price.
Pavel Fedorov.