Beijing Auto BJ80
The Beijing Auto BJ80 has finally been launched on the Chinese
car market. Price starts at 288.000 yuan and ends at 298.000 yuan
(about US$ 42.600-44.000). The BJ80, formerly known as the BJ80C,
is the civilian version of the BJ80 series, which also includes the BJ80J military version and
the BJ80D civilian diesel version.
This is the Saab 2.3 turbo four, now good for 250 Hp
and 350 Nm, mated to a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic, sending power
to all four wheels. Beijing Auto Industrial Corporation (BAIC), the owner of Beijing Auto, bought the rights to
the Saab 2.0 turbo and Saab 2.3 turbo from GM in 2009, along with the rights to
the platforms of the Saab 9-3 and first generation Saab 9-5. The 2.3 turbo also
serves in the Senova D70 and Beijing Auto BJ40, among others.
Design of the BJ80 is inspired by the Mercedes-Benz G-Class. Beijing Auto and Daimler-Benz are very close; they
have the successful Beijing-Benz joint venture and Daimler owns a 12% stake in an entity
called BAIC Motor, the parent company of all the passenger car companies within
BAIC.
Persistent rumors say Daimler was very unhappy with
the BJ80 and tried to convince BAIC Motor to kill it off, which caused a lot of
delay. But it didn’t matter in the end because the BJ80 is here in all its
various variants. Daimler just had to take it or shake it.
The interior is less G-inspired than the exterior.
Large touch screen on top of the center stack, start button to the right of the
steering wheel. Lots wood and lots of leather, and even the steering wheel
looks kind of luxurious. The infotainment system shows the radio, and that is
the only thing 99% of Chinese car buyers uses the infotainment system for. They
do the rest with their iPhones.
Source : Carnewschina
