Chery
Arrizo M7
The
somewhat new Chery Arrizo M7 MPV has been launched on
the Chinese car market. Price starts at at 79.900 yuan and ends at 107.900
yuan. The M7 is the first MPV under the Arrizo brand,
and it is a rather odd and old car.
The Arrizo M7 is basically a facelfited version of the 2011 Chery Rely V5. The first spy shots in 2013,
it was then called the Chery V5 because the Rely sub-brand was
killed and gone. Nothing happened until 2014 when it suddenly popped up as
the Fullwin 8, and all got silent again until March when it was reborn as
the Chery Arrizo M7.
A
central instrument pod with old analogue gauges, but the touch screen
looks just modern enough. Black over beige with a piano black lower-center
console. Two tone seats are a trend these days, and Chery joins the party. The
seats are positioned very far to the front in this particular demo car, likely
to create the illusion of space in the back.
And
things get a little weird here. Chery says the M7 is a seven-seater with a
2+2+3 configuration. The above photo is from the official Chery press release
for the market-launch. It shows two seats in the front row, two in the
middle row, and three in the back row. That indeed is 2+2+3.
But
the reality turns out to be very different. This is the second row with three
seats, not two.
The
engines are fuzzy too; both very old and very similar in output: a 1.8 with
132 hp and 172 nm, and a 2.0 with 139 hp and 182 nm. That’s a difference of 7 horsepower and 10 newton meter. The 1.8 is
mated to a hardcore five-speed manual, and the 2.0 to a CVT. Power goes to the
front wheels. Size dimension is 4730/1823/1590 mm, and wheelbase is 2800 mm.
