The Wuling Confero is the first fruit of
SAIC-GM-Wuling’s Indonesian factory, which started operations in Cikarang last
month. The US$ 700 million plant is the GM joint venture’s first manufacturing
site outside of China, and it has an annual capacity of 120,000 vehicles.
Confero is Latin for “bring together”, which is
appropriate for a family MPV. Seven variants are available, priced from IDR 128.8 million to IDR 165.9 million for the top spec
Confero S LUX+.
All Conferos are powered by a 1.5 litre petrol
engine with 107 hp and 142 Nm of torque from 3,800 to 4,400 rpm. The DOHC DVVT
four-cylinder unit is mated to a five-speed manual gearbox, there’s no auto
option which sends drive to the rear wheels.
At 4,530 mm long and 1,691 mm wide, the Wuling is 74
mm longer but 44 mm narrower than a Honda BR-V. The wheelbase is pretty long at
2,720 mm and there’s a choice of seven seats
(two captain seats in the middle row) or eight seats in a 2-3-3 formation.
Available equipment include 15-inch alloys, roof
rails, remote tailgate release and window opening, second row USB charging,
electric fuel tank opener (button on the dashboard), tyre pressure monitoring
system, front and rear parking sensors, dual airbags, ABS and EBD.
Against the likes of the the Toyota Avanza, Daihatsu
Xenia, Suzuki Ertiga and Honda Mobilio, the Wuling Confero battles on space and
price, which is close to smaller 1.2L Low Cost Green Car (LCGC) MPVs such as
the Toyota Calya and Daihatsu Sigra.
