New photos of the upcoming Hongqi H5 sedan for
China. The H5 is a new mid-size sedan based on the Mazda 6 Atenza. The Mazda 6
is manufacatured in China by the FAW-Mazda joint venture, and FAW (First Auto
Works) is also the owner of the Hongqi (Red Flag) brand.
The Hongqi H5 will hit the Chinese car market in
November. Price will range from US$ 26,000 to US$ 39,000. Engines: a 1.8 turbo with
178 hp and 250 Nm, and a 2.0 with 204 hp and 260 Nm, bot mated to a six-speed
automatic transmission.
Somewhat surprisingly the engines are not sourced
from Mazda. They are both based on Volkswagen units from the late 1990's, and
used in many other FAW products. FAW got its hands on the engines via its
FAW-Volkswagen joint venture.
FAW grabs components and platforms from
all of their partners and mixes 'm together to form a new car. They also have
cars mixing Volkswagen and Mazda platforms, and Toyota engines, and they use to
make Audi-based cars with Chrysler and Nissan engines.
Hongqi designed a new front
with an impressive grille. The bonnet and fenders are new too, but all the
pillars are int he same places as on the Mazda. You can especially see the the
similarities at the sloping D-pillar.
The interior is okay, it looks luxurious but the
instrument panel is old fashioned analog, and the touch screen isn't very big.
All in all not an easy sell, but the government might snap up a few thousand
units a year.
