The electric power steering conked out twice. There, now that I’ve got that out of the way, let me tell you about the rest of this affordable compact sedan…
Why did I start my review with an intermittent power steering issue? Because I/we have written hundreds of articles about cars, claiming that nothing went wrong. So when something does happen – especially a minor inconvenience this like this – I feel obliged to report it immediately.
Actually I had been primed by other sources to be gentle on the Alsvin’s petrol filler flap release, as they also have a tendency to, umm, not work so lekker. Did our silver press vehicle do that? To be honest, I only tried it once and it seemed perfectly functional. Plus we had no use for it, thanks to average fuel use of 7.3L/100km. Changan claims 6.9!
Other numbers you should be aware of are the 1,480cc in-line 4-cylinder petrol engine’s maximum outputs of 78kW or 145Nm, delivered to the front wheels via a five-speed dual clutch automated gearbox. The fuel tank holds 45L, the boot manages 390L, ground clearance is 150mm, kerb weight about 1,070kg, and the turning radius is 11 meters.
There’s apparently a cheaper, slightly weaker, 1.4 SC (5-speed manual) version available, which costs around R250,000 as opposed to this automatic’s R290,000 asking price. Those who opt for the manual will also have to sacrifice this CE derivative’s sunroof, cruise control and tyre pressure monitoring system.
Way more important than all that is that this compact saloon has a refreshing mix of old and new. Trusty technology with modern gadgets. Good comfort but snazzy style. You get remote central locking, but on an older flip-out key. Which means you still get an ignition barrel, and a normal automatic gear lever.
Did someone just type “normal”? In what has rightfully become the bug-bear of every single motoring journalist and every single car buyer ever, in the history of all time, it’s become normal to sag your shoulders while fruitlessly hunting for a volume knob in modern car cabins. In between large rotary gear and drive mode selectors…
Not so in the new Changan Alsvin. As part of another strange mixture – hard plastics, weird shapes and cool textures around the dashboard – you’ll find an almost translucent blue bar under the central air vents, whose silver-framed shape bulges left to encapsulate… drum roll, please… a gigantic and absolutely beautiful volume knob.
Listen up, all you other modern car makers, do you have any idea how comforting and easy it is to use such a stunningly simple device? Anyway. Other slightly simple ingredients of the cabin include the instrument cluster, which houses a large central speedometer and two basic LCD displays either side. Pity that the fuel level and range / consumption indicator are on opposite screens though…
To keep going with the positives and negatives, everyone approved of the sporty steering wheel with remote audio and cruise controls, we liked the traditional gear lever but careless hands may find themselves stirring around the manual override slots while trying to shift the drive train to reverse or park.
The 12V and USB sockets were well received, the slightly small (7-inch) infotainment screen… ehh, not so much. I found its layout and response acceptable, while the four shortcut buttons under that blue volume swoosh were most welcome. Those black pleather seats are more comfortable than supportive.
As for driving the Alsvin, other than two instances of the EPS malfunctioning, I don’t have anything out of the ordinary to report. It starts first time, idles fairly smoothly, doesn’t sound particularly exciting and – being one of my despised transmission types – isn’t exactly smooth or predictable at low speeds.
Nonetheless, it’s fairly easy to coast along with morning traffic or quickly merge into an intersection; once you’ve become accustomed to this power train’s response. Steering feel is certainly on the lighter side while the ride leans more towards comfort than sportiness, also thanks to sensibly-sized 185/55R15 Chao Yang RP28 tyres all around.
Changan alleges a top speed of 180km/h but doesn’t publish any performance or braking figures so we took this vehicle for two 0-100km/h acceleration runs, the best of which was 11.43 seconds. A single full-bore stop from 100 was over in 3.28 seconds and 43.3 meters.
Not surprisingly for such an affordable vehicle with budget tyres, those values are slightly sub-par. I could mention a few other niggles, like the considerable wind noise at highway speeds, a fairly flat sound system, or the slightly grainy rear camera feed, but… but I happily accepted all of these in exchange for the Alsvin’s great value proposition.
The only real trouble – other than a current colour palette of white, silver or black – is that EPS (electric power steering) light which remained illuminated twice after I had started the vehicle. On both occasions I opted to reset the vehicle by turning it off, waiting a few seconds, and then starting it again. And both times, the error vanished.
Should it somehow not, or if the fuel filler release acts up, rest assured that each new Alsvin is sold with a 5-year/150,000km warranty and 5-year/75,000km service plan.