Fast Facts

Verdict:
Does everything neatly, the Benni is a decent car for those on a tight budget

Pleasant looks, is well screwed together for a budget vehicle and not bad to drive either

Quality can still be improved and there's distinct lack of sound insulation from the engine

Will Chana’s first entrant here pose serious competition to the other budget compacts?

By Colin Yong and Justin Lee

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER new Chinese automaker in town. Not many outside China would have heard of Chongqing-based Chana Auto but the company’s resume is impressive – it started manufacturing vehicles way back in 1957 (Geely only began in 1998 and Chery, 1999), and has current joint ventures with Ford and Suzuki.

Chana’s debut model in Singapore is the Benni, a compact five-door hatchback. If you can’t get past the odd-sounding name, just remember it’s called the Ben Ben in China…

It breaks no new ground in styling, but neither does it try too hard to be distinctive and end up looking laughably weird like some other Chinese cars.

There’s clean, smooth styling lines that will probably keep the Benni looking fresh for some time to come, with the detailing around the bonnet, headlamps and front bumper being particularly neat. It certainly doesn’t come across as a sub-$40K car at first glance.

But the standard wheels look a little undersized, especially since the car is taller than average and sits quite high off the road. Bizarrely, Chana not only lists ground clearance figures in the brochure but also the approach and departure angles. They must have some monster road humps in Chongqing.

As of now you can have any powertrain configuration you like, as long as it’s a 1,301cc engine with a five-speed manual gearbox. An automatic version arrives later this year.

The engine has impressive on-paper specs: all-alloy construction, twin camshafts, 16 valves and a 84bhp power output. But does all this translate to a good drive?