Going on sale on selected markets next month, the Qoros 3 City SUV (really a CUV) is the latest Chinese car designed specifically for the Western world, starting with the UK.
Qoros is building up its lineup using a bunch of European designers and engineers, so I'm pretty curious to see how their products behave on the road. The only problem is that while the Qoros 3 sedan is on sale in neighboring Slovakia, I can't get a press car from them because at the moment, they have decided to "focus on the Chinese market".
Their latest car of course is based on the Qoros 3, but has a s 67mm higher ground clearance. The crossover they call a City SUV is 1854 mm wide, 1504 mm high with a 2694mm long wheelbase and a very short rear overhang at 815mm. It also features larger wheels and body cladding for that rugged look.
You even get a rear spoiler and dual exhaust tips, almost justified by the car's 1.6 turbo four banger producing 165 horsepower and 154 foot-pounds of torque. All-wheel drive is not available, but both the manual and the automatic gearbox are six-speeds.
Inside, the 3 City SUV has an infotainment system with an eight-inch touchscreen, keyless start, a manual air-con, Bluetooth, all-round electric windows, power mirrors and a 100-watt discothèque as standard.
Higher trims feature metallic paint, electronically adjustable heated leather seats, automatically folding door mirrors, tire pressure monitoring, powered tilt/slide sunroof, Xenon headlamps, keyless entry, the 18-inch wheels, a rear parking camera, ambient lighting and a 150-watt audio system.
The CUV SUV is also expected to get the same five-star safety ranking from Euro NCAP as the sedan and the hatch. Prices for all this will start at RMB 140,000 ($14,548) in China.