Chery Eastar now with 2.0-litre variant
Chery Alado Automobile Sdn Bhd has unveiled a new variant of the popular Eastar MPV yesterday, with a 2.0-litre auto variant stepping in for the Mitsubishi-powered 2.4-litre model.
Though the buying public remains wary of the brand, the Eastar 2.4 has thus far turned out to be a good success, with 2,500 units sold. The Chery Alado management, therefore, is hopeful of continuing their success with the 2.0-litre variant – which has already accumulated 500 pre-launch bookings.
The outgoing Eastar 2.4 drew propulsion from Mitsubishi’s 2,350cc 4G64 powerplant. Taking over the torch now is Chery’s very own 2.0-litre ACTECO engine, which features 16 valves and twin camshafts.
Compared to the Mitsubishi engine, power has been bumped up from 127hp to 134hp @ 5,750rpm, though there is now less torque to work with – 180Nm @ 4,400rpm compared to 198Nm @ 3,300rpm from the 4G64. As before, the engine is mated to a 4-speed automatic transmission with manual shift override.
The ACTECO engine, which now powers almost the entire Chery range, now sees action in over 1.9 million Chery vehicles worldwide. To assure the sceptical consumer, Chery offers a 5-year/200,000km powertrain warranty for the Eastar, which is given on top of a 3-year/100,000km warranty for everything else.
Inside, the 7-seater Eastar has what Chery calls the ‘fold & flatly-laid system’ seats, which allows the owner to reconfigure the mid and back row seats in 20 different combinations to optimize passenger and cargo carrying needs to suit different situations.
Equipment levels on the Eastar is also comprehensive – auto climate control, MP3/USB compatible audio unit, power windows all-round, head lamp leveling, dual airbags, ABS, EBD, and steering mounted audio controls amongst others. Leather seats will make a RM2,000 option.
At the launch ceremony held in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, we got upclose with a display unit of the Eastar. While interior space and equipment levels were impressive, build quality was not, as the dash shows notably poor panel alignment. However, Chery personnel has assured us that the unit on display was a pre-production version, and units going on the road shall demonstrate notably improved quality.
Prices for the Chery Eastar 2.0 starts at RM79,988 on-the-road with insurance. Opting for leather seats puts the price at RM81,988. The new MPV can be viewed at any of the 35 Chery outlets nationwide, and we have been told that units are in stock for immediate delivery.
