9621 Agnes Crossing, Lake Suzanneview, New Mexico Island 84604-9295.
A Chinese-style premium car is not what you think: something ultra-modern and refined, elegant, technologically stylish. No, this title is a celebration assignment for the brand. It doesn’t
In Soviet times, the Volga produced by GAZ was considered a vehicle for bureaucratic fleets, as well as a symbol of the personal life success of scientists, engineers and other shockers of socialist workers. Well, all kinds of traders and scammers preferred it. Later, this niche was filled by various representatives of the foreign automotive industry. After their recent exodus from Russia, the “public demand” for something like the Volga (in a modern version, of course) has not disappeared. But so far there are not many Chinese candidates for such a role.
One of the leading candidates among them is Hongqi H5. A characteristic touch: in the automotive community there are persistent rumors that GAZ will begin the assembly of a new Volga in the summer of 2024 – a remade “Chinese one”, of course. And almost everyone expects it to be the Hongqi H5 sedan… The veracity of this information can only be confirmed or denied by time.
Meanwhile, this representative of a premium Chinese brand could really become Volga 2.0. In any case, thanks to its representative appearance and dimensions. A huge “Rolls-Royce” face, an almost five-meter-long body with a “square” profile – these are exactly the kind of cars that officials should love, as well as anyone who is not averse to sticking to it image of state solidity.
There is no frivolity in the design, although it is quite modern: a standard Chinese strip of “stoppers” on the back of the trunk lid, fashionable LEDs in the optics and other accents. The exterior of the Hongqi H5 is recognizable: in traffic, everyone can immediately see that a respected person is driving. If you can also get a “nice” license plate, that is generally an ideal option for someone who is successful there!
The ‘federal’ appearance of the Hongqi H5 contrasts particularly strikingly with the design of the interior. Yes, there’s the ‘leather mug’ finish required by the brand’s status and all sorts of fun options. But otherwise, the interior decoration is not fundamentally different from most interiors of other Chinese cars that have flooded the Russian market. Like everyone else, the dashboard is a large color monitor. The touchscreen of the multimedia system is a large ‘tablet’ that takes up almost the entire center console. This farm looks very good. But we have seen such beauty more than once in cars with much more humane price tags.
Beautiful, solid, “up to standard”. But don’t let it throw you off, as sometimes happened when you first met the latest model from some premium “German”. Well, the lack of electrically heated steering wheel and windscreen spoils the winter impressions of the H5 a bit.
The rear passengers in the Hongqi H5 feel more than free: after all, the wheelbase is less than three meters. However, no premium ‘goodies’ – such as seat heating – are provided for them here. From this we can conclude that this “Chinese Volga” is a car for the driver, and not for the rear passenger. Not once a “member carrier”.
Despite the fact that the driving comfort and dynamics of the sedan are more or less fine. Although with some reservations. H5, like the vast majority of modern “Chinese” cars of all price segments, is loud. It seems as if there is a total shortage of sound-insulating mats for wheel arches in the Middle Kingdom.
Chinese engineers have now learned to make their cars drive quite well. But they achieve this thanks to the increased “oakness” of the suspension. To be fair, we note that against this “all-Chinese” background (and even compared to other Khonchi models) the Hongqi H5 feels almost the best on the market. And it ‘steers’ very well, and it does not react as sharply and loudly to irregularities in the road as other ‘Chinese’ cars. Of course this isn’t a Mercedes, but it isn’t some Changan either…
The strong point of the Hongqi H5 is of course the two-liter turbo engine with 217 hp and the eight-speed automatic transmission, which transmits power exclusively to the front wheels. Personally, I have no complaints about the operation of the power plant. “Press and go” by 7.8 seconds “to hundreds” for the vast majority of drivers will be, as they say, “behind the eyes”. And the car does not consume much gasoline – 10-11 liters per 100 km in mixed mode. Although the manufacturer’s official website promises a consumption of no less than 6.6 liters…
One thing is not clear: why the Chinese “connected” the operating mode switch of the power plant to the central tunnel: “eco”, “comfort” and “sport”. The difference between them is only in the speed of reaction to the “slipper on the floor”. And even in sport mode, the car roars its engine constantly, maintaining high revs in every gear. As a result, the character of driving on the road becomes jerky – annoying, but does not add dynamics. If the Hongqi H5 really becomes a new Volga, I hope it gets rid of this unnecessary switch.
It would be nice if they did something about the price. This is still a bit much: almost 5 million questions for a car, the real analogues of which are sold in Russia in top equipment levels for 3-3.5 million rubles. The overpayment for the Hongqi brand is somehow understandable. Although with difficulty: the ‘premium’ here, whatever you say, is still not German or even Korean-Japanese, but Chinese. But five million questions for the Volga 2.0 would clearly be too many.
In Soviet times, the Volga produced by GAZ was considered a vehicle for bureaucratic fleets, as well as a symbol of the personal life success of scientists, engineers and other shockers of socialist workers. Well, all kinds of traders and scammers preferred it. Later, this niche was filled by various representatives of the foreign automotive industry. After their recent exodus from Russia, the “public demand” for something like the Volga (in a modern version, of course) has not disappeared. But so far there are not many Chinese candidates for such a role.
One of the leading candidates among them is Hongqi H5. A characteristic touch: in the automotive community there are persistent rumors that GAZ will begin the assembly of a new Volga in the summer of 2024 – a remade “Chinese one”, of course. And almost everyone expects it to be the Hongqi H5 sedan… The veracity of this information can only be confirmed or denied by time.
Meanwhile, this representative of a premium Chinese brand could really become Volga 2.0. In any case, thanks to its representative appearance and dimensions. A huge “Rolls-Royce” face, an almost five-meter-long body with a “square” profile – these are exactly the kind of cars that officials should love, as well as anyone who is not averse to sticking to it image of state solidity.
There is no frivolity in the design, although it is quite modern: a standard Chinese strip of “stoppers” on the back of the trunk lid, fashionable LEDs in the optics and other accents. The exterior of the Hongqi H5 is recognizable: in traffic, everyone can immediately see that a respected person is driving. If you can also get a “nice” license plate, that is generally an ideal option for someone who is successful there!
The ‘federal’ appearance of the Hongqi H5 contrasts particularly strikingly with the design of the interior. Yes, there’s the ‘leather mug’ finish required by the brand’s status and all sorts of fun options. But otherwise, the interior decoration is not fundamentally different from most interiors of other Chinese cars that have flooded the Russian market. Like everyone else, the dashboard is a large color monitor. The touchscreen of the multimedia system is a large ‘tablet’ that takes up almost the entire center console. This farm looks very good. But we have seen such beauty more than once in cars with much more humane price tags.
Beautiful, solid, “up to standard”. But don’t let it throw you off, as sometimes happened when you first met the latest model from some premium “German”. Well, the lack of electrically heated steering wheel and windscreen spoils the winter impressions of the H5 a bit.
The rear passengers in the Hongqi H5 feel more than free: after all, the wheelbase is less than three meters. However, no premium ‘goodies’ – such as seat heating – are provided for them here. From this we can conclude that this “Chinese Volga” is a car for the driver, and not for the rear passenger. Not once a “member carrier”.
Despite the fact that the driving comfort and dynamics of the sedan are more or less fine. Although with some reservations. H5, like the vast majority of modern “Chinese” cars of all price segments, is loud. It seems as if there is a total shortage of sound-insulating mats for wheel arches in the Middle Kingdom.
Chinese engineers have now learned to make their cars drive quite well. But they achieve this thanks to the increased “oakness” of the suspension. To be fair, we note that against this “all-Chinese” background (and even compared to other Khonchi models) the Hongqi H5 feels almost the best on the market. And it ‘steers’ very well, and it does not react as sharply and loudly to irregularities in the road as other ‘Chinese’ cars. Of course this isn’t a Mercedes, but it isn’t some Changan either…
The strong point of the Hongqi H5 is of course the two-liter turbo engine with 217 hp and the eight-speed automatic transmission, which transmits power exclusively to the front wheels. Personally, I have no complaints about the operation of the power plant. “Press and go” by 7.8 seconds “to hundreds” for the vast majority of drivers will be, as they say, “behind the eyes”. And the car does not consume much gasoline – 10-11 liters per 100 km in mixed mode. Although the manufacturer’s official website promises a consumption of no less than 6.6 liters…
One thing is not clear: why the Chinese “connected” the operating mode switch of the power plant to the central tunnel: “eco”, “comfort” and “sport”. The difference between them is only in the speed of reaction to the “slipper on the floor.” And even in sport mode, the car roars its engine constantly, maintaining high revs in every gear. As a result, the character of driving on the road becomes jerky – annoying, but does not add dynamics. If the Hongqi H5 really becomes a new Volga, I hope it gets rid of this unnecessary switch.
It would be nice if they did something about the price. This is still a bit much: almost 5 million questions for a car, the real analogues of which are sold in Russia in top equipment levels for 3-3.5 million rubles. The overpayment for the Hongqi brand is somehow understandable. Although with difficulty: the ‘premium’ here, whatever you say, is still not German or even Korean-Japanese, but Chinese. But five million questions for the Volga 2.0 would clearly be too many.
Source: Avto Vzglyad
Donald Salinas is an experienced automobile journalist and writer for Div Bracket. He brings his readers the latest news and developments from the world of automobiles, offering a unique and knowledgeable perspective on the latest trends and innovations in the automotive industry.
