Recent quality concerns involving Chinese carmakers should not tarnish all brands, with the Mazda3 1.5 hatchback proving to be a compelling alternative for buyers seeking quality and value.
IT has not been a good week for Chinese car manufacturers. Quality issues on the local and international front have rattled buyers and owners alike and I find that a bit of a pity because Chinese brands have spent years convincing the world that their products are equally as good as heritage brands, if not better.
The issue of the detaching rear axle that has plagued Chery’s Omoda 5 has resurfaced once again.
Chery Malaysia updated the car some time ago by replacing the rear axle with multilink suspension but there are still pre-update cars on our roads.
After a stop sale order issued by the Road Transport Department (JPJ), Chery Malaysia began reaching out to existing owners of the Omoda 5 to examine and rectify affected cars.
Back in China, the issue was also about quality. But this time it did not affect customer cars, but an independent test raised some serious quality concerns.
The test was conducted by a platform owned by ByteDance where testers found a defective brake pedal on the Maextro V800.
The V800 is jointly developed by the JAC Group together with Huawei through the Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance.
Testers put a low mileage version of the luxury MPV through a round of tests where they found a defective brake pedal that snapped off during hard braking.
To verify this, they then purchased a brand new Maextro V800 which was found to have the same issue – a devastating brake pedal failure.
These incidents have naturally caused a stir on social media.
Fans of Chinese car brands have been scrambling for words while others have been leaving snarky comments like, “we told you so”.
It is easy to get sucked into this and make a dangerous assumption that all Chinese cars are the same.
They are not.
Many brands are sincere, have proper quality controls in place and a good, talented team of people to ensure that their products and brand communications all meet local and global standards.
Of course, the incidents of late have left a sour taste in the mouths of many which means brands like Chery will have a mountain to climb to win back people’s trust again. And this has to go far beyond sponsoring cars for sporting events.
But I recently drove a car which I was reluctant to give back. After driving hundreds of cars in my career, very few cars have that effect.
Sometimes I simply cannot wait to give back a car and will often return one days before it is due to return.
That car is the Mazda3 hatchback, the one with the 1.5-litre engine.
It costs about RM120,000, comes with a humble, four-cylinder, naturally-aspirated engine that does not produce much power but is impressively efficient.
But it does come with a remarkable interior, one that Mazda has spent years refining. It feels as expensive as the more expensive variants, and this is a point where Bermaz Auto deserves to be commended.
You see, the more expensive models of the Mazda 3, the ones with the 2.0-litre engine cost upwards of RM165,000. Besides the impressive powertrain, these variants also come with a features list that can match more expensive cars.
But rather than watering down the features to match the price, Bermaz Auto maintained the features list, plonked in a smaller engine and reduced the price tag by about RM45,000.
In fact, the only difference between the more expensive and the more affordable variant is the engine and the lack of a sunroof.
So, if you are in the market for a new car and were considering a Chinese car, don’t be put off by recent events. There are brands that are still worthy of your hard-earned money.
But I won’t blame you if you are still unsure. And if you prefer to play it safe, the Mazda3 1.5 hatchback is surprisingly impressive. Watch out for the full review of the Mazda in the coming week.