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You're in the market for your first set of wheels, and with that very tight budget, the choices are very limited. You need a car that's spacious enough to ferry five, and unfortunately what you're willing to fork out for, can only buy you as much as a Kia Rio hatch. But that won't cut it, as ultimately, you need lots of space for the cabin and the boot - like a sedan's.

Before you get all disappointed with the proposition of having to look at those used cars, fret not. Well, the Koreans were the obvious choice back then when it comes to cheap transportation, but now there's somewhere else to look, in case you haven't been noticing - the Chinese.

And the A5 from Chery looks very much like a solution.

Inside

With a wheelbase of 2,600mm, the A5's dimensions are perfect for a sedan, but the quality is just dismal. In a land full of cheap plastics equivalent to an early 90s Corolla, the A5's dated interior doesn't do justice to the car.

But at least to make up for that, Chery included automatic climate control and a factory-fitted audio head-unit. Everything on the central console is nicely flushed and surprisingly, the buttons and controls around the car feel solid when utilised. And not forgetting the steering-mounted audio controls, which even the $50k Koreans do not have.

To make things less drape in there, silver trimmings were added on to make the whole beige interior a much cheerful place to be in. The driving position's somewhat upright, but the seat's comfy enough. And, without compromising the boot space, there are acres of room in the back seats - it's truly class-leading interior space. Driver and front passenger airbags come standard too.

As you can see, the A5 is nicely proportionate, and has flowy lines from the front to the rear with minimal gaps, going well with the "executive car" theme that Chery is trying hard to market it as - the extensive use of chrome on its front grill and door guards is a good start. On a separate note, it's just a pity that the 15-inch alloys wrapped in 195/55 R-15 tyres looks somewhat undersized in the A5's wheel well.

Since we're at the topic of "looks", a closer look (no pun intended) will surely give away the A5's styling cues, which uncannily resembles both the Japanese and the American. It has strong cues of Nissan's Sunny upfront, while for the rear, there are hints of Cadillac's DTS. Good attempt, but it could've been done better.

The drive

The 1.6-litre engine, mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox, produces a decent 109bhp, with maximum torque rated at 144Nm. The ACTECO engine is a willing unit, and it pulls without a single hint of breathlessness - until you hit anywhere past the 4,500rpm mark.

Surprisingly, the gears cog into place from one to five firmly, and there's no way you can ever get into the wrong gear with this one - which is one brilliant aspect of the car.

Precious sound insulation around the cabin could have done the trick in keeping out the thrums of the road or engine. That said, the cabin is a comfy place to be in when driving from Tampines to Bedok, but if you travel from Tampines to Tuas via the ECP, the road and engine noise does get to you - making simple conversation appear like a shouting competition instead.

The soft suspension does give a very good ride. On mirror-smooth roads, ride quality passes the fitness test without a problem, while uneven road surfaces are tackled with a good level of pliancy. However, it quickly runs out of ideas in corners - vague steering, minimal grip and plenty of body-roll are the order of the day. Take it slightly harder, and understeer will set in with the tail end wagging precariously. As you can see, it can't really offer much from its handling department - sorry to say - and this is one part Chery needs to do improvements

Thankfully, fitted with ABS and EBD as standard, the brakes offer decent feel and stopping power with minimal drama.

In A Nutshell

There's an engaging honesty to the A5. It will do a very good job as a point A to point B car, and is perfect as a family roundabout. For its price, no one else comes close to it - what else in the market costs below $48k, comes with a 1.6-litre engine, huge interior and cavernous boot? Yes, it wins hands down for its sheer value-for-money and practicality.

Pity the level of finishing in the cabin though - it really feels built to a price, and the quality remains questionable at some points. But at least there's the surprise of a fully leathered-up interior, digital climate control and factory-fitted audio head-unit to pacify potential buyers.

Hence at this price point, it's already a good enough car.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION

Engine: 1,597cc, 4-cylinders in-line
Power: 109bhp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 144Nm @ 4,300rpm
Transmission: 5-speed manual
0-100 km/h: 16 seconds

Length / Width / Height: 4,552 / 1,750 / 1,483 mm
Wheelbase: 2,600 mm

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