Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
AS anyone who knows me well will say, he’s got a big heart. If you needed evidence of my generous nature just take what happened last week into account.
My young whipper-snapper of a motoring correspondent Charlie Holding started gloating about test driving a Maserati on the morning I had put my name down to take a new Geely on to the roads of Bahrain.
Now, it has been known for mean editors to call rank in such matters but I was struck by the new kid on the block and impressed by International Motor Trading Agency’s president Suzy Salman Kanoo’s passion for the marque as we chatted and waited patiently for the arrival of Chinese Embassy officials at a recent launch event.
Now my Geely Emgrand 8 may not be a super-sleek Italian stallion but, much to my satisfaction, it’s a steady little number with some sophisticated surprises and comes at a price that will not break the bank.
Geely’s purchase of Volvo means the company is no longer some obscure Chinese car manufacturer, but a potential player in the global car market. And now the company, one of China’s largest privately-owned producers, has its sights set on Bahrain.
Impressively, it has already made an impression with drivers in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman, probably for its sturdiness. Geely has secured a not-to-be-sniffed-at five star C-NCAP crash safety rating which, judging by the way some motorists hammer their way around the Gulf States is an essential requisite of any car purchase.
I have a number of friends regularly commuting across the Causeway who literally jump down my throat whenever I criticise driving standards in Bahrain with a frosty stare and a comment along the lines of ‘you don’t know anything’.
My sparkling blue Geely Embrand 8 was a solid family-sized saloon, unassuming but not out-of-place in the car park next to a variety of American and Japanese marques.
The panel fit was good, the doors all closed tightly and the inside was clean and classy with comfortable soft leather seats, which the brochure boasts is inspired by the concept of Airbus ergonomics.
I can fully appreciate why Lin Chen, the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China in Bahrain, was so delighted to unveil the car.
Speaking through an interpreter, as his English appeared to be as good as my Arabic, he described the car as ‘beautiful’ and said he had visited the company’s auto manufacturing plant and was proud to report that his country were exporting safe, technologically-advanced vehicles where quality was the order of the day.
The car’s touch-control centre works well and is simple to use, the air conditioning is powerful, the steering wheel has all the buttons necessary to ensure you can keep your eyes on the road and its parking sensors do the job … and there’s the bonus of an electronic sunroof too.
The 2.4L engine offers a decent drive in automatic and with the swift click of the wrist you can slip the gear stick into personal mode and take the car up and down its six gears for a more responsive driving experience. Good fun on the busy highway.
I was really impressed with the clear instrument panel and the fuel gauge indicator, which tells you how many kilometres of speeding around are left in the tank before you have to fill up.
Boot capacity was generous and there was a neat compartment for me to place my SLR camera bag (ideal for a handbag, ladies) on the side. The boot space can be expanded into the central rear seat area for those longer objects, ideal for when Ikea finally opens its doors on the island and we start filling our villas with boxes full of ready-to-be assembled book shelves and wardrobes.
Bahrainis have long had a love affair with Japanese motor vehicles, but I can see the Chinese making serious inroads into this market, as the price is certainly right.
The Geely Emgrand 8 comes with a 2.L and 2.4L engine and starts at BD5,499. The model I drove was very competitively priced at around BD7,499 and comes with a three-year or 100,000Km warranty.
For further details, call 17875777 or visit www.kekanoo.com
* Charlie in a Maserati mood, next week.
