When Chery South Africa showed the fully electric ‘Q’ at Festival of Motoring it was taking a bold step with a first step in electrified motoring and the chase to provide truly affordable spark-driven travel for local commuters.With pricing starting at R349 900 for the Comfort and rising to R289 900 for the Elite the compact electric crossover is aimed at making electric mobility more accessible to a broader range of local motorists.
It seems that was enough to spark public interest and when motoring media had a chance to get one out on the road, the launch cars were already pre-sold to dealers and the entire first shipment spoken for.
The Q combines compact exterior dimensions with a cabin designed for everyday usability. It measures 4 195 mm in length, 1 811 mm in width and 1 570 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 2 700 mm. Boot capacity starts at 375 litres and expands to 1 450 litres when the rear seats are folded down. A 70-litre front trunk or ‘frunk’ provides added storage.
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Power comes from a rear-mounted electric motor producing 90 kW and 115 Nm of torque. A 42,7-kWh battery pack delivers a claimed range of up to 400 km on the NEDC cycle. Chery claims average energy consumption of 12 kWh per 100 km. The vehicle supports DC fast charging at up to 85 kW, allowing a 30% to 80% charge in approximately 16,5 minutes under optimal conditions. AC charging is limited to 6,6 kW, meaning a full charge from a home wallbox takes around six to seven hours.
Two trim levels are offered: Comfort and Elite. The Comfort derivative features a 12-inch infotainment touchscreen, 8,8-inch digital instrumentation, front and rear parking sensors and 16-inch wheels. The Elite variant upgrades to a 15,6-inch touchscreen, power adjustment for the driver's seat, an electrically operated front trunk, a more comprehensive driver aid suite and 17-inch alloy wheels.
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The Q enters a small but growing segment of affordable electric vehicles in South Africa. It will compete with the Geely E2, priced from R339 900, the BYD Dolphin Surf at R341 900 and the Dongfeng Box E2 430 at R349 000. The Chery Q's starting price positions it as one of the more accessible electric options locally, though it arrives as a relative newcomer against established rivals in the value-focused EV space.
It is certainly more spacious inside than first glances would suggest and our launch drive had three people aboard; all seated in comfort. The driving position provides excellent vision all round and even if the proportions of the two screens are slightly off, both remain visible even with differing drive heights.
Inside, the cabin includes a dual-tone dashboard, contrast-colour air vents and a flat-bottom steering wheel. A column-mounted gear selector frees up storage space on the centre console. The infotainment system in Elite models runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 processor and supports gesture controls.
As is the norm with Chinese models there are a host of nanny systems sounding off and each needs to be dealt with each startup of the vehicle – even the wing mirrors are operated from within the touchscreen.
However, it drives smoothly and tracks nicely on the highway, while the compact dimensions make parking a breeze and reinforcing its urban commuter value.
It is a SUV and on the leisure side Chery is making much of its ability to provide power to external equipment such as fridges, induction cookers, lighting etc – ie pretty much an entire campsite.
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To fully show the effectiveness of this Chery incited the media to form five teams and go shopping to return to the launch venue and prepare a three-course meal using power from the car.
Since the frunk has a drain hole, it could also be used for ice as the drink’s cooler during the process – a fun way to demonstrate a capability not immediately apparent and one that produced enough culinary inventiveness to impress Chef Peter Goff-Wood from Masterchef SA who was chief judge.
Simply, Chery is cooking with the new Q!
Colin Windell for Colin-on-Cars in association with
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