Brilliance BS4 review by Insideline, bit old now but a good read:
2008 Brilliance BS4 First Drive
While the long-promised Chinese car invasion makes for bold headlines, the fact remains that not a single one has set tire treads on U.S. soil. Of the five Chinese manufacturers that displayed vehicles at the recent Detroit auto show, none have offered concrete plans as to how and when they'll sell cars here.
In Europe, however, that day has already arrived. Chinese cars are here, and more are coming. And we've driven one of the most promising examples, the 2008 Brilliance BS4 sedan.
Less Than Brilliant Beginning
If the 2008 Brilliance BS4 rings a bell with you, it's probably not in a good way. Video footage of Brilliance's midsize BS6 sedan being crash tested in June 2007 by Germany's ADAC automobile club has spread across the Web like digital wildfire.
The tests indicated that the Brilliance BS6 offered abysmal crash protection. No surprise then, that the BS6 received one star out of five, ADAC's lowest possible rating.
Some might argue that this performance should have sunk Brilliance's plans for Europe. But the Shenyang-based company fought back, regrouped from the bloodbath of bad press and hired German engineering powerhouses to rectify the BS6's structural flaws. (Brilliance execs refuse to go on the record as to which engineering companies were involved, but testing was conducted at IDIADA Automotive Technology in Tarragona, Spain.)
Less than 90 days after the initial crash tests, a safer and stronger BS6 appeared on the Brilliance stand at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show. The company expected the reworked version would ultimately receive a three-star crash rating in Europe.
A Brilliant Lineup
Even more important than the revamped BS6 on display in Frankfurt was the presence of three other models on the corporate stand. These included the BS2 hatchback, the lithe-looking BS3 coupe and the compact sport sedan we were ultimately invited to drive: the BS4.
The Brilliance BS4 is essentially a downsized version of the BS6 platform and it's available in two trim levels, Comfort and Deluxe. The BS4 Comfort comes standard with air-conditioning, an eight-speaker audio system with CD changer, power windows and cast aluminum wheels. The Deluxe model adds leather seat upholstery, automatic climate control, a power sunroof and a CD player with MP3 capability. Prices have still not been announced for the BS4, but we estimate a loaded BS4 in Deluxe trim will come in around $23,000.
HSO Importers Europe, Brilliance's distributor in Europe, is located in the German port city of Bremerhaven. Tucked in a side street behind bustling factories and towering warehouses, we nearly miss the unassuming two-story office building. Thankfully, a grayish-blue BS4 sedan parked outside — not to mention a couple BS6s — provide a hint that we're in the right place.
According to Brilliance's corporate information, the BS4's exterior is the handiwork of Pininfarina — not unexpected, as both Japanese and Korean automakers have sought out Italian design houses to give their vehicles international appeal. Of course, other information from HSO Importers Europe also gives some credit for the BS4 to Italdesign, and the strangely snooze-tastic lines of the BS6 are also attributed to the firm.
No matter who designed it, the BS4 is far from being a jaw-dropping Italian sex machine. It measures 183.1 inches overall, 71.0 inches wide and 57.1 inches tall. This makes the BS4 about the size of a Mazda 6.
A Better Brilliance
The Chinese vehicles we've seen at auto shows usually have panel gaps big enough for a kitten to hide in, wavy body panels and crude interior plastics that make the interior of a 1:43 scale Matchbox car look luxurious. Fortunately this isn't quite the case with the BS4.
The fit of the exterior panels is good. The interior is a substantial step forward from the mishmash of hard plastics in the BS6. The major controls have a higher-quality feel, the plastics generally match in terms of color and fit and the seating position is comfortable. But there's room for improvement, as we can tell by the brittle action of the turn signal stalk, the swaths of ghastly plasti-wood on the dash and a warped lid for the glovebox.
The rear seat has decent room for two large people or three small ones. The trunk offers 15.1 cubic feet of luggage space, although the opening is small and the rear seatbacks don't fold down to expand the space.
Smooth Ride, Rough Gearbox
The streets of this port city on the North Sea are wide but bumpy. They don't abuse a car's suspension like the frost heaves of roads in Detroit, but we think the BS4 copes well with bumps and cobbles, and the 205/55R16 tires probably help. Occasionally we hear small pebbles pinging against the wheelwells, and we're told this preproduction model doesn't yet have inner fender liners.
Overall the BS4 feels as if it's pretty well planted on the road, and not as cushy as the soft-riding BS6. It's about what you'd expect ridewise from a car developed in a country where speeds are low (remember the first Korean cars?), and it fits in well with entry-level European econoboxes.
Too bad that the five-speed manual transmission feels more like what you'd find on the average riding lawn mower. The shift action is vague and the gears engage with a clunk, though naturally Brilliance promises this will be rectified for production models. Thankfully, a four-speed automatic is on the way for the Brilliance BS4 later this year.
Autobahn Power
There's a 136-horsepower 1.8-liter inline-4 from Mitsubishi under the hood of this compact sedan, but it doesn't pack much punch. Brilliance estimates the BS4 will accelerate to 60 mph in 13.0 seconds, which suggests this engine isn't up to the task of motivating 3,120 pounds.
Of course, nothing showcases a horsepower deficiency like tearing down an unrestricted stretch of autobahn. When you press the gas pedal to the floor, the BS4 slowly gathers pace and the four-cylinder's hum turns into a raspy growl. Imagine a Honda four-cylinder with a sore throat, and you're close to the sound a BS4 makes at 100 mph. Road and wind noise increase several octaves, too. Yet the BS4 doesn't embarrass itself, even at speeds that in America would win you the coziest cell in county jail. The speed tops out at 121 mph if you can wait that long.
Glancing in the rearview to make sure no one's behind, we dab the four-wheel disc brakes and the car quickly sheds speed to a more relaxed 70 mph. ABS is standard equipment, but there's as yet no sign of traction control, much less electronic stability control.
A 1.9-liter diesel and a turbocharged, 168-hp 1.8-liter inline-4 arrive later this year. Before upping the BS4's power, Brilliance's engineers will want to tweak the numb speed-sensitive power-assisted steering, as it lacks the dynamic edge promised by the BS4's image as a bargain sport sedan.
Big Bang for Brilliance
Brilliance was founded in 1990 and has become China's 16th-largest automaker. It had sales of $1.3 billion in 2006, largely on the strength of its auto parts business in China and the sales appeal of its commercial minibus. Brilliance is also BMW's partner in joint ventures within China, and builds the 3 Series and 5 Series there.
Professor Hans Ulrich-Sachs, the former Volkswagen executive who is the chairman of HSO Motors Europe, tells us that 2008 represents what he refers to as "the big bang for Brilliance." Friendly and matter-of-fact, Sachs doesn't boast about expected sales figures or promise impossible deadlines. For now, he says the company is focused on introducing new models and establishing dealerships in Germany and throughout Europe.
By the middle of this year, the Brilliance BS6 sedan, BS4 sedan and BS3 coupe should be on the road. A small station wagon and the BS2 hatchback will arrive at the end of the year. As the volume leader of the brand, Sachs says that the compact BS2 hatchback will be especially important. There's talk of 15,000 sales in Europe this year and the company is targeting 100,000 sales within five years.
The BS2 had better be good, since the 2008 Brilliance BS4 lacks the complete array of safety features that even consumers interested in entry-level cars now demand. The lack of traction control or stability control needs to be addressed immediately. This is not only a matter of safety but also of marketing image, as Brilliance must counter stereotypes of poor Chinese quality.
Apparently Brilliance expects to begin exporting cars to the U.S. within two years, and it's already doing durability and crash tests. But Chinese car manufacturers (and the financial media that follow them so closely) would be wise to learn that making splashy headlines at auto shows is much easier than building cars that compete head to head with the world's best.
