China's Brilliance on show

The Chinese are coming...

Not quite to Australian shores yet, but the world's most populous nation is on the verge of making a sizeable impact on the European car market, and it can only be a matter of time before Down Under follows suit.

Shenyang-based Brilliance JinBei Automobile set a milestone of sorts by being the first Chinese manufacturer to exhibit its wares at the Geneva motor show, and it has bold plans of growing its Euro sales to 75,000 passenger vehicles annually by 2010.

What's the relevance to us? Well, Ateco Automotive (the Australian distributor for Alfa Romeo, Citroen, Ferrari and Maserati) has been making noises for some time about bringing in a Chinese brand, and Brilliance may well shape up as a suitable candidate.

CarPoint/Carsales had the opportunity to have a close sticky beak at Brilliance's Geneva show line-up, and first impressions are positive. One might have expected awkward styling, dodgy build quality and a generally flimsy feel, but this wasn't the case.

Brilliance exhibited three cars at Geneva -- the medium-large BS6 sedan, the slightly smaller BS4 and the BC3 coupe.

All three actually look half-decent, and this is no doubt because renowned Italian styling houses ItalDesign/Giugiaro and Pininfarina did the crayon work.

The BS6 is a large-ish car (it measures 4.88m in length) and its chassis was optimised by Porsche (which suggests it shouldn't ride or handle too badly). Power comes from either a 90kW/170Nm 2.0-litre engine, or a 95kW/195Nm 2.4-litre unit. Both these engines, and their accompanying five-speed manual transmissions, were sourced from Mitsubishi.

However, it's the newer BS4 that's shaping as the more interesting prospect. It'll be pitched in Europe against the likes of the Ford Focus and Opel/Vauxhall Astra and offered with a choice of 100kW/165Nm normally aspirated 1.8-litre engine, and a turbo version of the same with 125KW and 235Nm.

Interestingly the atmo engine comes with a five-speed manual, while the turbo version is mated to a four-speed auto.

The BS4 is a handsome car, with more than a few BMW 5 Series design cues in its face, which is adorned by a variation of the Bavarian marque's twin-kidney grille.

The third car on Brilliance's Geneva stand is the Pininfarina-styled BC3 coupe concept, which vaguely resembles Hyundai's Tiburon.

Featuring a swoopy shape and chunky stance -- beefed-up by 18-inch alloys -- the BC3 could carve a niche for itself in the affordable coupe segment. Power comes from the same 125kW/235Nm 1.8-litre turbo engine offered in the BS4, mated to either a five-speed manual or four-speed auto.

We may well see one or all three of these cars in Oz in the coming years. Remember, you read it here first...

To comment on this article click here