Meet the 2015 Lifan X60. 

"My citroen won't start" (lucasboechat) 06/09/2015 at 19:41 • Filed to: Brazilian Market Shit

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This is maybe the 6th installment on my series of ramblings about Brazilian Market Cars, most of them are shit, some are just too cheaply made. This one is a Chinese SUV that looks like an older Santa Fé and has the interior of a RAV4.

Chinese manufacturers have since long been trying to get a slice of the Brazilian market, thousands of new cars are sold every year here, most of them are cheap, and if there is something Chinese industries know how to do well, that thing is cheap. The X60 is the best result of that effort, people are buying them way more than any other Chinese car and we are going to try and understand why.

It comes in two different flavors, normal and VIP and there are no optional extras, you get tons of shit in the normal one and tons of shit + a sunroof in the Vip. I won’t say it looks bad, but it certainly doesn’t look any good either, just plain meh. The wheels are too tiny and the fenders look like Moroccan basement breast implants.

The only engine available is a double VVT aluminum 1.8 I4 producing a modest 128 HP. While 1970’s Rolls Royce considered 200 HP adequate, the amount of power this engine makes is far from it, 130HP is not enough to power an SUV. IT IS VERY SLOW. It only comes with a manual (yes, get it out of your system).

“Oh great, save the manuals, everything should be manual BLAH BLEH CORDON BLEU “

Great, now we can move on. The only reason it comes with a manual is because they don’t have enough technology to build them over here at a reasonable price, and it is a very shitty manual transmission, some magazines criticized it telling “there are holes between gears”.

Now to the best part, it is FWD and FWD drive only, it behaves like shit and was deemed unsafe. HA HA. This is boring, let’s play a game: What does this fucking look like?

Option A: The stupid clown.

Option B: 2008 RAV4.

Option C: The stock photo.

(clue: the answer is in the sub-title and in your eyes)

Now, the built quality is shit and so are the materials, the plastics are flimsy and awful and the chrome is very very cheap. It also has ecological leather seats which are shit. “HOW AWFUL” you might thing in a very thick southern accent, why would someone buy that?

Here is why.

These are all the standard features: electrical folding mirror and locks, automatic headlights, leather seats, parking sensors, AC, multifunctional steering wheel, reverse camera and that multimedia thing with SAT-NAV, vehicle info, ecology-o-meter, the hole shebang. And only two airbags because fuck safety.

And the price? You might ask. Well, it costs 20 grand, a base new RAV4 with a simple radio and no parking sensors costs $32,000 and the vehicles it competes with are all small or lacking in most of those features I talked about earlier. The Brazilian market does not care about quality or safety, just about price and quantity. For that price I’d buy a used Buckingham Blue 2004 Range Rover, and you know what? I did.

TheHondaBro > My citroen won't start 06/09/2015 at 19:44

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This immediately reminded me of an older Hyundai.

My citroen won't start > TheHondaBro 06/09/2015 at 19:45

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See, I told you.

TheHondaBro > My citroen won't start 06/09/2015 at 19:48

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Now who in their right mind says “Yes, the Santa Fe is a brilliant design- No, not the new one, silly, the older one! Let’s make it look exactly like that!”?

Zohaibman72 > My citroen won't start 06/09/2015 at 19:50

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I mean, for people who don’t value their life or have taste, or even want nice things, this car is a steal.

Also, why can’t people make their wheels fit their wheel wells? Most cars from non-mainstream brands have this stupid problem.

TheHondaBro > My citroen won't start 06/09/2015 at 19:54

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How nice, they included a comprehensive list of all the things it’s not.

My citroen won't start > TheHondaBro 06/09/2015 at 19:54

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To be fair the older Santa Fé sold like crazy here, every single middle-class soccer mom bought one, the new one not so much.

My citroen won't start > Zohaibman72 06/09/2015 at 19:54

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I really don’t understand that, it isn’t that hard. Just make the wheel arches the right size.

TheHondaBro > My citroen won't start 06/09/2015 at 19:54

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Oh, well that explains it.

Alex B > My citroen won't start 06/09/2015 at 19:55

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How is your rangie doing?

My citroen won't start > Alex B 06/09/2015 at 19:59

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Quite well actually, no problems so far and everywhere I go people compliment it.

Alex B > My citroen won't start 06/09/2015 at 20:01

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Good! I think I know the answer, but is it armored?

TheOnelectronic > My citroen won't start 06/09/2015 at 20:09

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My god, that interior is gorgeous. Which Merc is this?

x87172 > My citroen won't start 06/09/2015 at 20:12

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Doug? Did you move to Brazil? I hope they have CarMax there.

My citroen won't start > TheOnelectronic 06/09/2015 at 20:12

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The S

My citroen won't start > x87172 06/09/2015 at 20:33

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They don’t, I’m fucked.

carcrasher88 > My citroen won't start 06/09/2015 at 20:36

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I look at the rear and see a bit of final generation Suzuki XL7.

Not a perfect match, but certainly similar, if you look close enough.

Birddog > My citroen won't start 06/09/2015 at 20:48

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I wonder if that’s the same Lifan that makes knock-off Honda ATV engines.

My citroen won't start > Alex B 06/09/2015 at 20:49

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It is.

My citroen won't start > Birddog 06/09/2015 at 20:54

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It’s the one that makes the fake Minis

scoob > My citroen won't start 06/09/2015 at 21:24

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Someone needs to turn one of these Chinese manufacturers into what Hyundai/Kia became.

My citroen won't start > scoob 06/09/2015 at 21:40

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At some point they eventually will, a Chinese company will do things properly than the others and sell it competitively and then it will sell overseas as the “cheaper option” and then they will grow.

not for canada - australian in disguise > My citroen won't start 06/11/2015 at 15:42

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