I'm terribly sorry for the HUGE delay, but here we are, ready for another TG1 review! I promise I'll try to be reasonable.
Our car of the day is...
The
2014 Hu Aspiration 2.3.
A cheap Chinese car that should fulfill the inexpensive large sedan market.
---Statistics---
2.3 liter (2304 CC) inline-4
151 HP @ 6400 RPM
146 lb-ft @ 3600 RPM
3671.6 lbs.
24.4 MPG
5-Speed automatic gearbox, FWD
0-62 MPH in 10.5 Seconds
Quarter Mile in 17.58 Seconds @ 81 MPH
The Aspiration has a gutsy 2.3L Inline-4 producing 151 HP. Now, figures like that are what I'd expect from a 2.0, but in this class it isn't that bad, if you consider other model it's up against. Top speed and acceleration are on the slow side for the class, probably due to the Aspiration's massive weight and size. What IS bad is the smoothness. The engine just isn't smooth, and maybe as coarse as some sandpaper. That said, it isn't all bad. The torque, while decent, doesn't really falter until the top. The responsiveness is meh. However, the Aspiration is no fun to drive, and will not let you even think of turning that wheel sharply. Even then, it's still a handful to drive, and the gearing isn't the best. In the end, while somewhat decent, the Aspiration does not aspire to be a sports sedan- or anything fun.
Ride Comfort-The Aspiration shows itself to have surprisingly firm suspension. Strange, considering the class and the creator's intentions. While the gargantuan 205/70 tires help ease a lot of the bump, the coarse engine and firm suspension don't do much justice for this large sedan. However, the firm suspension does help in one major aspect; while the Aspiration hates hard cornering, the suspension tuning helps greatly in keeping the car flat in the corners. It was fairly difficult to get my colleagues seasick in this car, even if every bump we went over could become an annoyance.
Handling-One of the places where the Hu trips and nearly-
NEARLY- falls is in cornering. I drove the car on the track, threw it into a corner, and *BAM!* the grip I wanted was non-existent. Blame it on the long-life tires and the 3600+ lb weight. Of course, the steering is awfully numb, and considering the car type and everything, it is unruly to drive. It's on the verge of being scary. Although there are enough driver assists to help save you when you need it, they're manufactured cheaply and work marginally well. All in all, driving the Hu isn't really fun; and it isn't all that safe and cuddly to make up for it.
Refinement-The engine itself is actually very quiet. While it is quite coarse, it doesn't mean it's all that loud. There is a great amount of sound deadening material on the inside; however, you get the feeling that it isn't really doing its' job as well as it should be. Although the engine is quiet and there is a lot of deadening, you sense that the quality of the deadening is very cheap.
Equipment-Ever heard of the saying "Bang for your buck"? Well, the Aspiration is the perfect car for that slogan. With premium entertainment that, while suffering from the car's trend of poor quality, can mostly be found on cars costing 2 to 3 times more, the Aspiration really does give you your money's worth. There are a fair amount of driver assists as mentioned before, although it also suffers from poor quality. The only part here that doesn't have a cheap feeling is the safety itself, which while not bad quality, has normal technology for this generation. The quality of the equipment lets the car down, but in the end, you are still getting a heck of a lot of gadgets for the price you pay.
Quality-Again, the interior has premium equipment and looks stylish. But, also again, the quality of the interior isn't great. You can tell where the people at Hu cut corners to make the car cheap. As mentioned before as well, the safety equipment is average for the class. No matter how good the interior is, you can obviously notice where corners were cut to make the car cheap.
Reliability-I mean, the reliability is kind of meh. Of course, you'd expect it to be meh. The trend of poor quality is shown in every place of the car, and it isn't hard to think that bad quality is going to translate into a car with OK reliability.
Running Costs-If the category of Running costs only based it on Service costs, the Aspiration would easily get 4 stars. But, when you have to factor in fuel economy, the score drops to a single lonely star. I mean, seriously, 24.4 MPG? From a car that has 151 HP? Even when factoring in the weight, the car should easily get 30-40. The question is why does it have such bad economy.
Structure-Steel panels on a steel chassis makes for a pretty safe car- when you're in a crash, that is. It actually seems to have some good quality, as well. Driver assists are again there but quality lets them down a bit, and safety equipment is average. A fairly safe car if you're ever going to get into an accident.
---Overall---Pros: Fairly safe, Lots of bang for your buck, little body roll, pretty quiet.
Cons: Almost everywhere is a sign of bad quality, unsafe in the corners, still manages to be dull, very poor fuel economy, coarse engine.
Conclusion: Certainly a bang-for-your-buck car, but as I've said too many times to count, the quality is noticeably lacking. Performance is also lacking, and don't try to even attempt at driving fast.
Sun Feb 22, 2015 12:50 pm .
