Photo Source: https://www.changan.ae/vehicle/uni-k#
Whenever we get to review a Chinese car, then we like them but also notice some things that they're copied from other manufacturers. No disrespect to them but the fact that some tech bits and exterior design cues are borrowed from other cars hampers their authenticity.
The Chinese car we tested most recently - the Changan Uni-k - impressed us with its ‘brand new from grounds up’ approach with it feeling like a proper Chinese car with a unique design language and styling.
Photo Source: https://www.changan.ae/vehicle/uni-k#
The front of the car is perfect for an SUV and is very very refined. The grille looks like the lines of a circuit map, the headlights and gloss black inserts give it a premium feel. The Uni-k sits on massive 21 inch black wheels which went well with the Putty Grey (basically Nardo Grey) car we had for testing.
At the back it's got a sportback like crossover-y roofline. Something we noticed is that the rear does look a bit like the Porsche Macan but it doesn’t look like its copy pasted from the German car as we do in some other Chinese cars, so that’s ok. The electric boot offers 518 litres of space.
Photo Source: https://www.changan.ae/vehicle/uni-k#
Talking about the interior, which looks really good with the soft black material on the dashboard and beige leather below it. The infotainment screen is 12.1 inch and very user-friendly and has a feature called DVR which lets you choose between four cameras the car has.
One thing we really didn’t like is that one has to tinker with the climate control buttons using touch buttons and when your hands are sweaty then it can lag and, of course, you have to focus on driving so these touch buttons do cause a problem.
Photo Source: https://www.changan.ae/vehicle/uni-k#
The centre console is wrapped in leather and has a premium feel with all the USB ports and phone charging stuff. A rotary button for setting the driving modes is also present.
The driver display is divided in three parts: one in the left shows you stuff like tyre pressure and a door that is opened, the right one shows you the temperature, rpm, the gear you’re in and the middle one shows you the speed, the soundtrack you’re playing and the adaptive cruise control system.
Photo Source: https://www.changan.ae/vehicle/uni-k#
We really didn’t like the steering wheel with a flat top and rounded bottom and it looked weird to us. The steering is adjustable according to the driver’s needs.
The electric seats are all leather and we loved their beige leather. There are Sony speakers on the headrests and you get an option on the infotainment to hear songs only on one seat if the driver or passenger doesn’t want to disturb others with sound only coming from the headrest speakers on the selected seats.
Photo Source: https://www.changan.ae/vehicle/uni-k#
There’s loads of rear leg room at the back, two AV vents, two USB ports and an armrest that comes out and gives two cup holders.
The Uni-k has an eight speed gearbox from a Japanese company called Izen. It is mated to a 2.0 litre four cylinder engine which produces around 230 horsepower and 390 Nm of torque. All the power and torque is available instantly and quite sufficient, you really don't need more power.
The driving experience is very refined with smooth braking and superb noise isolation as you can’t hear any noise from the windshield. The suspension also offers a blend of stiffness and comfort.
As good as the Changan Uni-k is, its price tag is a bit on the high side with the car costing 180,00 AED. At this price point we think it's a bit expensive and we wish they would lower the price a little bit though we did see lots of them on the road and demand seems to be high.
To sum it up, it’s a Chinese car that we’d recommend to someone and it stands out from the crowd and other Chinese cars. The price is the only downside. Do let us know what you think about it in the comments of our Youtube video.
