Chana, which has been in the South African market since June 2006, has revealed it will start importing passenger cars into the country from mid-March. Only commercial vehicles have been sold under the auspices of Chana. The first of these people carriers will be the 1.3-litre Benni with its front-wheel driven 63kW and 110Nm of torque.
Sold with two trim levels of Exclusive and Lux, the Benni is only available with a 5-speed manual gearbox. Lux will list as one of the South Africa’s cheapest new cars at R74,900/ €6,070. It comes with comfort creatures such as air conditioning, colour coded bumpers and side mirrors and integrated fog lamps among other things. Exclusive trim includes exciting additions like electric windows all around, a CD player, ABS and power steering, all of which are features aimed at pampering all the lucky Benni buyers.
Chana SA even has a rally car based on one of their commercial vehicles। Last year the company took some brave/ slow-headed media, depending on who you ask, on a 21,000km journey to Chongqing in China using among other vehicles, a Benni. Therefore durability is hardly in question.
Press Release
The new Chana Benni is the first passenger car to be introduced by Chana South Africa, distributor of the now, well known Chana Star range of commercial vehicles.
Benni was first introduced to the media when the tough little car trekked across often inhospitable terrain as part of Chana Trax, a 21 000 km road journey from Chongqing, China to South Africa. During this epic journey, Benni proved to be durable and reliable facing daunting rock strewn ‘roads’ and tarred highways alike, emerging without any mechanical failure and not even as much as a rattle. Temperature extremes of minus 8 degrees Celsius to plus 53 degrees Celsius and beyond did not phase the tough little Benni. For many journalists who joined the Chana Trax experience, Benni was the hero, having been expected to endure punishment more suited to hardy 4x4 vehicles.
Both the ‘Lux’ and ‘Exclusive’ variants of the Benni offer high levels of equipment as standard. The ‘Lux’ offers aircon, colour coded bumpers and side mirrors, integrated fog lamps, remote central locking and radio/MP3 interface, whilst the ‘Exclusive’ offers electric front and rear windows, integrated fog lamps, colour coded bumpers and side mirrors, driver airbag, ABS braking with EBD, power steering, radio/CD, alloy wheels, aircon, remote central locking and rear window wash/wiper with demister. The ‘Lux’ and ‘Exclusive’ Benni will retail at R74 900 and R84 900 respectively and are both powered by a 63 kW front-wheel-drive 1300cc fuel injected engine. The 1.3 liter engine produces 110Nm of torque at 3500 – 4500 rpm with maximum speed rated at 158 km/h. Initially, the Benni will only be available with a 5 speed manual transmission.
Styled in Italy, the Benni 5 door hatch back has a fresh, modern design that will appeal to a wide audience. The interior space is surprisingly generous for a car measuring in at a total of 3 525 mm in length and offers the driver and passengers enough room to feel comfortable. The high roof line (at 1550 mm) allows ample front and rear head room. Controls are user-friendly and are well within reach of the driver. The elliptical, silver-finished dash centre console is modern and houses the radio and aircon controls. The silver finish is echoed on the interior door closing handles, which integrates the electric window controls.
Benni will also sport the all-new Chana logo for passenger cars. Whilst the commercial vehicle logo remains unchanged, the new passenger logo featuring a spear-head design on a shield background will differentiate the passenger and commercial ranges. Both ranges will however be available from all Chana dealers.
Benni will be available through the countywide Chana network from mid-March 2008.
Source: Chana SA
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