• Photo gallery: DFSK 580 in detail

If we look at the label of many of the products that surround us, we will see the 'Made in China' in many of them. The logo can be of a western brand and to a lesser extent of Asian teachings. Something similar happens in the automotive industry. Many European manufacturers assemble and develop their products in the Asian country, the largest automobile market in the world. They do this through joint-venture , alliances with local partners, as stipulated by Chinese legislation. Despite this reality, Chinese brand vehicles have not made the leap to European or North American markets.

BYD has achieved a large share in a very specific niche such as 100% electric buses, a type of mobility led by the Asian Giant. Maxus , in the hands of Saic, with which for example VW has a shared company, seeks its share in the light industrial segment. And since summer, a Chinese teacher like Dongfeng has appeared on the sales charts with a 100% Chinese model, the 580, a SUV with up to seven seats and with bi-fuel propulsion (gasoline and gas).

Dongfeng may sound 'a Chinese', worth the redundancy, but it is one of the majority shareholders of the PSA Group with the French State, with 14% of the titles. In addition, it produces exclusively for its local market the Peugeot, Citroën, Nissan, Kia and Honda brands. In Spain Dongfeng already sells the DFSK 580, trade name of this model. One of its importers is the Invicta Motor Group, which also distributes other vehicles of Chinese origin such as DR Automobiles or Nextem. DFSK first broke into commercial vehicles.

The 580, at a first glance, pretends to be any other western model. If we look at the vehicle, each part reminds us of something. Through their 'joint venture', Chinese manufacturers have 'learned' from Westerners. Nor is it a secret that in some cases they have copied items from other manufacturers. The most blatant case was that of the Landwind. But this 580 has its own identity.

The rear air outlets stand out. One thousand and one comments can be made about its aesthetics, equipment or behavior, but its 23,995 euros make it the SUV with a seven-seater configuration (length of 4.68 meters, width of 1.84 and total height of 1.71) most 'affordable' market. It has a guarantee of seven years or 100,000 kilometers. The closest in price would be the Mitsubishi Outlander , which with this provision would be at 26,600 euros and the Skoda Kodiaq , which would start at 27,734.

In the mechanical section, it equips a 1.5-liter gasoline engine supercharged by a turbocharger and develops 146 horses. It is available with the bifuel option and, interestingly, with the two types of gas that are sold as fuel: Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). However, the only mechanical option converts the bet into a currency in the air. It is associated with an automatic change of continuous variator. If you have ever tried any of this type, you will know that they are usually very noisy and tend to raise revolutions excessively. The 580 is not so much and is a point in favor that is appreciated.

Your answer is not the best when we accelerate thoroughly. It takes time to leave and then it does so abruptly. However, it is already underway as a comfortable model. In fact, it is worth mentioning its suspension , independent McPherson type front and independent rear with torsion bar. It absorbs well the irregularities of the land. In progress its dynamics is acceptable for the size it has but tends to understeer.

It is only available with front-wheel drive and has a ground clearance 200 mm. It reaches a speed of 190 km / h and homologizes a combined consumption of 7.3 liters at 100. Under normal conditions, during our test between the road and the city, we were not able to lower than 10. The vehicle allows to select gas or gasoline interchangeably . Each fuel has its own indicator : the first, next to the gear lever, the second, in the instrument cluster, which has an old appearance.

The DFSK is available with two finishes: Luxury and Intelligent . Both share elements such as keyless start or sunroof. This is panoramic in the Intelligent version. It would be an 'extra' in most vehicles that come standard here. The two levels of equipment also share the electric parking brake and the rear parking assistance camera, somewhat rudimentary but fulfilling its purpose.

It has a multimedia system compatible with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Infotainment receives the driver with an animation with Chinese letters. The browser seems from another time. It is not accurate and sometimes the phrase is broken. Although it is a pending subject in more vehicles, which have been surpassed by the reliability of the navigation 'app', with clearer and updated information. However, it has one point in its favor: speeding notices . It does it every time we exceed the limit of one way. On the opposite side of the scale, something as simple as radio control, which becomes a mystery. We do not know if because of our clumsiness, but we were not able to pass certain frequencies. It is a little intuitive system.

Many test vehicles pass through the writing, although few as exotic as this DFSK 580, so we wanted to do a multiple test to share feelings and experiences. When we got into the cabin, the first few days we noticed a smell of plastic or solvent. The driving position is unnatural. The steering wheel has no depth adjustment and its height is low . The rear bench is narrow at the height of the hips.

Manufacturers tend to create their own scent for their vehicles, a "new car" fragrance that is different in each case . However, it dissipated with the passing of the kilometers. The quality of the materials is tolerable although improvable. It has a spacious interior. It is accessed the best that comes out. This SUV has a large opening angle of the doors, both front and rear. The sidewalk is sliding and with reclining backrests.

It is available with six exterior colors but only with 17-inch alloy wheels with 255/60 measures. By the way, how could it be otherwise, the DFSK 580 was wearing Chinese tires of the Changyang brand , perhaps not the best allies to reduce braking distances that, in some cases, seemed too long. In fact, in the first part it hardly works.

But returning to the technological section there is a detail that we liked and that we have not seen in other vehicles with few exceptions. The DFSK 580 has a camera embedded under the central mirror. It records everything that happens on the front of the vehicle and does it with a lot of quality. To export the images it is necessary to insert a micro SD card. It is a popular resource in countries like Russia, where these videos are used to testify to accidents. Another curious function: the option in the key to locate the vehicle in a parking lot. If we press one of the three buttons the DFSK 580 beeps and turns on the flashing lights.

The Intelligent level adds LED headlights and electrical settings for the front seats, which are comfortable and adapt well to the body. The third row, in the seven configuration can be mounted or disassembled to gain boot capacity. These seats are also only suitable for adult occupants, unlike what happens in many models with this distribution.

To this must be added at this upper level the 360 ​​degree vision or automatic windshield wiper. There is an important section in which the DFSK 580 is behind most current models as it is in driving assistants. It only has a speed programmer with limiter. As for active safety equipment: four airbags, without curtain . And it is that in these matters, as in others related to comfort - it has an air conditioner of only one area that works slowly -, the DFSK 580 is still far from European standards and is surely a better option for emerging markets.

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