Buick Excelle Hatch – The big picture!
The Buick Excelle hatchback, alongside the MG6 are arguably the big stars of the Guangzhou Auto show this year. The Excelle hatch signals the end of the dated Daewoo Lacetti hatchback, and the rebranding of the European Opel Astra for the Chinese marketplace.
Whilst it maybe a rebranded Astra, the Chinese version known as the Yinglang in Chinese, or the Excelle hatchback in English is sure to be a winner in the Chinese market with its choice of 1.6 and 1.8 engines, and including the much talked about 1.6T pocket rocket engine. The Turbo powered version is quite powerful, with stats it being able to pump out an impressive 235Nm of power at 4000rpm and having a top speed of 220kph but a 0-100km top speed of 9 seconds, the turbo model comes attached to a 6 speed CVT gearbox.
The Buick Excelle hatch is some serious direct competition to the recently launched VW Golf, and with it being available in hatchback and sedan form, GM might be able to keep up the fight against its largest competitor in the PRC.
(No Ratings Yet)
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This looks great – why isnt this being featured by the big blogs, and when will it be sold in the USA?
This Buick is a copy of a Honda Civic. Oh yeah, not a Chinese company so nobody bitches.
Wrong, its the European 2010 Vauxhall/Opel Astra with a few trim changes. Since GM owns both Vauxhall/Opel and Buick its not a clone – just badge engineering.
The rears looks very similar to the last generation Mazda 3 in the US. No I am not saying it is a copy. Copy of a Honda Civic? Come on. All small cars look similar to another now. There is only so much you can do. Sure hope they didn’t ruin the car and give it “Buick suspension and feel”.
The Honda Civic hatch looks completely different, Im not sure where they see the similarities.
My next car will be a Buick, but it wont be an Excelle hatch
Two thumbs up here. Sign me up for the 1.6t, please.
nissan tiida wannabe!or japanese wannabe!
Uh……….maybe in your reality. For the rest of us (in the current reality on this planet), the Tiida (Versa in the USA) is one of Nissan’s low end models – in fact the Versa in America IS the lowest priced model that Nissan sells. The new Excelle (Opel Astra) is a much more luxurious model, with features that even the top of the line Tiida/Versa doesn’t have…….and how about the option for a 1.6 turbo engine in the Tiida? Oh, wait…….that option doesn’t exist. So………ONCE the Tiida offers leather seats, GPS/nav system, a turbo engine, climate control………then maybe we can call it a Yinglang wannabe. Until then, don’t even compare the two!
I agree. I rented a Versa during a trip to the US, and it drove like a very cheap car. Though I must admit the acceleration was quite brisk (1.8L w/ 4-speed auto).
very decent hatch
Top end Tiida now has leather, gps tracking, and GPS navigation, and climate control. I think this is called ‘Science and Technology edition’, the name makes sense in Chinese!
Just no turbo, but these can be added:
http://drivers.pcauto.com.cn/gaizhuang/street/0905/835575.html
thks!
very cool! I always thought the tiida had hidden potential
But you’ll have to pay a corrupt official before you can go through technical control with that car, or change back to original factory specs for the control and then put the mods back on. Plus let’s not mention what would happen if you were involved in a traffic accident. Car modding in china is illegal, period.
Has anyone been to the Guangzhou show yet? Is the Nissan Qazana there? I heard it is being made for Indonesia and Europe. Hoping China might get it.
Im hoping that China will get the mini X-Trail, that thing looks GREAT!
What is the mini-X trail. Haven’t heard of it.
It’s a great car, but – in my opinion – should no be a Buick. It should have stayed as an Opel in China. The reason? It appears GM has no solid strategy for its brands: Opels are sold in America as Buicks – the same in China; but then the Opel brand also exists in China. That kind of inconsistency can land them in hot water!
Alex from http://gmauthority.com – the ultimate enthusiast web site, podcast, and video channel for General Motors fans
Opel exists on a very small scale selling the the last generation Astra, the last generation Vectra, and the Aptera SUV, the Zafira MPV, and the other small MPV, I forget its name.
Opel sales in China were probably never above the low thousands and were probably eclipsed by Renault and Subaru, both fringe importers.
Apparently there is an overboost that increases torque to 266 Nm for a short period of time. See http://www.autoblog.com/2009/11/30/new-buick-excelle-debuts-in-china-sedan-coming-to-america-soon :
Excelle XT buyers have a choice of three lightweight powertrains that offer high specific power output, low fuel consumption and reduced CO2 emissions:
- A high-output 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline engine that delivers 135 kW, a specific power output of 84.4 kW per liter, and 235 Nm of torque between 1,980 and 5,400 rpm. The most powerful series production engine in its displacement class, it was developed for customers whose priority is sporty performance. Its Superboost function can briefly unleash up to 266 Nm of torque for quick and safe overtaking.
- A naturally aspirated 1.6-liter inline four-cylinder gasoline engine with a two-stage variable intake manifold that delivers 116 horsepower (85 kW) at 6,000 rpm and 155 Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm.
- A 1.8-liter DOHC inline four-cylinder gasoline engine with double continuous variable cam phasing (DCVCP) that delivers 138 horsepower (103 kW) at 6,300 rpm and 175 Nm of torque at 3,800 rpm.
A six-speed automatic transmission with sporty feature is standard in all models.
The sedan version has already been spotted out here testing (long before it appeared in the US media!), however I have been too busy to post the pictures. It looks very nice.
Actually I wouldn’t mind seeing those photos of the sedan (but there’s no rush).