DFSK Mini Shite

[cort16]

So this DFSK lot are a Chinese manufacturer and are starting to sell their range of entertainingly shite Mini vans and pickups in the UK.

I can't wait to see them on the road the designers have obviously been feverishly studying old brochures of BedFord Rascals and Daihatsu Hijets

 

I'm guessing this is going to be the first of many Chinese creations we see over here in the next couple of years?

 

The Range:

 

LoadHopper

Their prices are including VAT, which makes this less than 6 grand if you're VAT registered

http://www.dfskuk.com/vehicles/single-cab-pickup

 

Double Cab

http://www.dfskuk.com/vehicles/double-cab-pickup

 

 

Van

http://www.dfskuk.com/vehicles/van

[eddyramrod]

I predict an awful lot of those vans will be seen with Pharmacy or Florist livery.... [/Mystic Meg]

[morris_ital_lover]

I love the faux BMW styling on them... Indeed Eddy I suspect that'll every cheapskate who needs a small Rascal type van will buy one, they'll also be forced to scrap them in roughly 5 years time.

[cort16]

I'm pretty sure the LCV's skip all the NCAP stuff too so I imagine crashing in it would be like crashing in a giant cornish pastie.

The tippers 10k - VAT so that's pretty cheap although as you say once the paint starts getting scraped off I don't give them much of a lifespan.

[rml2345]

If I were in the market for a very small van, it would probably be one of these. I predict a fairly miserable driving experience followed by falling over, having taken a roundabout too vigorously...

[eddyramrod]

I imagine crashing in it would be like crashing in a giant cornish pastie.

 

I crashed a nearly-new Honda Acty in about 1979, I think they are made from origami. I can still see the front of the van/back of the headlight folding in towards my legs. GR1.003 for crash-survival then. (I hit a brown Mk3 Cortina.)

[Ross_K]

Would you not pay a couple of grand more for a Fiat Fiorino/Citroen Nemo, and have some chance of surviving a crash?

 

<- Not a DSFK but some other Chinese shite pickup. Steering wheel in the face FTW!!!

[M'coli]

So that's what it was - I saw one last week and thought the latest Hi-Jet styling was a little odd.

[eddyramrod]

Would you not pay a couple of grand more for a Fiat Fiorino/Citroen Nemo, and have some chance of surviving a crash?

 

"You" might, but your boss absolutely won't! Your life doesn't matter to them so they'll save themselves a couple of grand and buy the cheapest shit van they can find. Trust me, I know this from experience.

[Ross_K]

Too true.

 

My boss would love to put me in one of those Chinese things - preferably sandwiched between two HGVs.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

I like how the badge is round so you can easily replace it with a BMW one. I also like how the URL looks like someone mashed their fist into their keyboard.

[pompei]

And those bonnet grilles are pure BMW!

[Spiny Norman]

I also like how the URL looks like someone mashed their fist into their keyboard.

 

I thought it was something to do with sofas...

 

Death traps these things, I'll bet. I remember back in the day I hired a Honda TN360 to take some office furniture back to work and while it was quite an entertaining drive dodging the buses in Glasgow city centre, it was obvious that the crumple zone consisted of a layer of white paint, some tinfoil and my knees.

 

The phrase "all the tea in China" comes to mind, and I'm not referring to the payload......

[mk2_craig]

There's one over here, which the local Perodua franchise has been hawking round as a demo since about the middle of last year. Someone has rear-ended something in it, and it's being used with a mildly stoved-in front end, I wonder how readily available the replacement parts are.

 

Clearly based on/plagiarised from the last model Suzuki Carry range.

[Guest]

Hi to everyone,

 

Just to inform anyone interested regarding parts situation for the DFSK mini commercial range,we are independant from the U.K.importer/dealer network and carry a vast range of spares[we even dismantle new vehicles] if parts required urgently.We send to many distant countries which are Right Hand Drive. All parts are genuine manufactures and prices lower than dealer network.

 

Just thought it would be of interest.

 

Regards,

 

Clif Jones.

[messerschmitt owner]

A useful spam post. Wow.

 

Why not throw the website up or some contact details.

[Micrashed]

Interestingly and slightly off topic = I have noticed quite a few Hino trucks and busses on the roads up here.

I thought they were Chinese, but have just googled them and been surprised to find that they are Toyota

 

Willy Woollard gets excited...

[Morgan84]

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=13530&start=0&hilit=bmw+not+happy

[Mr_Bo11ox]

heres that Clif Jones lad:

 

http://www.coastal4x4.co.uk

[Micrashed]

Its ENsure Cliff, not INsure.

ENsure.

[/pedant mode]

[Andrew353w]

I'm pretty sure the LCV's skip all the NCAP stuff too so I imagine crashing in it would be like crashing in a giant cornish pastie.

 

Funny, that! We had our annual escape in north Cornwall this year (in Port Isaac, to be precise-"Doc Martin" country) and guess what... The North Cornwall Council have loads of these, fitted out to collect the contents of litter bins, with huge wire mesh cages on the back. I had a chat with a driver of one of them, as he'd seen me having a good look at it & he said they were OK for the local trips, but struggled up hills... and north Cornwall is nothing if it's not hilly.....

[Formula Autos]

A local butcher has one of these as a delivery vehicle. They've always had narrow vans (Rascals, Carrys, etc.) as their parking space behind the shop is accessed via a narrow archway - even a Fiesta van probably wouldn't fit. Round here (Whitehaven) is pretty hilly too, but their MINIVAN* seems to get by OK - it certainly doesn't hold any traffic up.

 

Maybe these aren't as shit as we might assume?

 

* Yet more BMW baiting?

[Skut]

Sometimes a shite supernova happens without warning. I was vaguely aware that some Chinese manufacturers ill advisedly put BMW grilles on tiny vans but to actually see one in the flesh was a peculiar delight.

 

My impression was that when Chinese cars get here they'd have all their cottage industry quirkiness expunged but this is eye wateringly uninhibited display of shonkiness.

 

Gone from the UK market before i was even aware of its existence, they are apparently back with a new van sans the kidney grille.

[Cleon-Fonte]

Where I used to live the local dairy had gone to the quite sad effort of putting BMW badges on their entire fleet of these things. It confused the hell out of me when I first saw one.

[eddyramrod]

I don't know how it happened five years ago, but I failed to mention that there are whole fleets of these in Cyprus.  They seem to be very popular over there.  The crewcab one looks particularly entertaining!

[Sheefag]

Bizarre coincidence. I was overtaken on the M3 by a tipper just the other day, he was managing 80+!

[mk2_craig]

Less than 500 on how many left, I'd have expected three quarters to be SORN by now but they seem to be good for longer than your average Chinese scooter at least

[Lacquer Peel]

Basically a Suzuki Carry clone mechanically I believe. A bit like the various Chinese Honda engine clones, at least 60-90% as good as the real deal.

[Guest]

They seem to have given up with the BMW clone, and started making a Mini T5 Transporter..

 

[Matt]

I'm pretty sure the LCV's skip all the NCAP stuff too

The NCAP tests are voluntary remember but any company selling vehicles in Europe worth their salt will put all of their models through. It is a situation where if they have nothing to worry about it's all good for their sales with only the loss of a handful of cars. You have to ask yourself why the likes of DFSK don't volunteer.

 

[we even dismantle new vehicles] if parts required urgently.

 

So the company is cutting corners by not making enough spares to meet potential demand, gotcha. I wonder what other corners they cut...