Howzit, my Chana?

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Two variants will be available locally – the Lux and Exclusive, retailing at R74,900 and R84,900 respectively.

Styled in Italy, the Benni 5 door hatchback is a quirky-looking little tyke with a reputation for toughness, having trekked 21,000km last year over some of the roughest terrain the world all the way from Chongqing in China to South Africa as part of a pre-launch publicity campaign.

Both models on offer locally offer high levels of equipment as standard.

The ‘Lux' comes with 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 Benni is powered by a 63kW/110Nm front-wheel-drive 1.3-litre fuel injected engine. It is only available with a five-speed manual transmission and top speed of both models is given as 158km/h.

Interior space is described as “generous for its size” and its fuel consumption is apparently impressively frugal.

Chana commercial vehicles are already selling fairly well in South Africa and although the Benni will be sold through the same dealerships, the Benni's badge is different to those on the commercial vehicles.

In its price range the Benni is up against serious competition in South Africa in the shape of Opel Corsa, VW CitiGolf, Fiat Uno, Chevrolet Spark, Ford Ka, Fiat Palio, Hyundai Atos and Kia Picanto.