Geely Panda review (1)
Found a Geely Panda review online from South Africa. It’s a straightforward, unbiased review. Bottom line for the car: You don’t buy Chinese for the brand, you don’t buy Chinese for the quality. You buy it because it’s cheap.
At Php448,000 for the upper model with a five-year or 150,000km warranty, whichever comes first, I may be willing to take a chance. Until I make my own Philippine Geely Panda review.
Methinks I may have to sniff around other cars to replace my Hyundai Getz. The Toyota Avanza seems to be the only other car I’m willing to take a chance on, because I really don’t like the Hyundai i10 and everything else is ludicrously priced.
Is the Geely Panda worth it?
I recently read this review on the Geely Panda, and let’s put it this way: I’m really looking forward to test-driving the Geely Panda in the Philippines. It’s a South African review – apparently, South Africa has Geely Pandas, and there doesn’t seem to be any backlash against it – and it seems legit because it’s straightforward frank. The only down-side to getting a Geely Panda outright that I see is that my good friend Kris – who reviews cars for a partial living – really doesn’t have anything nice to say about China cars in the Philippines. So I won’t make a decision until my wife and I test-drive it. The Geely Panda is smaller than a Hyundai Getz – the article says it’s at par with the Suzuki Alto, which I find really odd, because it looks larger than an Alto – so we really do have an issue with space, but all other factors combined would, at face value, make the Geely seem like a perfectly legitimate alternative to the Hyundai Getz.
Will keep y’all posted once I test-drive the Geely Panda. Other than a Toyota Avanza or a Suzuki APV, it’s looking like a strong candidate for our next family car.
Hyundai Getz vs. Geely Panda
I took my Hyundai Getz today to check out the Geely Philippines showroom along North EDSA today with my four-year-old daughter to finally check out the Geely Panda for myself. You know what? It’s gorgeous. It’s tinier than the Hyundai Getz, but it feels sturdier. Sales associate Larry did a good job of showing me the ropes, but end of day, the car did speak for itself. It looked great. Of course, it is a China car, but still… it looked beautiful. If any of you are not interested in getting a China car, but are looking for a Hyundai Getz that was treated with love and car all these four years, you may want to try to convince me to sell Gina to you. As you very well know, she is loved. I’ll give you a good deal if you pay in cash.
Not that I may sell her, but if you promise my Gina a good home, she’ll promise you many, many more years of wonderful memories.
Dirty car
It’s driving me crazy that I can’t wash my Hyundai Getz! Actually, I can, but the bipolar weather – hot and sunny, then suddenly a downpour of rain – makes it such a waste of energy and resources. Poor Gina is filthy!
Geely Panda in the Philippines
In my opinion, my Hyundai Getz has serious competition in the cute car department, courtesy of new Philippine entrant Geely, who has partnered with AutoChina Philippines to bring in the Philippine Geely Panda, an adorable little entrant into the mini-sedan market that aims to compete with the Chery QQ and can potentially eat into the markets of slightly larger cars like the i10 and the Picanto, thanks to its shockingly low Php398,000 price tag and 150,000km or 5-year warranty.
I know, right? The car doesn’t look too shabby either!
Geely designed the panda after China’s iconic national treasure. I can totally see the resemblance: its black-lined headlights, its black nose/mouth and foglight dimples, it’s bear-paw rear view brake lights (which I cannot resist, I’m telling you)… I can’t imagine getting a Geely in any color other than white; it’s just so adorable in every sense of the word. This car is not masculine at all; everything about it says “Hello, I’m a cute little car, and ladies will love driving me.”
That was until I saw this video!
That is one impressive vid. More than its capabilities to swerve like that – who drives like that in normal road conditions, anyway? – it tells me that the handling should be pretty hot. What also attracts me to this car is that it received a pretty high rating from China’s National Passenger Car Quality Supervision and Inspection Center, garnering a 45.3 score (out of 50, I assume), proving the car can handle solid frontal complete collision test, frontal angle collision test, and side collision tests. I don’t intend to get into any high-speed collisions, but it’s good to know the Geely Panda is relatively safe. Out of many China cars in the Philippines, I would be hard-pressed to choose any other than the Geely Panda.
I haven’t checked the car out yet – dying to, but I don’t have much free time right now – but the pictures I’ve seen show me that the Geely Panda China car in the Philippines is at least worth looking at. Maybe I should schedule a look-see.
Phasing out the Hyundai Getz… again?
My Hyundai Getz and I passed by the AutoHub center in Greenhills – my new favorite place for repairs and check-ups since I transferred to Greenhills from Fort Bonifacio – and I didn’t see any Hyundai Getzes in the showroom. On display now are the gorgeous Accent, the even more gorgeous Elantra, and the drop-dead gorgeous Sonata. Wow, I’m so sure my little Gina was a tad bit envious. Ganda ng mga bagong Hyundai!
You know what also caught my eye? The Geely Panda! Will definitely do some sniffing around into this really cute China car in the Philippines.
How’s your Hyundai Getz?
Hi friends! I realize it’s been a while since the last post – and I apologize for that – but the wife and I have been thinking about getting a new car. Gina our Hyundai Getz is four years old, which isn’t a lifetime for most cars, and her mileage is still pretty low, but we’re always looking at getting good value for our money, and our son is way too young to inherit our Hyundai Getz. (Plus, when I transitioned from the WordPress site to a self-hosted one, somebody decided to hack into the site and played around with the backend, and I didn’t want to subject my regular visitors to that.)
So, I guess that brings me to my next question: who wants to buy a four-year-old Hyundai Getz that is probably one of the most famous ones in the country? LOL And just as importantly, what car should we get next? (I’m drooling for the Kia Soul, honestly, while the wife wants a Hyundai Accent. Hello, friends at Hyundai and Kia! Give me a call! I’ll make your online marketing worth any discounts you’d like to give me. *wink*)
Gina’s glaring at me from her parking spot in Annapolis. I’m sorry, honey, but hey, maybe someone’ll give you a sister!! Dina Getz. lol
Donald Duck has invaded my Hyundai Getz
That’s right, my Hyundai Getz has those annoying bobbleheads. Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, and a green pixie we’ve named Sungmin, after the pa-cute namja singer in Super Junior. Some people really hate these things; I find them stress-relieving in the midst of heavy traffic.
Still waiting
I’m still waiting for the new door. I’m sure Lito and the rest of the hardworking folks at Hyundai Greenhills are doing their best, but the holiday season puts everything on the back burner. I have to accept it. At least it’s warmer inside my car than the Makati condo I used to own; the chill outside makes the dent in the car even more prominent.
I hope you’re all doing well! Merry Christmas, everyone, from me and Gina!
In the clutch
There’s a squeaky noise every time I depress my clutch pedal. I brought my Hyundai Getz to Hyundai Greenhills, where I was told that the belt may have to be replaced, to the tune of Php2,500 + labor of Php3,000.
What do you think, Getzers? When you obviously need to replace something as important as your clutch mechanism, can you bring yourself to spend Php5,500 at the casa, or would you take a risk by going to a third party?
Life With Gina, our Hyundai Getz 
