Chery Russia Begins Selling Cars Trough Teleshopping

While Tesla tries to establish the fact that dealerships are unnecessary, a Chinese car company wants Russians to pick up their phone and order a crossover.

Do you buy one and get two? Does it come with a matching set of lawn mowers? We don't know. According to various Russian sources, all you get for blindly ordering a car you've never driven is a 100,000 ruble discount (€1,400).

The Chery Tiggo 5 is a compact crossover that costs 899,900 rubles (€12,600). Even after the discount brings the price down to 799,900 (€11,200), it's still a fair bit more expensive than the Renault Duster and other locally made vehicles. But, the marketing people say, it has the makings of a premium vehicle.

As standard, you get a 2.0-liter engine with 138 horsepower, 182 Nm (134 lb-ft) of torque and the ability to run from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 13 seconds. Neither the 170 km/h top speed nor the 9 l/100km (21.1 mpg) fuel economy are that impressive.

The Chinese crossover features dual front airbags, rear three-point seat belts, ABS brakes with electronic brakeforce distribution, disc brakes, keyless entry, alloy wheels and a rear windshield wiper. Chery also brags that sports car maker Lotus Engineering had a hand in the developing. However, we can't get over how much it looks like the old Kia Sportage.

You can tell they put quite a bit of thinking into the teleshopping experience, as five "mechanics" have been gathered to details the best features of the crossover on television. Apparently, the fact that it comes with a spare tire and the rear seats fold flat are a big deal. There's even an app through which to express your interest.