The Changan BenBen is a 5-door hatchback from Changan Automobile, built from 2006 to 2023, in the decade of stability control, dual-clutch gearboxes and the first serious hybrids. Under the bonnet: 1.0 L JL465QG I4. I.DE.A Institute drew it.
The background
The Changan BenBen (Chinese: 长安奔奔; pinyin: cháng ān bēn bēn) or sometimes Changan Benni is a 5-door city car hatchback produced by Changan Automobile.
The engineering
Power comes from 1.0 L JL465QG I4; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. It shifts through a 5 speed manual. The layout matters: the engine drives the front wheels, the packaging choice that gives a small car a big cabin. The wheelbase is 2365 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Where it sits
Its family tree is legible: assembly was at Chongqing, China. Its contemporaries in the catalogue — the Nissan Qashqai, the Audi R8, the Kia Sportage — show what else the money bought that year. Its Changan Automobile stablemates include the Avatr 06 and the Avatr 07.