Start with what the Chery A1 is: a 5-door hatchback with 1.0 L SQR317F I3, built from 2007 to 2015, in the decade of stability control, dual-clutch gearboxes and the first serious hybrids. What it meant takes a little longer. The shape is credited to Bertone.
The hardware
The engine is 1.0 L SQR317F I3; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. On the scales it comes to 1040 kg. Drive goes through a 5-speed manual / 5-speed automatic. The layout matters: the engine drives the front wheels, the packaging choice that gives a small car a big cabin. The wheelbase is 2390 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Family and rivals
In the Chery line-up the Chery A1 has a clear place: the factory was Wuhu, Anhui, China. The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Volkswagen Tiguan, the Hyundai i30, the Nissan GT-R. Its Chery stablemates include the Chery Arrizo 5 GT and the Chery A11.