Chery, one of China’s biggest carmakers, indicated earlier this year that it was considering a small electric hatchback for the Australian market, called the Q, that is expected to compete with the likes of the MG4, GAC Aion UT, Geely EX2 and the long-standing BYD Dolphin.
At an event in Wuhu, China, this past week, the company showcased the hatch to media from Australia and New Zealand, featuring a rear-wheel-drive (RWD) powertrain, and we got a chance to get behind the wheel.
It’s great to see more smaller models entering the Australian EV market, offering more choice for those wanting to buy their first EV at an affordable price and avoid paying high prices at the pump. And the Chery Q is one of the best we’ve driven.
Although local specs are yet to be confirmed, international market specs indicate that the almost 4.2-metre-long hatchback will feature a 42 kWh battery pack that delivers up to 420 km on the NEDC range, which is expected to be just over 300 km in the real world. It also features a 90 kW rear-mounted motor and delivers up to 115 Nm of torque.
Driving the Q on roads in China provided an initial feel of what we could expect from the model. On highways, it felt very stable, even when doing 120 km/h on certain stretches, with the most notable thing being the wind noise in the vehicle we drove, which happened to have a roof rack setup.
I was also quite impressed with the suspension in the RWD set up for city driving, which made it really fun to drive. In some ways, it reminded me of the Geely EX2, which I recently tested in Melbourne, but felt so much more zippier.
Inside, we felt that the car was fairly well equipped, coming in with quite a few features we’d expect in larger, more premium models.
These included a flat-bottom steering wheel, a nicely placed instrument panel behind the steering wheel, a relatively big 15.6-inch centre screen, ambient lighting and a wireless phone charger.
One of the best parts about this model is the space in the back seats. Over the 4-hour drive route, I spent a bit of time in the back and found the legroom best in class. You don’t normally get this sort of space in small SUVs, let alone a small hatch.
There is plenty of boot space too, coming in at 375 L when the rear seats are up, but it can easily be extended up to 1,450 L with those seats down.
The Chery Q was first revealed as the QQ3 at the 2025 Chengdu Auto Show in August last year. Since then, it has built up a bit of a following, having received tens of thousands of orders in China.
Pricing for international markets, including ours in Australia, is yet to be revealed, but in China, the Q’s top-spec version is priced from the equivalent of just under $A17,000.
Disclosure: The author of this article was invited by Chery Group to China as part of the Chery Group User Summit 2026 event.
