Brilliance V5

Brilliance V5 at a glance

The V5 is a front-engined, five-door compact crossover that was sold in China and several export markets. In China it first carried the Zhonghua name, which the brand used until it switched to Brilliance in 2012. The parent group, Brilliance Auto Group, is part of Huachen Automotive, and the car was built in Shenyang.

Under the skin the V5 is a raised, more practical relative of the Brilliance H530 saloon, and the two models share a platform. Its styling is often compared with the BMW X1 of the E84 generation. That is a visual comparison only. BMW models in China are built by a separate joint venture, BMW Brilliance Automotive, founded in 2003, and the V5 has no BMW engineering underneath.

The model's place in the company's story is covered in our Brilliance Auto history.

Timeline

Engines, transmissions and performance

The V5 was offered with two four-cylinder petrol engines, both driving the front wheels through a 5-speed manual or a 5-speed automatic. There was no four-wheel-drive version: the Uruguayan importer stated plainly that no all-wheel-drive option existed, and German and English reference sources agree.

The 1.6 is a Mitsubishi design with MIVEC variable valve timing, usually identified as the 4A92. Its output is quoted at 117 hp in the Uruguayan launch data, 118 hp at the Chinese launch and 120 hp after the 2014 facelift, while one market homologated it at 81 kW (110 PS). The figure on a particular car's papers therefore depends on where it was sold.

The 1.5 turbo is Brilliance's own engine. Its 200 Nm arrives at 2,000 rpm and stays flat to 4,500 rpm, which makes it the more relaxed choice with passengers and luggage on board. In Uruguay it was sold only with the automatic, which the importer described as a Hyundai-sourced unit. Some later sources list a stronger 1.5T and a 6-speed automatic, but they do not agree with each other, so we have left those versions out.

Brilliance's own performance and consumption claims are modest. The manufacturer quotes a top speed of 178 km/h (110.6 mph) for the 1.6 manual, 171 km/h (106.3 mph) for the 1.6 automatic and 175 km/h (108.7 mph) for the 1.5T. Combined consumption is given as 6.9 L/100 km (40.9 mpg UK) for the 1.6 manual and 7.2 L/100 km (39.2 mpg UK) for the automatic. The test cycle was not stated, so treat these as manufacturer figures rather than comparable EU data. We found no reliable 0–100 km/h figure.

Dimensions, interior space and boot capacity

The V5 is about 4.4 m long, which puts it squarely in the compact crossover class. The figures below are the Uruguayan importer's data from 2013; other sources quote slightly different numbers, so read them as approximate.

The 430-litre boot is a useful size for the class, and folding the rear seats more than doubles it to 1,254 litres. Kerb weight figures vary between sources and versions, so we give only a rounded value.

The chassis is conventional for a front-wheel-drive crossover: MacPherson struts at the front, a torsion beam at the rear and disc brakes all round, ventilated at the front. Higher trims ran on 17-inch wheels with 225/55 R17 tyres. The 175 mm ground clearance helps on poor roads and kerbs, but with front-wheel drive only the V5 is not built for off-road use.

Safety: equipment and test results

No independent crash-test result for the Brilliance V5 was found. We checked Euro NCAP, C-NCAP, ANCAP and Latin NCAP; none lists the V5. One reference site claims a five-star C-NCAP score when the car was new, but we could not confirm it from any other source.

Two published results are sometimes attached to the V5 by mistake. The one-star Euro NCAP test from 2007 was of the Brilliance BS6 saloon, and a two-star C-NCAP result from 2013 for a "Weizhi V5" belongs to a model from Tianjin FAW Xiali. Neither applies to this car.

Equipment varied by market and trim. In the Uruguayan range of 2013:

• Base cars had dual front airbags, ABS with EBD and brake assist, traction control and ISOFIX child-seat mounts.
• Deluxe versions added front side airbags; the road-tested 1.5T Deluxe had six airbags in total.
• The 1.5T Deluxe also gained curtain airbags and ESP stability control.

Rear parking sensors were standard there, and Deluxe versions had keyless entry, push-button start and an electric sunroof. On a used car, check what is actually fitted rather than assuming a specification.

Ownership and the end of the model

We found no reliability data for the V5 from European or US sources. The car was not sold in Germany or the United States, so there are no ADAC, TÜV, J.D. Power or Consumer Reports entries, and we do not publish a list of common faults. In Uruguay the importer offered a warranty of 3 years or 60,000 km; terms elsewhere differed.

The V5's later years coincided with a sharp decline at Brilliance Auto. Zhonghua-brand sales fell from about 150,000 cars in 2016 to just over 3,000 in 2020, and in November 2020, after a bond default, a court placed Brilliance Auto into restructuring. Production of the V5 ended between 2017 and 2020, depending on the source and the factory. For anyone running one, parts supply through the original export importers is the main question to check.

Rivals

The V5 competed with other front-wheel-drive compact crossovers of the 2010s, from Chinese brands and from established makers. On paper its arguments were a 430-litre boot, a turbo engine with 200 Nm and, in some markets, six airbags and ESP on the top trim. What it lacked was the published crash-test evidence that many rivals could show.

Among Chinese crossovers in our catalogue, the Lifan X70 is the closest comparison in concept. For a wider view, browse Chinese cars or the full list of SUVs and crossovers, and see all Brilliance models for the rest of the range.

Which version to look for

The choice comes down to engine and trim rather than year. The 1.6 manual was the entry version, with the lowest claimed fuel use at 6.9 L/100 km and a simple, well-known Mitsubishi-origin engine. The 1.5T Deluxe automatic offers 200 Nm from 2,000 rpm and, in Uruguayan specification, curtain airbags and ESP that the base cars lacked.

Facelifted cars from 2014 are easy to spot by their revised grille, headlights, tail-lights and bumpers. Whatever the version, the service history and the equipment actually fitted matter more than the badge on a crossover of this age.