Big Fish: how the Chinese liftback has changed
FAW, the oldest Chinese automobile company, has brought the restyled Bestune B70 liftback to Russia. The updated model has improved in some aspects, but the company's specialists seem to have forgotten to pay attention to some important things. The Izvestia correspondent found out what another substitute for the Toyota Camry, which was once popular in comfort class taxi companies, turned out to be.
There is no bad advertising
At the beginning of 2025, the Bestune brand was popular even among those who are not interested in automotive innovations at all. It happened after a pretentious commercial appeared on TV, in which the announcer pronounces the brand name in such a way that some heard obscenities in it.
The dimensions of the Bestune B70 are 4855×1840×1455 mm. Wheelbase — 2800 mm
At the same time, the specific B70 model is not yet so well known. If it is found on the roads of the two capitals, it is most often with "checkers" on board, although it has been sold in Russia since 2023. This liftback is both large and roomy, and it seems more solid and expensive than it really is. However, it has not gained much popularity in our market. Few people were ready to purchase a car without important winter options and Russification, and even with ground clearance, like a sports car.
Later, FAW decided to separate the Bestune model line into a separate brand, probably to distance the attention of car buyers from associations with the Chinese manufacturer's cargo heritage. At the end of 2024, she announced large-scale plans for the Russian market and surprised by the fact that she "put" on the liftback: the B70 model not only received a facelift, but also passed an expensive certification.
Facelift
The updated Bestune B70 looks more like the Toyota Camry. A refreshed liftback can be recognized externally by the redesigned front end. The elegant black radiator grille with a teardrop pattern has been replaced by a frameless one with horizontal slats, above which a fashionable LED strip is now located. The interesting three-beam head optics have given way to narrow blocks, and the style of the lanterns has changed similarly to the headlights. Marketers claim that the full-face car now looks "more complete."
If you fold the second row of seats, the trunk volume reaches 930 liters.
What will definitely please the drivers and passengers of the B70 and make the owners of competing sedans jealous is the trunk. All the advantages of the liftback body are in place — the trunk lid rises along with the rear window, which makes it easier to place suitcases and strollers. The volume of the compartment is 440 liters and reaches 930 liters when the second row of seats is folded. Another thing is that it would be more convenient to use a deep trunk if there were more hooks and lamps in it than one piece at a time. There are no grids, so if you want to organize the space carefully, you will have to look for suitable accessories.
With the restyling, the external trunk opening button did not appear. In other words, passengers always need to ask the driver to get to the compartment. And in the initial configuration, there is not even an electric drive, so taxi customers will also have to get their hands dirty if the driver does not deign to help.
"Okay, but"
The interior of the B70 has slightly redesigned the front panel. The most noticeable change was the appearance of a podium with wireless charging for smartphones, which now, along with hot keys, is located in place of a convenient control panel for the climate control system. It is surprising that in a car that claims to belong to the D-class, it is still single-zone, even in the top version. It is also strange that no "winter" package is provided, there is only heating of the front seats.
The second row is spacious, and the sofa can accommodate three passengers. There are two deflectors and a 12-volt outlet with a USB connector under them.
Climate control is now embedded only in the central screen, which does not add convenience. To adjust the temperature, if you use Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (the previous B70 did not have them), you have to perform complex and lengthy manipulations in the menu. It would be great if, in the next iterations of the liftback, FAW would use the now-popular solution of removing the gearbox selector to the steering column, which would allow changing the configuration and making room for additional switches with "stove" settings.
The digital dashboard and the restyled multimedia system have received full Russification, but, as often happens with Chinese cars, it is not without its oddities: when the windshield heater is turned on, the car reports switching to "degreasing mode." With such a low seat and a long hood, a separate button for turning on the all-round view system would be useful, but for some reason its liftback was lost.
The engine range includes two turbocharged units: a 1.5-liter (160 hp; 258 Nm) and a two-liter (217 hp (340 Nm)
Thanks to the Bestune B70 for the long enough front seat cushion, which is comfortable for tall drivers. The chairs were similar in "anatomy" in the pre-styling version, and the steering wheel adjustment for departure, which many drivers of such cars complained about, did not appear. There is also no lumbar support. The quality of the finishing materials is decent, although there are questions about the assembly — one of the two liftbacks in our test had the rear-view mirror frame vibrating noticeably when moving.
The rear passengers may not have received warm seats, but they should be comfortable due to the large legroom. Overhead, despite the sloping roof, there is also plenty of room. A wide sofa will accommodate three people at once.
High-speed "Bestune"
Technically, the car has remained the same, the line of turbocharged power plants includes a 1.5-liter engine (160 hp, 258 Nm) and a two-liter 217-horsepower with a maximum thrust of 340 Nm. The first one is connected to a seven-speed "robot", the second one works with a six-speed "automatic" from the Japanese company Aisin.
With a 1.5 engine, acceleration to the "hundred" takes 9.3 seconds, a liftback with a two-liter engine performs this exercise in 7.8 seconds.
In the speed range at which we managed to travel on the roads in the vicinity of Sochi, both power plants performed well. It's nice to drive a car. The thrust of the "younger" engine is sufficient both in the city and on the highway, although the 217-horsepower unit, which accelerates to "hundreds" in eight seconds, gives more dynamics and emotions, especially on mountain serpentines. In both cases, the transmission is well tuned with the engines — if they occasionally "kick" and rush to switch, it's not critical at all.
There is no choice of driving modes for the B70, only the sport mode of the transmission. Therefore, if an economical driving style is required, the driver will have to adjust himself.
The Bestune B70 is available in three trim levels and costs from 2.5 million to 3.25 million rubles.
This winter in Central Russia, the B70 is ideally suited with its low ground clearance of 110 mm, but it can cause problems in yards that are not cleared of snow. The "dense" suspension does not allow for longitudinal rocking and easily and smoothly passes through small asphalt bumps. It is harder for her to cope with more serious road problems that another crossover would not have noticed. In the initial configuration, which will probably go to taxi companies, a torsion beam is installed at the rear, in other cases, the suspension is independent and multi-link.
How much does it cost
In the Russian market, the Bestune B70 is available in three trim levels and costs from 2.5 million to 3.25 million rubles. Of the useful options that are missing in the most affordable version, there is an all—round viewing system with a "transparent chassis" function, front parking sensors and an electric trunk drive.
Wireless charging and a number of assistants, including blind spot monitoring and a lane-changing assistant, are available only in the most expensive configuration. Adaptive cruise control with lane-keeping assistant and all cameras are already available in the mid-range version. Such a modification with a basic engine will cost 2.7 million rubles, and with a more powerful unit — 3.1 million rubles.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
