A black JAC Binyue C20 sedan, seen in the ice cold winter of 2016 on a restaurant parking lot in the far south of the Chinese capital Beijing. The poor car was covered in ice and snow and had the spare wheel on the rear-right.
The JAC Binyue C20 was JAC’s largest sedan ever when it debuted in 2008, it was made until 2013 with a late facelift in 2011. Our black car is a post-facelift example.
Outside China it was known as the JAC J7, it was exported to various countries including Russia and Kazakhstan. Design was classic-sedan, with a long bonnet and a large boot. The cabin was spacious with enough room for five adults. The Binyue C20 was 4865 millimeters long with a width of 1805, a height of 1450 and a wheelbase of 2790 mm.
The JAC Binyue C20 has a luxurious interior with leather seats and a shipload of faux wood. There was an infotainment system with a navigation system, which was quite unusual for a Chinese car at the time. It also had a CD/DVD player complete with a 9-CD changer.
The JAC C20 was powered by a 2.0 liter four-cylinder petrol engine with an output of 129 hp and 172 Nm. The motor was mated to a 5-speed manual, or, as in this car, a 4-speed automatic, sending all horses to the front wheels. With the automatic, top speed was 180 km/h. JAC also sold a variant with a 2.4 liter engine, and later on added a 1.8 as well. These were named C24 and C18 respectively. Price of the 2.0 automatic in 2011 started at 122.800 yuan, which wasn’t much money for so much car.
The Binyue (宾悦) badge covered in ice. The A is for ‘automatic’, the T for ‘transmission’ had fallen off.
Nearby the parking lot stood a huge statue of Chairman Mao, looking out over the snow and snowy trees. I wondered if he noted the JAC Binyue C20. Probably not. He was more of a Hongqi man.