This is a Karry Yousheng 2 minivan, seen at a parking lot in the west of the Chinese capital Beijing. The minivan was sexed-up to the max, with a body kit, wrapped in a shiny pink wrap, with darkened windows, a cargo box on the roof, and BBS-style alloy wheels.
Karry (开瑞) is a commercial vehicle brand under Chery Auto. Karry mainly sells in smaller cities and the countryside. They are a rare sight in megacities like Beijing. This particular pinky has license plates of Hebei, the province that surrounds Beijing.
This kind of flag standard is still prevalent in, well, smaller cities and the countryside. On the left is the Chinese flag and on the right is the Communist flag. Behind the latter a box of tissues, which one can find in any car in China, everywhere.
The body kit includes comes with bumper extensions and side skirts. It also has a black spoiler above the rear window.
Classy fake air vents on the front fender.
The Karry Yousheng 2 was launched on the Chinese car market in 2010. It is an updated variant of the Karry Yousheng, which was launched in early 2009. This kind of short production run is common in China for small commercial vehicles. Automakers stick a new nose on it, and they call it ‘2’ or ‘plus’ or ‘pro’.
The interior got a heavy makeover too. With faux leather seats, blue-red trim, a thick steering wheel cover, camo trim, and a large after-market touch screen on top of the dashboard.
The Yousheng 2 was manufactured until 2012. There was no immediate successor. It was a small vehicle: 3780/1484/1870, with a 2400 wheelbase. Karry offered versions with 5, 7, or 8 seats.
The Yousheng 2 was available with two four-cylinder petrol engines: a 1.0 with 68 hp and 92 Nm, and a 1.1 with 75 hp and 98 Nm. Top speed was 130 km/h in both versions. Fuel consumption was 7.2/100 for the 1.0 and 7.7/100 for the 1.2. It was a super cheap machine, with a base price in 2012 of only 35.800 yuan.
The shop that did the job had a SanteFe badge lying around, and they thought it would look nice on a blue door handle on a pink Yousheng 2. I guess they were right about that one!