The real reason everyone you know is buying a Chinese car | Opinion

I’m going to let you in on a little secret that ever-so-slightly undermines the good work I and others do for this esteemed tome. But do keep it between us, ok?

Lots of people — most people, even — don’t really care that much how a car drives.

Sure, there are obvious exceptions. Those digging deep for a high-end performance car care, as does anyone who is buying a car for a specific purpose, like the off-road crowd.

But for lots of people who are simply A-ing to B-ing and battling through their work-a-day life, how their car actually feels from behind the wheel is a surprisingly long way down their list of cares.

I know this because, over the years, I’ve been privy to different pieces of research that confirm it, and I know this because I see a lot of cars that really don’t drive that well crowding Australian roads. Not that they drive badly, mind you. More that they don’t engage, excite or inspire in the dynamics department.

So what does this silent army of car buyers care about? Value is a big one, and one that’s becoming increasingly important as new-car prices climb skywards. Design matters, too. As does technology. And, perhaps most important, the feeling that your new car does something your old one couldn’t.

Which brings me neatly to Chinese cars in Australia, and their booming popularity. Over the first seven months of 2025, we’ve bought 121,788 vehicles made in China — making it the third-biggest country of origin for cars bought here, just behind Thailand (home of the ute) which is sitting 148,720.

And you know what, with few exceptions (are we counting Polestar as Chinese or Swedish?) few of them are the last word in vehicle dynamics. They (and I'm generalising here) can often be soft and floaty, the steering is usually light and lifeless, and I’ve even climbed out of a few feeling a bit seasick from all the body movement.

But they are bright, new and shiny, the value is always ridiculous, they push boundaries where existing automakers don’t, and they cram cutting-edge cabin tech into every cabin. Perhaps most importantly, though, they make shoppers buying at the cheaper end of the market feel special, and not like they’re left piloting some-stripped back shell of a car because they didn’t spring for a higher-grade model.

And as we’ve covered (pay attention, there will be a test at the end), all of that hits exactly the right mark for a lot of new-car buyers. So much so that some Chinese brands are embedded in our top 10, others are knocking on its door, and traditional car makers are properly shook.

But here’s the really scary part. Because, with all of those boxes ticked, the really clever brands are now turning to driving dynamics, too.

GWM, for example, has employed Aussie ride-and-handling ace (and Nurburgring lap record holder) Rob Trubiani to “lead the development and localisation of GWM products for the ANZ market”, with the former Holden engineer now working on GWM’s AT1 project, which will deliver a fleet of vehicles tuned for our tastes and our roads. Guess where they’re developing them? Only at Holden’s former proving ground Lang Lang, where the company has just taken up residency.

If you recall, both Hyundai and Kia took a similar approaches years ago, and it’s worked out pretty well for them, with the Korean siblings consistently turning out some of the best-driving cars on the market.

And that should really strike fear into the hearts of the old-guard car brands. Because China already make some of the best-value and tech-rich cars around. Leading the market in driving dynamics, too? That would be game over.