Quatro Rodas took the mid-level Infinity version of the Caoa Changan CS55 for a full evaluation at a promotional price of R$154,990. Built at Caoa's plant in Anápolis, Goiás, the CS55 is the third and cheapest Changan-badged model on sale in Brazil, and it dodges the usual criticism aimed at Chinese imports: both its mechanicals and its looks were properly reworked for the local market.
Priced against mid-grade trims of compact crossovers like the VW T-Cross and Hyundai Creta — and undercutting top versions of the VW Tera and Jeep Avenger — the CS55 is paradoxically bigger than established midsize rivals, at 4.55 m long with a 525-liter trunk, outsizing the VW Taos and Toyota Corolla Cross by 9 cm and the Jeep Compass by 15 cm. Equipment is rich for the money: panoramic sunroof, ventilated and heated front seats, a Pioneer audio system, a 14.6-inch touchscreen, six airbags, a full ADAS suite, and a key-fob remote parking function that no direct rival offers, letting the car straighten its wheels and creep out of a tight spot on its own.
The 1.5 turbo flex engine, making 180 hp through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, sprinted from 0 to 100 km/h in 8.1 seconds — comfortably quicker than a Jeep Compass T270's 9.4 s — though testers noted a laggy-then-abrupt throttle response outside Sport mode. The real letdown is efficiency: running on gasoline, the CS55 managed only 9 km/l in the city and 11.1 km/l on the highway, numbers comparable to the 270-plus-hp VW Tiguan, despite an Eco mode and a generally comfortable ride with 18.8 cm of ground clearance.