I'll be straight to the point. I'm seriously considering purchasing a Chery QQ3 (the 1.1l all power variant) for use as a daily driver.

Yes, there are a lot of better cars out there, but to be honest, there are hardly any other brand new cars at the Chery's price range, and I can't afford to spend any higher (I'm a government employee, and no, I'm not a politician nor an agriculture undersecretary or a 4 star general for comptrollership, and no, I do not work at the Bureau of Customs).

My other options are to either find a youngish second-hand car (with all the troubles associated with second-hand cars, but I'll surely be getting a good marque), or stay with my old B13 Nissan Sentra which is more or less rock-solid, but it's definitely starting to show it's age.

My concerns are:

How reliable is it? I will be using it as a daily driver, so it has to be dependable. I know Chery has a standard 5 year/150,000 km warranty, but if its all the same, I'd rather avoid the dealership except for routine maintenance.

How cheap is it to run? Really? I know gas prices are on the decline, but I admit it, I'm a cheapskate. The more km/l, the more money I save. How cheap are the spare parts for it?

Will I survive a crash in it? Yes, it's a morbid question, but a perfectly valid one. If my life is on the line, I'd probably get a bigger second-hand car than a pint-sized one if my life (and those of my passengers) depended on it. Follow up question: are the brakes are really as bad as some reviews make it out to be? Or can I expect the car to stop when I want it to stop? I may be nitpicking, but I'd really prefer NOT to crash.

Is the power adequate? I'm not looking for drag-racer performance, just the ability to climb steep mall parking lots with a full load of passengers and perhaps some shopping bags or such without running the engine to redline or having to stall the engine and roll backwards to the disdain of the cars behind me.

Lastly, should I be embarrassed to be seen in one? Or should I get 3M SuperBlack tint just to keep my pride?

I know there are a lot of QQ3 fans here as well, but I would appreciate a really no-holds barred assessment of this car's suitability. Thanks to all.