A Geely Merrie Uliou sedan, seen parked beside the road in central Beijing in 2004. The good Geely looked great in silver with the factory standard wheels. It seemed brand new and it probably was, as the Uliou sedan was made from 2003 until 2006.
The Geely Merrie Uliou (吉利 美日 优利欧) was based on the Geely Merrie hatchback, which was based on the Tianjin Xiali, which was based on the Daihatsu Charade. Geely was very creative with the platform. Besides the sedan and hatchback, they also designed a notch-back, a wagon, and several pickup trucks.
Geely’s naming in those early days was a bit of a mess. They made two series based on the Xiali/Charade platform. One series was called Haoqing/HQ, and the other Merrie/MR. The base Merrie was the hatchback, called Merrie. The sedan was the Merrie Uliou.
And guess what? In the background on the left a Merrie hatchback, in silver as well. On the right is an early FAW-Volkswagen Jetta sedan.
Note the Buick Sail sedan in the background on the left.
The Merrie Uliou sedan came in various variants, all with different names and designations. The top model, for example, was called the Ouliou King. Today’s car carries the designation MR7130X1.
The 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine was developed and built by Geely. The engine code was MR479Q. Output was 86 hp and 110 Nm. The transmission was a 5-speed manual, front-wheel drive. The top speed was 155 kilometers per hour. Size: 4150/1620/1450, 2440, with a 960-kilo curb weight.
The old Geely logo and a dealer-installed license plate frame. Characters: 优利欧 (Yōulìōu, Ulio). The full MR7130X1 designation is on the car too. This was obligatory in the 1990s and early 2000s. Today, this is only obligatory for commercial vehicles.