DURING the Chinese New Year, the newly upgraded Santana B2 versions were released on the market. Crowned as the 搒talwart evergreen tree?in China抯 automobile industry, the Santana B2 cars have improved progressively over the years. SVW used the spring festival, an opportune time for new beginnings, to effect a smooth replacement of the '06 Santana series.

　　Both the regular family car and the station wagon were replaced with upgraded versions. In addition to the OBD models provided for certain areas, the new Santanas are available in new colors such as spice red, beige yellow and Indigo blue, which complement the existing color range of black, candy white, reflexive silver and grey. The cars are all fitted with E-GAS, EBD, aluminum alloy wheel hubs, electronically-adjusted rear-view mirrors, environmentally-friendly air-conditioning, remote door locks, cassette/CD/MP3 players and a smart anti-theft system.

　　At present, the '07 series of Santana B2 cars are available at all dealer showrooms. Compared to the '06 series, the new models have additional enhancements in terms of the exterior, power supply and other features which are better suited to the tastes of today's consumers.

　　According to SVW dealers, the Santana brand has a relatively stable following, comprised of people who value stability, performance and fuel consumption over high fashion or trendy accessories. The revamped Santana cars will become a staunch competitor against other cars in the same category, such as the Jetta or the Elantra. With improved features and reasonable pricing, the Santana should no doubt continue its long standing tradition on the Chinese market.