DongFeng A9: which version to buy and why
If you are choosing a DongFeng A9 rather than reading a catalogue overview, the arithmetic is short: the data lists one generation (1 generation, 2016-01-01 to 2019-12-31) and one version, named exactly 1.8 AT. There is no second engine, no restyle split, no FWD-versus-AWD pair, and no automatic-versus-manual pair to trade.
If you are choosing a DongFeng A9 rather than reading a catalogue overview, the arithmetic is short: the data lists one generation (1 generation, 2016-01-01 to 2019-12-31) and one version, named exactly 1.8 AT. There is no second engine, no restyle split, no FWD-versus-AWD pair, and no automatic-versus-manual pair to trade. The buying question is not “which A9 trim in the line-up” but whether this specification — 204 hp, 280 Nm, 1751 cm³ Gasoline, Automatic 6, FWD, Sedan — matches what you need, and what the numbers actually buy you once you divide power, torque, and mass.
Specs that decide the only A9 you can pick
1.8 AT is the whole factory line in these figures. Engine: Gasoline, 1751 cm³, 4 Inline cylinders, 4 valves per cylinder, Turbo, Front, transverse, Direct injection (direct), fuel 95. Output: 204 hp (150 kW) at 5500 rpm; 280 Nm from 1400 – 4000 rpm. Gearbox: Automatic, 6 speeds. Drive: FWD. Body: Sedan. Eco class: Euro 5. Production window of both the generation and this version: 2016-01-01–2019-12-31.
What the extra displacement above a round “1.8” label actually is: 1751 cm³, not a second engine family. There is no other displacement in the table to compare.
Engine: power per litre on 1.8 AT
Specific output of 1.8 AT:
- 204 hp ÷ 1.751 L = 116.5 hp per litre
- 150 kW ÷ 1.751 L = 85.7 kW per litre
- 280 Nm ÷ 1.751 L = 160 Nm per litre (rounded from 159.9)
The Turbo label is doing the work those ratios imply: 204 hp from 1751 cm³ is not a naturally aspirated figure in this dataset, and boost is recorded as Turbo, not as a second tune. Peak torque starts at 1400 rpm and holds to 4000 rpm — a 2600 rpm plateau — while peak power is at 5500 rpm. For a buyer, that spread is the reason 1.8 AT is a mid-range puller rather than a high-rev specialist: most of the 280 Nm is available well below the 5500 rpm power peak.
Cylinders and layout are taken from the data only: 4, Inline. Compression ratio is not measured. Bore and stroke are not measured. Do not infer a “petrol four” story beyond those two fields.
Fuel is 95. There is no 92-versus-95 choice in the line-up; 1.8 AT is specified on 95 only.
Weight per horsepower: what 1660 kg does to 204 hp
Kerb weight of 1.8 AT is 1660 kg. Gross weight is not measured.
- 1660 kg ÷ 204 hp = 8.14 kg per hp
- 1660 kg ÷ 150 kW = 11.07 kg per kW
- 1660 kg ÷ 280 Nm = 5.93 kg per Nm
Those three ratios are the mass-versus-output trade this car actually makes. With only one version, you cannot buy a lighter A9 or a heavier A9 in this dataset. Ground clearance is 120 mm — low for a Sedan used as a rough-road tool, and there is no raised variant to pay extra for. Wheel sizes are not measured, so you cannot choose a tyre package from these numbers.
Independent, spring suspension is listed front and rear; brakes are Ventilated disc front and Disc rear (rear label as in the data). There is no sport-brake or drum-rear alternative in the table.
Performance vs economy: what is measured, what is not
1.8 AT 0–100: 8.5 s. Top speed: 230. Units of top speed are not restated here beyond the figure in the data.
Fuel consumption city is not measured. Highway is not measured. Combined (mpg / mixed) is not measured. CO2 is not measured. Tank: 70 L.
A buyer who needs a litres-per-100-km or mpg number cannot extract one from this catalogue row. The 70 L tank is large relative to many compact sedans, but range cannot be calculated without a consumption figure — and inventing one is outside the data. Euro 5 is the emissions class; there is no Euro 6 1.8 AT in a later generation to “buy up” into, because pokoleniy is 1 and it ends 2019-12-31.
Acceleration 8.5 s together with 8.14 kg/hp is internally consistent as a mid-weight FWD Automatic Sedan on 204 hp; it is not a second, quicker SKU. If you wanted a slower, cheaper tune, these data do not list it.
Generations: what changed — and what did not
1 generation is the only generation: Sedan, 1 modification, 2016-01-01–2019-12-31. There is no restyling recorded as a separate generation, and no second body type.
Generation-to-generation arithmetic is therefore empty: no extra horsepower in a facelift, no added gears, no switch from FWD to another drive. The “what the later years buy you” answer is calendar only — the same 1.8 AT spec across the whole run. Years in production of this row: from 2016-01-01 through 2019-12-31 (four calendar years inclusive of start and end years as dated).
If you are comparing an early 2016 car to a 2019 car using this dataset, you are not comparing different engines. You are comparing the same 204 hp / 280 Nm / 1751 cm³ / Automatic 6 / FWD package.
Gearbox, drive, and what extra money cannot buy here
1.8 AT is Automatic with 6 speeds and FWD. There is no 1.8 MT, no 1.8 DCT, no AWD, no RWD. “What the extra money buys” cannot be a second drivetrain in these numbers: the Automatic 6 and FWD are not options against a cheaper manual or a dearer all-wheel version. They are the only recorded combination.
Engine position Front, transverse matches FWD; that pairing is in the data, not inferred as a platform story.
Direct injection (direct) is the only fuel-system label. There is no MPI alternative to choose for simpler servicing on paper.
Dimensions and weight the buyer actually gets
Measured on 1.8 AT:
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Kerb weight | 1660 kg |
| Gross weight | not measured |
| Ground clearance | 120 mm |
| Fuel tank | 70 L |
| Wheels | not measured |
120 mm clearance versus a typical urban kerb is a use-case filter, not a trim choice. 1660 kg kerb with gross not measured means payload is not measured and cannot be sold as a number.
Which version to choose
Choose 1.8 AT if the following arithmetic matches the job:
- You accept a single Gasoline Turbo 1751 cm³ four-cylinder Inline with 204 hp at 5500 rpm and 280 Nm from 1400–4000 rpm.
- You accept Automatic 6 and FWD; you are not shopping for another gearbox or drive because none is listed.
- 8.5 s to 100 and 230 top speed are enough; you cannot pay for a hotter A9 in this table.
- 8.14 kg/hp and 116.5 hp/L are acceptable specific figures; there is no naturally aspirated or larger-displacement A9 to dilute or raise them.
- 70 L tank matters more to you than mpg, because city, highway, mixed, and CO2 are all not measured.
- 120 mm clearance and Sedan body are acceptable; there is no SUV or wagon generation.
- Euro 5 is acceptable; there is no later eco class in a second generation.
Do not choose this model if you need a second version to compare on power, a measured mpg figure, a measured gross weight, measured wheels, measured compression, or a post-2019 generation. Those fields are absent or the line simply stops on 2019-12-31.
There is no “buy the 204 hp 1.8 AT versus the other 1.8 AT” split: unlike catalogues where two rows share a name and differ by horsepower, here the name 1.8 AT appears once, at 204 hp.
Reliability and problems (what these specs do and do not tell)
Problems and reliability are not in the numerical table. What can be said without leaving the data: one Turbo Gasoline Direct injection (direct) engine, one Automatic 6, one FWD layout, Euro 5, production ended 2019-12-31. Service complexity that would come from multiple engines, mixed drive systems, or a restyle with a second calibration is not present because those variants are not listed. That is a statement about catalogue diversity, not a reliability score.
Compression ratio, bore and stroke, consumption, CO2, gross mass, and wheels remain not measured — a buyer using this article as a spec sheet should treat those as unknown, not as zero.
Bottom line for the only A9 SKU
1.8 AT is 204 hp, 150 kW, 280 Nm, 1751 cm³, Gasoline, 4 Inline, Turbo, Front, transverse, Direct injection (direct), fuel 95, Automatic 6, FWD, 8.5 s 0–100, 230 top speed, 1660 kg kerb, 70 L tank, 120 mm clearance, Euro 5, Sedan, 1 generation, 2016-01-01–2019-12-31.
Power per litre 116.5 hp/L, torque per litre 160 Nm/L, mass per hp 8.14 kg/hp. No other DongFeng A9 version exists in these data to spend more on. The rational purchase is that row, or a different model entirely — not a different A9.