At this year’s Chengdu Auto Show, SUVs experienced a major explosion, especially with a relatively large number of tough off-road SUVs. Even in the field of small pure electric SUVs, many new cars have been released. The Chery New Energy iCAR 03, introduced below, at least follows a tough line in appearance. Previously, the new car had already been declared and positioned as a tough pure electric SUV, which was completed in June, the selling price may be around 150,000 yuan on the Chinese market.
iCAR is an upgrade sub-brand on the existing CHERY iCAR ecosystem, mainly targeting the mainstream consumption range of 150,000 to 400,000 yuan. In the future, there will be two independent and parallel product lines, Chery New Energy and iCAR Automobile, working together in Chery’s new energy sector.
In terms of appearance, the new car adopts a relatively square design, with a short front and rear suspension and four door design, and the body is a steel aluminum hybrid body structure.
The front face design is simple, generous, and full of novelty. The headlights and logo both adopt an upright LED light group design, which echoes each other. The front looks a bit like the three letters “i”. The front grille adopts a transverse dense vertical stripe design, which also looks quite novel.
The side of the car body is applied with straight lines, the waistline and roof line are relatively straight, creating a tough off-road vehicle image. In terms of body size, the new car has a length, width, and height of 4406/1910/1715mm respectively, a wheelbase of 2715mm, and will provide two types of wheels, namely 18 inch and 19 inch.
The design of the tail is also very square, with the tail lights similar to the front headlights adopting an “i” shape, while the tailgate adopts a lateral opening method and also provides a square external trunk.
In terms of configuration, this car will be equipped with a roof rack, a large-sized sunroof, five spoke wheels, a square external hanging small backpack (or storage box/toolbox), and NFC one click unlocking support.
The interior is mainly designed with tough lines, and the center console adopts a square design language, distinguished by straight lines, and decorated with gold metal decorations to create a technological feel inside the cabin. The overall layout of the cabin is symmetrical, with a floating center console screen and a throughout design below the center console, expanding the internal storage space and facilitating the storage and easy access of daily necessities. Chery iCAR 03 adopts a three spoke steering wheel, simplifying the design of the buttons and coordinating them with the wheels for functional operation.
The driving mode switch knob located below the central control is made of crystal material, with a delicate overall design. The iCAR 03 driving knob can activate 10 driving modes, which can be switched based on road conditions and personal preferences. In terms of seat style, the iCAR 03 adopts a sports seat design, the backrest of the seat is also designed with camouflage shaped perforations, creating a certain tough off-road atmosphere while maintaining seat comfort.
According to the official statement, this car is equipped with an all aluminum beam, which increases its strength by 30%, and is equipped with 10 driving modes. The new car will be equipped with a single motor with a maximum power of 135kW (184 horsepower). In addition, the new car may introduce multiple range versions and will be equipped with L2+level auxiliary driving functions.
Off-road SUVs seem to be the trend this year on the Chinese market, as Chinese brands have launched many SUVs that follow the hardline route. At least this design style is highly sought after by the market. The iCAR 03 is sturdy in design and has a rich and complete interior configuration. However, currently there is only a single motor version, which should be more suitable for urban commuting and not truly an off-road vehicle that crosses mountains.
