China has spent the last decade proving it can build some genuinely wild machines. Electric sedans with four-figure horsepower figures, plug-in hybrids that can supposedly travel farther than some diesel trucks, and enough screens inside a cabin to make an electronics store nervous.
But of late, there’s a new trend that’s popped up which is very hard to ignore: China really, really likes the look of a rugged Western SUV. If anything, the recently concluded Chengdu Auto Show is all the proof you’ll need.
It’s almost like you’re playing “spot the Defender” instead of “spot the new car.” That’s because a whole host of Chinese automakers turned up with enough boxy, upright, off-road-oriented SUVs to make you wonder whether someone had accidentally shipped a Land Rover design studio to Sichuan. No kidding!
Fang Cheng Bao
Speaking of Land Rover, let’s start right there: the BYD FCB Ti 9. It’s a car that was recently unveiled and one that we recently covered as well. It’s a full-sized crossover SUV that looks like it can put the Range Rover to shame. Measuring more than 5.2 meters (17 ft) long with a 3.13-meter (10.27-ft) wheelbase, its squared-off body, upright stance, muscular arches and short overhangs give it exactly the sort of visual authority buyers have traditionally sought from a Range Rover.
Look past that exterior, and you come to its biggest selling point: a 1,430-mile (2,300-km) combined range. This is where these cars actually outshine their Western counterparts. All the incredible tech inside and you’re looking at range figures far above those of cars costing twice as much.
Take a look at the GAC Yue 7, for it might be the clearest evidence that the Defender has become a sort of design template in China. It has the upright, squared-off body, chunky wheel arches, bluff nose and rear-mounted spare that immediately puts the modern Land Rover in your head.
GAC
GAC hasn’t tried to disguise the inspiration; the Yue 7 looks like someone blended a Defender and a Toyota Land Cruiser and then asked a Chinese design team to add its own seasoning. The result is familiar, but not entirely derivative.
Underneath that old-school-looking body is another plug-in hybrid system with a 1.5-liter turbocharged engine and two electric motors, producing around 536 hp, while its i-4WD system and three locking differentials give it genuine off-road aspirations.
The Jetour Traveler 7 is another Defender lookalike, with its tall, boxy body, straight flanks, flared arches, upright glass, and a spare tire hanging off the back. But Jetour has softened some of the usual off-roader aggression with body-colored bumpers and wheel arches, with retro-style round headlights connected by a horizontal light bar.
Jetour
And continuing the trend we’ve seen so far, the Traveler 7, too, comes as a plug-in hybrid that pairs a 1.5-liter turbo engine with three electric motors. The combined system produces around 771 hp and 616 lb-ft (835 Nm) of torque, with 152 miles (245 km) of claimed CLTC electric range and up to 870 miles (1,400 km) of combined range.
But if Land Rover wasn’t really your style, perhaps a Jeep incarnate would soothe you? Say hello to BAIC Taitan 700. That’s Taitan, not Titan.
This is a 5.04-meter (16.54-ft)-long, body-on-frame SUV that comes with a broad, upright front fascia, a large three-slot chrome grille, and integrated headlights that resemble the Grand Cherokee in more ways than one, except for that spare wheel mounted on the tailgate.
BAIC
This, too, comes with a hybrid system, comprising a 1.5-liter turbocharged gasoline engine paired with two electric motors generating 524 hp and 460 lb-ft (624 Nm) of torque. It comes with a claimed 220 km (137 miles) of CLTC electric range and 1,340 km (833 miles) of combined range, while also getting front and rear differential locks, an intelligent center lock and adjustable nitrogen dampers.
Look closely and all of these cars I’ve mentioned follow a similar template: they’re borrowing the visual language of the Wrangler, Defender and Land Cruiser, then combining it with powertrains and technology that are becoming increasingly, unmistakably Chinese. That means China isn’t necessarily copying the technology. It’s copying the emotional appeal. And then it’s throwing its own technology underneath.
But is that a bad thing? Design purists will understandably complain that the world doesn’t need another Defender-shaped SUV. And if every manufacturer decides that “rugged” means putting the same square body on a different platform, automotive design could become rather monotonous.
But there’s also something amusingly democratic about it. For decades, the rugged luxury SUV was an expensive club. Want a Defender? Bring serious money. Want a G-Class? Bring considerably more serious money. Want a well-equipped Land Cruiser? Still not exactly pocket change.
Fang Cheng Bao
Chinese automakers have looked at that formula and asked a different question: What if we can give people the same visual fantasy for much less money? Sometimes the result is derivative. Sometimes it’s downright silly. And occasionally, it’s brilliant.
But one thing’s for sure: the boxy SUV isn’t going anywhere. And you can’t even ignore them anymore.
Sources: GAC, Jetour, Fangchengbao, BAIC
