Fans of Apple’s iPhones, iPads & Co have been hoping and waiting for an iCar for years. Voilá: We have already driven the iCar! More precisely, the iCar 03. However, it has nothing to do with the vehicle we longed for, but comes from the Chinese Chery group. However: It’s no less cool – and doesn’t even need the famous name. It will lose it on the way to Europe anyway. As well as the affordable price.
To quickly conclude: Apple recently discontinued the car project; However, the car wouldn’t have been called iCar anyway, but rather Apple Car, because Chery owns the rights to the name. The real iCar wins hearts without the Cupertino/California company in the background, thanks to the body, which is the middle sibling between Suzuki Jimny and Land Rover Defender could be. Although the cheeky round headlights of the Suzuki are missing, the LED lights also have character. Especially because they represent the “i” brand logo. The shape is boxy like that of the models mentioned, 4.41 meters long is just under Tiguan format, and the data sheet states 1.91 meters wide and 1.72 meters high. The rear door is hinged on the side and, depending on the version, there is an extra box on it that looks like a spare wheel cover, but is a storage compartment that can accommodate the charging cable, among other things. The part above the belt line is set off in black, which further enhances the defender effect. Despite its appearance, the sympathetic electric car is hardly suitable for difficult terrain; the ground clearance is 17 centimeters. Everything is very solid. The doors open solidly and close firmly, even with the car Nothing sounds tinny when the windows are open, which is even the case with some manufacturers established on the domestic market. This all feels very confidence-inspiring. There is plenty of space in the interior, thanks to the wheelbase of 2.72 meters. The floor in front of the back seat is completely flat, and the passengers sit comfortably in all directions. The cockpit has an off-road-like elegance and very attractive materials characterize the image – at least in the top equipment we drove. Here too: top feel. Lots of artificial leather, light imitation wood that almost looks real, plus a two-tone covered steering wheel with touch elements on the spokes (this is still in vogue in China, while here – especially at VW – sensible buttons are already being used again). On the center console two massive handles, between them a cup holder, a mobile phone charging cradle and a driving mode rotary switch made of crystal. The door handles are also solid, the fastening screws are conspicuously displayed, you open electrically at the push of a button. There are no assistance systems like Tesla buttons, everything is controlled via the large touchscreen. There’s a lot to do, because the top version of the iCar has all the electronic tricks on it, from independent parking to automated driving including lane changing. The iCar does without radar and ultrasound. As with Tesla, the assistance systems (they come from DJI) have to leave everything to the cameras. During test drives in cars from the US company, this approach proved to be error-prone. It will be interesting to see how this works at Chery.Purely electric platformThe iCar stands on a new electric platform and offers a choice of rear or all-wheel drive as well as two LFP batteries from CATL. The larger one has a capacity of 69.8 kWh, which is enough for 501 kilometers according to the Chinese CLTC standard. According to WLTP, there will probably be a little more than 400 kilometers left. The car can run up to 175 km/h. The dual-motor version produces 205 kW/279 hp and sprints from zero to 100 km/h in 6.5 seconds. Test drive on monitored Chinese roads And then I sit behind the wheel of the iCar 03. An adventure, my first time on public Chinese roads streets. Everything in the car feels modern, I shift into gear with the delicate but sturdy steering column lever and roll out of the dealer’s yard in Wuhu, where Chery has its headquarters. The streets are almost completely monitored with countless cameras, you feel like you’re in China generally continuously monitored. Nevertheless, we give some material in between and let the iCar off the leash. The 6.5 seconds are believable and run quite silently. There is only a minimal buzzing noise that reaches your ears, and that only when you are using full power. We don’t dare do more than 100 km/h, at that speed there’s no wind noise to be heard (in a Dacia Duster you can hear it clearly at 80 km/h). Later I can still drive the car properly, even on closed terrain demand. Slalom, emergency braking, the whole program. You can feel that it is a new, modern platform. The steering works precisely and is not (much) too light in sport mode. A little more commitment to the road and a slightly firmer chassis would still be desirable. But that is the difference between Chinese and German or Austrian expectations. It is conceivable that this will be further refined when the car comes onto the market.iCar 03 comes as Jaecoo J6The good news: The iCar 03 is also coming to us. The bad news: It won’t be called that, but Jaecoo J6. That’s why it loses the delicate, stylish logo on the front, instead there is a bold Jaecoo lettering, which doesn’t look particularly good. The even worse news: the Chinese prices won’t make it to us either. In the Middle Kingdom they charge around 24,000 euros for the fully equipped top version, and they offer the rear-wheel drive basic model with the smaller battery for a good 15,000 euros. The panoramic glass roof comes as standard and is otherwise well equipped. Let’s wait and see how Chery approaches pricing.Two new brands this yearInitially, the group plans to enter the Austrian market this year with the new brands Omoda and Jaecoo, which were created exclusively for export. It should start in late summer/autumn. The prerequisites for this are currently being created; negotiations with importers/dealers are in the hot phase. The first two vehicles are called Omoda 5 and Jaecoo J7. When will the Jaecoo J6 aka iCar 03 come? Probably next year.
source site-13