In recent years, whether it is real off-road or fake off-road, heavy off-road or light off-road, the SUVs with boxy shapes, retro styles and hardcore styles have become increasingly popular, regardless of whether they are joint ventures, imports or domestic brands. Many manufacturers have launched such products in this market based on their understanding of consumer preferences, trying to gain a foothold in this crowded market. Among them, the Chery brand is obviously a standout. Following the Chery Explore 06 and the Chery Traveler, it has created a new “trendy box” SUV for its new energy brand iCAR – the iCAR 03. Unlike the previous two, it also has a label: pure electric. This pure electric SUV, which is known for its “square” shape and “electric” heart, and also has certain off-road attributes, is quite charming. It is important to note that the test drive vehicle is still in the prototype stage, and the production version in the future may have differences and adjustments in terms of interior and exterior details and the vehicle system. Trendy, the appearance is really trendy.
As the first model of Chery’s new energy brand iCAR, you can catch a glimpse of the design and evolution direction of this brand’s future models on the iCAR 03. This brand new car with a new logo is truly eye-catching in style. As a pure electric SUV, it has a classic “square box” shape, and many parts of it are protruding and angular, making it look like a product that can only appear in a science fiction movie. It’s no wonder it also has a special edition model called “landing on Mars”.
The front face has a simple and generous design, but the style is exceptionally strong, with a significant cyberpunk style. The closed grille is embedded with a “i” shaped glowing brand logo; the design of the lower bumper also has a strong off-road atmosphere, coupled with a rugged black front bumper, the style is quite tough. The entire front end is very vertical and square, with a rare sense of towering for this type of vehicle, showing a very high recognition.
The vehicle features vertically placed daytime running lights on both sides, along with horizontal main lights. The style of the lights on the car adds a sense of strength, resembling the large support pillars of a house. The LED daytime running lights are designed in the shape of the letter “i,” matching the “i” logo of the car. The interior structure of the light assembly is complex, with patterns resembling a tangram, adding to its exquisite appearance.
The side of the car features a very straight waistline design, as well as the popular hidden door handle design, giving the lines a very tough and bright look. In terms of body size, the iCAR 03 is positioned as a compact SUV, with dimensions of 4406/1910/1715mm in length, width, and height, and a wheelbase of 2715mm. Even with a small backpack attached, it doesn’t seem to make much difference, and its small size looks more like a “toy box”.
The iCAR 03’s rear design is highly consistent with the front end style, still featuring a straight and square design. The square little backpack is not for storing a spare tire, but rather serves as a storage box. The iconic side-opening tailgate of the hardcore off-road vehicle is also present, opening on the left side. The taillights are also consistent with the headlights, featuring vertically arranged LED taillights that illuminate to form the visual characteristic of the letter “i”.
The black wheel eyebrows create a strong cross-border style, with a significant toy-like vibe. The sturdy five-spoke wheel hub is full of sportsmanship, using the RADIAL RP76 series with a specification of 225/55R19 tires under the Chaoyang brand, focusing on comfort and quietness. Interior: Hardcore is not just about looks.
This is a car with a consistent interior and exterior design. The iCAR 03’s interior and exterior are designed in the same style, using a large number of square elements and rose gold metal as decoration to create a tough atmosphere, but the rounded corners enhance the gentle feeling. The center console adopts a conventional T-shaped symmetrical layout, balancing the need for a sense of technology and practicality. The entire cabin uses a large amount of soft plastic and leather, giving it a tough but not distant and aloof feeling.
The steering wheel adopts a three-spoke design, and is wrapped with a large area of genuine leather, supplemented by bright color stitching, with a good texture. The button area on the left and right sides adopts a layout of a roller paired with physical buttons. There are few buttons, making it very easy to operate and requiring no additional learning.
The 15.6-inch floating central control screen is the core of the vehicle’s human-machine interaction, supporting OTA upgrades and offering two chip options. The car and Tencent have jointly developed a customized version based on the Android system, with a more concise and refreshing interface and integrated functions such as online maps, Ai Qu Ting, car WeChat, and Huawei Hicar. In terms of voice control, the iCAR 03 is equipped with the i-VA intelligent interaction system, which allows for personalized deep communication and entertainment interaction. The recognition and response logic are both excellent, and the “human touch” is stronger than similar products in terms of response speed, logic, and tone.
In terms of driving assistance, the new car uses visual intelligent driving assistance strategy, with assistance driving capabilities of level 2 or above. It can achieve functions such as forward safety assistance, emergency lane keeping, lane departure warning, lane departure assistance, and front vehicle start reminder. It is mainstream and practical. In terms of driving assistance, the new car uses a visual intelligent driving assistance strategy, with level 2 or higher assistance driving capabilities. It can achieve functions such as forward safety assistance, emergency lane keeping, lane departure warning, lane departure assistance, and front vehicle start reminder. It is mainstream and practical.
In terms of air conditioning, the dual-zone automatic air conditioning system includes CN95 vehicle standard air conditioning filter, negative ion generator, and AQS air quality management system to ensure the air quality and physical comfort inside the car.
Under the central control panel, a through-type design is adopted to expand the front storage space, retaining some practical buttons. The crystal design knob with a high-end appearance can switch driving modes. On the side, there is also a wireless charging panel with wind cooling, supporting 50W fast charging. Space: compact but with a decent volume.
The iCAR 03 features a more conventional seat design, with good support and wrapping. The filling is firm and targeted at different areas based on a large amount of human body model data. The large headrest can reduce fatigue from long rides, with a delicate leather surface. The front seats are all equipped with electric adjustment, heating, and ventilation.
The thick armrest design in front of the central armrest box is more about style than practicality, further enhancing the wild appearance of the car interior.
The rear seats maintain the same design and comfort as the front seats, with long cushions providing better support for the thighs. The rear center console is relatively flat, not affecting the comfort of the middle passenger. It is equipped with three independent headrests, three sets of three-point seat belts, rear air vents, and charging ports to ensure comfort. The overall seating experience in the rear is comparable to the front, with even lower hip points, making it look, feel, and sit quite well, and the space is also very decent.
The storage space is moderate, and many items can be found in the car compartment.
The vehicle is equipped with a large panoramic sunroof with a sunshade, providing good lighting and can be opened at the front.
The test drive car uses a side-opening tailgate, with an angle locking mechanism on the inside, and an electronic opening button on the left handle, making it very convenient to use.
In the five-seat configuration, the regular space is generally average, but the very neat internal structure enhances the overall space utilization. If a larger loading space is needed, the rear seats can be split 4/6 and folded down to expand to a larger volume. The seat back and floor have a small angle, making it less restrictive to use.
The externally mounted all-plastic small backpack not only looks good in shape, but also has another advantage in not encroaching on passenger space. It has a volume level similar to a 20-inch carry-on suitcase, with a sealed interior and mesh pocket limiter to store items that need to be isolated from the passenger cabin. Test Drive: Multiple driving modes are the highlight.
In terms of power configuration, the iCAR 03 offers two power options: single-motor rear-wheel drive and dual-motor all-wheel drive. The single-motor version has a maximum power of 135kW, while the dual-motor version has 70kW in the front and 135kW in the rear, both of which are permanent magnet synchronous motors.
In terms of the battery, the iCAR 03 will be equipped with CATL’s lithium iron phosphate battery. As for the range, depending on the model, the official range of the iCAR 03 is available in three options: 401/472/501 kilometers. It is worth mentioning that the new car is equipped with an intelligent temperature control system, which will maintain the battery system within the appropriate temperature range to achieve efficient energy output. Even in low temperatures, it can maximize the performance of the range without compromise, which is very beneficial for improving the normal use of the vehicle’s range performance in the cold environments of the northern regions.
We’ve seen the same power system in many pure electric vehicles in Chery Group, and their characteristics are relatively consistent. In normal mode, you can feel the unique initial acceleration of the electric vehicle from the moment you step on the accelerator pedal. The entire acceleration process is very smooth, and the continuous acceleration can give a strong sense of power. Moreover, this power output is quite linear, and during the secondary acceleration, the strong and sustained push-back feeling can also be felt.
Let’s talk about its versatile personality. The new car is equipped with iWD intelligent electronic control four-wheel drive, 8+X modes, including economy/comfort/sport/rough/slippery/muddy/loose/all-road/customized driving modes. Users can flexibly switch according to road conditions and personal preferences. In the customized mode, pedal response, energy recovery, and steering mode can be customized and combined, allowing for dozens of driving mode options, providing a high degree of freedom.
However, too many choices will definitely make you suffer from choice phobia. In the vast majority of road conditions, the difference in power output between economic/comfort/sport modes will not be too obvious in terms of feel. The main difference lies only in the response of the accelerator pedal. Even in economic mode, as long as you are willing to step on the accelerator pedal, the power can still give you a strong sense of acceleration in a short time. And if you enter sport mode, the power is instantly available. You can achieve a gentle start, or you can achieve aggressive acceleration.
The kinetic energy recovery mode has four gears to choose from. Personally, I prefer the stronger state. Although there is a brief delay in braking when recovering oil, I can feel the drag that a new energy vehicle should have, even more so than the general single-pedal logic. As for the weakest mode, the deceleration G value is very small, and the physical sensation is not much different from the coasting deceleration of a fuel vehicle.
Born on an aluminum platform, the iCAR 03 uses front MacPherson independent suspension + rear H-arm independent suspension. In terms of design, it shares many mechanical components with the “Land Rover” project engineers, such as the optimized components in the “second suspension” section, and both front and rear use higher-cost hydraulic bushings. Under the tuning of engineers, the overall dynamic performance of the chassis achieves a good balance between comfort and support. The overall impression of the chassis tuning leans towards the European style, with very good support and rare clarity in SUVs, but there is also a slight amount of up and down pitching, which will probably be improved in the subsequent production version.
The light and flexible steering of the car definitely deserves praise, the moderate size of the steering wheel brings a very good and delicate steering feel. It is an SUV, but the body’s followability is also very good, with a super small turning radius, and even the “tank turning” can be achieved by using the inner wheel to brake. Whether it’s extreme driving or daily city road driving, it’s very flexible. However, the sound insulation is still lacking due to the square box shape, mainly the wind noise at the A-pillar during high-speed driving. In most cases, it is obvious that the iCAR’s four-wheel drive system is designed to improve driving quality and prepare for occasional off-road sections. How does it perform in light off-road conditions?
The driving experience of urban SUVs on paved and unpaved roads is actually quite different. This is because the aluminum-based white body with embedded beams has a greater rigidity than the average urban SUV. In addition, the suspension shock absorbers also use a longer stroke structure, providing longer absorption time and more sufficient rebound absorption to handle uneven road surfaces, without any sense of looseness when sitting in the car.
Therefore, when encountering some bad road conditions on unpaved road sections, the feeling of passing quickly to the driver is not obvious, but the driving control feeling is more fun than on the road. Facing the mild off-road track with a rally attitude, the iCAR 03 seems to be very capable on less severe off-road terrain, able to handle corners and even drift into them, making it a fun drive.
Inside the central control, you can also instantly grasp first-hand road condition data information, such as the slope and direction you are in, and through the central control screen, you can also know the ground condition, which is helpful for off-road driving.
Switching to different modes is suitable for short light off-road sections. Facing unpaved slopes with confidence, different driving modes also have different changes in driving force. However, in such light off-road terrain, entering the uneven road mode can easily handle the entire journey.
Including small challenges that look difficult to cross with a water depth of 50 centimeters, in fact, with its long suspension travel and good sealing, the iCAR03 can ensure that all four wheels are grounded in most situations, reducing the possibility of power loss. It is safer to pass through here with a more powerful four-wheel drive system.
In the bomb crater and cross-axle section, we may encounter a situation where one or two tires lose traction and lift off the ground. iCAR shows a more obvious skidding phenomenon when facing various slopes and cross-axle sections, but it seems to have no impact on the vehicle’s overall performance. The large approach angle, departure angle, and high ground clearance play a significant role, effectively handling extreme off-road conditions for urban SUVs.
The hill descent function can automatically help drivers control the downhill speed. The steeper the slope, the slower the speed, reducing the difficulty of driving for beginners. However, iCAR 03 has added intelligent speed control to the hill descent, and the new “flexible downhill” system can automatically adjust the speed within the range of 3-12 km/h based on pitch angle and other information. On our steep slope with a gradient of over 40, the vehicle maintains a steady speed of less than 5 kilometers per hour during downhill driving, and all we need to do is hold the steering wheel. In summary, the SUV craze has continued for over a decade, but the styles are almost all the same. Just like the various SUVs playing off-road crossover a few years ago, now the SUVs are all playing with boxy shapes. Among them, iCAR 03 is the most square-shaped one I have tried so far, and just for that, it has a very high level of interest. Returning to the beginning, perhaps this boxy shape is its biggest selling point.