This is the VGV VX7, a new pickup truck for the Chinese car market. The VX7 is based on an SUV and follows a recent trend among Chinese automakers to develop SUV-based pickup trucks. VGV calls it a “passenger pickup”.
The VGV VX7 is aimed not at rusty farmers but at young folks living in the city looking for a cool vehicle to go out camping in the weekend. This image comes from the company’s website, showing a lifestyle-dressed little lady with a dog, a silver VX7 loaded with camping gear, and a father and son fishing in the background. There is an orange VX7 too, and on the bottom right stands the text: “Everything you wish”.
After some recent restructuring, the VGV brand is now a subsidiary of state-owned Sinotruck, one of China’s largest truck makers. VGV makes three cars: the VGV U70 SUV, the VGV U75 Plus SUV, and based on that the new VGV VX7.
The VX7 has a typical SUV-based design, somewhat similar to the Geely Farizon FX. Until the B-pillar it is basically an SUV, but further to the back things start to change. The C-pillar doubles as the end of the roof, with a little wing above the rear window. The cargo area has sloping sides and is rather short. Overall, an interesting design concept.
Size: 5015/1870/1732, with a 2800 wheelbase. Size of the bed is 1114/1438/588, and max load capacity is 330 kilo. That’s good enough for a tent.
The interior looks nice with lots of fancy faux leather on the seats, center tunnel, doors, and even on the dashboard. There is a digital instrument panel, a decently sized touch screen, a smaller touch pad for the heating system, and a trendy gear-selector knob.
Enough space in the rear for 2.5 persons.
The sides not only slope but they are very high as well. It has a third-brake light integrated in the roof spoiler and a large rear window. The light situation is complex, with a light bar above light units with additional lights in the big black bumpers.
Characters on the left: 中国重汽, Zhonggup Zhongqi, Sinotruck. VGV badge and VX in red.
The VGV VX7 is powered by a 2.0 turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine, good for 224 hp and 385 Nm. The motor is mated to an 8-speed automatic, sending all horses to the front wheels. Top speed is 196 kilometers per hour.
The large tail gate opens downwards and there is additional storage space under the floor. I am fascinated by that rear window. It is tall but not very wide. The entire headrests and the top of the bench are above the window line.
The triangular badge is the Sinotruck logo. The front is as busy at the rear with lots of lines going on, including a sporty red line in the bumper section. The VGV VX7 only comes in one kind and costs 115.800 yuan or 18.324 USD. Not a lot of money for such a big truck with a powerful engine and 300 kg tent carrying capacity.
I think the Ford Maverick is definitely leading the design direction in this size vehicle, followed by the Hyundai Santa Cruz.
The rear bed on this thing looks like an afterthought
For those of you who are scratching your heads about where “VGV” popped up from…..it is a brand spawned by the Weichai Power Co., Ltd, renowned maker of Diesel engines. The complicated transition to include passenger car production is explained (fuzzily) at:
http://www.weichaimotor.com
Bottom line is, that there ain’t nothing simple about the evolution of organizations in the Chinese auto industry. As long as China is on a roll, consolidation remains a far off dream.
Hello Dragn. “Spawned” yes, but no longer owned. As you may have seen, even the Weichai URL now redirects to the new Sinotruck VGV. The official history of the VGV brand can be found here: http://en.weichaimotor.com/Yingzhi/index.html. For short news articles I rarely include these histories, because they tend to be too complex and not terrible relevant. Greetings!
Thank you Tycho.
Don’t mind me….I was just getting windy.:-)
http://www.vgvmotor.com/upload/image/20220127/20220127095532_63505.jpg
you might love this!