Many Chinese car makers are selling and developing so called ‘off road SUVs’, rough looking machines with a boxy design and extra ground clearance. Jetour is almost ready to join this fast growing market segment with the new Jetour T-1. We have the latest spy shots.
Jetour is an SUV brand under Chery Automobile, making stylish cars aimed at a young audience. Jetour is expanding fast, the brand sells 13 different SUVs now including one full electric car. But they are all rather conventional cars, with the exception of the recently launched Jetour Dasheng, but even that car doesn’t exactly have a pie-topping cool factor. That’s where the new Jetour T-1 comes in.
The new T-1 was previewed by the Jetour T-X concept, which was later renamed to Jetour T-1. Changing names of concept cars over time is not uncommon in China. The concept closely followed the off-roader trend: a boxy design, big bumpers, black trim, wide arches, side bars, and roof rails.
The rear is as straight as a Land Rover, with an external spare wheel cover.
The production version has been seen in various locations over the last couple of weeks. It is still heavily camouflaged but we can see some: the shape of the third-side window remains as it was on the concept. The external spare wheel cover stays too. The pop-out door handles make way for conventional units. The wheels are way smaller, and the wheel arches seem less pronounced. Finally, the production version has a third-brake light atop the rear window.
Another test car, this one without the spare wheel cover.
The T-1 will be available in 5-seater and 7-seater versions. Power will come from a 2.0 liter turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline engine, good for 254 hp and 390 Nm. This engine is also used in the Jetour X90. The transmission is going to be an 8-speed automatic with flappy pedals, sending horses to all four wheels. Later on Jetour will also launch a 1.6 turbo and a 1.6 turbo PHEV. There are no plans yet for a full-electric version.
The concept car did not have an interior but Jetour released an image of a design drawing, showing a dashboard that matches with the exterior: straight lines and ready for the mountains.
An interior spy shot. It looks a lot like the drawing, and even the shape of the steering wheel remains the same. The handle bar on the A-pillar is a bit odd. Bars like these are mostly on the passenger side, as the driver has to hold the wheel. But it works fine for coolness, I guess.
The headlight design seems to differ from the concept; more conventional and possibly with a split-headlight setup.
The main competitor of the Jetour T-1 is the incredible popular Tank 300, the car that really started the off-road craze in China. The Tank 300 now sells in numerous variants, and third-party accessories are widely available. Getting even close to the Tank 300 won’t be an easy task for the T-1.
And customers still need a little patience to get their hands on it in the first place. The Jetour T-1 will have its public debut on the Shanghai Auto Show in 2023, and it will launch on the Chinese car market in the third quarter of next year.
