If you thought the iCar was from Apple it seems that Chinese producer Chery has beaten the Cupertino, California based company to the use of the name. The iCar 03 will launch on February 28.
Pre-sales began last November for six versions with a pre-sales price range of 129,800-185,800 yuan (18,000-25,800 USD). The car initially debuted at the 2023 Shanghai Auto Show and the exterior largely remains unchanged.
iCar is a new brand from Chery selling new energy vehicles and aimed at the 25-35 year old age group with the 03 being the first model.
Looking somewhat like a scaled down version of the Jetour Traveller the small ‘i’ both front and back are the most prominent branding. Not only does the front i illuminate but also the front daytime running lights as well as the rear light clusters form the letter just to make sure you let everyone know what you’re driving.
Length, width and height of the new car are 4406/1910/1715 mm, and the wheelbase is 2715 mm. Design wise it is very much an old school boxy SUV although the retracting door handles help show this is an EV. The car rides on 18-inch all terrain tires and has five spoke alloys. Finishing off the rugged off road look is a rear mounted storage box. The car adopts a steel-aluminium hybrid body structure with built-in all-aluminium beams to further ensure the rigidity of the vehicle. There may actually be some useful off-road ability with the 03 having an approach angle of 26 degrees and a departure angle of 29 degrees
The iCar 03 comes in a choice of a single motor (RWD) or dual motor (AWD). On all versions the rear motor has 135 kW power and a maximum torque of 184 Nm. All wheel drive add a front motor with a measly extra 70 kW and 95 Nm torque.
Three battery packs are available 50.6 kWh, 65.7 kWh and 69.8 kWh good for CLTC ranges of 401 km, 501 km, and 472 km respectively. All the packs are lithium iron phosphate from CATL.
The inside also echoes the Jetour Traveller configuration – Jetour is another brand from Chery and the Traveller is a larger SUV than the iCar 03 available as an ICE and PHEV. However, the iCar 03 inside has a very rectangular feel to it as shown by the LCD instrument cluster and air conditioning vents. Dominating the dashboard is the 15.6-inch floating multimedia touch screen. There are two chunky grab handles on the center console.
Higher spec versions will gain features such as an NFC key, and a smart cockpit powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 chip which will feature Chery’s i-VA system which is an intelligent human like virtual assistant. Earlier reports also mentioned solar panels on the roof to provide extra charging.
