Jetour joins three-brand thrust from Chery

ANOTHER Chery sub-brand, Jetour, is launching Down Under this year joining Jaecoo in a three-brand onslaught from the Chinese manufacturer.

Jetour hits these shores with a medium-large, boxy-but-handsome SUV called the T2 with design input from former Porsche pencil wielder Hakan Saracoglu.

No pricing details are available at the moment, but given its size and specification, the T2 will likely compete against other similar size Chinese large SUVs including GWM’s Tank 300, Chery Tiggo 8, and the LDV D90 which translates into pricing circa $50,000.

It looks like a cross between the new Toyota LandCruiser Prado and a Land Rover Defender, and rocks 1.5-litre and 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engines and a permanent magnet synchronous driven PHEV. Which versions we’ll see here is unknown at this point.

The smaller capacity variant is 2WD or AWD while the larger capacity unit and PHEV are AWD the 2.0-litre using a Borg Warner drivetrain with a locking rear differential and for some reason either a seven-speed DCT or eight-speed fluid auto.

The PHEV uses a specially designed three-speed Dedicated Hybrid Transmission (DHT).

The 1.5 four pot is good for 135kW/290Nm, the 2.0-litre churns out 187kW/390Nm while the PHEV utilising the 1.5-litre turbo engine tops the pops with 280kW/610Nm from its combined petrol/electric AWD powertrain.

The model is available with a choice of 26kWh or 43kWh batteries that respectively give a claimed EV-only range of 100km or 160km.

The T2 is unusual in that it is built on a monocoque chassis and not a ladder type arrangement with suspension via a strut front and multi-link rear set-up. It is available overseas in five- and seven-seat configuration with the third-row latter having a larger body to accommodate the extra pew.

A full-size spare is fitted old school style to the outside of the side hinged tailgate.

Dimensions are 5034mm long by 2036mm wide by 1960mm high with a 2800mm wheelbase.

Weight is between 1700kg and 1934kg model dependent.

It’s built on Jetour's Kunlun architecture and was designed with “mild” off-road capabilities.

Seven drive modes are available encompassing on and off-road environments with the AWD models said to be capable of wading up to a 700mm, 220mm ground clearance with approach, ramp and departure angles of 39 degrees, 25 degrees and 30 degrees respectively.

We were not able to ascertain the T2’s towing capacity.

Though it’s a stab in the dark speculating on equipment at the moment, the T2 has available goodies such as a large panoramic sunroof, premium 12 speaker Sony audio, heated and ventilated front seats, a large 15.6-inch central infotainment screen with a built-in Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 system/chip and a 10.25-inch full LCD instrument panel.

It is also available with front soundproof glass, 128-color ambient lights and 10 airbags, as well as a suite of ADAS and other safety features.

The model is sold in some countries with a 10-year/1,000,000-kilometre warranty that is highly unlikely for Australia but would certainly put a cat among the pigeons.