Chinese Chery iCar 03 electric SUV caught on camera

Honey, I shrunk the Land Rover Defender. Meet the iCar 03 electric SUV from China.

The Land Rover Defender seems to have served as a source of inspiration for this new electric SUV from Chinese brand Chery.

Chery’s upcoming SUV, the iCar 03, has been spotted testing overseas before it arrives in showrooms.

The car was previewed at the 2023 Shanghai auto show as part of Chery’s new offshoot called iCar.

The iCar brand aims to move away from the Chery badge and be applied to aspirational models such as the upcoming GT Coupe and this off-road SUV.

This is the first time the car has been spotted testing on public roads, providing a clear image of its appearance since it lacks the usual prototype camouflage.

The front of the iCar 03 ditches the simple ‘i’ logo seen on the concept car and instead features the complete ‘iCar’ name, although the prototype retains the detailed vertical LED headlights that extend down the sides of the bumper, forming the letter ‘i’.

The rear has more than a hint of the new Land Rover Defender’s shape thanks to a storage box mounted on the tailgate. The letter ‘i’ appears again, this time with the vertical LED layout of the brake and indicator lights. We also see that the tailgate swings out rather than lifts.

Inside, the iCar 03 shares a similar layout and materials with the Chery Tiggo 7 Plus, another SUV from the Chinese brand and incorporates a large central infotainment screen.

While it may look like a Land Rover Defender, the Chinese iCar 03 is said to be significantly smaller than the Land Rover and is closer in size to a Volkswagen Tiguan. It features a wheelbase of 2700mm, with overall measurements of 4371mm in length, 1909mm in width, and 1709mm in height (a Tiguan has a 2681mm wheelbase and is 4509mm long, 1839mm wide and 1686mm tall).

Underpinning the vehicle is believed to be a new platform with multi-link rear suspension and McPherson front suspension. Ground clearance is estimated to be approximately 170mm.

It’s unclear what will power the new model, although an electric drivetrain is rumoured to offer a range of close to 500km on China’s optimistic CLTC rating.

Chery plans to launch the first iCar model later this year in China; Australian plans are yet to be announced.

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