- The Changan Nevo E07 is a bizarre SUV-pickup-thing offered in China.
- It has a small 3-foot mattress and a midgate.
- It is sort of formed like a Tesla Cybertruck, incomes it the nickname “Chinese language Cybertruck” in its house nation.
China is sort of kicking America’s ass with regards to making electrical vehicles. It makes extra of them than every other nation, packs them with fascinating options and sells them on a budget. A lot of this is because of huge authorities subsidies of every kind for the nation’s EV market. China might even make a greater Tesla Cybertruck than Tesla does.
OK, China doesn’t really make something known as a Cybertruck. But it surely does make a bizarre car that reminds lots of people of Tesla’s shiny wedge of cheese. It’s known as the Changan Nevo E07, and I got here throughout a overview of it from the Wheelsboy YouTube channel, a wonderful supply of English-language content material on the Chinese language automobile market.
In accordance with Wheelsboy, the car has earned the nickname “Chinese language Cybertruck” in its house nation. That is in all probability as a result of it is an electrical pickup and due to its slanted roofline and offbeat form. However I really discover it a lot cooler and extra compelling than Tesla’s truck for a lot of causes.
I’ve been seeing numerous Cybertrucks round my EV bubble of Northern California. And whereas I don’t hate it or something like some within the automotive press do, I can’t say its type has grown on me. On the one hand, I sort of take pleasure in that such a daring, bizarre car exists. On the similar time, I discover it ungainly and never very charming.
The Changan Nevo E07 can be an oddball. However in a way more interesting and endearing approach, I reckon.
I’ll minimize to the chase right here, as a result of hands-down the good a part of the Nevo E07 is its mattress. Or trunk. That each one will depend on your temper and what it is advisable do this day. At first look, the rear portion of the Nevo E07 seems to be similar to the again of every other slope-roofed crossover. (Or possibly one thing weirder like a Pontiac Aztek.) Press a button, nevertheless, and that slanted glass piece begins slides up towards the roof, creating an open pickup mattress.
The Changan Nevo E07 SUV.
From there, you’ll be able to drop the tailgate and cargo in no matter stuff it is advisable haul round. The mattress is just round 3-feet lengthy. Evaluate that to the Ford Maverick at 4.5 toes. But it surely has one other occasion trick: a midgate. The divider partitioning the cab from the mattress (rear glass and all) can fold down flat, opening up a complete bunch of additional mattress area. It is quite a bit like what you’d get in an outdated Chevy Avalanche or present Chevy Silverado EV.
Payload capability is available in at a mere 300 kilograms (661 kilos), in response to Wheelsboy. So Changan homeowners received’t be hauling round something too large or heavy. However as a way of life car that may generally do mild truck obligation—for going tenting, to the seashore or shifting furnishings—it appears completely acceptable.
An idea model of the Changan pickup.
Within the video, Wheelsboy explains why this unusual SUV-pickup mashup exists within the first place. And mainly, it’s due to Chinese language authorities insurance policies that discourage using true pickups. So as a substitute, you get an “SUV” that transforms, Optimus Prime-style, into some semblance of a truck.
So far as styling goes, numerous individuals discover the Cybertruck off-putting. Tesla’s truck is angular and made largely of flat items of stainless-steel. The Nevo E07 manages to look tremendous funky and futuristic, too, however with out the out-there proportions and dystopian vibes.
It’s a pleasant dimension, too. Wheelsboy describes it as barely longer than a Hyundai Santa Cruz, however a complete foot shorter than a Ford Ranger SuperCrew (the beefy, four-door mannequin). In different phrases, Wheelsboy mentioned, it’s “sufficiently big to be helpful, however not sufficiently big to blot out the solar.” I like that.
I’ll be sincere, the inside is bizarre, and never in a great way. It’s approach too spartan for my tastes, and likewise seems to be nearly solely pink with little distinction. It wants some patterns, or different supplies, or shiny bits to spruce issues up.
That apart, this looks as if the sort of electrical truck I might really see myself shopping for and utilizing. (That’s, if it had been ever offered within the U.S., which is uncertain due to the steep tariffs on Chinese language imported EVs.)
I don’t want an actual truck, however a small one to haul bikes and stuff in can be nice. Ideally, my little truck can be electrical or plug-in hybrid, however that doesn’t exist in America. Right here, you’ll be able to both get a small, cheap pickup that’s gas-powered (just like the Ford Maverick or Hyundai Santa Cruz)—or an enormous, costly one which’s electrical (just like the Cybertruck, Ford F-150 Lightning, Chevy Silverado EV or Rivian R1T).
So right here’s hoping I should buy a Changan Nevo E07 sometime—or at the least that Tesla takes some notes on it for Cybertruck 2.0.
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