Remember the Geely Concept Icon? It was a small,
future-forward SUV that was meant to signal a new dawn for the Chinese
carmaker, but which had seemingly been swept under the carpet. Well, that
hasn’t happened, because instead the company was simply hard at work turning
the Icon into a reality, and here it is.
The production version has lost none of the visual
impact of the show car, sporting an unapologetically minimalist design that has
remained remarkably intact. Sure, the wheels are different, there are larger
door mirrors and framed windows, and some details have changed, but the rest of
the Icon’s funky design cues have mostly been retained.
The front end is perhaps the most striking of all,
dominated by a reinterpreted “expanding cosmos” grille that now spans the
entire width of the fascia. The concentric rectangular motif is bookended by
the vertical main headlights, while the upper headlights have been reduced to
slits, flanking a slim air intake. Another pair of rectangular inlets can be
found lower down, while the clamshell bonnet is fitted with vents.
The upper lights flow neatly into a prominent accent
line that then sweeps downwards and back into the squared-off wheel arches;
this line is repeated over the rear wheels. The rectangular motif is repeated
in the depressions of the side sills, retractable door handles and what appear
to be indicators on the door mirrors.
Meanwhile, the pillars are all blacked out for the
in-vogue “floating roof” look, though the bodywork does rise upwards towards
the rear to form body-coloured fins. The tail lights are still rectangular but
slightly larger than on the concept, and the aforementioned concentric motif at
the front is repeated at the rear to form the number plate recess.
You no longer get the concept’s bold suicide doors,
but step inside and you’ll find much of interior is relatively faithful.
There’s still a layered, multiple-tiered dashboard with air vents shaped like
the infinity symbol, a Mercedes-Benz G-Class-style passenger grab handle and a
tall centre console – under which is some space to stow your belongings. There
also looks to be a wireless smartphone charger ahead of the stubby gearlever.
A pair of 10.25-inch displays are seemingly draped
over the top layer – one for the instruments, the other for infotainment. This
particular example also sports a daring brown-and-white colour scheme. No details have been released,
but reports suggest that the Icon will essentially be a Binyue underneath,
built on Geely’s B-segment Modular Architecture (BMA). It supposedly measures
4,350 mm long, 1,810 mm wide and 1,615 mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2,640 mm.
That would make it 20 mm longer, 10 mm wider and six millimetres taller than
the Binyue, and have a 40 mm longer wheelbase.
Just one engine is said to be confirmed at the
moment, and it’s the 1.5 litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine making 174 hp
and 255 Nm of torque, paired to a seven-speed dual clutch transmission.
