Land Rover is a very popular brand and China. They are good looking expensive SUVs with a considerable heritage. No
wonder then that many Chinese automakers are trying to grab a piece of the Land
Rover pie. Just think Landwind, but there are many more. The latest addition to
the list is this; the Changan X70A, made to look a lot like the Discovery
Series III/IV.
The similarities are especially strong from the
sides. Bonnet, doors, rear window, fenders, it all looks very familiar. But not
all is Land-Rover like. The ‘Chinese’ interpretation of the Disco’ stands on
wheels so tiny they would fit on my scooter.
The engine isn’t exactly in Land Rover territory
either: a lazy 1.5 liter petrol with just 97 horses and 140 Nm, mated to a
five-speed manual sending power to the front wheels. The wheels might be tiny
but the X70A is not a small car: 4620/1770/1840 mm, and wheelbase is 2750 mm.
The X70A appears to be based on the same platform as
the Changan CX70, which also has some Range Rover looks. The X70A will debut on
the Guangzhou Auto Show later this month and launch on the Chinese car market
in Q1 2018.
There is a little storage space on each side of the
dash, under the air vents. The instrument panel is analog with a small TFT in
between. The touch screen appears to be larger than anything that Land Rover
offers.
Price will start around 80.000 yuan or US$ 12.000. This
kind of small and cheap vehicles are aimed at China’s second and third tier
cities, where there are still zillions of eager buyers who don’t care about no
copied car.
