Juniper
Review by Dr Long SP – Juniper’s Journal’s very experienced & knowledgeable car correspondemt
The invasion of the Chinese automakers into our local Malaysian market is undeniably relentless of late, which resonates with automotive markets the world over; except for possibly the U.S.A., for obvious geopolitical reasons.
Which brings us to the naming of this BEV SUV by Chery group, the iCaur V23. Apparently, the nameplate iCar was a potential trademark infringement of a giant smart phone maker’ electric car project – which has since been shelved. As such, iCar is only being used by Chery for China’s domestic market LHD units, with the rest of the world sporting the iCaur badging.
On a glorious morning at an absolutely out-of-town RV track sprawled at Gamuda Gardens, Rawang, we were given keys to the latest V23 AWD (intelligent Wheel Drive in iCaur speak) being put through dirt road paces into a hilly rubber plantation turned into off-road tracks.
In essence, the all-wheel drive V23 tested churned out a combined max power of 205kW and 385Nm of max torque. There is no torque transfer case nor slip differential box – unlike ICE 4X4. This iCaur electric SUV is powered directly at the front and rear axles by two separate DC motors, governed by plenty of software processing power i.e. running on intelligent algorithms.
Stepping into the V23 its front windscreen is very much noticeable to be upright and small in size, conveying this iCaur intent to be a serious off-roader than its slightly bigger urban biased sibling, the iCaur 03. Views out of the side windows are still good. Absence of the rear three-quarter glass house (boxy & bulky C-pillar) has restricted rear views out this section. Then again, there is this wonderful 540 degrees camera to save the day, should you decide to manouvre in and out of tight parking spots.
Rolling on huge 21-inch wheels shodded with 265/45 low profile rubbers presented a quite jarring and busy ride on compacted mud and soil which were full of ruts, rather unsettling for both rear passengers. Even though rolling on road-going touring tyres, the iCaur V23 passed challenges of hill ascent, hill descent, axle twist/ruts, mildly muddy/soggy and loose gravel surfaces admirably.
Especially impressive was the smooth execution of hill descent control (HDC),
near-seamlessly executed by a combination of motors-driven regenerative braking plus
– which I reckoned – a touch of the friction (brake) pads.
We were able to sample the drive modes of Sport, Comfort, Normal, Slippery, Off-Road
– with the throttle response sharpest in Sport and super dull in Slippery, to prevent wheels from spinning into deeper ”trouble”. The suspension is fixed in its damping and rebound settings, whatever the drive mode.
We left the RV track suitably impressed with the off-road endeavour of the iCaur V23. Priced right (imminent official launch) this V23 will be a good option for those looking for a retro-looking, boxy and rugged off-road capable SUV – with the only limited scope of appeal of being a BEV, since not everyone is readily into full electric mobility. Perhaps an REEV version will be coming soon? Or a HEV/PHEV V23 in the distant pipeline, Chery?
