- 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 form of formed like a Tesla Cybertruck, incomes it the nickname “Chinese language Cybertruck” in its house nation.
China is form of kicking America’s ass on the subject of making electrical automobiles. It makes extra of them than another nation, packs them with attention-grabbing 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 could even make a greater Tesla Cybertruck than Tesla does.
OK, China doesn’t truly make something referred to as a Cybertruck. However it does make a bizarre automobile that reminds lots of people of Tesla’s shiny wedge of cheese. It’s referred to as the Changan Nevo E07, and I got here throughout a overview of it from the Wheelsboy YouTube channel, a superb supply of English-language content material on the Chinese language automobile market.
Based on Wheelsboy, the automobile 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 truly discover it a lot cooler and extra compelling than Tesla’s truck for quite a lot of causes.
I’ve been seeing a number of 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 model has grown on me. On the one hand, I form of get pleasure from that such a daring, bizarre automobile exists. On the identical time, I discover it ungainly and never very charming.
The Changan Nevo E07 can also be an oddball. However in a way more interesting and endearing method, 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 every one is dependent upon your temper and what you must do this day. At first look, the rear portion of the Nevo E07 seems to be similar to the again of another 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 may drop the tailgate and cargo in no matter stuff you must haul round. The mattress is simply round 3-feet lengthy. Evaluate that to the Ford Maverick at 4.5 ft. However it has one other celebration trick: a midgate. The divider partitioning the cab from the mattress (rear glass and all) can fold down flat, opening up an entire bunch of additional mattress area. It is lots like what you’d get in an previous Chevy Avalanche or present Chevy Silverado EV.
Payload capability is available in at a mere 300 kilograms (661 kilos), in accordance with Wheelsboy. So Changan house owners gained’t be hauling round something too large or heavy. However as a life-style automobile that may typically do gentle truck obligation—for going tenting, to the seaside or transferring 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 the usage of true pickups. So as an alternative, you get an “SUV” that transforms, Optimus Prime-style, into some semblance of a truck.
So far as styling goes, a number of 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 an entire 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 method too spartan for my tastes, and in addition seems to be nearly totally 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 form of electrical truck I might truly 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 could be nice. Ideally, my little truck could be electrical or plug-in hybrid, however that doesn’t exist in America. Right here, you may 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 a minimum of that Tesla takes some notes on it for Cybertruck 2.0.
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