- 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 automobiles. It makes extra of them than some other nation, packs them with attention-grabbing options and sells them on a budget. A lot of this is because of huge authorities subsidies of all types for the nation’s EV market. China could even make a greater Tesla Cybertruck than Tesla does.
OK, China doesn’t really make something referred to 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 referred to as the Changan Nevo E07, and I got here throughout a assessment of it from the Wheelsboy YouTube channel, a wonderful supply of English-language content material on the Chinese language automotive market.
In response to 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 plenty 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 get pleasure from 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 means, I reckon.
I’ll reduce to the chase right here, as a result of hands-down the best a part of the Nevo E07 is its mattress. Or trunk. That each one is determined by your temper and what you must try this day. At first look, the rear portion of the Nevo E07 appears to be like identical to the again of some other slope-roofed crossover. (Or possibly one thing weirder like a Pontiac Aztek.) Press a button, nonetheless, and that slanted glass piece begins slides up towards the roof, creating an open pickup mattress.
The Changan Nevo E07 SUV.
From there, you possibly can drop the tailgate and cargo in no matter stuff you must haul round. The mattress is just round 3-feet lengthy. Examine that to the Ford Maverick at 4.5 toes. But it surely has one other get together 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 house. It is loads 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 keeping with Wheelsboy. So Changan homeowners received’t be hauling round something too large or heavy. However as a life-style car that may typically do gentle truck responsibility—for going tenting, to the seaside 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 principally, it’s due to Chinese language authorities insurance policies that discourage using 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, numerous folks discover the Cybertruck off-putting. Tesla’s truck is angular and made principally of flat items of chrome 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 stated, it’s “large enough to be helpful, however not large enough to blot out the solar.” I like that.
I’ll be trustworthy, the inside is bizarre, and never in a great way. It’s means too spartan for my tastes, and in addition seems to be virtually completely 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 have 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 possibly can 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 no less than that Tesla takes some notes on it for Cybertruck 2.0.
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