since 1976
since 1976
By Lee Pang Seng
FOR a relatively young automotive company from China, Jetour is making waves not just in China but around the world. Having achieved a cumulative production of more than 2.2 million vehicles in the seven years that it was in operation, Jetour’s ambitions in expanding its reach is nothing short of gargantuan.
In Malaysia, it might only have set roots in April 2024 but it just launched its third SUV (sport utility vehicle) in the T2; the earlier SUV models launched here were the Dashing and VT9. Building on that ambition here are its local assembly plans to produce 10,000 righthand drive vehicles a year for markets in the region.
The T2 takes the SUV concept a bit further from the Dashing and VT9 as it is meant to take on off-road terrain with its all-wheel drive (or what it calls the X Drive Mode) capabilities; this mode is designed to sense the terrain the vehicle is being driven on and automatically selects one of the seven modes available to handle the respective surface condition.
Being a capable all-wheel drive off-roader doesn’t mean it’s not a comfortable SUV to drive in the urban jungle; Jetour has engineered the T2 to be equally adept in city and highway motoring. Jetour says the T2 gained strong support in the markets it was introduced to (South America, Middle East and Africa) and expects good response in Malaysia as well.
Jetour says the global sales of the T2 as of February this year already exceeds 450,000 vehicles. That is a good reflection of its popularity. As it were, at the time of its launch here, more than 2000 bookings were made for the T2 when the order book was opened late last year. And these bookings were placed without its price being known. This optimism wasn’t misplaced as the T2 comes attractively set at a nett price of RM156,800 (which should work out to under RM158,000 on the road without insurance).
Like the trend with new vehicle launches these days, especially by the automotive brands from China, there is the early bird attraction. With the T2, there is a RM2000 early bird discount for the first 3000 customers. That means another 1000 prospective T2 owners stand to gain on that, with 2000 vehicles already spoken for.
Unlike the Dashing and VT9, the T2 SUV assumes a simpler body outline in a boxy profile. The black grille carrying the large Jetour name prominently complements its rugged design with extended wheel arches and bold 19-inch alloy wheels as supporting visual elements. The spare wheel is mounted on the fifth door to expand on its outdoorsy appeal.
The squarish LED (light emitting diode) headlamps come with surround daytime running lights, not in a complete loop but sectioned in four parts around the headlamp unit. It is somewhat similar to the round headlamp design seen on the Mini, giving the T2 an added individual perspective in styling.
It’s when you get into the T2 that its urban character is best experienced; while the oval T-shaped steering wheel might seem similar to that in the Dashing, the huge 15.6-inch multimedia monitor located centrally on the dashboard stands the T2 apart from the Dashing. The driver’s instrument panel remains the same 10.3-inch unit seen in the Dashing.
The seats are leatherette while the steering wheel is leather wrapped. The driver enjoys a memory seat function and the front seats are electronically adjusted (six-way for the driver and four-way for the front passenger). In addition, the driver enjoys a four-way lumbar support while both front seats come with ventilation control for a more comfortable ride.
A quick 50W wireless handphone charging feature comes standard and the cabin insulation is said to isolate it from the exterior with the best possible noise damping. This is heightened by its Sony Premium 12-speaker system to provide a ‘concert on the move’ experience. Another upmarket item is the panoramic sunroof (also featured on the premium Dashing Prime variant).
There’s ample luggage space too for holiday drives with 580 litres of space; fold down the 60:40 split rear seatrests and luggage space is more than doubled to 1494 litres. That should suffice for a furniture shopping spree at Ikea. The back door is an electric suction unit that closes softly but firmly. With a long 2800mm wheelbase, passenger accommodation seemed to be more spacious against rivals.
Under the front bonnet, the T2 comes with a bigger 2.0-litre engine than the Dashing (1.5-litre turbo). It is a turbocharged gasoline direct injection (TGDi) 1998cc engine that delivers more oomph at 180kW (245PS) at 5500rpm and 275Nm from 1750-4000rpm. The transmission is a seven-speed Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT), complete with the 7+X modes.
There is no mention of its acceleration performance but with a 1880kg kerb weight, the decent power-to-weight ratio should give the Jetour T2 a speedy pace to stay abreast of rivals. It is independently sprung with MacPherson struts in front and a multi-link rear suspension. The 19-inch alloys are fitted with 255/60 R19 tyres (which were Giti 4x4 AT47s for the launch vehicles).
In safety standard, Jetour says the T2 has achieved a 5-star Asean NCAP safety rating. It comes with a Level 2 Advanced Driving Assistance System (ADAS) that covers a wide range of areas, six airbags, a 360-degree panoramic view monitoring system and tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS).
The Jetour T2 is well supported by warranties too; seven-year or 150,000km vehicle warranty and a 10-year or 1,000,000-kilometre powertrain warranty to provide peace of mind for long-term ownership. There is little to doubt that Jetour is here to stay for the long term and that’s sound assurance of consistent strong back-up for its range of automotive products.
