Geely’s first SUV, the Emgrand EX7, spotted out! Is it another RAV4?
Geely have missed out the SUV sector which was a major growth area for their major rivals, Chery. Geely are now playing catch up in the SUV game, where as Chery are already leading on with 3 SUVs in the marketplace. Geely have to come up with something unique and different to play catch up with Chery, and it appears that their first SUV has been spotted out testing but has already been labeled as a Toyota RAV4 Clone by the Chinese automotive press.
Geely SUV(top) vs Toyota RAV4 (bottom)
The Geely SUV was first on show at the Shanghai Auto Show in 2009 in prototype form and formed part of Geely’s mega plan to start a new trend of automobile production at Geely, and take the company away from being a cheap automobile maker and into a more respected manufacturer with a decent line up of vehicles ranging from the super cheap to luxury models. The above model already went into production at Geely’s Long Quan production facility in Chengdu in October last year but it has not yet been sold on the open market. The above spy pictures were taken in China, and one of them actually compares the suspension system of the Geely SUV to the Toyota RAV4, it appears that on the underside that the two cars are highly similar, aside from the fact that the Geely appears to be front wheel drive.
The wheelbase of the RAV4 and the Geely SUV also line up to be 2660mm, whilst the proportions of the Geely SUV are LxWxH (4544x1832x1671mm) which if you eliminate the spare tyre on the rear of the Chinese model RAV4 then the two cars match up in size.
The Geely SUV itself appears to be quite simple on the inside, but then again this model is expected to retail for around 120,000rmb, so simple is probably the best way to describe this model. Engine power will come from Geely’s own 1.8L and 2.0L engine, and also a turbo diesel engine, whilst offerings of automatic and manual gearboxes are also expected. Interestingly the Geely SUV will have a 5+2 seating arrangement which the Chinese built RAV4 does not offer.
This model’s official launch has been delayed again until October this year, but it is expected to be on show at Beijing Auto Show later this month.
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Looks a bit like the old RAV4 indeed, but then uglier. They won’t catch up on Chery with this thing. They should just launch that beauty of an Emgrand EX825.
Even though the Chinese Rav-4 doesn’t offer 7 seats, the US version does.
It’s a clone, sadly.
It’s funny how the Chinese media is not much better than the Western media, everything is a copy or a clone in their eyes, how sad. I’ve seen this is person, and it is NOT a Rav4, no way.
The underbody pics prove it’s a clone.
wow, the bottom of the SUV looks similar, I’m sure that’s all the evidence you need to call it a clone (which, by definition, means that everything is the same.) Even though the Geely SUV has front wheel drive.
FYI, most Rav4′s are FWD. You can buy a rav4 without AWD.
The frame members, suspension bits and even the manner in which the exhaust is routed is identical to the Rav4. The only difference is that the driveshaft to the rear wheels is not present on the Geely because it’s two-wheel-drive.
Not only that, but Dimensions are identical.
FYI most RAV4s are AWD, not FWD. The frame members and suspension BITS, (and only bits, all of which could be shared parts) are similar? What a outright clone! 2 places out of the tens of thousands of parts. Let’s just call it a clone before we know if they are actually shared or not, even though everything else from the interior to the exterior are different.
I shopped cars with my father last month and out of 15 Rav4s only 2 had AWD. Maybe just that lot but many are not AWD. Most people don’t need it and it cost more.
You saw 15 RAV4s at ONE dealer in ONE place in CHINA. Out of the MILLIONS around the WORLD. Plus, maybe FWDs sell better in that area.