The Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) showed pictures of a new version of the Haval Raptor. It’s about to come out soon. Before, it was a PHEV, which means a hybrid car with a plug. But now, it seems it will have a regular engine, not an electric one. This shows that even in China, people might not want electric cars as much.
Let’s talk about the engine first. The new Raptor will have a turbocharged 2.0-liter engine that makes 235 horsepower. We don’t know much about the transmission yet, but it’s probably going to be the same one Haval uses in most of its cars, a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. This Raptor will send power to all four wheels, and it won’t go faster than 124 mph.
The hybrid version of the Raptor uses a smaller engine and two electric motors, making a total of 295 hp. But let’s talk about the looks. Even though it looks good, it’s kind of like it’s copying other cars. It looks like it’s trying to be a Land Rover Defender or a Ford Bronco. The front of the car also looks a bit like the new Toyota Land Cruiser.
Haval changed the front of the Raptor with the regular engine. It has square headlights and a different grille with chrome bars. The hybrid version has rounder headlights and a bigger Haval logo. This makes them look different. Customers can pick from different sizes of wheels.
The Raptor is a lot like the Ford Bronco in size. It’s about the same length, width, and height. The Raptor’s wheelbase, which is the distance between the front and back wheels, is also like the Ford’s. It can handle steep angles when going over rough terrain.
The name “Raptor” is already used by Ford for their best off-road cars. Ford might not be happy that Haval is using the same name. It could make people think the Haval Raptor is as good as Ford’s Raptor cars. But Haval doesn’t sell cars in the US, so Ford might not do anything about it. Plus, with the high tariffs on Chinese cars, it’s even less likely they’ll come to the US.
