The UAE has had an unwavering penchant for burly and rugged SUVs. Even in a global scenario where most economies have diverted towards compact crossovers and utility vehicles, these extremely pragmatic and confidence-inspiring machines on the road continue to build a respectable case for themselves. Recently, we have seen an influx of 4-Wheel Drive vehicles that are trendy too for the new eon such as the Suzuki Jimny 5-door, BAIC BJ40 and the Haval Dargo. To make its presence felt in this segment, Jetour, distributed by The Elite Cars has unveiled the T2, an SUV that aims to be the jack of all trades by becoming a stalwart at off-roading while cocooning the occupants with luxury, tech and comfort. At the launch event, its standout feature, the XWD off-road concept was shed light onto.
The T2 marks the Chinese brand’s foray into this unique off-roading vehicle space by adopting a new “Travel+” strategy which aims to coalesce tourism with automotive engineering so the brand can contemplate the vivid requirements of travelers and ways to fulfill those. It’s only conspicuous then that it’s christened ‘Traveller’ in its home market.
On the face of it, the car bears significant resemblance to a Land Rover Defender. Traits like the boxy silhouette, squared headlights, beefy bumper cladding and a seemingly high shoulder line all nod to that. The exterior also features cool green materials for the bumper, wheel rims and roof rails to appeal to the young buyers. Bearing the dimensions of 4785mm X 2006mm X 1880mm (L x W x H), it is clearly a large SUV and a gape at its side profile reveals that. One glance at the rear, and its inspiration from the more expensive Land Rover Defender would be unraveled. Hence, it gets a darkened area for the tail lights, a humongous boot-mounted spare tire and exposed hinges to give an ode to the utilitarian vehicles of the past that trundled off the beaten path.
On the inside, a modern and tech-friendly cabin has been contrived to create a cosseting experience for the travelers. For starters, a 15.6” High Resolution screen dominates the centre console which supports AC, dual-zone climate control, menus for smartphone compatible apps and off-road settings when on rutted backdrops. It also features a 12-channel Sony speaker system for harmonious sound in all corners of the car. Looking beneath the octagonal-shaped steering wheel, a digital display for the instrument binnacle is seen which looks classy.
The car will come loaded with gills with features such as ventilated seats for extra cooling during the sweltering hot summers, ambient lighting to up the mood, Magic Electric Door that assists in opening and closing the tailgate, panoramic sunroof with roof rails designed to carry camping gear and a 540° camera which aids self-parking. The car also features Level-2 autonomous driving capabilities which include adaptive cruise control and automatic emergency braking. To accentuate comfort, the headrests are stuck with comfy cushions and the seats are given extra padding.
The Jetour T2 aims at serious off-the-beaten-path thrills with an approach angle of 28° and a departure angle of 30°. However, what sets it apart from others is the BorgWarner 6th generation XWD technology which intelligently monitors the tarmac conditions and adjusts the torque delivery in milli-seconds for optimal power delivery, without making the driver feel uncanny. At every instant, the center screen relays images of the surface under the car for better maneuvering. Such features concatenate with the car’s body structure to offer a water-wading capacity of 700mm.
Heavy vehicles require more power. Hence, the Jetour T2 has been shoehorned a 2.0-litre Turbo GDI engine that has oomph of 252 hp and 390 Nm of torque mated to a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic ratchet. For a more involving driving experience, one can toggle between driving modes of Sport, Normal, Economy, Snow, Mud and Rock. It also features a crawling mode to gingerly traverse over the trail imperfections without losing traction.
Jetour aims to launch 10 new vehicles by 2026 under its “off-road travel” and “family travel” wings and clocking a sales milestone of over 10,000 units in each of the previous 2 months, it is likely that the Jetour T2, loaded with bells and whistles will make a mark in the UAE too. Leveraging the car’s potential, is a 10-year or 1-million Km warranty and a 3-year or 40,000 Km service package.
