BY THATCar.co.za
Great things come in fours.
Whoever said two’s or three’s? Small thinker!
Think about it: 4×4. A 2×2 just wouldn’t work, would it? Four stars! Would you stay at a three-star hotel? What about a two-star? Four seasons… imagine a Three Seasons Hotel. Doesn’t sound right, does it? Then you have the four elements: earth, wind, water and fire. (Okay, that group kinda works!)
Many things with fours just work.
The best invention, in my view, was a Quattroporte. No, that isn’t a car I’m talking about… well, actually, it is! The word literally means “four doors”.
Why am I banging on about fours?
25 reasons, that’s why!
The V25!
To be more specific…
Okay, I see that lost look on your face. Let me undo that and turn that frown into a smile.
iCAUR recently introduced the V23, a two-door small SUV that I absolutely drool over.
I know the whole team drools over it too. @iCAUR, I have two hands. I do not use the other one… can I give you a hand in exchange for letting me test-drive one of these?
Okay, okay! Back to unperplexing you.
The V23 is a funky-looking, two-door SUV with round lights and a shape that somehow looks square yet rounded. I love it!
Look, Chinese automakers make great cars, but in my view, many still lack that truly distinctive design identity. Why? Think about it. Don’t you find that many of them look the same? A singular light bar at the back, rounded bodies, screens and more screens?
Now look at the iCAUR, especially the V23.
It’s as unique as the look on your face right now while you’re trying to figure out what I’m going on about!
The only limitation, in my view, was that it was a two-door SUV.
Until now…
THE V25!
Let me tell you about this special four-door SUV…
iCAUR has unveiled the new V25, joining the V23 and V27 to complete its V-Series SUV range.
The V25 will be offered with BEV and REEV powertrains. BEV stands for Battery Electric Vehicle, while REEV means Range-Extended Electric Vehicle.
You see? You learn something new every day!
Positioned between the V23 and V27, the V25 also gets some serious hardware.
The all-wheel-drive versions use the i-AWD system together with the i-SWIFT Agile Handling Platform. The dual-motor system produces a combined 335 kW and 505 Nm, with torque distribution and the choice between two-wheel and all-wheel drive adjusted according to road conditions.
Not too shabby!
It can tow, too!
Okay, okay, relax, Piet! It’s not going to tow your bull and heifer!
But if you’re Jacobus, who just wants to tow the family caravan to the beach, the V25 offers a rated towing capacity of 1.8 tonnes.
It also provides up to 6 kW of vehicle-to-load output, allowing you to power external equipment.
So, you can tow your toys and take some power along for the adventure. Not bad at all!
Furthermore, you can customise it to your heart’s content.
If you had to go to the West and do the same, our arms would be falling off by now! (Remember, I’ve already offered iCAUR one of my arms in exchange for a test drive!)
So, what about pricing?
We can’t confirm South African pricing just yet, but we reckon it won’t cost more than the V27.
We think the V27 could top out at around R1.2 million, which leads us to speculate that the V25 could land somewhere between R800,000 and R999,000, depending on the version and specification.
If a BEV version arrives with around 400 km of range at that price, we reckon it could be a bargain.
Of course, that’s our estimate, not confirmed pricing. We’ll have to wait and see what iCAUR brings to South Africa.
VERDICT
WE WANT FOUR! WE WANT FOUR! WE WANT FOUR!
Ohhh, and we want to test! We want to test! We want to test-drive the V23, iCAUR!
In essence, we love it. We loved the V23 when it was first introduced, and the V25 looks like it could give us even more of what we want.
Four doors, funky styling, serious power, the ability to tow and the option of an all-electric powertrain?
Now we’re talking!
iCAUR, you know where to find us. We’re still waiting for that V23 test drive.
