Driving Review|Rox 01 – does the large EREV SUV deliver anything new?

Li Auto created a winning formula that has been copied by many Chinese NEV entrants. With the L-series, the combination of SUVs and range extension technology has been unbeatable. Aito adopted the same format to great success with the M9. At first glance, the Rox 01 may seem to be yet another attempt at the same formula, but where it differs is that Rox Motor emphasizes that the 01 is an off-road SUV.

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The car’s promotional video shows the 01 carving up dirt and wading through rivers. Unfortunately, our test was unable to confirm whether the Rox 01 really does have the level of off-road ability that the video claims. However, given that the 01 adopts a monocoque construction, it is unlikely to have as good off-road capability as, for example, the Fang Cheng Bao Bao 05, which uses a body-on-frame structure.

There is still, though, a big emphasis on this car as an outdoor lifestyle choice, as seen by various camping-type elements included in the package. The marketing materials claim that the car can effortlessly transition between city life and camping, wild exploration, and long-distance journeys. But does it really live up to the promise?

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Exterior

There is no doubt that the exterior of the Rox 01 is imposing. The side mirrors themselves are almost as big as a Wuling Hongguang Mini EV, and the car has a length of 5050 mm, width of 1980 mm, and a height of 1869 mm. Meanwhile, the wheelbase is 3010 mm.

Somehow, the car manages to be anonymous without being generic. At the front, there is a large black grille framed by a protruding nose extending from the rest of the front. Y-shaped light clusters lead to this protrusion and a skid plate flows down from it.

Our test car was in white, one of four standard colors the others being green, gray, and silver. There is also an optional black color which makes the car all black as opposed to the split-tone color on all other versions.

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The split black paintwork follows the window line, and this is a very old-school SUV design similar to the original Land Rover Defender or Range Rover rather than the newer SUVs, which tend to have a rising window line or a kick-up around the C-pillar. That old-school style extends to the door handles, which are the older pull style rather than hidden.

Continuing the black theme, there is black cladding around the bottom of the car. Furthermore, our test car came with blackened wheels; all versions of the car get 21-inch wheels. A nice detail is the cover for the optional tailgate-mounted full-size spare tire, which also continues the split-tone paintwork.

The tailgate itself opens sideways toward the passenger side. A rear towing bar is an option, but the test car didn’t have one.

Interior & infotainment

Given the car’s size, it’s probably not surprising that the Rox 01 is a three-row SUV available in either six or seven-seat configurations. What is more unexpected is that the second row in both has two seats, with the variation being in the third row. Our test car was the six-seater version, and by the looks of the pictures, the seven-seater just squeezes an extra position into the otherwise same rear bench.

Buyers have a choice of three interior colors: black, white, and orange. Contrasting with the white and black exterior was the black interior of our Rox 01. Before the brand got the official English name Rox, it was referred to by various names, including Stone and Polestones. “Stone” is the nickname of founder Chang Jing who is an off-road enthusiast. That interest, along with a stone theme, has made its way into the interior.

Inserts in parts of the interior, such as the doors, have lighter color patterning and are most likely meant to resemble the grain of a stone. Unfortunately, when in black, they just look dirty or scuffed.

Probably one of the first things you notice when in the front of the Rox 01 is that the dashboard rises significantly higher than the window sills of the doors. Dominating the dashboard is a floating 15.7-inch infotainment screen. With a 3k resolution screen, the HMI seemed relatively easy to navigate, although our test car only had Chinese. It is of course possible to control most functions via voice control.

In addition, the driver gets a 12.3-inch instrument panel. Overall, the materials are of a good standard, with soft-touch plastics around touch points. There is a leather-trimmed steering wheel and leather upholstery.

What is not so good given the price point is the equipment level. Most unforgivable is the lack of wireless mobile phone charging. At the head of the center console are what look like dual charging pads, except they’re not. Then there is the lack of a head-up display.

The front seats come standard with heating, ventilation, and massage functions, and the driver’s seat is 14-way adjustable while the passenger’s is 10-way adjustable. The main difference between equipment levels between the 6 and 7-seat versions is with the second row, even though both only contain two seats.

The main decider is whether you want versatility for the space or optimization of comfort for the second-row occupants. Although both versions have captain-type seats, those in the 6-seater are aviation-type and have 12-way electric adjustment against 8-way in the 7-seater. This allows electric leg support and “zero gravity” lying flat ability. Furthermore, the seats gain ventilation and upgrade the massage function to an 8-point spa version.

What you lose as a result is the ability to convert the second and third rows folded together into a king-size bed or the first and second row into a single bed. Furthermore, the 7-seater trunk space is 535 liters, extendable to 2202 liters, compared to the slightly larger space of 548 liters for the 6-seater, which can only be extended to 1404 liters due to the second row of seats not folding down.

The six-seater has electric controls on the armrests that control the seat functions. There are further controls on the back of the front center console.

Pictures of the third row on the 7-seater look cramped. Already on the six-seater, there is poor leg room, and the seating position offers little thigh support and a high leg position. However, at the sides, there is a cup holder and a type A USB outlet.

Rear passengers get a 15.6-inch rear entertainment screen that folds down from the ceiling. This screen blocks the rearview mirror, necessitating a streaming view that appears to be switchable with an actual mirror view.

Surprisingly, where the interior gets the most interesting with the trunk. Not only are there two universal power outlets, one on the tailgate itself and the other just inside, but there is also a drinking water bottle. This can be heated and has a dispensing tap. There is also a cooking kit, although strangely, no stove to go with it, and a double-layered fold-down table. These are all part of the vehicle’s off-road warrior theme.

Performance and driving feel

Through the infotainment system, the Rox 01’s drive can be customized to a high degree. With the steering set to Sport, the car has reasonably weighted steering; other settings are largely too light, except perhaps for parking. Braking regeneration can be set to low, medium, or high. Even set to high, the effect is not particularly strong, and the Rox 01 certainly isn’t capable of one-pedal driving.

Given the size of the car, the 5.5-second acceleration time in Sport mode is perfectly acceptable. Furthermore, there are comfort and standard modes with at least a discernable difference in feel. Additionally, there is a launch control mode, but we didn’t test this due to the lack of suitable roads used on the test drive.

Equally, thanks to the typical straight roads in China, the handling wasn’t really put through its paces. The Rox 01 does, though, feature DCC continuous variable damping shock absorbers, which are meant to minimize road vibrations and deliver a smooth, comfortable driving experience. At the front, there is double wishbone independent suspension, and at the rear, there is multi-link independent suspension.

There are a number of off-road dedicated modes consisting of Snow, Rock, Mud, Sand and Wade. Maximum depth for wading is 700 mm and the 01’s approach angle is 22°, whereas the departure angle is 25°. Furthermore, the Rox 01 is meant to have a unique off-road cruise function. There are also features such as a transparent chassis function which should greatly aid off-road driving, however this is dependent on the upgrade to the smart driving package.  

Again it was impossible to test these and so we are not really any the wiser as to what level of off-road ability the Rox 01 actually delivers bar the slick video mentioned at the beginning. And this is really a pity because it is the one element which might make the car stand apart from the competition.

After quite a struggle, we finally managed to test the car’s self-driving functions on an elevated road. The trick was to flick the drive selector stalk forward twice. Once activated, the car did manage to undertake a lane change by itself and keep to lanes without intervention.

The Rox 01 comes equipped with adaptive cruise control and lane centering control (LCC). Sensors consist of five millimeter wave radars, six 2MP perception cameras, and twelve ultrasonic radar sensors. A 30,000 yuan (4,200 USD) upgrade package adds three lidar units, along with an upgrade to 8MP cameras and Orin X chips for enhanced smart-driving features, but our test car wasn’t fitted with this.

As an EREV the 1.5T B15F engine only acts as a generator. It has a maximum power of 115 kW. Actual power to the wheels comes in the form of dual electric motors. A 150 kW motor on the front axle delivers up to 340 Nm of torque whereas the rear axle features a more powerful 200 kW motor with 400 Nm of torque. The motors are both three-in-one high-efficiency permanent magnet synchronous systems. Top speed of the Rox 01 is 190 km/h.  

In China there is both a standard range version and a longer range version, however, for export markets only the longer range version is currently being offered. The long-range version uses a 58.4 kWh battery, which offers an all-electric range of 252 km using WLTC measurement (306 km CLTC) and a respectable comprehensive range of 1132 km WLTC (1362 km CLTC). A 20-80% fast charge takes 24 minutes. There are two power outlets, both capable of up to 2.2 kW discharge.

Standard-range versions use a smaller 44.5 kWh battery pack, which reduces WLTC all-electric range to 180 km (215 km CLTC) and comprehensive range to 1065 km (1275 km CLTC).

Sum up

The Rox 01 is in a highly competitive segment of the Chinese market, and ultimately, most buyers will likely have no interest in taking the car off-road. And that is the problem for Rox. When it comes to city slickers, they’re probably better off buying another car.

As a package, the 01 is fairly competent but lacking in various equipment that would be expected by city SUV buyers, and the drive is too much of a compromise. It is only really going to compete with those wanting something different.

The Rox 01 is already being exported to various markets including the Philippines and the Middle East. Here the car probably makes more sense in that buyers might be more likely to need the car’s off-road capability. I wish we had been able to comprehensively test these elements but certainly the 01 looks as if it might perform better in this area than most Chinese SUVs.

Prices in China start at 299,900 (42,000 USD) for the 7-seat standard-range version and go up to 359,900 yuan (50,400 USD) for the six-seat long-range version. It should be noted that the smart driving package is a 30,000 yuan (4,200 USD) option and can only be specified on long-range versions.

Verdict

Overall

In terms of sheer size, you get a lot of car for your money; however, it never really quite succeeds in any one department. Is it meant to be luxurious? Is it meant to be an off-road car? The answer from Rox is all of the above, but the reality is, it doesn’t quite have all the equipment we expect to meet the luxury quotient, and we couldn’t test how well it handled the rough. Plus, the fact that it is not a body-on-frame SUV leaves us with question marks over the claimed ability.