The Chinese copy is resisting and has a new icon: the Land Rover Defender. The emergence of the adventurer-looking SUV segment has already offered us several models inspired by English off-roading in recent months. Here is an electric version.
In 2021, the founder of the producer of Roborock vacuum cleaners embarked on the automobile with Rox Motors. After financial difficulties, the project has materialized in recent months with the help of BAIC, which will also produce this SUV in its Qingdao factory.
A new brand is therefore arriving on the market: Jishi (极石). A name which translates into English as “Pole Stone” which we will therefore naturally relate to Polestar… Let’s face it, the Jishi / Polestone 01 is a copy of the Land Rover Defender. But don’t copy signed Pininfarina please!
If we want to compare to the Defender, the Polestone 01 is between the 110 and 130 versions with its 5.05 m long (1.98 m wide and 1.87 m high). But with a much longer wheelbase of 3.01 m. Generous dimensions that allow it to offer three rows of seats as standard, in a 6 or 7-seater configuration, including a top-of-the-range version equipped with high-comfort seats in the second row. The occupants will be able to take advantage of a 15″ 6-inch screen in the roof to watch their movies in streaming via the 5G connection, or even take advantage of the online gaming functions.
On-board kitchen
At the front, no screen for the passenger, but a 15.7-inch central screen supplemented by a 12.3-inch instrument cluster, a 9-inch screen that replaces the central mirror and a head-up display on the windshield for a complete arsenal. On the console, there are typically two clearly visible phone slots, and to make it more “4×4” the transmission lever has not migrated to the steering wheel. To finish on the electronics chapter, we embark on a semi-autonomous level L2+ driving carried out in partnership with Pony.AI and equipped in particular with 3 lidars provided by Hesai, all driven by two NVidia Orin-X processors.
For customers who regret the disappearance of the on-board kitchen offer at Rivian, Polestone has the solution. The rear door houses a mini-kitchen: shelf for preparing, storage for dishes, water reserve and induction hob… Given this equipment, it goes without saying that the V2L function is present with a maximum power of 2.2kW.
Range extender
The range extender is in vogue in China, and the Polestone 01 is becoming a new fan. The big hood therefore does not hide a big frunk, but a 4-cylinder 1.5 Turbo charged with powering the 56 kWh battery. The latter can also be charged with alternating or direct current, up to 100 kW. The combustion engine therefore does not drive the vehicle, which has two electric motors, for a total of 350 kW / 467 hp / 740 Nm. CLTC) on the battery alone without running the gasoline engine.
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