SUV Wey 03 – an option for price-conscious buyers?

New hybrid car from China
SUV Wey 03 – an option for price-conscious buyers?

The Chinese car manufacturer Great Wall Motors is sending the Wey 03 model onto the road. The off-road vehicle focuses on a more traditional shape, has lavish features and an elegant appearance. The Wey 03 is not a bargain, but it is an inexpensive alternative to various premium models.

The car world is becoming a little more colorful again. The next newcomer from China is competing in Germany. After Great Wall Motors had already sent the Ora Funky Cat as a vanguard, a second product line, Wey, is coming after the turn of the year – and serves the more conservative customer base. For now, Wey only offers comparatively classic SUVs. And: Instead of relying exclusively on batteries, the Chinese are also installing a gasoline tank and selling the two off-road vehicles as a careful bridge between the combustion engine and the electric world.

It starts at prices in the second half of the 40,000s with the Wey 03, which at 4.67 meters is in the same league as cars like the Audi Q3 and Mercedes GLC. If you need more space, you can also get the Wey 05, which is around 20 centimeters longer, from 59,900 euros and can be parked next to models such as the Audi Q7, BMW X5 Mercedes or Mercedes GLE.

Take the Wey 03 to the center of the market

The greatest hopes rest on the Wey 03 because it is more affordable and has a more common format. So he aims at the middle of the market. This also applies to the form, which is designed to be as pleasing as possible. Because while most other newcomers send us into the future with slick spaceship designs, Wey stays here and now. And where other more or less spectacular LED installations shine, the shine here comes from the lavish chrome decoration on the radiator.

The cars also follow a more classic course inside: Sure, the instruments are digital, there is an animated head-up display available on request and two screens in the center console for infotainment and climate. But instead of the clean emptiness of many electric cars, Wey creates a noble operating environment – with lots of soft leather and decorative trim and, above all, plenty of conventional switches.

There are also comfortable seats with ventilation and a massage function as well as lots of practical storage and charging options for cell phones etc. And with a wheelbase of 2.75 meters, you can sit quite comfortably in the rear and have enough space for your knees and head.

An oddball under the hood

While the Wey 03 looks like one of many in terms of appearance and features, its drive makes it an oddity. Since the funding was abolished, plug-in hybrids have become a little out of fashion here. But Great Wall sees this as the best bridging technology on the way to the electric age and is therefore not a mess, but a block.

At 34 kWh, the buffer storage in the Wey 03 is larger than other part-time electric vehicles, enabling ranges of up to 139 kilometers – purely electrically. In addition, the Chinese not only charges on the wallbox, but can also charge with up to 50 kW on the DC column. This means that it almost becomes an electric car in everyday life and only needs the petrol engine for exceptional journeys.

The Wey 03 goes long and fast

The drive already has impressive key data in the basic model. In addition to the 2.0 liter turbo petrol engine with 150 kW/204 hp there is also an electric motor with 120 kW/163 hp on the front axle. If you order the Wey 03 with all-wheel drive for an estimated 5,000 euros more, you will also get a second electric motor with 135 kW/184 hp in the rear and then have a system output of 325 kW/442 hp. The maximum torque then accumulates at 685 Nm and enables sprint values ​​that are on par with sports cars at 5.3 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h.

The top speed of 230 km/h is also always competitive and the consumption is – mathematically – almost unbeatable: the data sheet shows only 0.5 liters and 11.9 g/km of CO2 emissions.

In practice, the fine-tuning is missing

As impressive as the drive may be in theory and as convenient as the 9-speed automatic transmission, the Wey03 lacks a bit of fine-tuning in practice. The steering is not precise enough for so much power and competition with BMW & Co. And a little more composure wouldn’t hurt the chassis at high speeds. It seems a little too nervous, follows ruts and is too disturbed by bumps.

However, the assistance systems are worse: the Wey 03 has many of them and most of them are in series production. But out of pride or overzealousness, the Chinese have set their assistants so strictly that a tour dings, flashes and beeps and the assistants are forced to take a break as quickly as possible. Less would be more.

Data sheet Wey 03

Conclusion: Attractive alternative for price hunters and procrastinators

No, the Wey 03 is of course not a Chinese bargain. If you are looking for a large SUV at a low price, you will find it better with other brands from Asia.

But given the lavish features and elegant appearance, the off-road vehicle is an inexpensive alternative to the premium models from the south of Germany and, with its unrivaled large buffer battery, is exactly the right step into the electric age for procrastinators.