Dong Feng Box

The Chinese automaker, Dongfeng Motor with its first consumer Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) officially launched in Malaysia, the all-new Dongfeng Box.

A compact hatchback, it is based on the Dongfeng Nammi 01 (China market), and underpinned is the Dongfeng Quantum Architecture S3 platform (first model).

Fully-imported (CBU - China), available via Central Auto Distributors Berhad (CADB - local distributor) are two variants (Box E2 - MYR 100,700, Box E3 - MYR 113,700).

Prices (OTR, w/o insurance) cover a vehicle main parts warranty (five years/150,000 KM) and a high-voltage battery warranty (eight years/150,000 KM).

Four single-tone (Purple, Green, White, Blue - E2) and three dual-tone (‘Floating Cloud’ White roof - Purple-White, Green-White, Blue-White - E3 - MYR 2,000) exterior colours.

Three dual-tone interior colours (E2, E3 - Grey-Black, White-Black, Purple-White).

The all-new Box brandishes a modern and tiered dashboard, linked to a floating-island-style centre console (armrest, wireless charger).

Soft-/hard-touched (hard-panel, quilted-leatherette - dash, centre console, steering wheel, doors), it sees three dual-tone (Grey-Black, White-Black, Purple-White) designs.

Accentuations are trimmings (Metal - dash, centre console, steering wheel, doors), and an ambient light system (32-colour - Polychrome, adjustable).

Filling-up the space are the floating central/driver displays (infotainment/instrument cluster), and slim-full-width air-conditioning vents.

Inclusively, the build is well-designed with accessibilities ergonomically-arranged (user-friendly - driver-/passenger-oriented). 

Installed is a 5.0-Inch fully-digital LCD floating driver display (instrument cluster).

Lively, the interior (seats, dash, centre console, steering wheel, doors) sees leatherette upholstery in three dual-tone (Grey-Black, White-Black, Purple-White) colour schemes.

The front features electric-powered (driver - multi-way, height, heating/ventilation, memory, Welcome/Rest modes) and manual-operated (passenger - multi-way, height, Rest mode) seats (Rest mode - one-touch-flat function - full-recline). 

The rear features a manual-operated (backrest adjust, 100:100 full-flat-fold) bench seat. Included is an armrest (front - centre console, rear - omitted).

For a compact hatchback (five-seater), the cabin offers adequate space, providing comfortable seating with sufficient interior mobility for the occupants (front, rear).

Generous head-, shoulder-, and leg-room (ultra-long wheelbase). Included amenity is a Rest mode (front seats - one-touch-flat function - full-recline).

Mounted is a two-spoke-fully-rounded steering wheel, wrapped in leatherette. Dual-tone (Grey-Black, White-Black, Purple-White) colour scheme with contrast trims (Metal).

Features are multi-switches (Bluetooth, media, vehicle settings, Adaptive Cruise Control - ACC), and column adjustments (tilt, telescopic). 

Drive is aided by an Electric Power Assist Steering (EPAS) system.

Practical storage areas. E.g., centre console partitioned/caverned/under spaces, dash storage (passenger side - island pull-out), glove box, seat back/side door pockets, and front trunk (frunk).

Provided are two cup holders (front - two) and four bottle holders (one - side doors).

Equipped are one 12 V power socket (front), one USB port (front), and one wireless charger (front).

Included is a Vehicle-To-Load (V2L) function (3.3 KW), for powering of external appliances.

Accessing its electric-tailgate (operation - remote/key fob), opens up to 326-Litres (rear seats up) and 945-Litres (rear seats down) of load capacities. Included is a front trunk (frunk). 

Weighing in at 1,342 KG (Box E2, Box E3), the all-new Box stands at 4,030 MM long, 1,818 MM wide, 1,570 MM tall, and with a wheelbase spanning 2,660 MM.

Electrifyingly-sleek and -sporty, it exudes a seamlessly-flowing exterior, with roundly-cut and cleanly-sculpted surfaces.

The front-end sees a moulded bonnet (Dongfeng emblem - Chrome), rounded quarter panels, and a smoothly-shaped bumper (lower full-width grille - Black).

Accentuations are body trims (grille inserts, lower doors, window surrounds - Black-White), side mirrors (body-colour-Black - Box E2, White-Black - Box E3), frameless doors (electric - flush door handles), and a contrast roof (‘Floating Cloud’ White roof - Box E3).

Electrifyingly-bulbous and -curvaceous, it continues the seamlessly-flowing silhouette, with horizontally-rounded and smoothly-shaped contours.

The rear-end sees a straight roofline, a roof-edge spoiler, rakish C-pillars, rounded quarter panels, a wavy tailgate (Dongfeng emblem - Chrome), and a cladded bumper.

Accentuations are body trims (C-pillars, window surrounds, lower doors - Black-White), body clad (bumper - Black), dual-tone tailgate (top half - Black), frameless doors (electric - flush door handles), and a contrast roof (‘Floating Cloud’ White roof - Box E3).

Contemporary, the triangular head lamps are framed sharply-rounded, linked by a full-width light strip. Installed are full led units with perimeter light graphics.

Features are LED Daytime Running Lights (DRL), automatic On/Off/height, adaptive high-/low-beam (Box E3), Follow-Me-Home lights, and turn signals.

Three-dimensional (3D), the rectangular tail lamps are housed circularly-angular. Installed are full LED units with perimeter light graphics.

Features are automatic On/Off, Follow-Me-Home lights, and turn signals. Included is a set of fog lamps (LED).

The dual-tone (body-colour-Black - Box E2, White-Black - Box E3) side mirrors are electric-powered (auto-fold, adjust) with blind spot-indicators (Blind Spot Monitor - BSM), heating, and turn signals.

Fitted are ventilated (front) and solid (rear) disc brakes. Drive is aided by an Electronic Parking Brake (EPB) with Auto Brake Hold.

Mounted is a set of 17-Inch aluminium-alloy rims (Box E2, Box E3) with variant-specific designs (single-tone five-spoke - Box E2, dual-tone five-spoke - Box E3), wrapped in 215/55 R17 (front, rear) Wanli Harmonic Plus tyres.

The all-new Box features the following sets of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).

Variant-specific (Box E3), grouped are Autonomous Emergency Brake (AEB - Active Braking System), Front Collision Warning (FCW), Lane Departure Warning (LDW), Lane Keep Assist (LKA), Road Traffic Sign Recognition (RTSR), Intelligent Speed Control (ISA), Intelligent Lane Switching (ICA), Traffic Jam Assist (TJA), and Highway Driving Assist (HWA).

Standard systems (Box E2, Box E3), grouped are Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Automatic Parking, Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brake-Force Distribution (EBD), Cornering Brake Control (CBC), Brake Assist System (BAS), Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Traction Control System (TCS), Hill-Start Assist (HAC), Blind Spot Monitor (BSM), and Panoramic View Camera (PVM - 360-degree, transparent-underbody view).

Passive safety comprises two airbags (front - driver, passenger), seat belts (reminders, pretensioners, anchors), ISOFIX (top tether, two-outer-rear seats), Electric Parking Brake (EPB) with Auto Brake Hold, parking cameras (reverse, 360-degree), blind-spot indicators (BSM), parking sensors (three - rear - Box E2, six - front/rear - Box E3), Indirect Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (Box E2), Direct Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (Box E3), and anti-theft system (security alarm).

Selectable are three drive modes (NORMAL, ECO, SPORT).

Installed is a 12.8-Inch centre-floating touchscreen display (infotainment), supporting Bluetooth, navigation, and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto (Dongfeng Dongle enabled).

Included is an interactable avatar (homepage - cat).

Entertainment is channelled via variant-specific setups (four speakers - Box E2, six speakers - Box E3).

The all-new Box harbours a fully-electrified powertrain (Mach E 10-in-1). 

Embedded is a front-mounted electric motor (Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor – PMSM), generating 70 KW (94 HP) and 160 NM.

Mated to the setups is a single-speed automatic transmission.

Power is transmitted to the front wheels, via a Front-Wheel Drive (FWD) system.

Acceleration from 0 to 50 KM/H is done between 4.6 and 4.8 seconds. Top speed is 140 KM/H (Box E2, Box E3).

Juicing-up the e-motor is a Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery (400 V) with variant-specific outputs (31.5 KWH - Box E2, 42.3 KWH - Box E3). Total driving range (CLTC) is 330 KM (Box E2) and 430 KM (Box E3).

Charging via AC (Type 2) is at variant-specific power capacities (3.3 KW - Box E2, 6.6 KW - Box E3).

Charging via DC (CCS2) is capped at a standard power capacity (87 KW - Box E2, Box E3), with a 30% - 80% State-of-Charge (SoC) taking 30 minutes.

Included is a Vehicle-To-Load (V2L) function (3.3 KW), for powering of external appliances.

The all-new Box features these conveniences.

E.g., keyless entry system (perimeter unlock/lock, remote/key fob, electric flush door handles, engine Start/Stop button), electric-tailgate (operation - remote/key fob), electric-powered seat (driver - multi-way, height, heating/ventilation, memory, Welcome/Rest modes), single-zone manual/automatic air-conditioning (pollen filtration system - Box E2/Box E3), steering wheel (multi-switches, column adjustments, ACC, EPAS), Electric Parking Brake (EPB) with Auto Brake Hold, parking cameras (reverse, 360-degree), electric-powered side mirrors (auto-fold, adjust, BSM, heating), parking sensors (three - rear - Box E2, six - front/rear - Box E3), Indirect Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (Box E2), Direct Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (Box E3), LED interior lighting (ambient, reading, boot), automatic head lamps (On/Off/height), adaptive head lamps (high-/low-beam - Box E3), automatic windows (one-click-close, anti-pinch), Vehicle-To-Load (V2L), and wireless charger.

Ride comfortability feels flexible and firm at the same time. The e-hatchback delivers a comfortable and light steering feel, smooth overall electric performance at all speeds.

Propping-up the chassis is a suspension setup of independent Macpherson struts (front) and torsion beams (rear).

Good sound insulation, with most of the NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) aspects accounted for. The ride is quiet, refined, and the road noise is mostly muted.

The all-new Dongfeng Box exudes a sleek and energy-filled outlook. A curvaceously-modern design language, featuring smooth and seamless body contours.

Interior-wise, its innovative layout paired with many elements of advanced sophistication, give a sense of airiness and easy connectivity to the occupants. 

Ultimately, inside and out the build quality is satisfactory, and with its distinctive outlook and competitive pricings, the all-new Box is truly a contender in its segment.