With a design that emulates the North American full-size pickup, the Asian brand ZX Auto already sells this large and very accessible model in the region.
The full size pick up It is the one with the greatest demand in the number one truck market: North America. There, although there are not many brands in terms of offering since there are only five models and versions that reign in the segment, a F-150 –to cite an example– it sells 50% more than most hatchbacks and sedans.
Although it is a market where Chinese vehicles are not accepted like the rest, the truth is that there are brands that little by little are joining the pickup niche despite the fact that they are not experts and, furthermore, in their Most of them are young terminals.
An example of these companies that are born from joint ventures is ZX Auto, an Asian vehicle manufacturer that burst into the Chilean market and then into the Peruvian market with several clearly utilitarian models. And at the end of last year, they announced the launch of an unprecedented full-size pick-up with a very rare design: Ford chassis, Borg Warner components and a renault. All this at a much lower value compared to its competition.
ZX Auto Grand Lion, the full-size pickup that costs half that of an F-150
The pickup that occupies this note is called Grand Lion and it is the first in the segment of Chinese origin to be marketed in South America. It arrives with a very interesting general proposal since its design does not escape too much from what we usually see in this type of pickups, especially in the front, where there is an undeniable kinship with the RAM 1500.
This full size has almost 5.7 meters long, just over 2 meters wide and 1.91 meters high, with a wheelbase of 3.51 meters. By way of comparison, it does not manage to exceed 5.9 meters of the Chevrolet Silverado or the 5.8 of a Ford F-150two products that are also offered in much of the region.
As usually happens in full-size pickups, the load capacity is not to be highlighted since they are at a level similar to that of a medium-sized one. In the case of the Grand Lion, they offer about 1,020 kilosbut the brand does not declare the towing capacity, perhaps the most notable aspect of this type of truck.
Beyond the exterior design that is reminiscent of the Stellantis product, the most important thing is not visible to the naked eye. Forks that the Grand Lion platform belongs to Ford while under the hood it uses the well-known engine 2.3 turbodiesel of Renault-Nissan origin which also carry the Frontier and Alaskan.
In this case it is the least powerful version that uses a single turbo and delivers 160 hp along with a torque of 380 Nm, while the transmission is provided by a six-speed manual gearbox associated with an all-wheel drive system with the classic three high and low modes.
At the equipment level, it is worth highlighting that it is offered for the Chilean and Peruvian markets in a single version, which among its equipment includes 18-inch wheels, disc brake on all four wheelstire pressure monitoring, 360° camera, multimedia system with 10” screen with android auto and carplay, WiFi connection, among others. It also has emergency braking assistanthill start assist and four airbags.
The second point to highlight and the one that makes the most noise is undoubtedly the final value that is offered. In Chile, for example, it is advertised at 23,990,000 pesos, equivalent to about $26,000while in Peru it reaches $33,000. Even so, in Argentina a Ford F-150 It comfortably exceeds $80,000 at the exchange rate.
Clearly, this Chinese pickup is not up to par in terms of equipment, motorization and technology, but a large truck with that price is still interesting.
