Want-but-cannot-have refreshed Exeed VX priced in China

One of the attention grabbers of parent company Chery’s New Journey, New Life International User Summit held in Wuhu last month, upscale division Exeed has officially confirmed pricing of its updated VX soon be sold in other key left-hand-drive markets outside of China.

Billed as Chery’s direct rival for the BMW X5, Mercedes-Benz GLE, Volkswagen Touareg and to some extent, the Toyota Land Cruiser, the VX, known fully as the Exeed VX Lanyue in its home market, rides on a unibody rather than a body-on-frame platform in addition to offering a permanent all-wheel-drive system made by BorgWarner.

Its architecture known as M3X, the VX measures 4 970 mm long, 1 940 mm wide and 1 792 mm tall while riding on a 2 900 mm long wheelbase.

Available as standard with seven-seats, or with six as shown in Wuhu with the middle row being occupied by a pair of captain’s style chairs, the VX’s update comes a mere two years after its initial reveal as the flagship Exeed model above the LX, TX, TXL and RX that will become available in South Africa next year as the rebadged Omoda C9.

The recipient of a more prominent chrome grille with horizontal slats, the VX’s updates also encompasses a new front bumper, blacked-out LED headlight clusters, chrome L-shaped surrounds for the LED fog lamp clusters and dropping of the chrome strip on the bonnet that previously housed the Exeed logo.

While no changes have taken place at the rear, inside, the previous dual 12.3-inch displays both depart in favour of a Mercedes-EQ-style Hyperscreen display made-up of three LCD displays under a single piece of glass of unknown size.

In addition, the VX also receives a new steering wheel and a streamlined centre console housing an expansive storage area, and without the previous physical switchgear or gear lever – the former’s functions now integrated into the infotainment system while the latter moves to the steering column.

Resplendent with amongst others, heated and ventilated front seats with a massaging function, an electrically folding third row, Active Noise Cancellation technology, dual 50-watts wireless smartphone chargers and a heated second row, additional items include remote engine start, facial recognition and an ottoman-style reclining passenger seat that will also be available on the South African-spec Omoda C9.

Up front, the previous entry-level 1.6-litre turbocharged engine used in the Chery Tiggo 8 Pro and the new Chery Tiggo 7 Pro Max has been dropped completely, along with the 187kW/390Nm 2.0-litre turbo that powers the facelift Tiggo 8 Pro Max.

While the latter engine is, however, retained, outputs now match those of the Exeed RX/Omoda C9, namely 192kW/400Nm.

Also gone is the seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox replaced by an Aisin-sourced torque converter automatic that will be offered from the onset on the C9.

Available in three trim levels, pricing for the VX kicks-off 228 900 yuan (R582 433) and tops-out at 238 900 yuan (R607 878) for the top-spec all-wheel-drive buyers can specify with seven or six seats without any price difference.

Although enquired on a number of occasions as to whether the VX will becoming to South Africa possibly as an Omoda, the automaker’s local division confirmed that no plans are currently in place as a result of production being limited to left-hand-drive.

Additional information from carnewschina.com and xcar.com.cn.

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