Chinese Dongfeng has presented a new model: the Yixuan RV, a car that will sell it under the brand name Aeolus. What makes the car interesting? Its technical basis. We know them from various models of Groupe PSA.
The DS 3 Crossback was the first newcomer to Groupe PSA to use the CMP platform, a basis for relatively compact models that is now also used among the Peugeot 208, 2008, Opel Corsa and its electric brothers. This modular platform was presented in 2018 and was the result of a joint development with the Chinese Dongfeng. Logically, the French-Chinese co-production is not only used by Groupe PSA. Chinese Dongfeng now presents its second model that uses the now well-known base.
The large Chinese holding company Dongfeng has numerous sister brands and joint ventures. Dongfeng Fengshen is one of those sub-brands, a department for which Dongfeng uses brand name ‘Aeolus’ in its international communication. Named after the figure from Greek mythology, Aeolus presented the Yixuan last year, a 4.66-meter-long sedan that was Dongfeng’s first product to use the CMP base co-developed with Groupe PSA (photos 6 and 7). The Yixuan is therefore no less than 36 centimeters longer than the Peugeot 2008, at the time of writing the largest European CMP entry. The wheelbase of the Yixuan with 2.68 meters is almost the same as that of the Frenchman (2.65 meters). The Yixuang is available with a 125 hp 1.0 three-cylinder turbo engine and a 1.5 four-burner with 150 hp. These are remarkably enough their own engines. There is also an electric version of the sedan, the Yixuan EV. That version has a 47.7 kWh battery pack on board, a set of batteries that provide power to a 163 hp electric motor. This powertrain is also not entirely identical to that of, for example, the Peugeot e-2008. Aeolus doesn’t stick to one model with PSA genes. It now adds the Yixuan RV to its model family.
The letters RV stand for ‘Recreational Vehicle’ and by that Aeolus does not mean a camper. The RV is a brand new crossover with CMP technology under its carriage. The Yixuan RV is strikingly 5 centimeters shorter than its sedan brother, but with its width and height of 1.83 and 1.60 meters it is 1.8 centimeters wider and 1.1 centimeters higher than those four-door. The wheelbase is identical at 2.68 meters. The drivelines that Aeolus spoon in the Yixuan RV also match those of the four-door Yixuan. The electric variant has not yet been presented, but the Chinese consumer can certainly count on the arrival of a Yixuan RV ‘EV’. Images of the interior are still under the hood of Aeolus, but it is plausible that the workplace of the SUV-like corresponds to that of the Yixuan in sedan form (photo 8).
