What Is It?
Originally called the Chery QQ Ice Cream, the Jetour Ice Cream is an electric city car that’s built to compete against other equally pint-sized EVs in China. It’s a hugely popular market over there, so it’s inevitable that some of China’s biggest automakers are fighting for the top spot in that segment.
It’s cute, cuddly, and incredibly boxy, but the most important thing about it is its price. In its home market, it retails for just under $5,000 fully-equipped, although its price abroad, with taxes and duties, easily more than doubles that. Still, it’s incredibly affordable (a smidge under $12,000 as tested, converted from Philippine pesos) and, on paper, has all the makings of a great city runabout.
Jetour
The Specs
When we say it’s tiny, we absolutely mean it. It’s just 117.3 inches long, 58.9 inches wide, 64.4 inches tall, and has a wheelbase of 77.2 inches. To put that into perspective, its entire length fits in between the wheelbase of a Ford Explorer with wiggle room to spare, and it’ll easily fit in the bed of a full-size pickup. Should you decide to load said mini-EV onto a pickup, the latter won’t be struggling much either. The Ice Cream is an absolute strawweight at just 1,715 lbs fully-loaded.
Features? Manage your expectations. The interior can be best described as minimalist, and there’s no touchscreen in there. Instead, your infotainment comes in the form of your own phone. There’s a slot right for it, and you can channel your playlists via Bluetooth or wired connection. There are audio controls for the steering wheel, so it has that going for it. On the safety front, it comes with anti-lock brakes and a driver’s side airbag. A reverse camera is also included, and the feed is displayed on the digital cluster. Rear parking sensors are thrown in as standard, just in case you still need extra help parking this bite-sized EV.
It’s a city EV, so it doesn’t pack much power or battery capacity. The single electric motor sends motivation to the rear wheels, mustering 27 hp and 62 lb-ft of torque. The version we tested was the long-range model with its 13.9 kWh battery.
Jetour
What’s It Like?
Jetour says it’s a four-seater, but it’s really optimal for only two. That said, children fit in the back, but it leaves little space for luggage. For short trips, the back seats are tolerable at best, provided the people in front are no taller than Muggsey Bouges. On the flipside, headroom is good enough for those creeping towards the six-footer mark. As for the rest of the interior, its simplicity is its greatest asset, with idiot-proof controls and switchgear. It’s strangely refreshing in a world bombarded by screens.
Handling is obviously not its forte. Then again, its target demographic probably won’t ever push it to its (low) limits. What’s important for them is that it doesn’t go belly-up at the slightest suggestion of a corner. With 12-inch rims on each corner, it was never going to be a corner carver. Still, around city streets and quiet country stretches, it’s…fine. Light controls and steering are the main attraction here. In terms of ride, it’s softly sprung and gets predictably choppy on corrugated surfaces or when the speed (eventually) picks up due to the diminutive dimensions.
With just 27 horses on board, it makes a Mercedes-Benz 240D feel like a 300E (newer car, yes, but you get the point). Again, 0 to 60 mph times aren’t the point of this car, which incidentally is the top speed of the Ice Cream. It gets off the line decently (if a little unrushed), and that’s what matters for its target demographic. We can tell you that the Ice Cream is happiest on short trips around cities and towns, and it achieves that with relative ease. Besides, range is more important here, and we have to report that it’s not great.
You probably figured that out with its tiny battery pack, and its claimed NEDC range is estimated at 105 miles. We do have to note that it was Not Even Damn Close in our testing. We managed about 60 miles at 80 percent charge before it hit critical levels. If we do the math, you’ll be happy to reach about 75 miles before the Ice Cream screams for a charge. It’s worth pointing out that the car was also driven in hilly areas, and battery efficiency plummeted as a result. Yes, it’s an inner-city car, but it does have to make a trip outside of it from time to time. By the way, the air-con compressor shuts off once the battery is low — in this case, 10 percent. Ask us how we knew… the hard way, during the summer.
Jetour
Verdict
From an enthusiast standpoint, the Ice Cream isn’t great, but frankly, so are old kei trucks that now have a growing fanbase stateside. The thing is, those little trucks have an odd charm to them, so can this mini-EV win people with its character?
Well, these mini-EVs already have a cult following in China, and it ticks all the right boxes for city dwellers who are generally uninterested in cars (aka, the majority of car buyers) and just need the most literal form of personal mobility with air-conditioning. But if we’re being honest here, its formula probably won’t work for America. It’s too small, will cry on short freeway jaunts, has an extremely limited range, and can’t be charged with direct current.
Where it has a place outside of Asia is in Europe. In fact, it’s already being sold in Italy as a quadricycle rebadged as the Birba. The Old Continent has several cities with ultra-low-emission zones that favor these kinds of vehicles. Parking and space are at a premium, and maneuverability is key, making something like the Ice Cream a viable option. All in all, it’s the type of car that fulfills its most basic use case — nothing more, nothing less.
Jetour
Jetour
