WEY’s premium people-mover takes aim at luxury MPV buyers with its Butterfly cushioned Nappa leather interior, its own fridge, and clocks 100km/h in 5.7 seconds… on a full load!

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Photos: Clifford Chow

GUANGZHOU, CHINA

China’s eighth-largest automaker, Great Wall Motor has definitely made its presence known at the 21st edition of the Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition. Among its five brands on display, which include Ora, TANK and HAVAL, WEY is the only one offering an MPV.

The WEY marque was introduced in 2016, and even spawned the WEY TANK 300. Since then, TANK has become its own marque, so the 300 is parked under the new brand. WEY’s currency range includes three “Coffee” series SUVs - the Latte, Mocha and Macchiato. The new “Mountain” series of cars include the Lanshan (Blue Mountain) SUV and GaoShan (Alpine/High Mountain) people mover.

Our brief preview of the Chinese luxury MPV at Auto Guangzhou, shows a people mover with plenty of promise. Even if it does have the same form factor as other large MPVs, you can’t miss it though. That distinctive-massive chromed “rotated washboard” grille, makes the Gaoshan stand out, but I guess that this might not be to everyone’s taste. 

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At 5405mm, the WEY Gaoshan is 470mm longer than the Toyota Vellfire. Combining that size “advantage” with some well-sorted packaging, occupants benefit from an impressive 3,823mm interior length.

From first impressions within the cockpit, the Gaoshan seems to have good all-around visibility, while checking your six is also easy work; since the rear view mirror has an integrated camera. To keep the cabin silent, the Gaoshan is fitted with double-glazed glass.

It accommodates seven in a 2-2-3 format, doing this with luxurious Nappa leather-coated butterfly cushions all around. Like most upmarket MPVs we know, the middle row’s two ventilated and heated captain's seats are electrically adjustable, and are equipped with a massage function. Rear leg room, which is usually a compromise for many MPVs, is generous here. Where added storage is needed, the rear seat bases can fold upward, allowing the entire rear row to stow forward, revealing up to 1,725-litres of luggage space.

There is also quite a good deal of sensibility built into the cabin. From a good scatter of USB A and C ports around, three rows of purified ventilation, to a premium 16-speaker Harman / Kardon audio system… but what truly takes the cake, is the 12.5-litre refrigerator, housed in the storage box between the front seats. Its temperature is preset in three stages, with a range from zero to fifty degrees celsius. The fridge is split into an upper and lower section, where the first can be accessed from the top, where it can hold six 380ml bottles of water. The lower section can be accessed as a drawer by middle-row passengers, and can contain eight 330ml drink cans. The Gaoshan’s dashboard is equipped with a 27-inch integrated instrument and infotainment display. The latter features the brand’s “Xiao Wei” voice-activated concierge, which is able to identify individual users, based on six sound pick-up zones around the MPV.

Drive comes from a 1.5-litre turbocharged engine, paired with a Plug-in P4 power system, which delivers a system power of 480hp, and 762Nm of torque. WEY says that the Gaoshan is able to clock 100kmh in 5.7 seconds fully loaded. In full electric mode, the 37.96kWh battery provides the MPV with a range of 140km.

WEY’s luxury MPV starts from RMB179,800, with the top-of-the-line model retailing at RMB335,800. By our estimates, the latter would be priced near the half-a-million mark, if it comes to Singapore.

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