Voyah Free+ goes on sale in China

Dongfeng Group brand Voyah has reported receiving 11,583 confirmed preorders for its Free+ hybrid crossover within 15 minutes from launch.

The facelifted Voyah Free currently starts from 219,900 Yuan, although it had cost 10,000 Yuan more during the preorder period. To compensate, the company says it will be giving all early buyers assorted bonuses to the tune of 46,000 Yuan. These should arrive in late summer.

Unlike the old Voyah Free, which was largely petrol-electric but also had a less popular fully electric version, the new Free+ is available exclusively with a hybrid powertrain. It comprises a single e-motor with 292 PS (288 hp / 215 kW) and a 1.5-liter petrol engine used solely to generate power for a 43.2-kWh battery pack on board. The SUV has up to 318 km (197 miles) of CLTC-rated electric range, but a full tank gets it up to 1,458 km (906 miles). Charging from 20 to 80 percent takes only 20 minutes via a powerful enough charger.

In the base spec, the Free+ comes equipped with the Qiankun ADS 4 self-driving system designed by Huawei. The infotainment system runs on the HarmonySpace 5 operating system from the same IT company. The car actively uses a roof-mounted LiDAR and nearly 30 other radars, cameras and sensors to scan its surroundings. Heads-up display, panoramic sunroof, 22-speaker audio system, three-zone HVAC and a fridge are all available depending on the trim level. The fridge is seven liters large and supports temperatures from –6 to +50 ºC (21 to 122 ºF).

There is also an all-wheel-drive variant of the Voyah Free+ on the list, which has an additional 184-PS (181-hp / 136-kW) motor at the front axle and costs from 249,900 Yuan. It cannot do more than 259 km (161 miles) per charge due to the added weight, but can accelerate to 200 km/h (124 mph), while its RWD cousin can do 180 km/h (112 mph) at most. With the range-extender engine running and the tank full, the AWD version gets 1,357 km (843 miles).

Ticking all option boxes in the AWD spec will have you looking at 279,900 Yuan, which roughly corresponds to 38,965 USD.