A vacuum cleaner has arrived: why does a new Chinese hybrid need a kitchen

Despite the fact that the Rox 01 was released by a Chinese manufacturer of robot vacuum cleaners, this brutal SUV looks better than some models of famous car brands. And how he was going, Izvestia was sorting it out.

Rox 01: What kind of car is this

Brutal SUVs are a new trend in the Chinese automotive industry. The Rox 01, with its angular body and unpainted plastic body kit, is just like that. It looks like an SUV, created jointly by Roborock, a manufacturer of robot vacuum cleaners, Xiaomi, an IT company, and BAW (Beijing Automobile Works), an automaker known for its BJ212 "Chinese UAZ trucks." All this immediately leads associations in the wrong direction — a frame robot vacuum cleaner with support for Android devices, which does not seem to have outstanding driving characteristics.

But the appearance of the Rox 01 is deceptive. In fact, this car is a cross between a full—size crossover and a minivan with three rows of seats.

The body is load-bearing, with extensive use of aluminum and high-strength steels. The car is assembled with high quality, the interior looks and feels expensive, the leather on the seats is the most natural, and there are soft pads on the headrests. Technically, it's the same Lixiang, a sequential hybrid. That is, two electric motors with a total output of 476 hp and 740 Nm are responsible for the dynamics. The range of more than 1300 km is provided by a 1.5-liter turbo engine, which charges a fairly large battery capacity of 56 kWh.

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Rox 01: Kitchen and lounge

The thermopot built into the luggage door of the car is convenient, you can brew noodles and tea. This seems to be the most notable example of the increasing influence of Chinese culture on the automotive industry. It turns out to be a kind of cultural exchange — the Rox 01 is very reminiscent of the Land Rover Defender, and the exterior was ordered from Pininfarina atelier. And the dimensions of the "Chinese" are about the same.

The interior is like in most modern cars from China. Of the physical buttons, only the "emergency" is responsible for everything else on the large central display. The menu is Russified, and it's not difficult to figure it out. It is strange that when there is a selector for selecting driving modes, the left steering lever is overloaded — there are both lights and windscreen wipers. The right lever is responsible for adaptive cruise control, which, alas, does not work without roughness. You would expect a more impressive demonstration of autonomous movement from the manufacturer of robot vacuum cleaners. It is quite possible that this happened due to the fact that some of the functions in Russia were limited. Android Auto could not be enabled, although it is listed in the price list.

Two passenger rows are available in different versions. In the Family version, there are simpler chairs in the second row, with an aisle between them for a three-person gallery. In the Business Lounge version, there are two "thrones" on the second row with fixed armrests and ottomans that need to be moved forward to get to the third row, which is double here.

It is in the business version that the off-road component noticeably conflicts with the idea of a lounge — the passenger first has to climb up to a high threshold (there are no footrests here), then carry the body past the armrest, and then slam the massive door with thick seals, but without a door closer.

You can literally live in Rox 01: there is a kitchen, armchairs are laid out in a kind of bed, and there is a TV on the ceiling. It stands like a studio in Moscow and, quite possibly, it will turn out to be even more spacious. In addition, the studio does not know how to go on vacation at sea.

Rox 01: how it rides, characteristics

It is unknown who taught this "nomad's dream", but it was definitely a professional. Despite the three-meter wheelbase and a weight of under 3 tons, the Roks is perceived as a nimble passenger car. No problems in urban traffic. The suspension with electronically controlled shock absorbers is comfortable and can be clamped in sport mode, reducing rolls. It also has an automatic mode that "reads" bumps, but does not always cope with repeated bumps, making the shock absorbers either too soft or too rigid.

The acceleration dynamics are impressive, especially with a charged battery when starting with two pedals. The claimed acceleration is 5.5 seconds to "hundreds". At the same time, the Rox 01 is calmly quiet in all modes, the internal combustion engine is barely audible, but it charges the battery efficiently.

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For 40 km of electric travel in normal urban mode, 20% of the battery charge was consumed, but in the next 40 km, almost the same amount returned in hybrid mode. The average consumption was 7-9 liters of gasoline per "hundred", which is extremely small for a large and heavy car. In general, gasoline-electric kilometers were spent a third more than real ones. So there are questions about the stated power reserve of 1300 km.

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The same applies to the off-road qualities of the car, which are given almost the first place in advertising. The Rox 01 climbs well thanks to its advanced modes, especially the one called "Earth," but you shouldn't go too far on it. Its geometry is not the most outstanding, and the wheelbase is large. It has no air suspension, which means that the ground clearance cannot be increased. In addition, it is a very heavy car and it will not be easy to pull it out with a tractor.

Interestingly, we first wanted to compare the novelty with another well-known Chinese premium SUV, with a frame and a V6 gasoline engine. However, the manufacturer's press service refused. Were they really afraid that their car would lose?

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Rox 01: price and official warranty

At first, Rox 01 was supplied to Russia according to unofficial schemes. At the beginning of this year, the car began to be sold officially, with service and a five-year warranty, and this is the same distributor that sells Oting SUVs without much success. After legalization, Rox 01 has significantly increased in price, exceeding 9 million rubles. In China, this car was also considered too expensive, so sales were more than modest.

In addition to the price, the unknown of the young Rox Motor brand, whose only car has been on sale since mid-2023, is also a problem.