The all-new Chevrolet Orlando has transformed into an SUV in China

KUALA LUMPUR: Remember the Chevrolet Orlando? Well, let’s jog down memory lane, shall we? The Orlando was an MPV which was introduced in the Malaysian market in 2012 and was on sale. After GM packed up from Australia and the Indian subcontinent, they started axing vehicles which weren’t generating any profit and had low sales. This included the Orlando amongst others. However, fresh news has now come that Chevrolet has revived the Orlando nameplate in China. The surprise though is that the Orlando is now an SUV. Let’s delve deeper into the details then.

The Chevrolet Orlando 2019 has now got a slim grille with the bowtie being positioned in the middle. The air intake itself is much wider and gives an aggressive look. The lights are LED units and there are seemingly no fog lamps. In their place, Chevrolet has got red coloured accents. The hood of the car is quite long and from the sides, you will notice the new 18-inch wheels and the different shape for the alloy wheels. The crossover seems longer than before. The dimensions read the length as 4,684 mm, width as 1,807 mm, and height as 1,628 mm. The wheelbase naturally has gone up too and is now 2,796 mm. At the back, the Orlando seems to have gone in for a European design with slim lights and reflectors mounted on the lower part of the bumper.

With the extended wheelbase, something that Chinese customers love, the number of seats offered could go up to seven depending on the trims. The standard one will offer five seats. Chevrolet will offer a panoramic sunroof, AWD, power adjustable front seats, electrically openable boot, touchscreen infotainment system complete with MirrorLink and more. The American carmaker is also expected to get a 1.3-litre turbo petrol engine that makes 156 PS of power in the standard version while the Redline trim will get a higher power output but from the same motor - 163 PS. Chevrolet will offer more kit on the Redline trims and we expect rear disc brakes to be part of the package as well.

In terms of safety, six airbags, blind spot warning, adaptive cruise control, auto levelling headlights, traction control, ESP and more can be expected. Chevrolet is likely to launch the SUV in the Chinese market by the end of this year following which sales will likely start in Malaysia in the first quarter of 2019.