First drive: 2013 Luxgen 7 SUV in Oman

First drive: 2013 Luxgen 7 SUV in Oman

Luxgen 7 SUV in Oman 4
Every now and then, a new carmaker enters the market. But how often is it, that many of them go unnoticed. One could possibly shun the new car we have here, citing reasons that the logo could be ripped off from Lexus. However, this particular vehicle has no specific relations with Lexus, or even Japan. As a matter of fact, the Luxgen 7 SUV we have here is from Taiwan.

Luxgen was first introduced to the world in 2009. However, of all the Middle-East countries, it still is only sold in the Sultanate of Oman by dealers MHD. And since nobody else had tested them in the UAE, this is a bit of an exclusive, even if it means driving it in Oman!

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The exterior design of the vehicle didn’t particularly ring any bells, which is a good thing. The build quality of the SUV seemed pretty impressive. You get adequate amounts of chrome inserts on the grille and on the window linings. And that, coupled with the perfect fitting panels and the flamboyantly visible cameras, gives the Luxgen’s exterior a premium feel. Incidentally, Luxgen builds outsourced Toyota Corollas for the GCC market.

The interior is a different story. It clearly is designed to provide a high-class effect. But as with most newcomers, there are issues. Fit and finish between various panels on the dashboard is not perfect, and the buttons are not exactly, shall we say, classy. But, the truth is that, you wouldn’t have time to mind things like that because of the technology that you have in your hands. There is a huge 10.2-inch LCD display available on the dash which shows you everything you could possibly need. The dashboard has a slanted posture and basically has three portions. The first one takes care of the automatic a/c, which needs high fan-speeds to be effective, whereas the second bit consists of the controls for the ‘Think+’ system, followed by a host of buttons talking care of the automatic lights, lane departure warning system and night vision.

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The HTC-developed ‘Think+’ system is very simple to understand and we got the hang of it within just minutes of use, unlike many manufacturers who go all out with pointless buttons with no use whatsoever. However, we would’ve fancied it even more if they offered a touchscreen.

You also get a generous eight cameras, which are placed all around the vehicle, and we particularly loved it for its functionality. The cameras are coupled with the ‘Eagle View +’ system which is useful for parking as it gives a 360-degree view of the vehicle. We found it predominantly useful when covering some tight turns. Alongside that, the cameras also eradicate blind-spots on turning. But the coolest tech on-board has to be the ‘Night vision’ mode which, as it goes, is pretty pointless. But we used it anyway just for the heck of it.

The Luxgen comes standard with a JBL audio system. Of course you do get AUX in, video out, USB and Bluetooth. There was a rear DVD screen for the passengers too.

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The cabin largely consists of hard plastics with no padding anywhere except some inserts in the armrests. We didn’t find it annoying at any point because the front is really spacious, and our legs didn’t hit anywhere. The seats are covered in leather, and surprisingly, the driver is treated with a massager. The second row is pretty spacious too, a bit too much in our opinion, after trying out the cramped third row. But only later did we realise that the second row seats can be adjusted for the dignity of the third-row passengers.

The engine driving the Luxgen is a 2.2-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder producing 175 hp and 275 Nm of torque. The engine is pretty gutsy and is coupled to a 5-speed automatic transmission with manual mode. Despite the turbo, we felt that the SUV needed more muscle as it felt a little underpowered. You’d actually need to plant your foot down and initiate kick down to get some decent acceleration. Still, 100 kph is achieved from standstill beyond 10 seconds.

The steering is pretty light, but not so much to make it feel awkward. As a matter of fact, it felt perfect for a vehicle of its size, offering decent feedback. Noise levels in the cabin are pretty regular and typical. Body roll is admirably low, although we didn’t dare try corners above 80 kph. Overall, the ride is pretty smooth; almost as smooth and stable as the rival Hyundai Santa Fe.

For the record, we weren’t allowed to test the vehicle off-road, but we did get to drive over some gravel roads which gave us an insight into the capabilities of the suspension. The ride on the gravel felt pretty soft, though nothing out of the ordinary. Yes, you do get four-wheel-drive lock and an auto mode that controls the power distribution between the front and back wheels, but on the gravel, two-wheel-drive was more than adequate.

The Luxgen 7 SUV lets us know that Taiwan is capable of making some compelling vehicles. Of course, the competition in the crossover segment is pretty tough. At the equivalent of Dhs 125,000, its price competes with vehicles in the midsize SUV segment, the smaller Luxgen doesn’t deserve to be judged on its size alone. There’s enough tech to compete with far more upscale vehicles, but the cabin trim keeps it firmly grounded as a rival for the Japanese and the Koreans.

Photos by Alvin E. Thomas.

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Comments

  1. How is the safety options?

    • You do get 8 or odd airbags… ABS, and the usuals… Surprisingly, you have 8 on-board computers working on different things at a time…

  2. I have seen a Luxgen Minivan here in Jeddah.

  3. This vehicle is loaded with safety feautures. It has front, side and curtain airbags, ABS, EBD, BAS, TCS, ESC, adaptive headlamps, blind spot monitoring, eagle view, lane departure warning, night vision camera, crumple zones etc

  4. Hope Hyundai is reading

  5. This Taiwan vehicle is known for the safety features.

  6. I just saw one in the Dominican Republic…. I have no idea how it got here!

  7. Did you get to drive the electric model? I think this company has a great future! I actually met the CEO in 2009 and think people would love to own these specially the VIP model

    • Nope. The test vehicle was a 2.2 litre turbo. Although I believe there are electric versions sold in Taiwan. All we get here is a petrol engine.
      Meanwhile the ‘VIP’ models don’t seem to getting a move on. Apparently, companies and individuals are a little skeptical.

  8. I tried driving it for few minutes, it seemed OK, but I didn’t find the AC is cold enough, as it is the summer. Can I have a feed back as I’m planning to buy it

  9. This is Muhammad Ali Fasheehudeen , I have Put 11 Units in UAE roads so far, the reason is simple this has

    1. LUXGEN SUV 7 SEATER LUXURY SUV FROM TAIWAN
    2. POWER STEERING (TUNED BY MAGNA OF AUSTRIA)
    3. POWER WINDOWS
    4. POWER FRONT SEATS WITH 8 WAY ADJUSTMENT
    5. POWER SIDE MIRROR WITH LED INDICATORS & AUTO LOCK
    6. POWER TAIL GATE WITH REMOTE (AUTOMATIC BOOT)
    7. SUNROOF (POWER SLIDE OUT)
    8. ENGINE 2.2T TURBO CHARGED
    & INTER COOLED M.E.F.I ENGINE 16V DOHC
    9. MAX POWER 175 HP @ 5500 RPM
    10. AISIN TRANSMISSION (JAPANESE)
    11. GARRET TURBO CHARGERS
    28KG OF TORQUE IN 2500-4000 RPM
    12. iKEY+ ( INTELLIGENT KEY) WITH IMMOBILIZER( KEYLESS ENTRY)
    13. MAGNETIC FUEL TANK LID OPEN ON DASH BOARD
    14. TRACTION CONTROL ON/OFF SWITCH ON DASH BOARD
    15. DIFFERENTIAL LOCK SWITCH ON DASH BOARD
    16. FRONT & REAR 10.2” DVD / BLUETOOTH / GPS / MULTIMEDIA
    17. THINK+ INTELLIGENT COMPUTER
    (COMMUNICATION NAVIGATION MULTIMEDIA & SAFETY)
    18. SIDE VIEW+ (BLIND SPOT ASSISTANCE)
    19. EAGLE VIEW+ ( 3600 SURROUND VIEW ON DEMAND)
    20. NIGHT VISION + (LIGHT AMPLIFICATION CCD CAMERA)
    21. LDWS+ (LANE DEPARTURE WARNING SYSTEM OR LANE ASSIST)
    22. AUXILIARY FRONT LIGHTING SYSTEM (AUTO FOCUS)
    23. AUTO SENSING LIGHTS (HID & LED)
    24. 18” ALUMINUM ALLOY WHEELS
    25. REAR SOLID DISC BRAKES
    26. FRONT VENTILATED DISC BRAKES
    27. BRAKE OVERRIDE SYSTEM (BOS)
    28. BRAKE ASSISTANCE SYSTEM (BAS)
    29. ABS+ EBD ( ANTI-LOCK BRAKING SYSTEM
    + ELECTRONIC BRAKE FORCE DISTRIBUTION)
    30. ESC ( ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL SYSTEM)
    31. TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM (TCS)
    32. DRIVER SRS AIRBAG
    33. FRONT PASSENGER SRS AIRBAG
    34. INTEGRATED SIDE SRS AIRBAGS X2
    35. SIDE CURTAIN SRS AIRBAGS X2
    36. FOG LAMPS
    37. HIGH-INTENSITY DISCHARGE HID LED HEAD LIGHTS
    38. HIGH RIGIDITY SAFETY STRUCTURE (PRODRIVE OF U.KINGDOM)
    39. HIGH CONTRAST INSTRUMENT PANEL
    40. 3 MODE INTELLIGENT 4 WHEEL DRIVE SYSTEM
    41. 8 X CAMERAS INCLUDING NIGHT VISION CAMERA,LDWS+
    42. LANE SENSING CAMERA (MOBILE EYE TECHNOLOGY)
    43. PREMIUM SOUND SYSTEM
    JBL MUSIC SYSTEM WITH 8: 1 SURROUNDS SOUND SYSTEM
    44. CHROME FINISHED DOOR HANDLES WITH MANUAL LOCK
    45. LED INDICATOR ON SIDE MIRRORS
    46. DRIVER SEAT LUMBAR SUPPORT
    47. DRIVER SEAT VENTILATION HEATING FUNCTION WITH MASSAGE
    48. 2 SET (MEMORY SEATS)
    49. UNDER SEAT STORAGE FOR THE REAR SEATS
    50. REMOTE CENTRAL LOCK WITH PTG FUNCTION
    51. REMOTE FOR POWER ACTUATED TAIL GATE
    52. EURO IV EMISSION STANDARDS
    53. WRAP AROUND NECK /HEAD REST FOR DRIVER & FRONT
    54. STEERING WHEEL CRUISE CONTROL
    55. ROOF RACK
    56. DUAL TONE REVERSE INDICATORS
    57. DUAL-ZONE CLIMATE CONTROL AIR-CONDITIONING
    58. ENGINE PUSH BUTTON START
    59. FRONT & REAR ELECTRIC POWER WINDOWS
    60. FRONT & REAR PARKING SENSORS
    61. REAR PARKING CAMERA WITH DISTANCE NOTIFIER
    62. OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE GAUGE
    63. AM/FM RADIO AM/FM RADIO WITH DVD PLAYER
    64. NAVIGATION SYSTEM WITH THINK+
    65. REAR ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM 10.2” DVD VIDEO PLAYER
    66. AUXILIARY INPUT JACK (AUX)
    67. VIDEO INPUT JACK (THREE PIN SOCKET FOR HANDY CAM & VIDEO GAMES)
    68. THREE POINT AC POWER PLUG (POWER SOCKET) 220 V (A/C)
    69. USB CONNECTIVITY (USB 2.0)
    70. INTEGRATED BLUETOOTH®
    71. STEERING WHEEL AUDIO CONTROLS
    72. ADAPTIVE VOICE CONTROL SYSTEM
    73. POWER DOOR MIRRORS ( AUTO FOLDING) WITH DEFOG
    74. LEATHER UPHOLSTERY
    75. LEATHER STEERING WHEEL
    76. REAR A/C VENTILATION
    77. SECURITY ALARM SYSTEM (ANTI-THEFT)
    78. VANITY MIRRORS
    79. BOOT SPACE LIGHT WITH ON/OFF SWITCH
    80. LED CABIN READING LIGHTS
    81. REAR ARM REST CUP HOLDERS
    82. ANTI-THEFT DRIVER SEAT
    83. FOOT OPERATED PARKING BRAKES
    84. WING SHAPED RADIATOR GRILLE
    85. ELECTRIC REAR WINDOW WIPER
    86. LED 3RD BRAKE LAMP ( HIGH MOUNT BRAKE LIGHTS)
    87. GEAR POSITION DISPLAY
    88. TRIP COMPUTER DISPLAY
    89. AUTOMATIC CLIMATE CONTROL
    90. INDEPENDENT REAR CLIMATE CONTROL
    91. INTELLIGENT CENTER CONSOLE
    92. DRIVER SEAT SHOULDER SPEAKER WITH MICROPHONE
    93. REAR AV & EARPHONE CONNECTORS
    94. ITCC – INTELLIGENT TORQUE CONTROLLED COUPLING
    95. THREE STAGE FORCE TRANSFER STRUCTURAL MECHANISM
    96. 2, 3, 5 &7 SEAT CONFIGURATIONS
    97. 2 MODE OPERATION CONTROL FOR PTG
    98. REAR WATER WIPERS
    99. FULL LENGTH FRONT INTER COOLER
    100. SYMMETRICAL BILATERAL & AERODYNAMIC – REAR SPOILER
    101. STEERING WHEEL VOICE COMMANDS
    102. ENGINE DESIGNED – LMM ( FRANCE)
    103. CRASH TESTED IN CONTINENTAL LAB ( GERMANY )
    104. 3 YEARS / 100,000 KM MANUFACTURER WARRANTY
    105. 5 YEARS / UNLIMITED MILEAGE EXETENDED WARRANTY
    106. FREE REGISTRATION | INSURANCE | 3 YEAR SERVICE

  10. Hi,

    Iam saw this vehicle, Luxgen U7 22T and pretty much amazed with its think + system and safety features. Iam planning to buy this, but before that i want to get feed back from people who already own it and are using it regularly.

    Please provide your valuable feedback for me to decide if i can buy or not buy this vehicle

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