M-Hero M817 goes on sale in China

Mengshi, a Dongfeng Group company, has started taking preorders for the large hybrid SUV previously announced as the M-Hero M817. Customers are choosing between two trims with Pro starting at 329,900 Yuan and Max priced from 359,900 Yuan.

The automaker has already reported receiving 9,713 reservations within an hour from launch. The vehicle itself debuted at the Shanghai auto show. It was 5,100 mm (199.2 inches) long, 1,998 mm (78 in) wide and 1,899 mm (74.2 in) tall with 3,005 mm (117.4 in) of axle spacing.

The exterior can be optioned with either an “urban” or an “off-road” look, with differences largely boiling down to the body kit. The off-roader can be taken further with a spare wheel on the tailgate, a roof access ladder and auxiliary lighting. It rides on per-wheel spring suspension but can be upgraded with an adaptive air-ride setup. Once raised to its topmost position, it increases ground clearance from 183 to 333 mm (from 7.15 to 13 inches). Lifted like this, the M-Hero M817 can wade water up to 900 mm (35.1 inches) high and has approach/departure angles of 37.7 and 37 degrees, respectively.

The urban package puts a luggage box onto the tailgate instead of the spare wheel and is otherwise a simpler vehicle compared to its overlanding counterpart. Both ride on 20-inch wheels as standard.

A 1.5-liter turbocharged engine under the hood produces 197 PS (194 hp / 145 kW) that it can either send to the front wheels or use to charge a 31.7-kWh battery pack on board. Most of the propulsion is handled by two e-motors delivering a combined 687 PS (678 hp / 505 kW) and 848 Nm (625 lb-ft) of torque. The announcement doesn’t make it entirely clear, but it sounds like these peak output figures are for two motors and the engine driving the wheels at the same time.

Equipped like this, the M-Hero M817 sprints from zero in a manufacturer-rated 5.2 seconds and covers up to 140 km (87 miles) on a full charge. Once fueled to the brim, it can do 1,300 km (808 miles), CLTC-rated.

The interior only has two seat rows and comes trimmed with Nappa leather. There are five displays on the feature list: a dashboard, an infotainment screen, a HUD, a digital rearview mirror and a small round display on the center console that you can set up to display a compass or a clock. The infotainment system runs on Harmony OS by Huawei, and the car can be set to actively utilize a Qiankun ADAS package from the same vendor. It can function off just one LiDAR, but those wanting to get the most out of self-driving features are invited to pay extra for three.

The equipment list also mentions wireless charging pads, as many as 13 power outlets and a middle armrest box with cooling and heating features.