Changan Hunter K50 REEV: More than just quirky technology?

The Changan Hunter K50 REEV rewrites the playbook for bakkie styling. Picture: Mark Jones. I was looking forward to my first drive in Changan’s Hunter K50 REEV.

Mostly because it would be my first time being exposed to a Range Extended Electric Vehicle, and the technology the bakkie is bringing to the market. And after a week of driving the Changan Hunter, I must be honest, I have come away from the experience with more questions than answers. Is REEV more gimmick than real world solution?

In the simplest of layman’s terms I can think of, REEV means that you have a traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) sitting under the hood. In this case, a 2.0-litre turbo petrol four-cylinder. But this engine is not connected to the drivetrain of the vehicle in any way.

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It cannot, and does not, drive the wheels. Despite producing 140kW of power and 340Nm of torque of its own in this case, the turbo petrol engine is only there to charge the 31.2kWh battery pack that drives the electric motors on the front and rear axle of the bakkie. And here is my first disconnect.

Why do you need such a high-tech, high-power turbo engine to charge a battery if it does nothing but charge a battery? Surely, a less complicated, less expensive engine, like a 1.0-litre naturally aspirated unit, would be fine for charging? Come service time (out of plan), you are also going to be paying a fair whack to keep this combustion engine and all its moving parts maintained.

Then there is the issue of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Burning fuel through a turbo to charge a battery must be one of the most expensive ways to do so. If you have access to an engine and its power, and pay for it to use fuel, why not use it for the extra performance and no range anxiety like BYD does with their Shark?

I don’t really get the point of REEV. But with this now said, how did the Changan Hunter K50 REEV perform when tested? With a quoted 200kW/470Nm of battery electric surge, you can expect the bakkie to be quick.

And it is. But this is again not without quirks. In one of the main menus, you can configure how the bakkie must prioritise its power usage and charging source.

TheBYD Sharkis the current king of the time sheets, and it stays that way. But in swapping between the different modes changes the Changan Hunter from almostFord Ranger Raptorquick to onlyToyota Hilux GR-Sfast. This is a swing of almost 3 seconds, and in road testing terms, this is massive.

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