Another Chinese brand is on its way to the UK, and this one has the Land Rover Defender in its sights. Chery, the group behind Omoda and Jaecoo, has confirmed that its iCaur brand will launch here in early 2027. Its first model is the V27, a square-cut five-seat SUV with chunky wheel arches, a side-hinged tailgate and a spare wheel on the back.
Almost every outlet has labelled it a Defender rival on looks alone. The Defender carries a bloodline that goes back to the original 1948 Land Rover, so that’s a big claim, and it deserves a closer look at what’s under the styling.
What is iCaur?
iCaur is the name Chery uses outside China for its iCar brand, which specialises in boxy, adventure-styled SUVs with electric and range-extender power. The brand is sold in around 40 countries, and the V27 is already taking orders in Romania and Greece ahead of its UK arrival.
In the UK, iCaur will run as a standalone brand with its own team, separate from Chery’s other UK brands. Dealer group Vertu says it will have three iCaur showrooms open by mid-2027. Chery says the V27 is being tuned for British roads at its research centre at Millbrook in Bedfordshire.
iCaur V27 price and how it compares
There’s no UK price yet, but Europe gives a good clue. In Romania the rear-wheel-drive V27 Classic costs €51,490 and the four-wheel-drive Premium costs €54,999, with launch offers taking both under €50,000 for early buyers. Greece has priced the four-wheel-drive car at €54,900.
Converted, those prices come to roughly £45,000 to £48,000, and we’d expect UK prices to land in that region once they’re confirmed. A Land Rover Defender 110 starts at around £63,000, the Ineos Grenadier at about £62,500 and the Toyota Land Cruiser at nearly £81,000, so a V27 could undercut all three by £15,000 or more.
iCaur V27 range-extender and range
iCaur has only said the UK car will have an electrified powertrain. In other markets the V27 is a range-extender, so electric motors always drive the wheels while a 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine works as a generator. The four-wheel-drive version has a claimed 449hp and 0-62mph in 5.5 seconds, which is brisk for an SUV that’s almost five metres long.
European cars use a 34kWh battery, good for around 80 miles of electric driving going by the Romanian figures. An updated Chinese version has a bigger 51kWh battery, rated at about 150 miles on the WLTP test. If the UK gets the bigger battery, plenty of owners could do the school run and the commute on electricity alone. It’s the same approach Li Auto is bringing to the UK later in 2027.
Can the iCaur V27 go off-road like a Defender?
Off-road hardware is where the V27 falls behind. It’s built on a car-style structure without air suspension, and iCaur quotes 224mm of ground clearance and a 600mm wading depth. A Defender 110 on air suspension can raise itself much higher and wade through 900mm of water.
Australian site CarsGuide drove the V27 on a muddy off-road course and liked its instant electric pull, the ride from its adaptive dampers and the grip from its locking rear differential. It also noted that the test car wore grippier all-terrain tyres, and said a Defender or Toyota Prado would be the better choice for anyone going further off-road. Drive Arabia came to a similar view and recommended the V27 for light off-road use.
The V27 is also rated to tow only 1,600kg braked, against 3,500kg for a Defender 110. That rules it out for horseboxes and bigger caravans.
iCaur V27 interior and practicality
Inside, the V27 is closer in spirit to a Land Rover Discovery than to a Defender, with a 15.4-inch touchscreen, a digital driver display and a row of physical toggle switches, so not everything is buried in screen menus. The cabin won a premium interior design award in Turin this year, and folding the rear seats opens up a claimed 1,818 litres of boot space.
What we like
- Going by European prices, it’s expected to undercut the Defender, Grenadier and Land Cruiser by a big margin.
- The range-extender gives you electric driving day to day, with no range worries on long trips.
- The award-winning cabin keeps physical switches alongside the touchscreen.
What worries us
- Its off-road hardware and 1,600kg towing limit fall well short of a Defender’s.
- Chery planned to sell around 10,000 a month in China, but cumulative deliveries are about 15,900, which raises questions about demand.
- It’s a new brand with only three confirmed showrooms so far and no track record on resale values.
Our verdict
No, the iCaur V27 isn’t a real Defender rival if you need to tow heavy loads or tackle proper off-road routes, because it doesn’t have the hardware. Where it could take sales from Land Rover is with buyers who love the Defender’s look, mostly drive on tarmac and balk at a £63,000 starting price.
If that sounds like you and the UK price lands in the mid-£40,000s, the V27 is worth a look next year. If you need a proper workhorse, a Defender or Grenadier is still the one to buy.
If you’re tempted to swap your current 4x4 for a V27 when it arrives, get a free car valuation with Regit and see how much of the price gap your car could cover.