Can a Chinese made rugged 4×4 SUV compete with the latest Defender

The all new Beijing BJ30 is a mid-size SUV of the Beijing brand that combines off-road styling with best-in-class off-road performance and an outstanding cabin space.

Launched in 2024, this over-4.7 meters-long SUV is available for both ICE and HEV versions and has all the design elements to sit alongside the Land Rover Defender.

This Beijing BJ30 was designed  to cater to these needs of a new generation of SUV buyers who want to embrace nature, camping and the outdoors lifestyle. Plus, it’s the trend right now for square, boxy rugged 4×4 SUV’s that carry the design language of the American Jeep and the Land Rover Defender.

This BJ30 is not as large as the latest Defender and more like the popular Jetour T2 which is slated for launch in ASEAN later 2024. It measures in at 4730mm long, 1910mm wide ,1790mm tall and with a 2820mm wheelbase.

It has an impressive WLTC (hybrid) fuel efficiency of 6.45L/100km and a 0-100kph of 6.59s, which allows the BJ30 to meet all their user’s city needs; and thanks to a ground clearance over 215mm and outstanding approach and departure angles of 25 and 30 degrees respectively, it is also capable to tackle almost all forms of outdoor terrain, allowing for an ease of mind when planning for that mini-getaway with family and friends.

Spacious and Functional Interior

Traditionally, car design starts developing from the exterior and then to the interior (from outside to inside). But this time, we decided to adopt an inside-out approach, starting from user experience scenarios to truly meet our customer’s daily needs.

When it comes to scenario-based design, space is the primary consideration. To allow users to take a nap in the car during a workday lunch break or simply stargazing with loved ones in the comfort of the car on a weekend trip, the BJ30 has come up with a few innovative designs to cater to these scenarios. For example, with the rear seats folded down and the trunk door closed, the BJ30 can comfortably accommodate two 1.8m-tall adults lying down, effectively creating a “big bedroom” on wheels.

If sleep is a form of complete rest, then embracing nature with family and friends is another form of active relaxation. The BJ30’s spacious trunk is large enough to hold all our camping/picnic gear. We also cleverly designed the trunk’s storage shelf with easily installable legs, allowing it to transform into a small table when camping. Whether for outdoor barbecues or a picnic around the car, this small table provides a stable and comfortable dining environment.

Interior Comfort and Appeal

Beyond fulfilling multifunctional camping needs, the BJ30’s interior design aims to offer users a relaxing and comfortable experience that integrates with nature. Particularly, the “Aurora Forest” interior colour scheme is inspired by rocks and plants in the wilderness. We used a cool grey trim paired with a fresh and elegant green to make users feel as if they were in a forest but in the comfort of their home.

The interior design adopts an emotional geometric design philosophy, avoiding the stereotypical “cold and hard” impression of off-road vehicles. The instrument panel design is inspired by a snowboard, with slightly upturned ends and metallic tech stripes, creating a fashionable and lively visual effect. The 14.6-inch large screen with an 8155 chip offers multiple custom modes to meet all our user’s unique driving needs. The design uses soft tones and smooth rounded elements to enhance the design’s sophistication.

Clear visual information hierarchy allows users to quickly access important information, making driving easier and safer. Similarly, our UI interface is designed using clear information hierarchy with simple playful graphics to provide an easy-to-use, interactive and immersive user experience.

Exterior Design and Practicality

A car should not only be an extension of the user’s living space but also express their individuality. The BJ30’s exterior design meets our users’ desire for a distinctive, tough-looking SUV, a look which we inherited from the brand’s 60 years of reliable off-road heritage but refreshed with a modern minimal approach.

Overall, the BJ30’s exterior design follows a minimalist style. However, simplicity does not equate to simple design. In the design process, our designers went through countless debates, refinements, and element integrations until there was no excess “fat,” resulting in a pure and iconic design. Every line exists for a reason, with extreme precision and no waste.

In terms of proportions, it differs slightly from our typical compact off-road vehicles. To accommodate a larger cabin space and our “big bedroom” feature, we significantly increased the wheelbase and rear overhang. Therefore, in order to visually shorten the cabin size, we intentionally designed a floating L-shaped roof. This balances the overall vehicle proportions and pays homage to the classic removable roof of the BJ40. As a design element, it is also very iconic whereby even in crowded parking lots, our customers can easily recognize their BJ30 from a distance!

Advanced Features and Usability

At the front, the BJ30 showcases our brand’s latest identity with our distinctive full-led signature headlights, which perfectly blends digital frame with an emotional expression. Furthermore, BJ30 comes with 3 types of “Greeting” animations that our users can choose from. Each lighting animation has a unique style and expression, providing a personalized emotional experience for our users.

In the rear design, unlike the BJ40 and BJ60, we choose to forgo the external spare tire for two main reasons. Firstly, by allocating the space for an external spare tire to our trunk space, it would mean a larger usable trunk space and better fulfill our “big bedroom” definition. Secondly, considering that many of our users have many family-oriented use scenarios and need to frequently access the tailgate to store and retrieve items, all our BJ30s comes equipped with an electric tailgate, allowing users to open it easily with the push of a finger, which would not have been possible with a side-opening tailgate with a spare tire.

To ensure our users can travel to any desired outdoor location, we designed the bumpers to complement our best in class off-road capability. Ample approach and departure angles (25 and 30 degrees respectively) and high ground clearance (215mm) give our users maximum confidence when maneuvering all forms of outdoor terrain. Furthermore, our fender flares are equipped with small LED lights that not only enhances the BJ30’s futuristic outlook; but also serves as safety night light for the outdoors, providing direction and orientation at night which is very useful for our younger and older family members.