Kuluze EV Is An Electric Chinese Knockoff Of Toyota Land Cruiser 300
- by Ujjawal Agarwal
- Mar 13, 2023
- | Views: 5169
Is it a planned production model? Is it a one-off? Is it just an aftermarket tuner project? Who knows?
There are a myriad of lookalike vehicles in China that take inspiration from Western manufacturers; but more often than not, they do so with a certain degree of restraint. But once in a blue moon comes along a doppelganger with little regard for imitating a popular vehicle. So, we guess it's a blue moon today because this Chinese product is as blatant as it gets.
Honey, I shrunk the car!
It is not hard to tell which car this copycat is trying to replicate. Called the Kuluze, it is a ripoff of Toyota’s widely loved and adored Land Cruiser 300, and they haven’t even tried to hide that fact. The nose of the big Toyota SUV has been copy-pasted as it is. Given the sheer size of the true Land Cruiser, whoever decided to come up with Kuluze has done a decent job of consolidating all those elements in a tighter space. It still looks, eh, decent to an extent.
But it's only when you come to the side that its tiny size becomes apparent. The profile of the car also emulates the Toyota – everything is boxy and the wheel arches are squared-off and look chunky. Where it fails to grab the essence of the Toyota is in its wheel size, which looks like it belongs on a Maruti Wagon R, and also the alloys that look plain-jane. It isn’t a sight to behold (we are sugarcoating it) but still isn’t the weirdest bit of the car.
But the same can’t be said for the rear. Copy-pasting is prominent here too, but everything looks a bit too squeezed and forced. The tail lights just look a bit different and slimmer compared to the Land Cruiser's units. The overall design is nothing short of bizarre to look at, especially when you already know how good a downsized Toyota SUV, such as the Urban Cruiser, looks. And considering its boxy silhouette, we reckon the EV probably won’t be best friends with air drag, which could affect its driving range.
No other details about its cabin or powertrain have surfaced. But what’s clear is that little to no effort has gone into differentiating the two vehicles, and maybe it was done on purpose. Maybe the guy just wanted the butch looks of the Land Cruiser and not the large footprint that comes along with it. But what do you think was the real purpose behind making such a vehicle? And would you book one if it ever made into production (God, we hope it doesn’t)? Let us know in the comments.