Land Rover Defender is by far the most sought-after SUV globally at present with pre-booking reaching over a 100,000 mark. So every other brand is trying to make some changes to their SUV to cater to this Defenderish SUV demand so why will all the Chinese car companies stay Behind, So here's a list of the Top 5 Defender Copies from China.

About Land Rover Defender

First launched more than 70 years ago, the Land Rover Defender is a British Off-roading SUV, which comes in a 5-seat and a 7-seat, with a 2-door and a 5-door configuration, respectively. Today, the Defender is in its fifth generation, as it got its last update in 2020.

The Defender gets a pure boxy design for its exterior, with a tall stance giving a Mafia SUV look. It also proves itself in terms of its excellent luxury on offer. With a smartly crafted interior, which happens to be minimalistic, yet practical at the same time. Inside it gets a pair of massive screens, the Infotainment screen being 11.4’ in size, and the Instrument cluster being 10’ in size. 

Haval Xianglong - 

The very first on our list is the Haval Xianglong. This is comparatively a shorter and smaller SUV than the Defender. But, it gets the design cues very similar to the Defender, in fact, at times, you might even mistake it for the Jeep Wrangler. 

The Xianglong gets a complete retro styling with a boxy design all around. On the front, it gets a simple horizontal grille, with circular Headlamps. The front would remind you of the Defender. On the side, as we said, it might also look like the Wrangler, so we shall conclude it is a mixture of both Wrangler and Defender. It gets a simple five-slat alloy wheel design, with thick wheel claddings, and the wheel arches are boxy. On the rear, it looks just like the Defender, as the whole layout of the tailgate, including the tail lamps, is exactly like the Defender. 

Being a Chinese knock-off of the Defender, it is obvious that it would get a tech-rich interior and feature list. But, still, they might not be as good as the Big Daddy, the Defender. 

Under the hood, Xianglong gets a hybrid powertrain setup, with a 1.5 L Petrol Engine and a 74 kWh battery pack. It produces 160 hp and 240 Nm of Torque. The price of the Haval Xianglong could stand around ₹25 lacs. 

BAIC Jishi 01 -

The designers of this SUV had no shame, as they have left no room for creativity in terms of Jishi 01’s design. This SUV is totally a Defender knock-off from all sides you look at it, which makes this SUV even more disgusting. 

The Jishi 01’s front contains a long vertical grille, with Lexus GX-like Headlamps. The bonnet and overall layout of the front design are just like the Defender. On the sides, we can see big wheels, with similar wheel arches and wheel claddings. Even the ORVMs have not been spared, they are the same, too. The Rear of the Jishi 01 is again, just like the Defender, a 90* cut, with broader shoulder lines. 

On the inside, the Jishi 01 is nothing but a cheaper Defender. It has a similar layout to the Dashboard, with a huge screen placed in between and nothing else. The Instrument Cluster is also digital, with a Defender-like Steering wheel. The center console gets a simple, smooth design, with an aircraft-like Drive selector. 

The only thing better the Jishi 01 has than the Defender is fuel efficiency, as even this SUV gets a Hybrid setup. It gets a 1.5 L Petrol Engine paired with a 56 kWh battery pack. This setup produces 201 hp, and it can be driven up to 235 km in pure EV mode. Moreover, it also gets more than 1000 km of driving range. The BAIC Jishi 01 costs half of the Defender, at just ₹50 lacs. 

Chery Jetour Traveller - 

The Jetour Traveller is like the Haval’s Xianglong, which is basically a mixture of the Defender and Wrangler. It is a small SUV probably as much as the Thar 5-door. It gets some crazy off-road stuff to tackle every terrain with ease. 

The Traveller gets six squares on its grille that showcase ‘Jetour’ in writing. The front of the Traveller looks more like the Wrangler, as it is horizontal and decent in terms of its height. But, still, it carries the resemblance of the Defender pretty much. On the side, it gets 18’ alloy wheels, with substantial wheel claddings and wheel arches. From the side, it might look different at times from the Defender, but as it has a boxy design, it carries the inspiration. The Rear of the Traveller looks exactly like the Defender, with only the spare wheel being squared. 

On the inside, the Traveller is more identical to the Thar and Wrangler than to the Defender. It gets a bit cramped space compared to the one in the Defender. But, the layout of the Dashboard is very similar to that of the Wrangler. With one big screen in the middle, and plenty of buttons on the center console. 

Under the hood, the Traveller gets a 2.0 L Petrol Engine producing 250 hp and 390 Nm of Torque. It gets a very powerful engine! It is priced at ₹30 lacs.

Fang Cheng Bao Leopard 5 - 

Well, we know BYD, as it sells its cars in India, Fang Cheng Bao is a sub-brand of it. It is one of its three automotive brands. The Leopard 5 is again, a mixture of the Wrangler and the Defender. But, this time, the copying is done more by looking at the Defender. 

On the front of the Leopard 5, it has a horizontal grille, with squared LED beams, and two connected DRLs. On the side, it runs on 18’ alloys with thick tires. The wheel cladding is very big on the Leopard 5, and the ground clearance is also substantial. The ORVMs and somewhat window area are quite similar to the Defender. The Rear is very identical to the one in the Defender, with broad shoulders and vertically placed Tail lamps. This SUV is slightly smaller than the Land Cruiser Prado. 

On the inside, it happens to be very luxurious with new-age BYD tech on offer. It gets some crazy off-road-oriented features, too, in order to tackle the trails with no issue. 

Under the hood, the Leopard 5 happens to be the most powerful ICE SUV on the list, as it gets a hybrid setup with a 1.5 L Petrol Engine paired with a 30 kWh battery pack. It produces a massive 670 hp and 760 Nm of Torque. It can be driven up to 125 km in the EV mode, with 1100 km of total driving range. It is priced at ₹50 lacs. 

YangWang U8 -  

YangWang is the luxurious sub-brand of the mega BYD. It stands above the previous one, Fang Cheng Bao. YangWang has its U8, as a Defender clone, which is the only SUV over here to be called even better than the Defender itself. 

The U8 is a massive 7-seater SUV, with total boxy design language. It resembles the Defender from all sides. On the front, it gets a wide crystal-like treatment for the grille, further making it look bigger and premium. On the sides, it gets 20’ alloy wheels, with glossy wheel claddings and minimal wheel arches. The rear of the U8 is completely Defender-like, with broad shoulders and its spare wheel mounted on the tailgate. 

The cabin of the U8 is the most luxurious and also the most irrelevant of all. Being a full-size off-roading SUV, it gets a complete brown-leatherette upholstery, with curves, like the Aston Martin DB 707. It makes the SUV have two different worlds. The U8 is also the most advanced, as said, it gets a floating feature that makes this SUV float on water for 30 km, and it can be steered in preferred directions. It is also covered with ADAS sensors all over the body giving it utmost premium features. It also gets 1000 mm of water wading capacity. 

It gets a 2.0 L Turb-Petrol Engine powering a 50 kWh battery pack. They both produce a combined power output of 250 hp and 1200 Nm of Torque. It is priced at ₹1.5 Cr.