At Auto China 2024, Geely’s pick-up truck brand Radar introduced its latest model, the Horizon. This is an improved version of the RD6 with four-wheel drive and two engines, which came onto the market in November 2022.
The big news is the addition of a front engine to complement the 272hp/385Nm rear engine, resulting in a total system output of 428hp (315kW) and 590Nm of torque. That’s enough to shorten the acceleration time from zero to 100 km/h by one and a half seconds, which it completes in just 4.5 seconds – up to the top speed of 190 km/h.
With the Horizon you have the choice of a 73 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery (LFP) or an 86 kWh nickel manganese cobalt battery (NMC), which have a range of 460 and 520 km respectively in the mild Chinese CLTC cycle possible.
Radar touts the Horizon’s renewed operational capability – the truck can switch from rear-wheel drive to all-wheel drive in just 600 ms and also has seven driving modes, including fresh snow, mud and off-road. Settings for land and water wading. Speaking of which: the Horizon has an impressive maximum water depth of 815 mm.
Elsewhere, payload – the RD6’s Achilles heel – has been improved and is now over 800kg across all variants. In fact, Radar has also increased the payload for the rear-wheel drive RD6: it used to be around 400kg, but now even the base model can carry up to 790kg. The Horizon’s towing capacity is now 3,000 kg.
Like the RD6, the Horizon (although it looks like half a Proton X90) is based on Geely’s electric Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA). With a length of 5.26 meters, a width of 1.9 meters and a height of 1.88 meters, the double cab truck is slightly shorter than the 5.33 meter long Toyota Hilux. Surprisingly, however, his bed is exactly the same length and almost as wide at 1,545 x 1,450 mm.
According to Radar, the Horizon offers space for up to 1,200 liters of luggage at the back and there’s also a 70-liter trunk at the front. A unique advantage is up to 22 kW vehicle-to-load (V2L) power, of which 15 kW via the charging port, 6 kW via a 230-volt socket in the bed and a further 2.2 kW via two further 230-volt sockets. Power outlets inside the front trunk and cabin.
Externally, the Horizon looks almost identical to the RD6 – yes, that includes the X90-style front end – the only changes being the massive illuminated radar emblem on the grille and an optional black roof. But that all changes on the inside.
Here, the X90/Geely Okavango-derived interior has been replaced with a brand new dashboard and door panels. The former features a full-width ventilation design, a 10.25-inch digital instrument display and a huge 14.6-inch freestanding infotainment touchscreen. You also now get a “floating” center console with a Qi wireless charger.
Other features include an eight-speaker surround sound system, Alipay payment integration and Level 2 semi-autonomous driving capabilities. The latter includes autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, traffic sign recognition, blind spot monitoring with collision avoidance, rear collision warning and cross traffic alert rear with automatic brake.
While Radar is currently a China-only brand, the company is preparing to enter overseas markets soon and is using the Riddara brand name due to trademark issues. The company even went to the trouble of designing the RD6 for right-hand drive (probably using X90 interior parts), apparently with the aim of pushing it into major pickup markets like Australia, Thailand and the rest of ASEAN export.
This raises the possibility of the RD6 coming to Malaysia, possibly with Proton branding. What do you think – should the national automaker introduce this as the spiritual successor to the Arena? Sound off in the comments after the jump.
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