The launching of the third Geely vehicle in the country is nearing. The new 2021 Geely Okavango will be joining the 5-seater Azkarra compact crossover and the Coolray subcompact crossover in the Chinese marque’s Philippine lineup.
If you have been keeping up with the automotive industry lately, the Geely Coolray is making a remarkable run in its segment. It is one of the best-selling subcompact crossovers with a 59 percent increase in sales from June to July this year.
In consideration of the brand’s growth, one can expect that Geely will further expand its business network in the country especially now that it will soon offer a larger crossover named Okavango.
2021 Geely Okavango 7-Seat Crossover MPV: Macho people-hauler? | Quick Look
Sojitz G Auto Philippines (SGAP), the official distributor of Geely in the country, revealed that the Okavango will be coming in two variants, namely the base Comfort variant and top-spec Urban variant.
With all that being said, let’s take a deep dive into what the new Geely Okavango can offer and see how it could perform in its respective segment.
2021 Geely Okavango: Exterior
The new 2021 Geely Okavango has a measurement that spans 4,835 mm in length, 1,900 mm in width, and 1,785 mm in height, with a wheelbase measured at 2,815 mm. Despite its 7-seater configuration, the Okavango only has 194 mm of ground clearance due to its crossover nature.
To put things into perspective, the 7-seater Mitsubishi Montero Sport comes with a ground clearance of 218 mm, while the 7-seater Ford Everest boasts its 225 mm of ground clearance.
The new 2021 Geely Okavango
The ground clearance could be a problem especially if the Okavango is fully loaded with people and cargos. But on the bright side, at least its unibody configuration offers better handling, better fuel efficiency, and better ride comfort.
As for the exterior features, the Geely Okavango is running with full LED headlamps with LED daytime running lights (DRL) and LED front fog lights. The rear also benefits from a full LED rear combination lamp and LED rear fog lights.
The Comfort variant will be running on 17-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, while the Urban variant will be running on larger 18-inch aluminum wheels. The Geely Okavango comes with an electronic parking brake with both brake assist and auto brake hold.
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2021 Geely Okavango: Interior
Both the Comfort and Urban variant use a 10.25-inch with QDLink. However, only the Urban variant benefits from eight speakers versus the Comfort’s four. Moreover, a 3-Zone automatic climate control with 3rd-row vents and 3 individual seats with ISOFIX are the other interior features that are standard.
The Geely Okavango can accommodate up to 7 individuals
The Urban variant utilizes power seats for both the driver and passenger seat, while the Comfort uses manual. The seats used in the Urban variant is leather while fabric is used on the Comfort variant. Unlike the Azkarra, the Okavango will not be equipped with a sunroof.
2021 Geely Okavango: On-board tech and safety features
Perhaps one of the biggest pros of owning a Geely Okavango is its loaded safety features. The standard safety features in the Geely Okavango include an anti-lock braking system with electronic brakeforce distribution (ABS with EBD), driver and passenger airbags, rear parking sensor, hill descent control, hill start assist, immobilizer, and tire pressure monitor.
Despite the affordable price tag, the new Okavango still comes with loaded features
However, only the top-spec Urban variant comes with side and curtain airbags. The Urban variant is also equipped with a 360-degree camera view, while the base Comfort variant is equipped with a reverse camera.
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2021 Geely Okavango: Engine and performance
Under the hood, the Okavango is powered by a 1.5-liter 3-cylinder turbocharged engine with dual VVT paired with a 48-volt EMS mild hybrid system making 190 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and 300 Nm of torque at 1,500 to 4,000 rpm. The engine is coupled with a 7-speed wet dual-clutch transmission for both the Okavango variants.
The Okavango does have some similar design cues as its crossover sibling, the Azkarra
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Unfortunately, the Geely Okavango only utilizes a front-wheel-drive drivetrain for all variants. The probable reason why Geely decided not to include an all-wheel-drive drivetrain is for cost-cutting measures.
Drivers have the option to run in Eco, Comfort, or Sport mode thanks to the Okavango’s drive mode selector available in all variants.
2021 Geely Okavango: Final thoughts
Geely is obviously on a mission to make a statement and have a strong foothold in the Philippine automotive market. Following the positive market response to the Coolray, Geely PH introduced the Azkarra earlier this year. Now, the brand wants to further expand its local model lineup with the seven-seater Okavango.
One can expect Geely PH's substantial growth in the upcoming years
Overall, the pricing is what will keep the Geely Okavango in the competition. Clearly, the Okavango comes with competitive pricing, which could take away a significant amount of market share to its well-established segment rivals.
The 2021 Geely Okavango is expected to be launched by SGAP in the second week of November next month, with two more vehicles soon to be launched as per Geely Philippines.
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2021 Geely Okavango: Expected Price
With all the features being said, we can expect that the reason why it doesn’t have a lot of quirks is to keep the Geely Okavango as affordable as possible.
The entry-level variant, the Comfort, is priced at Php 1,208,000, while the top-spec Urban variant is priced at Php 1,328,000. Of note, the 2021 Geely Okavango comes with a pre-launch discount at Php 90,000.
Moreover, the 7-seater crossover comes with a 3-year or 60,000-kilometer periodic maintenance package that includes oil, parts, and labor. The warranty remains at 5-years or 100,000-kilometers, whichever comes first.
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