The new Changan Kaicene F300 has been launched on the Chinese car market. The Kaicene is a large double cab four-door pickup truck. Kaicene (凯程) is a sub-brand under Changan Auto. Originally, they were a commercial vehicle brand but recently Kaicene has expanded into passenger cars, including SUVs and MPVs. The F300, however, is an old school Kaicene.

The F300 is available with two bed sizes: 1500/1415/480 and 2020/1465/400. With the former, the size of the F300 is 4980/1750/1710, with a 3025 millimeter wheelbase. With the latter, size is 5220/1730/1710, with a huge 3380 millimeter wheelbase. Max load for the short bed version is 495 kilo, and 745 kilo for the long-bed version. The Changan Kaicene is based on a basic body-on-frame chassis with spring leaves at the rear.

The striping and ‘ Sports’ stickers make for a very strong early 2000’s vibe. This kind of styling is rare these days. Very retro in a way, but one may wonder why Changan found it necessary to use this in 2022.

The Kaicene K300 is powered by a 1.5 liter four-cylinder petrol engine. Output of the engine is 116 hp and 150 Nm. The engine is mated to a five-speed manual, sending horses to the rear wheels. Top speed is 120 kilometers per hour and fuel consumption is 7.5 liter per 100 kilometers.

The interior is very basic as well but it has some cool touches, like the gray-colored trim on the dashboard and the silver gear-lever knob. The faux leather seats looks nice two, in a black-brown color scheme. The steering wheel is gigantic. The analog instrument panel and simple center stack keep weight and price down.

Enough space in the rear for two adults and a half.

The Changan Kaicene F300 will launch on the Chinese car market later this month. Price is expected to start somewhere close to 70.000 yuan ($11.000), and that is in line with offerings from the competition. The market for pickup trucks in this segment is hotly contested, with dozens of different brands selling dozens of different cars.

The 1.5 liter engine. No fancy under-the-bonnet design here, the F300 is designed to be easily operated and maintained, for as little yuan as possible.

Changan’s commercial vehicles still use the ‘rocket’ logo. Changan’s passenger cars use a different logo.

Further reading: Autohome.