mReview: Dongfeng Box – A Cool Little Car That Blew In From The East

Dongfeng’s electric supermini is like a little box of White Rabbit Creamy Candy - affordable, adorable, tasty and happy.

The happiness starts with the discovery that the Dongfeng Box, despite its name, is more foxy than boxy, unlike the Honda N Box, which is literally a tall box on small wheels. 

Happily, the exterior design of the compact Dongfeng looks like a cartoon instead of a carton. In terms of style, this fun car is much closer to the Cars character Sally Carrera than a Taobao carton box. 

More importantly, packed inside this cute Chinese Box is great value for money, good features as standard equipment, and a nice surprise or two, like buying a blind box. This car is also a mobile music Box when you lock/unlock it.  

Checking out the side profile of the Box, you’ll notice how the 17-inch wheels have been pushed towards the front and rear bumpers, so as to give more space to the cabin. The ratio of wheelbase (2.66 metres) to body length (4.03 metres) is around 66%, which is similar to that of the classic Austin Mini, which was surprisingly roomy for such a small runabout.

Two designer features unexpected at this price point are flush door handles (that slide out when unlocked) and frameless doors (which make the side profile even more stylo).  

The Box also comes in cheerful colours, such as the test-car’s Aurora Purple with white contrast roof, which makes me want to order a nice cold cup of taro bubble tea, with whipped cream on top. Another happy and LGBTQ-friendly paint job is Dusky Blush, which appears to be a blend of peach and pink that might make straight men blush. 

Box cabin is a sweet confectionary of quilted leather, "taro" and "whipped cream", served in a handy Chinese bubble tea cup.

Regardless of gender identity, there is no self-doubt that this little hatchback has surprisingly big presence. 

It’s compact, yet larger than life, especially with the full-width daytime running light. Those headlights are pretty and just a bit angry, like a baby McLaren modified by Sun Wukong. There is also a tiny clue nestled below the top DRL strip that reveals the original identity of Dongfeng Box, which is sold as Nammi 01 in the China domestic market. This could be a scene from a Nammi 01 road trip to a Chinese coastal city beach.

Unlike the headlights, the tail-lights of the Box are pretty and not angry at all. These LED clusters are rounded “rubies” which could light up your life and mine.

Dongfeng designers also put a few Easter eggs on the Box, such as the micro graphics at the edge of the front windscreen (a Box car icon with stars) and below the lowest demister element in the rear windscreen (a Box car icon with two palm trees and a pair of seagulls). 

Fitting a small palm tree inside the Box boot would be impossible, but a bunch of palm leaves shouldn’t be a problem. The thoughtful electric tailgate makes opening the Box boot even easier than opening a Pop Mart blind box. 

There is 326 litres of well-shaped cargo capacity, which can be expanded to almost triple (945 litres) when the backseat is folded down. If only it was a split-fold rather than a one-piece affair. 

In any case, this amount of trunk space is what I would expect from a modern supermini - electric or combustion. What I didn’t expect is an electric tailgate, which makes loading/unloading easier for folks who are not tall at all.Split-fold and a dedicated interior light would make this trunk better equipped for small boxes of goods. 

Easy, too is loading two passengers onto the backseat, where this supermini is somehow more super than mini. 

There’s more than enough legroom for average-sized me if the driver’s seat is adjusted to my preferred driving position. The shoulder space is decent for two of me. The integral headrests are pretty supportive and the door armrests are pretty comfortable, while the headroom is enough for my head, whose commoner crown stands 1.73 metres from the soles of my feet. Speaking of feet, they are parked comfortably on the flat floorboard, and my toes can be tucked underneath the front seats.More cabin space than expected, considering the compact exterior.

Dual seatback pockets and two-section curved doorbins provide practical stowage for odds and ends. There is also an unusual front drawer in place of a conventional glovebox, with the compartment in question trimmed nicely on the inside but lacking a latch to keep it “locked” in its open position.

The dashboard drawer is unusual but useful, especially for ladies doing their makeup.

Seated behind the wheel, nobody would ever get bored with the Box dashboard. 

It’s a happy medley of colours and materials, with some premium features. These include automatic parking, which works for front-to-back and also side-by-side. It’s accurate enough, hands-free and stress-free. If you prefer to park the car yourself, the helpful panoramic camera system with all-round coverage (including simulated see-through views) will ensure that you won’t get boxed-in by walls and pillars.This Dongfeng model's China-market name is less catchy than "Box".

The 12.8-inch infotainment touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay provides enough options to keep me informed and entertained. The infotainment even comes with a digital pet cat, which makes the display more engaging, even though I prefer dogs. 

But you don’t need to be an animal lover to appreciate the words of wisdom available as onscreen motivation, with one example being “All the past is a prelude”, although the wordsmith in me couldn’t resist modifying the line in my mind to “All the past is a prelude, unless it’s a Honda Prelude.”

Anyway!… The customisable ambient lighting (tap the table lamp graphic as a shortcut) makes this cabin more interesting than my own living room. There is also a quick-select menu (simply swipe down from the top of the touchscreen) for frequently used functions, which is so much quicker than me trying to find a remote control somewhere near my sofa.  

Thankfully, adjusting the side mirrors or operating the power windows in the Box is done with intuitive physical switches instead of tricky digital controls. 

After the mirrors, steering and seating are adjusted to my preference, it’s time to hit the road with the Box. 

The Box goes quietly like a gentle breeze which doesn't need to blow anyone away.

Driving the Dongfeng Box around is all about rest and relax.

The driver’s seat has three-level ventilation to keep me comfortable, while the Dongfeng air-con produces powerful wind to help everybody onboard to chill. The compact and clear 5-inch driver display shows essential driving information, which includes individual tyre pressures and even their temperatures.

Keeping my mental temperature cool in highway traffic is the adaptive cruise control. It is simple to use and smooth enough when following the traffic in front. This is a happy place with a few premium features that surprise and delight.

The performance of this electric hatchback is like a gentle breeze. It won’t blow anyone away, but it’s good enough for city driving and urban manoeuvres.

The 0 to 60 km/h acceleration is quick enough for the streets of Singapore. The Box wont hold up traffic and could even get ahead if needed. On an expressway, the Box cruises happily at 70-80 km/h, with just enough juice in reserve to overtake slower vehicles. Not bad for less than 100 horsepower (94hp / 70kW).

The range is good, too - up to 430 kilometres in ideal test conditions, or a realistic 400 kilometres in real-world conditions.

Recharging the right-sized 42.3 kWh Box battery from 30% to 80% takes about 30 minutes with a DC charger. Which is about enough time to finish a box of steaming hot bao, washed down with Chinese tea. 

More foxy than boxy, the Dongfeng Box is a designer hatchback for urbanites.

The ride feels like a classic city supermini - happy on trunk roads, nippy on narrow streets and not too bumpy on rough tarmac. 

I've never heard of the Wanli Harmonic Plus tyres fitted to the Box, but more importantly, I don’t hear them much on the move. There’s not much wind noise, too. So, the inside of this Dongfeng “east wind” is not adversely affected by outside wind from any direction - east, west, north or south.

Whichever way the wind blows in Singapore,  the Dongfeng Box offers a creamy-candy combination of affordability (costly Cat A COE aside), adorability (amongst cute Chinese electricars), and happiness in a supermini on the go.

Download the Motorist App now. Designed by drivers for drivers, this all-in-one app lets you receive the latest traffic updates, gives you access to live traffic cameras, and helps you manage LTA and vehicle matters.