The growing Chery empire has added the Lepas to its local line-up, which already includes the Chery, Omoda, Jaecoo and Jetour brands, with iCaur to arrive soon.
Lepas — the name being a blend of “leap”, “leopard” and “passion” ― is the new brand in the Chinese group and made its global debut in April 2025 at the Auto Shanghai exhibition. The brand is offered exclusively in Chery’s international markets.
The L4 lands at South African dealers this week as the first step in the brand’s product rollout, with the larger L6 and L8 ranges to be launched later in the year.
Priced at R300,000-R419,900, the L4 has a length of 4,406mm, which pits it against the similarly sized and priced Chery Tiggo 4 Pro. The L4 also goes up against rivals such as the Haval Jolion and Toyota Corolla Cross in a crowded SUV market.
The front-wheel drive L4 range, all with a ground clearance of 160mm, is available in Amur, Javan and Pantera grades. All three models are powered by a 1.5l petrol engine, with the Amur getting a normally aspirated unit with power and torque ratings of 80kW and 148Nm, and the Javan and Pantera using a turbocharged version with outputs hiked to 108kW/225Nm. The Amur has a five-speed manual transmission with the turbo models employing a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.
The turbo variants have normal, eco and sport driving modes, and a stop-start fuel-saving system.
All three models come standard with hill-start assist, traction control, ABS brakes, automatic headlights, parking sensors and at least four airbags.
The range-topping Pantera gets two extra airbags along with adaptive cruise control, artificial leather seats, electrically adjusted front seats with ventilation, an electric sunroof, rain sensors, a 540° parking camera, lane keeping assist, blind spot detection, intelligent headlight control and fatigue detection.
The entry-level Amur has a 25cm infotainment system while the two turbo models have a 33.5cm display. The larger display anchors a minimalist, digital-intensive cabin, complemented by a digital instrument panel.
A drive in Gauteng in the flagship L4 Pantera at the media launch earlier this week revealed a pleasantly refined car with good comfort and willing performance.
The turbo engine and six-speed dual-clutch auto transmission made the car feel equally at home in the urban jungle and on long-distance trips. The L4 felt reasonably zesty off the line and settled into an easy cruise, with little wind or road noise, while delivering a comfortable ride quality. It is economical too, and the tester averaged a frugal 7.5l over the town/freeway route.
I battled with some of the features and couldn’t figure out how to reset the odometer, for instance. On the plus side, the car had physical air-con controls, which meant I didn’t have to go prospecting for them in the digital menu.
The hard plastic inside the cabin reveals a budget focus, but the interior avoids looking low-rent. The surfaces are nicely textured and seem durable, while touchpoints such as the door armrests are padded for comfort. The roomy cabin of the compact family SUV takes a quartet of adults without squeezing, and a decent-sized boot takes a reasonable amount of luggage, with a spacesaver spare wheel under the floor.
Prices
- Lepas L4 1.5 Amur manual - R299,900
- Lepas L4 1.5T Javan auto - R369,900
- Lepas L4 1.5T Pantera auto - R419,900
Includes a 10-year/1-million kilometre engine warranty, five-year/150,000km warranty on the rest of the vehicle and a five-year/75,000km service plan.
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