2026 DongFeng M-Hero X700: 695-hp Huawei-Tech PHEV SUV From $36,470

The 2026 M-Hero X700 — sold as the Mengshi X700 in China — is the first model of the new X series from Dongfeng's Mengshi (M-Hero) off-road brand, and at ¥249,800 it is the cheapest Mengshi yet. Pre-sales opened on 28 September 2026 at a launch event in Hangzhou, with three all-wheel-drive plug-in hybrid trims priced from ¥249,800 to ¥289,800 (about $36,470 to $42,310 at 6.85 CNY per USD). It is the first car from the second phase of the Mengshi and Huawei Qiankun partnership, so it arrives with Huawei's ADS 5 driver assistance, the HarmonyOS 6 cockpit and Huawei's XMC chassis controller. Unlike the body-on-frame M-Hero 1 (Mengshi 917) flagship, the X700 uses a load-bearing unibody, which helps Mengshi bring a boxy, 5,035 mm off-roader down to family-SUV money. Chinese outlets report more than 8,000 small orders within the first 24 hours of pre-sale. All prices in this article are pre-sale figures and may change at the official launch.

Performance & Specs

Every X700 pairs a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder (1,497 cc) with two electric motors. The engine makes 113 kW (154 PS / 152 hp), the front motor 190 kW (258 PS / 255 hp) and the rear motor 215 kW (292 PS / 288 hp), which adds up to a combined 518 kW (704 PS / 695 hp) and 940 Nm of torque. PS is the metric horsepower, about 1.4% smaller than the imperial hp used in this article, and 518 kW converts to 695 hp; some outlets print the 704 figure as "hp", which is really the PS number. Mengshi quotes 0-100 km/h in 4.93 seconds, and the engine can drive the wheels directly, so on the motorway the car does not depend on the electric motors alone. Launch coverage also mentions a range-extender version with a smaller 95 kW (129 PS) engine that acts purely as a generator, but we found no separate price or range for it; the three priced pre-sale trims are the plug-in hybrid.

Powertrain	1.5T PHEV, dual-motor AWD
Power	518 kW (704 PS / 695 hp)
Torque	940 Nm
0–100 km/h	4.93 s
Battery	51.46 kWh or 68.1 kWh (CATL LFP)
Range	285 or 360 km EV (CLTC)

POWERTRAIN TYPE	1.5T plug-in hybrid (PHEV)
HORSEPOWER	695 hp (518 kW / 704 PS)
ACCELERATION	4.93 s (0-100 km/h)
TOP SPEED	Not published
DRIVETRAIN	AWD, front 190 kW + rear 215 kW motors
BATTERY	51.46 kWh (Max, Max+) / 68.1 kWh (Ultra), CATL LFP
ELECTRIC RANGE	285 km (Max, Max+) / 360 km (Ultra), CLTC
COMBINED RANGE	Over 1,300 km (68.1 kWh Ultra)

Dimensions & Practicality

Length	5,035 mm
Width	1,999 mm
Height	1,910 mm
Wheelbase	2,920 mm
Ground clearance	Up to 328.8 mm

At 5,035 mm long, 1,999 mm wide and 1,910 mm tall on a 2,920 mm wheelbase, the X700 is a mid-to-large SUV with a strictly five-seat, two-row layout. Mengshi quotes an 850-litre boot, a 7-litre cooler-and-warmer box that runs from -10 to 55 degrees Celsius, and a wet-clothes drying function in the load bay that dries a load in roughly an hour. The rear bench folds into a flat "big bed" of about 1 m by over 2 m, and the front passenger gets a 127-degree zero-gravity seat. Wheels are 18-inch (265/65 R18) or 20-inch (255/60 R20). The car can be optioned with an external spare wheel, roof rack and a 2.5-tonne towing rating.

LENGTH	5,035 mm
WIDTH	1,999 mm
HEIGHT	1,910 mm
WHEELBASE	2,920 mm
SEATING	5 seats, 2 rows
CARGO VOLUME	850 L
WADING DEPTH	800 mm

Charging & Battery

Two CATL lithium-iron-phosphate packs are offered. The Max and Max+ trims carry a 51.46 kWh pack rated at 285 km of CLTC electric range, while the Ultra gets a 68.1 kWh pack that Mengshi calls an off-road-specific battery, rated at 360 km. Dividing pack size by range gives roughly 18 kWh per 100 km for the smaller pack and 19 kWh per 100 km for the larger one, sensible figures for a large, box-shaped SUV. With the engine running, Mengshi claims a combined range of more than 1,300 km on the 68.1 kWh Ultra. The 800V high-voltage platform is quoted with that Ultra pack. Mengshi had not published peak DC charging power, AC charging speed or a 10-80% charging time in any source we could verify, so none is quoted here.

BATTERY	51.46 kWh (Max, Max+) / 68.1 kWh (Ultra), CATL LFP
AC CHARGING	Not officially published
DC FAST CHARGING	Not officially published (800V platform on Ultra)
EXTERNAL POWER OUTPUT	6 kW

Design & Interior

The X700 is a deliberately square, upright SUV. It carries the Mengshi family look, with a trapezoidal "lion's roar" nose, sword-shaped tail lights, a full-width light strip across the front and a "digital galaxy" light band, on a body that is available in six paint colours. The optional exterior spare wheel and roof rack reinforce the utility look, and a tailgate screen can show custom "mood" graphics. Inside, the dashboard is built around a floating central display, a large digital instrument cluster and a head-up display. The seats are the headline: Mengshi claims a class-unique "cloud-feel magic carpet" seat with 60 adjustable air cells and a 10-point rubber-nub massage function, plus second-row ventilation, heating and massage and a flat-folding rear floor. Extras include double-layer acoustic glass, an air-purification "health cabin" and a bonnet mount for an action camera that debuts the Robo travel-filming feature.

Technology & Features

The X700 is the first Mengshi built around Huawei's second-phase Qiankun package. The cockpit runs HarmonyOS 6 (HarmonySpace 6) across a pair of 15.6-inch Huawei screens with a 21-speaker Huawei Sound system, and it adds an off-road-focused assistant that can generate trail books and plan camps. Huawei's XMC controller coordinates drive, braking, steering and suspension. Reports from the launch also list an off-road version of the head-up display showing pitch, roll and altitude data. Several equipment differences depend on trim: Chinese outlets report the passenger-side screen, the 21-speaker sound system and the zero-gravity passenger seat from Max+, with the fully networked "magic carpet" seat functions on the Ultra; one outlet also lists a rear differential lock as standard on every trim.

Safety & ADAS

All trims run Huawei's Qiankun ADS 5 assisted-driving suite (SAE Level 2), but the hardware differs. The Max uses the ADS 5 Pro tune with a single in-cabin, shared-optical-path LiDAR, three millimetre-wave radars, twelve ultrasonic sensors and ten exterior cameras. The Max+ and Ultra move up to the full ADS 5 with a roof-mounted 896-line dual-optical-path image-level LiDAR, three radars, twelve ultrasonic sensors and eleven exterior cameras. Mengshi describes the flagship arrangement as 27 fused high-performance sensors. Supported functions include highway and city NOA, memory parking, AEB 3.0, parking-space-to-parking-space 3.0, an off-road navigation-assist mode that Mengshi calls an industry first, and a roaming-cruise mode. The body uses 88% high-strength steel and aluminium, with a seven-layer A-pillar reinforcement and long-hold curtain airbags that keep their pressure for 30 seconds.

ADAS LEVEL	L2+ (Huawei Qiankun ADS 5 / ADS 5 Pro)
ADAS FEATURES	Highway NOA, city NOA, memory parking, AEB 3.0, parking-to-parking, off-road navigation assist, 896-line LiDAR (Max+/Ultra), 12 ultrasonic sensors, 3 radars, exterior cameras

Off-Road Hardware

The chassis is Mengshi's "Panshi 2.0" package: front double-wishbone and rear multi-link suspension, MRC magnetorheological dampers and a dual-chamber air suspension with about 150 mm of travel, six ride heights and a camera-based road-preview function. Peak ground clearance is 328.8 mm and the wading depth is 800 mm. Approach and departure angles are quoted as 37.5 and 38.3 degrees in Mengshi's launch materials, while the report from the launch event lists 30 and 31 degrees, with a 26-degree departure angle when the tow hitch is fitted, so treat the angle figures as provisional until the homologation data lands. Outlets are also not aligned on which trims get air suspension: the Ultra is the one confirmed to have it, and reports disagree on whether lower trims have it as standard, as an option or not at all. The roof is claimed to carry a 15.5-tonne crush load and torsional stiffness is quoted at 42,416 N·m per degree.

Available Versions

VERSION	POWER	TORQUE	0-100	TOP SPEED	DRIVETRAIN	BATTERY	EV RANGE	COMBINED RANGE	PRICE	KEY DIFFERENCES
285KM 4WD Max	695 hp	940 Nm	4.93s	—	AWD	51.46 kWh	285 km	—	$36,470	ADS 5 Pro, in-cabin LiDAR, ten exterior cameras
285KM 4WD Max+	695 hp	940 Nm	4.93s	—	AWD	51.46 kWh	285 km	—	$39,390	Full ADS 5, roof 896-line LiDAR, passenger screen, zero-gravity seat
360KM 4WD Ultra	695 hp	940 Nm	4.93s	—	AWD	68.1 kWh	360 km	1,300+ km	$42,310	Bigger battery, 800V platform, air suspension, magic-carpet seats

Pricing & Availability

The three pre-sale prices are ¥249,800 for the 285 km 4WD Max (about $36,470), ¥269,800 for the 285 km 4WD Max+ (about $39,390) and ¥289,800 for the 360 km 4WD Ultra (about $42,310), converted at 6.85 CNY per USD. These are pre-sale prices announced in Hangzhou on 28 September 2026 and are not final on-sale prices. Chinese outlets put the X700's entry price roughly ¥50,000 below the entry price of the larger M817 body-on-frame model. Mengshi has not published a launch date or a delivery start, so it is not yet clear when the first cars will reach owners. Pre-sale buyers are offered extra owner benefits, including a lifetime warranty on the battery, motor and electronic control systems for first private owners.

How It Compares

Rival prices are converted at the same 6.85 CNY per USD. The nearest match on price is the BYD Leopard 5, which starts at ¥259,800 (about $37,930): the X700 Max is about $1,460 cheaper, makes 18 more hp and is roughly 145 mm longer, though the Leopard 5's 1,200 km combined range is close to what the X700 Ultra claims. The Jetour G700 (¥329,900, about $48,160) makes 892 hp and is longer at 5,198 mm, but costs about $5,850 more than the X700 Ultra and $11,690 more than the Max. The BYD Leopard 8 (from ¥419,800, about $61,290) is a larger, pricier body-on-frame step up with 738 hp. Mengshi's own M-Hero 1 flagship, which we cover separately, sits in a different price class altogether. The X700's pitch is not raw power but a Huawei driving stack and off-road hardware at a price that undercuts most rivals.