Kaicene X5

The overall cabin layout of the Kaicene X5 looks nice, with the dual-tone black and beige layout for the dashboard. While it looks pleasant as compared to the all-black cabins of many of its rivals, its overall fit and finish levels are still not too impressive.

The Kaicene X5 comes with a four-spoke steering wheel, which has an all-analogue instrument console behind it. Moving towards the centre console, the X5 has a wide panel housing angular AC vents vertically and with silver surrounds. These AC vents come with a 1-DIN audio system in the upper half and rounded controls for AC in the lower half.

The lower half of the dashboard of the Kaicene X5 is finished in a theme of beige, which features transmission lever housing and a couple of cup holders. The seats offer a fair amount of comfort and come wrapped in fabric upholstery.

Compared to the Star Truck, the Kaicene X5 is a fairly large-sized commercial pickup truck, which comes in the compact segment, but looks like a truck from one segment above. While the Kaicene X5 has a decent road presence, its design makes it look inspired by American trucks.

At the front, the Kaicene X5 tries to look aerodynamic with its slanted windscreen and bonnet, below which it gets a tapered grille. Featuring thick horizontal slats, the grille of the Kaicene X5 is flanked by sweptback angular headlamps, which have curved outer edges. While these headlamps come integrated with clear lens turn indicators, there are small rounded fog lamps that are neatly accommodated within the body-coloured front bumper.

Move towards the side profile, and the Kaicene X5 impresses with the slightly-flared rounded wheel arches, which along with the sharp character crease flowing through the door panel upwards, add some character to the otherwise plain-looking side profile. The most attention-grabbing design element of the Kaicene X5 is the stretched rearview mirrors, which are huge-sized and come integrated with turn indicators in them. The door handles and rearview mirrors are blacked-out, while the steel wheels miss out on plastic caps.

The Kaicene X5 is available in two body versions – Dropside with a short-heightened deck and Macho Mover with a closed compartment cabin having glass windows on the sides. In both versions of the X5, the rear bumper comes with rectangular tail lamps on either side.

The Kaicene X5 is equipped with a suspension combination of leaf springs at both ends, which make it feel rugged and composed over broken patches of road. However, on smooth tarmacs, the Kaicene X5 feels a bit bouncy, while the power steering feels a bit vague. Equipped with 15-inch wheels all around, the Kaicene X5 comes with disc brakes at the front and drum brakes at the rear.

The only engine option with which the Kaicene X5 is being offered in the Philippines is a 2.3-litre four-cylinder diesel engine. Paired with a 5-speed manual gearbox, this engine is capable of producing a maximum power output of 86 PS, while its peak torque output maxes out at 240 Nm. The Kaicene X5 comes with a power steering setup as standard.

While the Kaicene X5 misses out on prominent safety features like airbags, it does come with ABS and reverse parking sensors. It also features an engine immobilizer, which is a very handy security system for vehicles.

Positioned above the Star Truck, the X5 from Kaicene is a more practical and durable commercial pickup truck for long distances. The immense amount of torque available from its 2.3-litre diesel engine makes it a mile muncher and a proper load haulier. While the quality levels are questionable in places, the X5 is a decent offering for those who are in search of an affordable diesel pickup truck.