As a high-end brand born earlier in the independent camp, Chery's Xingtu has never been able to launch a hot-selling model, and the sales of the first pure electric sedan Star Era ES launched last year were also tepid. However, Xingtu's product offensive continues, and the new SUV Star Era ET, which was launched just two days ago, is quite a bit of a table-lifting momentum.
The extended-range version is 189,800-225,800, and the pure electric version is 229,800-319,800, which is really eye-catching for a medium and large SUV with a length of 5 meters. So what are the highlights of this car, and is the comprehensive strength enough to lift the table?
What kind of car is the Star Era ET?
First of all, the Star Era ET has two key positioning, one is a medium and large five-seat SUV, and the other is a pure electric + extended range power combination, for Chery, these two points are basically the first.
Previously, although Chery already had a medium and large SUV such as Lanyue, it adopted a three-row layout with a combination of 6/7 seats, and today's Star Era ET is longer and wider than Lanyue, but it is only equipped with five seats, which is one of the few medium and large SUVs with a large five-seat positioning at a price of 200,000.
This positioning is easily reminiscent of the ideal L6/L7 and M7, which are both medium and large five-seater SUVs.
Compared to the size, the size of the Star Era ET is between the ideal L6 and L7, except for the 3-meter wheelbase is more prominent, the length and width of the car are closer to the L6. Compared to the M7, the Epoch ET is shorter and lower, but has an advantage in width and wheelbase. Therefore, in terms of level, the Star Era ET and the ideal L6 and the 5-seat version of the M7 can be regarded as competitors in the same class.
In terms of price, the Star Era ET is much lower than the ideal L6 and the M7, at the same price, the main opponent of the Star Era ET Extended Range Edition is actually a medium-sized hybrid SUV such as Lynk & Co 08 and Corvette 07, compared with them, the Star Era ET is properly a level larger.
In terms of power, Chery has been focusing on the plug-in hybrid route in the PHEV direction, and its Kunpeng hybrid technology based on the 3-speed DHT gearbox is very characteristic in structure, but compared with the single-gear BYD DM-i, it is more complex and expensive, and the market performance is very average. Today's Star Era ET represents Chery's official efforts in the direction of range extension.
It is worth mentioning here that unlike Chery's previous plug-in hybrid models shared by the gasoline-electric platform, the Star Era ET uses a new native new energy platform, or we can also call it a pure electric platform. Because the compatibility between pure electric and extended range power is very high, we can also judge from the high axle-to-length ratio of the Star Era ET and the storage box in the front compartment of the pure electric version.
The above is the basic positioning of Star Era ET, and then let's take a look at its specific product features.
What are the pros and cons of Star Era?
The Epoch ET has two versions, extended range and pure electric, of which the price range of the extended range version is much lower than that of the pure electric version, and based on the experience of other models, it can be speculated that the extended range version will be the main sales force of this car, so we will first introduce the extended range version.
Highlight 1: The price is advantageous
Integrating the three elements of new energy, medium and large and 5 seats, the Star Era ET is basically the first model with a guide price of less than 200,000 yuan. In addition to it, most of the 200,000 or so new energy SUVs are medium-sized SUVs such as Xpeng G6, BYD Song L, and Lynk & Co 08.
Even if the price is raised, you can find positioning attributes similar to Star Era ET, and only the ideal L6/L7 and Wenjie M7 mentioned above are found. If the range is expanded to 6/7-seater models, medium and large SUVs such as Weipai Lanshan (sold from 273,800 yuan) and Lynk & Co 09 PHEV (sold from 289,900 yuan) are also much higher than those of the Star Era ET.
Highlight 2: The space is large enough and the comfort performance is outstanding
With a length of nearly 5 meters and a wheelbase of 3 meters, the space of the Star Era ET is the least to worry about. Whether it's the front or the back, whether it's the ride or storage, its space is more than enough for the vast majority of families, which goes without saying, we can look at the picture:
It is worth mentioning that the interior of the Star Era ET also makes a good home atmosphere, with a simple and bright design. The over-design that was common in the previous Xingtu and Chery models has been changed, and the cockpit generally adopts soft lines and curves. The center console, doors, armrests, etc. are basically completely covered with soft leather, and the sense of luxury that is beyond the level is indeed made.
In terms of seats, Xingtu has obviously put in great effort, the overall width is thick and thick, and the effect of the checkered pattern is very eye-catching. The colour scheme, ambience and design of the entire cockpit are visually comfortable. In addition, the configuration similar to the zero-gravity seat of the co-pilot is not surprisingly equipped.
Highlight 3: Standard 200 km pure electric range
The Epoch ET extended range version is equipped with a 32kWh battery pack, and the pure electric range under CLTC working conditions is 200 kilometers, which is not long compared with the 212 kilometers of the ideal L6 and the 240 kilometers of the M7.
However, considering competing products at the same price, plug-in hybrid models such as Lynk & Co 08 and BYD Corvette 07 have a starting battery pack of about 20kWh, a pure electric range of more than 100 kilometers, and the price of the 200 km+ version is more than 200,000 yuan.
If the pure electric range reaches 200 kilometers like the Star Era ET, it can be opened as a pure electric model in most daily scenarios, which is also an advantage over plug-in hybrid SUVs at the same price.
Highlight 4: The chassis specifications are full
In terms of mechanical quality, its chassis hardware specifications are indeed very high, first of all, the suspension structure, using a combination of front double wishbones and rear five links, which has reached the level of luxury cars, and at the same time, there is also a CDC+ air suspension blessing.
The above are the main highlights of the Epoch ET extended range version, with a price of about 200,000 yuan, it is indeed a very cost-effective product. However, behind the ultra-high cost performance, there are also some shortcomings that cannot be ignored.
1. There is no four-wheel drive in the whole range of the extended range version
Compared with the official benchmark ideal L6/L7, one of the most obvious shortcomings of the Star Era ET is that the whole system only has the power of a single motor rear-wheel drive.
In fact, it can be seen from the sales ratio of the M7 that the two-wheel drive version with a lower price is significantly higher than the four-wheel drive version, and if the ideal L6/L7 launches a two-wheel drive version, the sales volume is expected to exceed the four-wheel drive version. However, there is no four-wheel drive in the whole range extension of the Star Era ET, in addition to being unable to meet the needs of four-wheel drive customers, its own product image will also have a certain impact.
2. The power lags behind competing products
The motor of the Star Era ET has a parameter of 265 horsepower, and the official 0-100km/h result is 7.8 seconds, which is relatively sufficient for daily household use, compared with the two-wheel drive version of the corvette 07 and Tang DM-i, the power is stronger.
But for the current 200,000 price of mainstream new energy vehicles, the power of the Star Era ET two-wheel drive version is a bit outdated, the two-wheel drive version of Lynk & Co 08, also has a comprehensive power of 381 horsepower, four-wheel drive ideal L6, Wenjie M7, 0-100km/h results are about 5 seconds.
The price comes to the new energy market of 200,000 yuan, and consumers' requirements for power are no longer just enough, and the relative weakness of Star Era ET in this regard may lose some potential customers.
Disadvantage 3: The configuration is insufficient
As a large five-seater SUV with no shortage of vertical space, the Star Era ET is equipped with a panoramic sunroof, but there is no physical sunshade.
In addition, the Snapdragon 8295 car machine chip, which has begun to appear at the price of 150,000, has not appeared on the Star Era ET. Although the basic voice interaction and car-machine fluency have been guaranteed, for the new car in May 2024, the entire car-machine performance of the Star Era ET is indeed not the first echelon.
Secondly, in terms of intelligent driving, the Star Era ET Extended Range Edition does not have lidar in the whole system, and only has the ability to drive intelligently at high speeds. Considering that many people buy new energy vehicles, they are going for intelligence and intelligent driving, which may also affect the sales of the Epoch ET extended range version.
The above is the basic situation of the Star Era ET extended range version, as for the pure electric version, the price threshold is much higher than that of the extended range version, and the main sales price has come to 23-270,000, but it also makes up for some shortcomings of the extended range version.
For example, in terms of power, the rear-wheel drive version of the Star Era ET pure electric has 313 horsepower and a 0-100km/h time of 6.6 seconds. At the same time, the pure electric version also has a four-wheel drive version, divided into two versions of 480 and 562 horsepower, with a score of 4.7 and 3.8 seconds respectively, which has kept up with the mainstream level of new energy.
In terms of intelligent driving, the Epoch ET pure electric version of the Star Era has been given lidar and urban intelligent driving from the configuration of 249,800, and at the same time, it is equipped with an 800V high-voltage architecture as standard, and the core hardware has basically kept up with the industry trend.
In addition, from the perspective of the medium and large electric SUV level, the Star Era ET is currently one of the lowest-priced models. For example, the Xpeng G9, which is half a circle smaller in size, has a starting price of more than 240,000 yuan after the price reduction. Although the Epoch ET pure electric version is unlikely to become the main sales model, its cost performance does further increase the competition in the market.
In short, the Epoch ET is a sincere product as a whole, and it may achieve a certain breakthrough in sales. Whether it can become Chery's explosive model in the high-end new energy market to reverse the decline will have to wait for the market test.
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