Highlander's name has long been heard. The praise of "the opponent of the flowing water, the highlander of the iron" is too appropriate, which means that among the models of the same class, the Highlander is a benchmark product with very strong comprehensive strength. In fact, since Highlander entered the Chinese market in 2009, it has accumulated the trust and support of 1.1 million car owners in the past 12 years, and it is also the first large seven-seat SUV in China to sell more than one million, which has to be admired. Recently, I participated in the new fourth-generation Highlander "Championship Journey, The Inevitable Choice" test drive and experienced the new fourth-generation Highlander and Veranda.
Commuting and traveling can all be done
This journey lasts for five days, our group of people driving the new fourth generation highlander, Veranda, starting from the ancient city of Xianyang, through Tianshui, Guangyuan, Bazhong, and finally arrived in Ankang, during which there is no shortage of urban sections, highway sections and mountain paths and other road conditions, but these are purely small cases for the new fourth-generation Highlander and Veranda.
First of all, briefly talk about the powertrain of the new fourth-generation Highlander, which is equipped with Toyota's fourth-generation enhanced version of the THSII. hybrid system, which is composed of a 2.5L naturally aspirated engine and a drive motor, the maximum power of the system is 183kW, the total torque of the motor is 238N·m, the transmission system matches the E-CVT transmission, has a strong driving smoothness and good fuel economy, and the official fuel consumption of 100 kilometers is 5.8L (four-wheel drive version).
Our first day was from Xianyang to Tianshui, and when we set off from the hotel, we could clearly feel that after the new fourth-generation Highlander had the blessing of the motor, the start was easy and smooth, and I was very friendly to me when I first started. With the deep step of the throttle, the engine intervention is very rapid, and the acceleration is very direct, silky, and continuous.
In the experience of the high-speed section, the most praised by the whole vehicle is the chassis and suspension system, the chassis of the new fourth-generation Highlander is very solid, giving the drivers and occupants a good driving texture, especially through the high-speed bridge deck connection section, the high-speed performance is very stable, giving me a strong driving confidence.
As the convoy drove to the Guangyuan Road, the scenery was beautiful and the road was steep. The terrain of the Sichuan Basin is relatively steep, there are many flying stones on the road, and after years of development, the road has long been torn apart by heavy engineering vehicles, and the road surface is very complicated. However, these muddy potholes did not cause me too much trouble, and the power distribution of the four-wheel drive system was balanced, making the new fourth-generation Highlander run with ease, and the whole driving process showed the calmness that should be there, which made me feel very safe.
At present, after the test drive experience, the new fourth-generation Highlander under the TNGA architecture has performed well, in simple words, the suspension has tenacity, the bumps are filtered very cleanly, the body posture is very stable, and the driving comfort is excellent.
Let's talk about the Veranda High Performance Edition, which is equipped with a plug-in hybrid system consisting of a 2.5L Atkinson cycle engine and a front/rear axle dual electric motor, with a total power of up to 225kW, a strong power output, and an official acceleration time of 5.96 seconds per 100 kilometers.
When I actually drove, the Velanda High Performance Edition of this powertrain was indeed worthy of the name, and the overall power feedback was direct and rapid. As for the sense of handling, the lateral support of the Veranda high-performance version is very tough, and the steering feel is also very solid, especially when accelerating at full speed in the corner, it is obvious that the rear of the car is very flexible and the driving passion is full. In general, the Positioning of the Velanda High Performance Edition is younger, and the tuning of the vehicle is more sporty.
The fuel consumption performance of both vehicles is very satisfactory, the team has only entered the gas station once during the journey, and the Veranda High Performance Edition can achieve EV and HEV free switching modes, and the fuel consumption is only 5 throughout the run. The new fourth-generation Highlander, which has also waded through the mountains and waters, is not inferior, and the average fuel consumption of the test drive is only about 7, and the fuel economy of the vehicle is very good.
It is worth mentioning that during the period when we went deep into the Bazhong Mountains, the temperature plummeted, and the small partners in the same industry wanted to drink hot water, but we were still some distance from the nearest supply point, so the Veranda high-performance version became our mobile charging treasure. There is a socket in the trunk of Veranda, which supports 220V, load power of 1500W external power supply function (this is no different from the household socket), we only need to power on the hot water kettle prepared in advance and wait for a while, we can enjoy a cup of boiling water in the cold and windy mountains. According to official data, the Veranda High Performance Edition can boil up to 188 pots of hot water in a fully charged state, so it is more than enough to boil a few pots of boiling water during the trip.
Increase the level of intelligence, the experience and then upgrade
As we all know, GAC Toyota has always been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people for its fuel-saving, economical and durable characteristics, but its intelligent performance is often ignored by everyone. In the new era of consumers' general pursuit of intelligent vehicle attributes, the new fourth-generation Highlander has further strengthened its product strength in intelligence and upgraded the intelligent configuration of vehicles. During the five-day test drive, I was pleasantly surprised by the actual experience.
First of all, the new fourth-generation Highlander equipped with the new Toyota Safety Sense 2.0 intelligent driving assistance system, when driving at high speed, I can safely open the full speed domain adaptive cruise function, with lane keeping, home use is very worry-free, although my hands and feet have not left the steering wheel and brake pedals, but compared to the previous frequent operations, the new fourth-generation Highlander also greatly alleviated my driving fatigue, making travel more safe and enjoyable.
Because this is my first time in Shaanxi Province, I was particularly cautious when I first arrived in the city, afraid of encountering pedestrians who do not obey traffic rules and some sudden traffic safety hazards. The new fourth-generation Highlander's night-time pedestrian recognition function and intersection steering assist function have played a miraculous role, which can effectively help me avoid sudden pedestrians, coupled with the pre-collision automatic braking function, which can be said to be the safety protection of drivers and passengers and passers-by to the extreme. The new fourth-generation Highlander gives me a sense of ease in driving, allowing me to relax on the road to better appreciate the scenery and make the journey more enjoyable.
Regarding the intelligent interconnection configuration of the car, the obvious change in the car is the addition of a new 12.3-inch suspension central control large screen, with a full LCD dashboard, the combination of this screen displays a lot of vehicle information, and the display effect is clear and delicate, adding a full sense of technology to the interior of the car.
In actual use, this piece of central control large screen built-in intelligent voice navigation system, I only need to say "Hello, Xiaoyue" can start to issue instructions, and the speech recognition rate is very high, so before each departure, I almost use the form of voice commands to enter our next station destination, while the system can also intelligently plan the best route, it is very convenient and intelligent to use.
In addition to the conventional map navigation, online music, voice recognition and other functions, the car machine system also supports the face ID recognition system, which can log in to Baidu, QQ music and other application accounts through face recognition at one time, and brush face and pay without password. At first, I was not too familiar with the face ID recognition function of the new fourth-generation Highlander, so when I got on the car, I fiddled with how to log on to Baidu and QQ music for a while, but I did not expect that as soon as the staff sat in the driver's seat, the car automatically recognized the face and then landed on these applications with one key, which really stunned me.
Of course, if you are a loyal user of in-vehicle intelligent connection systems such as HiCar/Carplay/Carlife, you can also connect to the car machine according to your own preferences. And for these services mentioned above, GAC Toyota will also provide 5 years of basic free traffic and 1 year of free voice traffic services. So our group in the test drive process, the whole process is using the car flow to listen to QQ music, watch CCTV audio and video, etc., without the slightest worry about the traffic will run out, while with the whole car 11 speakers of JBL audio use, this audiovisual effect has a feeling of being in the concert scene.
Finally, the new fourth-generation Highlander's "Fengyun Yuexiang" Zhixing Interconnection System, after I bind the account with my mobile phone, I can use my mobile phone to remotely control the vehicle, like remote air conditioning is the most commonly used function in my test drive process. Because the time comes to December, for a southerner, the winter in the north is really quite cold, so before leaving, I will habitually pull out my mobile phone and turn on the air conditioner in the car in advance to heat up to ensure the temperature in the car and our demeanor. In addition, for car owners, the system's car condition query, anti-theft reminder and vehicle positioning and other functions are also very practical.
Write at the end
After the test drive experience, the new fourth-generation Highlander and Veranda left a very deep impression on me, whether it is the intelligent performance of the whole vehicle, or the consistent excellent driving texture and excellent fuel economy, let me understand why the "Lanta Brothers" can stand out from the same level. There is no reason for it, as the test drive theme says: continuous innovation, the pursuit of the ultimate.