On December 21, the first domestic full-size pickup truck, ZTE Weishi 1949, was officially listed in ZTE Automobile's latest Rizhao factory, opening the full-size era of domestic pickup trucks. There are three versions of the new car: commercial, passenger and competitive, with a price range of 155,900-20.99 million yuan.
On December 22nd, we conducted a test drive experience on the commercial version of the Weishi 1949 model in Shuhe River Beach, Rizhao Juxian County, one of the birthplaces of ancient Chinese characters. 13 years ago, I used a ZTE pickup truck to get a driver's license, and now I feel very friendly after driving a ZTE pickup truck again. Of course, compared with the ZTE pickup coach car of the Weishi 1949 driving school more than a decade ago, this Weishi 1949 has spanned the evolution of several generations of models, whether it is the exterior interior or configuration and power, it is a new image. And the first impression of this Weishi 1949 is that it is very tall, very large, very domineering.
The height of the new car reached 1910mm, the width reached 2045mm, the corresponding front of the car is also very tall and thick, its front face is more tall and powerful than most of the full-size SUVs, reaching the full-size pickup truck should be the aura, compared to the F-150, Tantu These models are also unambiguous.
The front face of the new car looks very rough overall, but the actual details are also very rich. The cover has a two-step raised rib line shape from the upper position of the headlight to the middle, similar to the style of dodge RAM. In the upper part of the logo in the middle net with three orange running lights, the headlights are also used in a very rich modeling structure, the visual effect is very chic, with a high degree of recognition.
The commercial version of the models currently on the market is the use of long-shaft versions, the length, width and height are 5692/2045/1910 mm, the wheelbase is 3513 mm, whether it is the size data or the actual visual effect, it is indeed very large.
In the rear part of the car, the tail light shape contour is very square, and the contrast lampshade color match is used. The upper part of the tailgate is decorated with raised ribs and threads, or it is decorated with pulled flowers. The rear bar is tough, with a two-point reversing radar, and in addition to the reversing radar, the new car also provides a reversing camera in the reargate handle position.
The interior part, the shape of the center console is very stretched, it is a conventional modeling layout, using an embedded central control screen, the center console with leather wrapping, as well as stitch decoration, equipped with an LCD dashboard. However, the current test drive is still a trial car, and the functional configuration will be different from the officially listed mass production version, so the detailed configuration is not introduced.
In the rear space part, the horizontal space for three adults will not appear crowded, close to the level of the Ford F-150, the longitudinal space is a large gap compared to the F-150, and the head space performance is more than the F-150. The cushion is moderately soft and hard, and the backrest is still not comparable to cars and SUVs, but the waist support is not bad. The rear will provide air conditioning outlets as well as power connectors.
In the dynamic experience part, the commercial version currently on the market is all equipped with a 2.3T diesel engine developed by Renault/Nissan, with a maximum power of 163 horsepower and a peak torque of 380 Nm, and the current diesel version only matches a 6-speed manual transmission. The sound of this engine is more delicate than that of the isuzu diesel engine, and the noise performance can only be clearly felt that this is a diesel engine when starting or stepping on the throttle deeply.
The advantage of being a diesel engine is that the low torque is very strong, although it is a manual transmission, but the start will be very easy, because this test drive is a partial off-road site environment, only a small section of the national road section before entering the site, so the detailed power performance under the high-speed road conditions has not been experienced this time.
On potholed dirt roads, the advantages of this non-load-bearing body structure pickup truck with girders are reflected, which can better resist impacts, and the overall nature of its chassis is good, and there is no obvious abnormal sound in the car. In addition, the ground clearance of up to 240 mm does not have to worry about the bottom in large potholed sections. The commercial version uses the traditional rear leaf spring structure, and the rear wheel can still be felt to have some lateral sliding on uneven dirt roads.
The test drive of the four-wheel drive model can easily cope with the high-speed four-wheel drive mode on the beach by the river, especially the manual model is more interesting in this field. There is a two-wheel drive version of the experience, and the advantages of the four-wheel drive version in the sand and climbing ability are very obvious.
The Weishi 1949 waded to a depth of 850mm, and the riverbed is not very soft and can be crossed. At present, the test driving experience is only the commercial version of the model, in addition, Weishi 1949 also has a competitive version of the model equipped with more professional off-road configurations such as nitrogen shock absorption, differential lock, off-road large pattern tires, etc., I believe that the competitive version will have higher playability.
Driving a sedan or urban SUV, and then driving this off-road style of large pickup truck, can calmly cope with pothole dirt roads, can climb mountains, can go down the river, and indeed can get better driving pleasure. Judging from the growing sales of pickup truck models in recent years, the playability of pickup trucks has also been more and more recognized, and pickups in the domestic market have also begun to develop from tool-based to passenger and off-road.
And this new ZTE Weishi 1949 is not only a tall and domineering look, but also a more fun big pickup.