[Aika car shopping guide original]
There is competition to make progress, which is the constant law of the automotive market. Today, the vast majority of market segments are highly competitive, except for the MPV sector, which is dominated by a very small number of models. In contrast, the MPV share has continued to shrink in recent years, placing it on the margins of the overall market. From January to November this year, the cumulative sales of domestic MPVs were 982,000 units, accounting for 5.4% of the total sales of narrow passenger cars, and the share was 0.3 percentage points lower than that of 2020. The cake keeps getting smaller, the winners are still all-you-can-eat, how can other players break the game? The answer is new energy. Facing the blue ocean market, SAIC Maxus maxus has launched a new pure electric MPV - MIFA 9.
Saic Motor Maxus MIFA 9 is positioned as a medium and large MPV and is the brand's fourth pure electric vehicle. In November this year, SAIC Maxus MIFA 9 (hereinafter referred to as "MIFA 9") was officially launched, with a price range of 269,990-37.99 million yuan. Can the smart + electric banner become the "secret method" for MIFA 9 to break the monopoly? Today, let's experience MIFA 9 up close and see what highlights this new energy MPV has.
MIFA 9 is based on MIFA, a new-generation intelligent extensibility architecture of SAIC Maxus, which was formerly known as the MIFA EV concept car. After mass production, miFA 9 retains the essence of the concept version, and the exterior design is very futuristic. For new energy vehicles, such a sense of specialty is still necessary.
MIFA 9 adopts split LED headlights, and the shape of the light group is more unique. The above through-line light group plays the role of a daily running light, which seems to have become a symbol of new energy vehicles. The main light set is arranged in a low position on both sides of the bumper, and the far/low beam lights are integrated.
In terms of body size, mifa 9 has advantages in its class. Specifically, the length/width/height of the car is 5270mm/2000mm/1840mm, and the wheelbase is 3200mm. The live-action vehicle is equipped with privacy glass, which fully guarantees the privacy of the second and third rows, and also provides sun protection. After a series of aerodynamic optimizations, the drag coefficient of MIFA 9 is controlled at 0.29.
The door handle design is ingenious. The front and rear handles are joined together to form a visual extension that makes the sides of the body look less bloated. Both the front/rear rows support keyless entry, and the convenience is worth affirming. Entry-level models are equipped with right-side electric side sliding doors, and medium- and high-end models provide double-sided electric side sliding doors and support light-sensitive opening.
The rear door slides are cleverly hidden at the bottom of the third row of side windows, and the rear fenders are very minimalist. The charging interface is located in the left rear of the body, and the vertical parking space is more convenient to charge. However, if you encounter a side charging parking space, such a design is not convenient enough.
The new car is equipped with 19-inch six-spoke wheels, and the low wind resistance shape helps to improve endurance performance. The tire size is 235/55 R19 and the high flat ratio design is conducive to comfort. The tire pattern is selected from the horse brand EcoContact 6, which has a good performance in rolling resistance, sound insulation and noise reduction, and has a self-healing function.
In the rear part of the car, MIFA 9 almost copied the design of the MIFA EV concept car, and the styling concept is very advanced. In the author's opinion, the "futuristic sense" is no longer enough to reflect the boldness of the rear design, and the "sci-fi sense" is a more appropriate description.
The taillights use LED light sources, and the through-line design is instantly rememberable. The corners on both sides are bold and have a strong degree of recognition. The "MAXUS" logo is lined up, which is the iconic design of SAIC Maxus MAXUS.
The MIFA 9 is equipped with the MAXUS-Pilot driver assistance system. According to the official definition, its autonomous driving ability has reached the "L2++ level". In addition to the conventional adaptive cruise, lane keeping, blind spot monitoring and other functions, MIFA 9 can also be combined with AutoNavi high-precision maps to achieve pilot assistance functions.
MiFA 9 is equipped with 5 millimeter wave radars, 4 surround view cameras, 12 ultrasonic radars and 7 high-definition cameras, and adopts horizon intelligent driver assistance chips, and the hardware specifications have reached the mainstream level or above.
Specifically, MAXUS-Pilot not only provides conventional L2-level auxiliary driving functions such as AEB automatic emergency braking, ACC adaptive cruise, LKA lane keeping system, BSD blind spot monitoring, IHC intelligent far and near light, etc., but also realizes command lane change and pilot assistance. With the help of the HIGH-precision map, the car can almost drive autonomously on the highway, and realizes cone avoidance, anthropomorphic avoidance, roadblock avoidance and emergency stop assistance.
Appearance | Bring the concept car into reality
The interior of the SAIC Maxus MIFA 9 is not as sci-fi as it looks, but it also follows the trend and reflects the forward-looking design concept. The center console adopts a wrap-around design, which naturally integrates with the door panel and the visual effect is more harmonious. The triple screen adopts a flat and extended design, highlighting the width of the car, and the sense of technology and space are online at the same time. The interior texture continues the consistent level of SAIC Maxus MAXUS, and the material workmanship is not bad.
Compared with saic motor MAXUS products, MIFA 9 can be described as a rebirth in the interior part, and the overall design is more technological and quality. The cabin has an excellent sense of space and the wrap-around centre console creates a certain luxurious atmosphere.
The steering wheel is two-spoke, and the white/black color combination enhances the sense of fashion. The steering wheel is thin and hard to hold, but the leather material is delicate to the touch and has white stitching.
MiFA 9 medium and high-end models provide a HUD head-up display system, and the information presentation is more intuitive. This HUD system adopts the W-HUD scheme, and the display content is projected directly on the front windshield, and the clarity has certain advantages over C-HUD.
The electronic gear shift mechanism adopts a pocket gear design, which is more convenient to use and expands the storage space of the floor.
The interior materials are in line with expectations, and the locations that passengers are often exposed to are made of soft materials, which can be tactile and aesthetically pleasing. The light blue lychee skin echoes the exterior coating and looks unique.
MiFA 9 adopts a triple screen design, and the visual effect is quite shocking. The three LCD screens are all tiled design, and there is no gap between the screen and the border, which improves the visual grade. The UI interface adopts a dark color style, which weakens the presence of the border.
Strictly speaking, the MIFA 9 is equipped with four screens in the front row. The "pocket screen" on the far right is used to display the image of the car assistant, which is somewhat similar to NIO NOMI and Xiaopeng Xiao P.
The central control screen integrates a series of functions such as audio, navigation, air conditioning, and settings, and the operation logic is intuitive, and the difficulty of getting started is not high. The main interface adopts a card-style design, and a single screen can display navigation maps, audio entertainment, voice assistants and other content. Common function shortcut keys and air conditioning status are designed to be displayed at any time, which is convenient for users to access at any time.
In terms of software, this set of vehicles adopts the Zebra system jointly created by SAIC Motor and Ali, and the ecological resources are relatively rich. In addition to the regular online features mentioned above, the new car also supports third-party applications (Bilibili, NetEase Cloud Music, DingTalk, etc.) and Mini Programs (illegal inquiry, refueling assistant, etc.).
The co-pilot entertainment screen is rich in functions, not only can display audio, video, radio and other content, but also can call up navigation, air conditioning and application menus, improving the status of front passengers.
Medium- and high-end models are equipped with JBL 12-speaker sound systems, while low-end models feature an 8-speaker sound system. If you have higher requirements for auditory quality, JBL audio is undoubtedly a better choice.
The MIFA 9 is equipped with a 64-color mood light that allows users to personalize the colors within the palette or use the 6 officially recommended default colors. It is worth mentioning that the color of the atmosphere light can move with the rhythm of the music, which enhances the sense of interaction between people and vehicles.
With the help of SAIC's resource integration capabilities, the new car has made significant progress in intelligence, and the sense of luxury has reached the level that should be at the same price. However, in the face of new competitors, MIFA 9 is not enough to do a good job, and the software level is equally important. The actually filmed vehicle is an engineering prototype, and the software adaptation has not yet reached the final state, so we cannot give a conclusion for the time being.
Interior | Triple screen technology is full of sense
As mentioned above, SAIC Maxus MAXUS MIFA 9 is based on the MIFA architecture. In view of the structural characteristics of pure electric vehicles, MIFA 9 has optimized the layout of the whole vehicle in an all-round way, and the riding space has reached the upper limit level of medium and large MPV. The MIFA 9 offers six-seat (2+2+2) and seven-seat (2+2+3) seating layouts, with the former focusing more on luxury and the latter more on practicality.
The MIFA 9 has a body size that surpasses its peers, and there is no need to worry about the seating space. Adjust the front seats to the lowest position, and the experiencer who is 175cm tall can get about two punches of head space. The front windshield and front side windows are large, the A-pillar blind area is small, and the field of view performance is satisfactory.
The main driver's seat supports 12-way electric adjustment and comes with 2 sets of memory functions. The co-pilot seat only supports 8-way adjustment and sits in a high position. The front seat padding is moderately soft and stiff, with 3 levels of heating, 3 levels of ventilation and massage.
Keeping the front seat position unchanged and adjusting the rear row to the standard position (the official definition of the "one-click collapse" position), the 175cm tall experiencer has two punches of legroom and one punch and three fingers of head space. The rear seats have a wide range of adjustments and legroom can be extended to the length of the forearm.
Depending on the model, the MIFA 9 offers three second-row seats, namely the electric free-standing seat, the deluxe free-standing seat and the immersive space capsule deluxe seat. The live-action model is equipped with a luxury seat in an immersive space capsule, and the second row provides functions such as electric adjustment, heating, ventilation, massage, and leg rest. The seat padding is soft and the fit is satisfactory.
The outer armrests are integrated with control screens to adjust the seats, air conditioning, sunroofs, and windows, giving the second row of passengers full control. The screen is preset with convenient functions such as one-key lying flat, one-key retracting, and co-driver restoration, which is convenient for users to quickly adjust the seat. In addition, the second row of seats has a shadow companion function, which copies the seat status to the other side and automatically switches as the passenger is seated.
MIFA 9 takes good care of the passengers in the second row and caters for business purposes. The live-action model is not only equipped with a second row of electric leg rests, but also integrated foot rests behind the front seats, and the comfort of the "boss seat" is excellent.
The inner armrests are integrated with a small folding table panel to facilitate the work of the second row of passengers in the car. After the table is unfolded, it can put down about a 14-inch laptop, and the practicality is worth affirming. In addition, the second row also has a 220V power supply, and the details are quite thoughtful.
The battery pack is arranged in the chassis, the floor height is not ideal, and it is difficult for the rear passengers to "level up and down". Fortunately, MIFA 9 has been designed with a step to facilitate passengers to get on and off the bus.
Keeping the second row of seats unchanged and adjusting the third row of seats to the last position, the experiencer who is 175cm tall can get two punches of legroom and two fingers of head space. The third row of seats is electrically adjustable, with heating, ventilation, massage and leg rests all in perfect comfort.
The third row of seats has a large range of adjustments, which directly affects the luggage compartment space. When the third row of seats is adjusted to the last position, the depth of the luggage compartment is very limited, and it can only accommodate items of the size of the checker box.
Thanks to the refined design of the MIFA architecture, the MIFA 9 provides an additional front luggage compartment. The front luggage compartment is not large, suitable for some scattered items, more like a car storage box.
Between business and practicality, MIFA 9 focuses on the former. Overall, the MIFA 9 has excellent seating space, a wide range of seat configurations and a high level of static comfort. If you have frequent business reception needs, this car will be a good choice.
Space | 3200mm wheelbase show
SAIC Maxus MIFA 9 is equipped with SAIC Motor's new generation of intelligent and efficient electric drive system, all of which adopt a front-mounted single motor setting. Specifically, the maximum power of the permanent magnet synchronous motor is 180 kW (245 hp) and the maximum torque is 350 Nm. In terms of batteries, the new car is equipped with a 90kWh ternary lithium battery, and the CLTC has a cruising range of 520km.
MiFA 9 is based on the MIFA architecture and is equipped with SAIC's new generation of intelligent and efficient electric drive system. The new electric drive system is more compact in design, effectively reducing the mechanical space occupation and expanding the seating space and storage space.
The permanent magnet synchronous motor adopts an 8-layer Hair-Pin winding, which effectively improves the power density. The motor has a maximum power of 180 kW (245 hp) and a maximum torque of 350 Nm. In terms of transmission, the car is equipped with a single-stage reducer, which is a fixed gearbox.
MIFA 9 offers Three driving modes: Sport,Sport(Sport),Normal(Normal),(Eco)", as well as three energy recovery intensities: Strong, Medium and Light.
The MIFA 9 series is equipped with a 90kWh ternary lithium battery pack, and its supplier is CATL. Under CLTC conditions, the car has a combined cruising range of 520km. The whole series is equipped with PTC electric heating elements as standard, and the high-end models are additionally equipped with heat pump air conditioning, which has certain advantages in winter energy consumption.
During the charging process, the vehicle can actively heat the battery so that it enters the appropriate operating temperature in advance.
Chassis, miFA 9 uses four independent suspensions, the front axle is McPherson type, the rear axle is five-link type. The MacPherson front suspension saves space and makes dual luggage compartment designs possible. The five-link rear suspension effectively constrains the wheel trajectory, theoretically improving handling and comfort.
MiFA 9 features a new body safety design with 80% of high-strength steel and 25% of thermoformed steel. In addition, the new car is equipped with ESP 9.3 body stability system, 7 airbags, AEB active safety system, FCW forward collision warning, active and passive safety configuration is satisfactory.
Editor's comments: As the first model under the MIFA architecture, the MIFA 9 successfully opened a new chapter for SAIC Maxus MAXUS. The new car is not only full of futuristic shape, but also has obvious progress in the two dimensions of intelligence and luxury. Compared with the traditional strength in the MPV field, MIFA 9 has certain advantages in terms of seat space and seat configuration, and the business atmosphere is even stronger. In many cities with limited purchases, MIFA 9 can be listed without a lottery, which is also a reflection of product competitiveness. For the sake of lottery-free numbers, are you considering buying a pure electric MPV? Readers and friends are welcome to leave their opinions in the comment area.
Power | CLTC has a range of 520km