Inner Mongolia Xilin Gol League Shangdu Lake, the temperature is minus 30 degrees Celsius, FAW Toyota "vertical ice and snow - the whole series of ice and snow test drive" opened here. As a southerner, Brother Ruan's initial mentality towards this ice and snow test drive was purely "playing with ice", frantically tempting on the verge of loss of control, expecting unbridled drift, but in fact it was far from what I imagined.
In this ice and snow test drive, Brother Reel drove a total of 6 models, including Crown Land Release, Ling Fang Dual Engine, RAV4 Rong Fang Double Engine E+, Yi Ze Double Engine, Asian Dragon Double Engine and Asia Lion. Covers fuel versions and hybrid versions of SUVs and sedans. It is worth mentioning that the models of this test drive are all replaced by special nail tires to ensure that the vehicle does not completely lose grip on the ice surface, but despite this, the smooth ice surface is still a great challenge to the normal driving of the vehicle.
During the test drive, these models also corresponded to 4 different tracks, all of which were reproduced from the world-famous tracks, and each corner was carefully designed to fully demonstrate the performance of the vehicle. Then the next brother will talk about the surprises of all FAW Toyota models on the ice and snow road through these 4 tracks and the final cross-country crossing link.
Fuji Circuit: Asiatic Lions & Asian Dragons
The ultra-long straight is the biggest feature of the Fuji circuit, which seems ordinary but actually hides a hidden crisis, especially the continuous turning back at the end of the straight and the high-speed S-bend, which requires precise handling stability and power, but as the only two cars on the field, the Asiatic Lion and the Asian Dragon challenge the Fuji track.
The first test drive was Asiatic Lion, which is equipped with a 2.0L naturally aspirated engine, and as a model of the Corolla platform, the lightweight body ensures its sufficient power, and the overall handling is very light. Although the front-drive layout is adopted, the TNGA's low center of gravity still shows good handling, although the deceleration in the initial corner is not in place, but the vehicle's push head phenomenon is not too obvious, just through the automatic return of the steering wheel can easily get out of the corner.
Compared with the Asiatic Lion, the performance of the Asian Dragon Twin Engine is more stable, and the burden caused by the nearly 5-meter-long body is not as obvious as imagined. On the one hand, thanks to the blessing of the 2.5L dual-engine power system, until the acceleration performance is outstanding. On the other hand, the linear power output also brings a smooth experience to speed up the corners. The larger car weight is not dominant when cornering, but fortunately, the timely intervention of the body stabilization system smoothly resolves the understeer, but it brings the pleasure of slight floating.
Silverstone Track: Ling Fang Double Engine
The fame of London Silverstone Circuit believes that many car enthusiasts are not strangers, compared to fuji track, Silverstone track is not a lot of curves, but it contains a variety of compound mid-speed corners, high-speed corners and back corners, quite elaborate on the performance and speed control.
As FAW Toyota's first coupe SUV, Lingfang has added a lot of points in styling and remarkable performance. To cope with the ice and snow Silverstone track, the E-Four electronic four-wheel drive system and the 2.5L dual-engine power system can be said to have helped a lot.
Especially in the middle speed corner, Ling Put double engine basically do not have to step on the brakes, just need to release the throttle at the right time, grasp the steering angle, rely on the E-Four electric four-wheel drive system to accurately match the front and rear axle power to easily enter the corner, and after the bend, the throttle speed does not need too much to worry about, under the blessing of E-Four, the tail follower of the Ling is precise and agile, and the sense of control when the speed reaches about sixty or seventy is still clear.
Spa Circuit: Crown Land Dual Engine
Spa is one of the most legendary circuits in the world, with wide corners and stretched straights increasing the speed of the vehicle's passage and providing an exciting thrill. As the largest model in the whole field, the performance of the crown lufang here is also quite surprising.
Due to its large size, the Crown Land Release should be the easiest to "float" up in the test drive type, but in the actual driving, Brother Reel found that its playability is no less than that of the Asian Dragon, because it can make you feel the existence of the E-Four four-wheel drive and the body stabilization system, and stimulate you to constantly try to flirt.
That is to say, compared to Lingfang, the performance of the Crown Land on the ice is not too tough, it will allow you to challenge more bold moves, but at the same time it can pull you back from the edge of loss of control in time, without too much deliberate control of speed. This will lead to a more stable and comfortable driving experience on the daily paving.
Tsukuba Circuit: Izawa Twin Engines
The composition of the Tsukuba Circuit in Japan is relatively simple, consisting of three large angle bends and two straight lines, and the combination of high and low speed curves is also quite high. Among them, the Yize Double Engine of the test drive is the most impressive one in the whole test drive.
As an outlier in the small SUV market, Yize obviously does not pay too much attention to home characteristics, but is a model with a main sports orientation. Although positioned as an SUV, the TNGA's low center of gravity makes The Izzie feel more like a hatchback. And the handling of this car on the ice and snow road, Brother Rudder believes that it will even be stronger than the car.
In particular, the Yize dual-engine version of the test drive is equipped with a 2.0L dual-engine hybrid system, and the power is further advanced on the basis of the fuel version of the model. At high-speed corners, the ACA active steering assist system intervenes to ensure better followability of the vehicle, while the body stability system does not have a strong pulling feeling, so even if the whole process is opened, it does not affect the playability of the car. However, the higher price threshold will be a major obstacle for consumers to choose Yize Shuangqing, but it is reported that Yize Shuangqing Yixing Edition has been listed, and its entry price has further explored.
Off-road crossing: RAV4 Rongsheng dual engine E+
After the test drive experience of the four major tracks, Brother Reel finally participated in the RAV4 Rongfang Dual Engine E+ Off-Road Crossing Test Ride. Although it could not drive it itself, as faw Toyota's first plug-in hybrid SUV, the performance of rav4 Rongfang dual engine E+ was quite bright.
Thanks to the addition of the rear axle motor, the rav4 Rongsheng dual engine E+ has greatly improved the power and is particularly easy when punching slopes. Not only that, but the E-Four electronic all-wheel drive system also plays an important role in the rough road surface covered with snow, without worrying about tire slippage. In addition, the ride experience in the rear row of the brother will not be too difficult, the rear suspension does not have a superfluous sense of throwing, and the body roll performance is also within the acceptable range, with a certain degree of comfort.
For a long time, Toyota cars have given people the impression of comfortable home, economic and fuel-saving, etc., but from the perspective of this ice and snow test drive, perhaps we should re-understand Toyota cars. In particular, the new advantages of high rigidity, low center of gravity and light weight brought by the TNGA architecture make each car under FAW Toyota have distinct characteristics, and also allow the vehicle to bring a safe and stable driving experience in any road conditions.