Since its birth in 2016, The Changan Blue Whale engine has been heavily installed in the mainstream models of Changan's own brand, and at the 2021 Chongqing Auto Show, Changan officially released the hybrid system "Blue Whale iDD Hybrid" under the Blue Whale brand. Recently, the first model equipped with the Blue Whale IDD hybrid system UNI-K iDD was officially pre-sold, and the pre-sale price of the new car was 176,900-19.29 million yuan, and a total of 2 models were launched.
It is reported that Changan plans to launch more than 10 hybrid models in the next 5 years. For reference, the Changan UNI-K fuel version model is priced at 145,900-18.49 million yuan.
In terms of appearance, the new car basically follows the design language on the UNI-K fuel version model, retains a large number of design elements of the Vision-V concept car, the borderless front grille with polygon mid-mesh design, and the light group design of the Y line on both sides of the front bumper, which brings a strong sense of science and technology as a whole.
On the side, the new car is also a design that we are familiar with, and the hidden door handle design adds a bit of fashion. In addition, it is also equipped with dense spoke rims, but is equipped with orange brake calipers inside, which is not available in the fuel version. In terms of body size, the new car is 4865/1948/1700mm in length, width and height, and the wheelbase is 2890mm, and it is still positioned as a medium-sized SUV.
In the rear part, although the new car is a hybrid model, it is still equipped with a roof spoiler and a design of through taillights, which also maintains a certain sporty atmosphere with the fuel version. However, in the lower exhaust port position, the new car has changed from a bilateral double-out design of the fuel version to a bilateral single-out design, and is equipped with an iDD logo in the lower right position of the tailgate to highlight its identity.
In terms of interior, the suspension central control screen and the full LCD instrument panel are not absent in the new car, which has brought a strong scientific and technological atmosphere as a whole, and the design of the instrument panel extending forward creates a strong sense of hierarchy. Unlike the fuel version, the new car was equipped with a new style of two-frame steering wheel, and the upper and lower positions were flattened, which improved the sense of movement in the car. In addition, the blue and white two-color color is used as a collocation in the car, which brings a sense of high-grade to the car, and also highlights its new energy identity.
In terms of power, the new car is equipped with a Blue Whale IDD hybrid system composed of a 1.5T engine and an electric motor, of which the maximum power of the engine is 170 horsepower, the maximum power of the motor is 116 horsepower, matching the Blue Whale triple-clutch electric drive transmission, the NEDC pure electric mileage is 130 kilometers, and the system has a comprehensive cruising range of 1100 kilometers.
The editor said: After the launch of BYD DM-i and the Great Wall Lemon Hybrid DHT, Changan has finally joined the ranks of independent hybridization with iDD, so it seems that independent brands have opened a strong hybrid mode. Indeed, being able to get on the green card, lower cost of use, and no endurance anxiety, these factors are really difficult to refuse. Looking back at the product, the overall performance of the new car in terms of product strength is still good, and the pure electric endurance of 130km can basically meet the needs of the surrounding travel, and the overall sci-fi design is still quite favored by young users.
However, as a rival, the new Tang DM-i power information has also been exposed in recent days, with a maximum of 252km of pure electric endurance and a comprehensive endurance of more than 1200km, and then there is a MOCHA DHT-PHEV that is about to be listed and the electric mileage can reach 204km. To be honest, these models will cause a lot of pressure on UNI-K iDD, and even weaken its competitiveness at the same level, then the outbreak period of new cars seems to be in the blank period of today's two cars, and whether there are enough advantages to attract users after the arrival of the two cars, as well as to bring further sales promotion to the UNI series and Changan brand, which is worth our attention.