Text/Teng Dehua
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From Beijing, 500 kilometers north, you will arrive at Shangdu Lake, the blue flag of the Xilin Gol League in Inner Mongolia.
In winter, the lake, formed by volcanic eruptions in ancient times, is covered with heavy snow and condenses tens of centimeters of ice. Temperatures above -20°C make it a cold place where water turns into ice... There is no doubt that for a car, this means a cruel test.
In general, the friction coefficient of normal dry asphalt pavement is 0.6, the friction coefficient of the road surface will drop to 0.4 on rainy days, 0.28 on snowy days, and the icy pavement is even lower, only 0.18. If we compare the difficulty of ordinary asphalt pavement to "bronze level", then when the vehicle is on the ice, the difficulty will instantly become "king level".
In the midst of such ice and snow, a test drive is taking place.
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On the lake, FAW Toyota has reproduced the world's four well-known tracks - The Spa Circuit in Belgium, the Tsukuba Circuit in Japan, the Silverstone Circuit in the United Kingdom and the Fuji Circuit in Japan, and planned a cross-country crossing route of nearly 20 kilometers.
On the track, we experienced the three SUV models of Crown Land Release, Ling Fang and Rong Fang. Although the handling of these cars is different, the smoothness on the ice and snow road is the same.
Thanks to Toyota's E-four electronic four-wheel drive system, the vehicle's four-wheel power distribution responds extremely quickly, still with precise tracking on a smooth mirror-like ice surface. Their rear axle is additionally equipped with an electric motor with a maximum power of 40 kW and a peak torque of 121 N·m, guaranteeing better passability and driving stability.
In terms of traction control, the engineers made very delicate calibrations. The electronic system imposes reasonable limits on the power output so that the drive wheels are always at the edge of maximum friction.
This makes the vehicle very easy to drive. However, compared with the fierce release, Toyota prefers to be conservative in drivers, which also reflects Toyota's consistent safety propositions. Even on the ice, it is not so easy to make these cars drift.
But when you really "float", you will feel that when the vehicle is about to lose control, there will be a "teacher" who will pull you back. Yes, that's how it feels.
This may be the legendary Toyota quality.
In addition, Toyota's new generation of hybrid system on the ice performance is also remarkable. The free switching of the driving mode brings the seamless connection of power and is very driving pleasure.
On the whole, the performance of these SUVs of FAW Toyota on the ice and snow road is satisfactory.
From the ice surface to the market surface, we know that in the SUV camp of FAW Toyota, the A-class market has a flexible car like Yize, the B-class market has a best-selling model such as Rongfang, and the market above B level is supported by Lingfang, and its product matrix has tended to be perfect.
However, between A-class and B-class, there is a growing market segment, that is, the A+ market. In the field of cars, FAW Toyota has launched the Asiatic Lion, so in the field of SUVs, what is FAW Toyota preparing?
The answer is Corolla Rebbe.
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Many people have a Corolla in their lives. As Toyota's best-selling model and the world's best-selling model, the Corolla has a 55-year history and 12 generations of models, which have been sold in more than 150 countries and regions around the world, with cumulative global sales of more than 50 million vehicles and 5 million owners in the Chinese market.
People have a more consistent impression of Corolla - leather is durable, value preservation, suitable for home use. But we also see that Corolla is also getting younger.
And now, its family has also launched a new SUV , the Corolla Replay.
At first glance, you may think that the Corolla Ruifang is somewhat familiar, because it is a global SUV model under the Toyota TNGA architecture, and it is one of the "domestic twins" of the overseas Corolla Cross - the GAC Toyota version is called Fenglanda, and the FAW Toyota version is called The Corolla Ruifang.
In terms of appearance, Ruifang borrows the design of the American version of Corolla Cross. Don't underestimate this shape, in foreign countries, the design of The Corolla Cross has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Starting in September 2021, thanks to the arrival of the Corolla Cross, the Corolla series became the runner-up in Sales in Japan, with 70% of its sales being provided by the Corolla Cross.
Turning to China, FAW Toyota Corolla Ruifang is based on the Toyota TNGA-C platform, which is a new compact SUV, positioned higher than Yize IZEOA and lower than RAV4 Rongfang. So in terms of size, the Corolla Sharp Amplifier is also "card position accurate", with a length, width and height of 4460mm, 1825mm and 1620mm, and a wheelbase of 2640mm, which is the standard compact SUV size.
The car features a blackened trapezoidal grille accented with chrome trim around it. At the same time, the headlight groups on both sides of the new car adopt an open corner design, and the interior is a double L-shaped structure, and the designer has improved the overall visual effect by setting the LED lamp eyebrows.
The bottom of the front of the car features a penetrating grille, which is also a classic design of the Toyota family. In addition, the black front bracket and the concave design on both sides of the bumper make the sharp display look more sporty.
Entering the car, Corolla's sharp front and rear head space is very spacious, the rear window has a large light transmission area, a wider field of view, and a more transparent and comfortable ride for a long time.
In addition, the carola ruifang's luggage volume is 438L, and it adopts a more scientific ground height design, so that female users can easily carry and place luggage.
In short, the Corolla Sharp Fang is one circle larger than Yi Ze, which is enough to take care of the rear passengers; at the same time, it is also a circle smaller than rong fang, which can ensure the flexibility of the vehicle and make it more convenient to travel through the city.
In terms of driving control, Ruifang is equipped with TNGA's 2.0L powertrain, the maximum power is 126kW (171 horsepower), the peak torque is 209N·m, matching the CVT transmission, and the top model has a fuel consumption of 6.12 liters per 100 kilometers, and other versions have a fuel consumption of 6.18 liters. This is closely related to the Corolla's slimmer body and the variable cooling system of the engine.
In addition, there is news that Corolla Ruifang will introduce a dual engine powertrain in 2022 to further improve fuel consumption performance.
In terms of safety, the Corolla Rebbe series comes standard with the Toyota TSS2.0 Smart Mobility security system, as well as 7 SRS airbags as standard.
So can such a car with good comprehensive strength succeed?
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We know that the range of 100,000-200,000 yuan is currently the most popular SUV segment. In 2021, its share accounted for 54.48% of the total number of SUVs.
However, with the upgrading of products and the increasing expectations of consumers, people both hope to have a sense of quality that is "not too different" from B-class cars, and because of the pressure of life, they need to be "carefully calculated". In this case, the opportunity for the A+ SUV segment has emerged.
For this market segment, different car companies have different understandings. The playing method of the independent brand is to increase it on the basis of the A-class SUV, through "PLUS" and "MAX", and to obtain an A+ SUV on the basis of the original product naming.
FAW Toyota's choice is more robust, and it has launched a new car series while retaining the original car series. This not only enriches the product line and gives consumers more choices, but also allows for a broader attempt in design and technology, giving consumers more new experiences.
If you think about it, the birth of Corolla Ruifang has its inherent advantages.
Looking at the entire market, few models can have the quality endorsement of Toyota and the honorary endorsement brought by the name "Corolla". Therefore, Corolla Reifang can be said to be born with a golden key. Compared with gazc Toyota's hastily launched Fenglanda, the name of Corolla Ruifang has obviously undergone a more comprehensive consideration and is more easily accepted by the market.
In terms of product creation, although Corolla Ruifang and Yize were born from the same platform, this car does not use an exaggerated sneaky coupe design like Yize. For users who want to buy a "traditional" SUV, the Corolla Sharp fang's appearance acceptance and practicality are obviously stronger.
Practical and robust, faw Toyota's trick to further attack the A+ SUV market. But there are still some challenges to make a breakthrough in this market.
It should be known that "holding high and playing low" was once the reason for the A+ level market to become bigger, but "high is not low", which is also the "risk" it may face. How do you get a balance? It was the first challenge that Corolla Reifang had to face.
The second challenge comes from competitors.
The current car market has long been different from the past, with the continuous introduction of new models, the competition is becoming more and more fierce, and the inner volume is becoming more and more serious. Since the domestic auto market as a whole entered the downward channel in 2018, almost all auto brands have played the "price reduction card".
In other words, in addition to facing the pressure of peer opponents, A+ SUV also faces the competition of many B-class SUVs. You know, in the terminal, the lowest price of Qijun has approached the range of 150,000 yuan. Dongfeng Peugeot, Beijing Hyundai, SAIC-GM Buick and other car companies have also reduced their B-class SUVs to the price of A+ class.
In this market segment, fighting is inevitable. The price reduction of B-class cars to hit the A+ class or even the A-class market is itself a competitive problem.
Can Corolla Reifang have the last laugh? In a rapidly changing market, we expect a positive answer. Of course, I also particularly hope that it will ride like The Corolla.
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