In today's automotive market, rejuvenation is becoming a trend. According to data released by the Traffic Management Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, the number of driver's license holders aged 18-24 exceeded 40 million by the end of 2020. This data shows the potential car purchase size of young users in the Chinese auto market. However, limited to the income level and price level, most young consumers' car purchase budgets are still concentrated in the range of 100,000-200,000 yuan. Want to spend 100,000-200,000 yuan to buy a personalized, sporty car? There are many choices in the market, Chevrolet Mai Ruibao, Dongfeng Honda Civic, GAC Trumpchi Shadow Leopard, Lynk & Co 02 Hatchback have all had a good response in the market.
But the so-called fish and bear paw can not be both, both sporty, comfortable, but also provide a good configuration of the product, the market is basically not available. At the end of 2021, Guangqi Honda's sports sedan model was officially launched, and the price range of new cars was 129,900 to 166,900 yuan. In the promotion of this car, Guangqi Honda seems to want to integrate multiple elements such as sports, comfort, configuration, and space to give consumers a "super cup". But can the type support the "ambition" of Guangqi Honda? Recently, the Beijing News Shell financial reporter experienced this new product based on the upgrade of Honda's global model Civic.
Homologous platform with Civic but not "car changer"
The design is young, the configuration is rich, and the materials are improved
GUANGQI Honda Type (INTEGRA) is not "born out of nowhere", whether it is the name or its product platform, there are traces to follow. In the 1980s, the streets of Hong Kong used to ride a Honda two-door coupe, its name is INTEGRA, and now, GAC Honda has "revived" this name and given it to the mass production car produced on the same platform as Honda's global model Civic, reflecting the company's hope for this product.
Guangqi Honda type grid appearance display Enterprise courtesy of the picture
Compared with the global Civic, the style has been adjusted to a certain extent in terms of design and configuration, making the vehicle as a whole more sporty. In terms of appearance, the front face design of the type has not changed much from the new Civic, compared with the previous generation of models, there is a sense of elegance and refinement, and the family design is obvious, which is similar to the Accord. However, the appearance choice of yellow and blue colors allows people to feel the youthful style that the vehicle wants to show at a glance.
The side of the body is a sports car with a slender front and a more compact rear. Smaller fenders and larger (18-inch) wheels also make the vehicle more supple and aggressive in appearance. The taillights at the rear of the car are sharper and more combative, and there are also blackened tail wing sports kits on some models, which shows the sporty characteristics of the style. It is worth mentioning that the model is equipped with the Dunlop SP SPORT MAXX050 tire with a size of 225/45 R18, which exceeds the Yokohama ADVAN dB tire with the New Civic in terms of size, width and sportiness.
Guangqi Honda type lattice interior display enterprise courtesy of the company
In terms of interior, it can be said that consumers have criticized Honda's products the most in the past. But in terms of style, whether it is static or dynamic performance, the reporter has felt a rather obvious improvement in the product. In terms of interior design, the model adopts contrast design, leather seats, quite metallic honeycomb air outlets, and a central control screen and dashboard with a strong sense of technology. It has a good performance in terms of riding experience and visual impact. The product's rear performance is also comparable to the performance of other compact cars. It is worth mentioning that the 12-speaker BOSE Centerpoint audio is also applied in the car, which brings a good listening experience to passengers.
Guangqi Honda type grid driver's seat dashboard display Enterprise courtesy of the picture
In terms of configuration, the model is equipped with Honda CONNECT 3.0 intelligent guidance interconnection system, which realizes many functions such as remote control of mobile phones, voice control, and interconnection of vehicles. In terms of active safety, the model is equipped with Honda SENSING safety super-sensor system, which supports functions such as automatic car following, lane keeping, and blind spot detection. This driver assistance system is also quite confident in practical applications. In terms of passive safety, the profile adopts aluminum alloy and high-tension materials, and strengthens the overall frame structure strength, achieving an 8% increase in torsional rigidity and a 13% increase in bending rigidity, while the vehicle is equipped with 10 airbags as standard.
In the name of performance, it also wants to improve comfort
After the 80km road test drive, the shape makes people feel like a "big sunshine boy"
In recent years, civics have been called the ceiling of compact sports cars by many users and car critics. Although only the 1.5T turbocharged engine was used, matching the CVT transmission that did not focus on performance, the vehicle has always performed quite well on the track, and its modifiable space is relatively large. And on this model car, can it reproduce the glory of the Civic, or even the glory of INTEGRA?
As a car owner of the 8th generation Civic, the reporter felt another experience brought by the model model born from the Civic platform after spanning more than 10 years in the high-speed and urban road test driving experience of about 80km.
Guangqi Honda type grid dynamic display enterprise courtesy of the picture
In terms of power, the 1.5T turbocharged engine on board is Honda's signature technology, with a maximum power of 182 horsepower and a peak torque of 243 Nm. The model test driven by the reporter matched a set of CVT gearbox, in the daily road driving, the throttle response is faster, the overall acceleration is very linear, not abrupt, the problem of turbo lag is not serious, but this also makes the vehicle less passionate and refreshing in daily driving. It is worth mentioning that although the power of the product is not surging in the performance of the front and middle sections, the power in the high-speed range is quite strong, and it can still give the driver a strong sense of pushing back in the process of speeding up from 100km/h to 120km/h. In addition, under the trend of major car companies "abandoning" manual transmissions, the 6-speed manual transmission has still been introduced, which may bring more driving pleasure to drivers.
During driving, the brakes of the type give people a lot of confidence. The heavier steering wheel feel at mid-high speed gives the driver precise directivity. On the suspension system, the profile is equipped with a front McPherson rear multi-link form. In daily driving, the vehicle does show the adjustment level of the old car companies, very good seismic filtration is relatively crisp when dealing with fine bumps on the road surface, and the shock sensation is weak when rolling the manhole cover at a speed of 60km/h.
The tyre manhole cover doesn't even feel the vibration as it passes, and the steering lane change in extreme conditions can also provide a fairly robust handling experience. However, the relatively comfortable suspension adjustment also makes the reporter feel that the lateral support of the product is insufficient when passing through the curve at a large angle, and it is recommended that the manufacturer adjust it accordingly.
In terms of tranquility, the performance of the style can also be remarkable. Due to the use of high-quality sound-absorbing materials and sound insulation materials, with relatively comfortable shock absorption and seats, the quietness of the car has a qualitative leap compared with previous products. If you turn on the driveway center, automatic follow-up function and high-quality audio with a higher level of intelligence, almost let people feel the ride quality close to the Accord in this sports sedan. But on the other hand, this also makes the reporter enjoy the sun, sound, comfortable ride, intelligent auxiliary system too much, almost forgetting that this is a main sporty car.
Guangqi Honda type lattice tail light and nameplate display enterprise courtesy of the picture
If the old Civic is more like an athlete who dares to fight and keeps moving forward, the new model is like a big boy in the sun.
It's not as extreme as the old Civic, but it's trying to meet all your needs.
After the 80km road test drive, the reporter felt that Guangqi Honda wanted to give a fairly good sports attribute, and hoped to improve its configuration and comfort to meet the increasingly rich and diversified needs of consumers. However, how to meet the slightly contradictory needs of consumers for comfort and exercise at the same time at a limited cost, and whether the efforts made by manufacturers can be recognized by consumers, still need time and the market to give us the answer.
Beijing News shell financial reporter Bai Haotian Editor Xu Chao Proofreader Wang Xin