[Aika Car Test Drive Original]
In Chinese culture, the word "star" represents light and carries people's yearning for beautiful things. In ancient times, there were stars and moons, and now there is the Avenue of Stars. In the automotive industry, there is a brand that calls itself a "star", which is ExeED, a subsidiary of Chery Group. EXEED is rewritten from the English "exceed", which means "beyond". According to the layout of Chery Group, Xingtu must not only surpass itself, but also surpass its competitors. When I test-drove the Xingtu Chasing Wind 1.5T a few months ago, the author did not think much of it, believing that its product strength was not enough to enter the first camp of autonomy. After replacing the hybrid system, can the StarWay Wind Chaser ET-i change its mind? I tried it to know.
The Wind Chasing ET-i is equipped with the Star Core Power ET-i Full Engine Supermix System, which is the first hybrid product of Xingtu. Compared with COMPETITORS SUCH ASD DM-i and Great Wall Lemon Hybrid DHT, Starway Star Nuclear Power ET-i is late and failed to catch up with the first round of hybrid dividends. As a latecomer, Xingtu was well aware of his situation, so he chose to take a different path and create a distinctive star core power ET-i.
Star Core Power ET-i Full Engine Supermix is a plug-in hybrid system with P2+P2.5 dual motor architecture, with 3 physical gears, and its transmission system is roughly equivalent to an electrified 3-speed dual-clutch transmission. Previously, we interpreted the Star Core Power ET-i, and its technical characteristics can be summarized as "3 engines, 3 gears, 9 modes, 11 speeds". You can click on the following figure to view the original text.
With a 1.5T in-line four-cylinder engine and a dual-drive motor, the ET-i hybrid system achieves a combined maximum power of 240 kW (326 hp) and a combined maximum torque of 510 Nm. Overall, the ET-i is more focused on motor drive, with an engine maximum power of "only" 115 kW (156 hp). The new car is equipped with a 19.27 kWh ternary lithium battery pack and a NEDC pure electric cruising range of 105 km. At the lowest state of charge, the car's NEDC fuel consumption is 4.8L/100km.
The Star Core Power ET-i has 3 physical gears and 2 drive motors, which is rare in the DHT field. In contrast, although hybrid systems such as the Honda i-MMD, BYD DM-i, and Nissan e-OPWER are equipped with dual motors, the P1 motor is only used to generate electricity and cannot directly drive the wheels. As for the 3-speed design, it is more like a compensation for the efficiency of the engine – the efficient range is not wide enough.
However, the more complex the hybrid architecture, the more difficult the calibration. As long as there is a physical stop, there is a possibility of a setback. Is the wind chasing ET-i smooth enough? First of all, let's conclude that there are surprises in the driving experience, but there is still room for improvement at the texture level.
Although increasing the gear can adapt to more scenes, as long as there is a shift, there is a possibility of a setback. With a small throttle input, the wind chasing ET-i shift is relatively smooth, and the setback is not easy to detect. When accelerating sharply, the car seems to have changed its personality, and the gear shift impact becomes clear, giving people the feeling that the body is moving rapidly. Quick tip-out can easily lead to bumps, and the positive/negative torque switch is not smooth enough. The good news is that the DHT gearbox shifts fast enough without the feeling of power interruption. The crisp, direct shifting action brings a certain sense of sport, but for hybrid models, smoothness is undoubtedly more important.
The Wind Chaser ET-i offers two energy modes: EV (Pure Electric) and HEV (Hybrid), as well as standard and sport driving modes in HEV mode. In pure electric mode, the vehicle can be driven by a single motor or a dual motor, which is rare in the DHT field. In hybrid mode, the controller determines whether the engine is involved in the drive and several (1 or 2) electric motors are involved in the drive, depending on the operating conditions. At high speeds, the power reserve is not bad, and the re-acceleration ability is satisfactory. Deep throttle, the transmission actively downshifts, providing more end-of-wheel torque.
The Starway Wind Chasing ET-i adopts front McPherson independent suspension and rear multi-link independent suspension, which is a more common hardware structure in the same level. The chassis was tuned in a neutral style, which showed that the engineers wanted to balance comfort and sport. Overall, the quality of the chassis of the wind chasing ET-i has reached the qualified level, but the sense of quality is slightly lacking. Compared with joint venture cars, Chinese brands have a lot to learn.
In terms of comfort, the performance of the wind chasing ET-i is somewhat divided. Perhaps to take care of stability, the damping of the "initial stage" of the shock absorber is large, giving the impression that the chassis is slightly stiff. On well-paved urban roads, the wind chasing ET-i filtered out small undulations not clean enough, and the body tended to copy the road surface, accompanied by slight pitch. In contrast, front-row comfort is not bad, but the rear is prone to high-frequency and rapid up-and-down pulls. In my opinion, this is completely invalid road information, which is not beneficial to driving pleasure and will only increase the fatigue of the ride in vain.
Compared to the fuel version, the Wind Chaser ET-i seems to be more "hard". When passing the speed reduction belt, the sense of jacking is more obvious, the transition between up-throwing and pull-down is also somewhat sharp, and the roundness should not be expected too much. When dealing with the pit, the body is not too obvious and the under-spring shaking is acceptable. Unfortunately, in the face of continuous rotten roads, the suspension is prone to the limit impact of "bang bang", and the driving texture is discounted.
The performance of sound insulation and noise reduction should be seen according to the situation. In hybrid mode, the 1.5T engine is frequently involved, and although there is no intrusion at the start and stop, the noise and vibration are more obvious. At the same time, the engine tone is somewhat hoarse, and there is a certain sense of grain. In pure electric mode, the engine is hidden, only the motor is involved in the drive, and the power system has no sense of existence, which adds a lot of points to the tranquility. The tires roll gently, the road surface is not strongly contacted, and the road noise control is satisfactory. Wind noise meets expectations and reaches the mainstream level of the same level.
Driving | 326 hp 3-speed hybrid
Some people say that Chery Group is like a science and engineering man, and the philosophy of car building is always so straight forward, not paying much attention to superficial kung fu. Here at ET-i, the "straight man's law" is staged again. The Wind Chaser ET-i follows the interior and exterior design of the fuel version, and only fine-tuns the details. Seeing the wind chasing ET-i, want to quickly identify the hybrid version and the fuel version? It is enough to look at the fenders and tail markers.
Editor's Comments:
BYD DM-i proves with actions that as long as the product power is good enough and the pricing is reasonable, the autonomous hybrid can be fully sought after by the market. Seeing dm-i's success, other Chinese brands have followed suit, hoping to challenge its position with more sophisticated hybrid systems. However, a more complex structure does not mean that the experience is better, but may have side effects. Looking back at today's protagonist, it is not difficult to ride a tiger.
To be fair, the Star Core Power ET-i has made significant improvements over the Fuel Powertrain of The StarWay, with a remarkable power response and a satisfactory power reserve. As for the smoothness, I can feel the efforts of the Starway engineers, but the current performance of the Wind Chaser ET-i is indescribably silky. As for chassis tuning, the wind chasing ET-i hopes to do everything, but the result is that both ends are not flattering. Beyond yourself? Wind Chaser ET-i did. But to surpass this level of bellwether, the wind chaser ET-i still has a long way to go.
Highlights review:
Analyze the Starway ET-i hybrid different 3-gear dual clutch
The return is still a teenager! Starway Wind Chaser 1.5T preemptive test drive
Flagship hybrid Real shot Chery Tiggo 8 PLUS Kunpeng e+
Static | 90% copy of the fuel version