Nowadays, most of the joint venture car companies implement a dual-brand strategy in the domestic market, and the same brand brings more choices to consumers at the same level. Among the representatives are Toyota's compact SUV FAW Toyota RAV4 Rongfang and GAC Toyota Velanda. However, it can be seen from the frequency of appearance on the road that most consumers will still choose Rongfang, even in the absence of market vitality in 2021, Rongfang completed the sales of 20385 vehicles in December alone, and the cumulative sales in 2021 reached 203410 units, an increase of 17% year-on-year, far exceeding the sales of the brother model Veranda, which shows the recognition of domestic consumers for Rongfang. However, in such a fiercely competitive compact SUV market, why can Rongfang have such a brilliant performance, and what is its superiority?
Is there an absolute positive correlation between appearance and sales?
As the saying goes, turnip greens have their own love, and consumers' evaluation of the appearance of the vehicle is the same. Rongfang can be said to be a model with controversial exterior design, and the large-sized air intake grille with the sharp shape of the front face is matched with the sharp LED on both sides, showing a strong sense of attack. The entire front of the car uses a lot of rough muscle line design, giving people the feeling of more like a hardcore off-road vehicle, not very in line with the positioning of the urban SUV.
The shape of the body side also highlights the "tough guy atmosphere". A large number of muscle lines can give people a strong sense of security, and the matte material design at the bottom of the door and at the wheel brow seems to tell people that this car has strong athletic properties. The shape of the tail is also very tough, and the sense of hierarchy is very prominent, with a strong degree of recognition. From the appearance alone, Rong Fang has some sword-to-sword meaning, which is not very in line with the mainstream aesthetic. Probably a great attraction for most of the flamboyant male consumers, the lady driving this car seems to have a little sense of violation. If it is said that the design of Rongfang Has contributed to the annual sales of more than 200,000 units, it seems inappropriate.
The interior is simple and clear, and the configuration is very eye-catching
Rongfang's interior design adopts a minimalist style, and the application of a large number of horizontal lines makes the entire interior also have a touch of "wild taste". However, a large number of soft leather materials are used in the car, which not only highlights the touch, but also enhances the overall sense of luxury. In addition to the entry-level model equipped with a 4.2-inch LCD instrument, other models are equipped with a 7-inch LCD dashboard, with a 10.2-inch LCD touch screen, which can not only display a wealth of driving information, entertainment, navigation and other commonly used functions can also meet the needs of young consumers.
The seat design in the car is very elaborate, not only the padding is soft, it is very comfortable to sit on, and the skin feel is also very good, even if you walk some bad roads, you can have a good driving experience. In terms of spatial performance, the head and legs of the front and rear rows have a good experience, especially the central platform bulge of the rear row is very low, and the comfort of the middle passengers is guaranteed. In addition, the rear seats can be reclined in a 4/6 ratio, which can further enhance the storage space performance of the vehicle, even if the TV is pulled, the washing machine and other large appliances are not stressed at all.
In terms of security configuration that most consumers pay more attention to, Rongfang can be said to be the peak of entry. This car is equipped with the Toyota Safety Sense safety system as standard, including the whole vehicle 7 airbags, dynamic radar cruise control, lane tracking assistance, automatic far and near light adjustment, etc., all of which are the configurations that will appear in the high-end of the joint venture car of the same level, which can be said to be full of sincerity. Therefore, from the perspective of interior, space, and configuration, Rongfang's performance is very prominent, and it has also contributed to its excellent sales performance, but this is not the essence of Rongfang's product strength.
Meet the dual needs of urban wilderness, covering almost all consumer car scenes
In fact, for a car, the power system is the core, after all, the appearance of the design is prominent, it is just a flower shelf, and the absolute advantage of Rongfang this car lies in the power system. 27 years ago, the emergence of Rongfang defined the urban SUV, and the current Rongfang is more committed to meeting all the needs of consumers, especially in the current lack of off-road capabilities of urban SUVs, Rongfang's performance is very eye-catching, it can be said that it is a unique existence in the entire urban SUV market.
Rongfang provides a total of two power configurations, of which the fuel version of the model is equipped with a 2.0L naturally aspirated engine, matching the simulated 10-speed CVT gearbox, the maximum output power is 126kW, the peak torque is 209N·m, the power performance is enough to meet most of the urban and field car scenes, and the fuel consumption is only 5.8L/100km, which greatly reduces the cost of the car. Toyota's proud dual engine version is equipped with a 2.5L naturally aspirated engine + front and rear three motors, matching the E-CVT gearbox, of which the maximum output power of the engine is 131kW, the peak torque is 221N·m; the comprehensive power of the electric motor is 128kW, and the comprehensive torque of 323N·m is guaranteed to meet the multi-dimensional car needs of users, and the fuel consumption of the hybrid version of the 5L/100km is absolutely second to none in the same level.
However, in order to completely meet the needs of users in cities and wildernesses, a four-wheel drive system with excellent performance is indispensable. The DTC dynamic torque control system, DTV dynamic torque vectoring control system, and E-Four electronic four-wheel drive three sets of four-wheel drive are the essence of this car. Among them, the DTC dynamic torque system can achieve 50:50 front and rear axle power distribution, even in the city's complex rain and snow weather and wild muddy non-paved road can ensure the handling and stability of the vehicle driving, so that the vehicle presents a full-time four-wheel drive dynamic output characteristics. The DTV dynamic torque vectoring control system can realize the secondary distribution of wheel torque on the left and right sides of the rear axle, making the control of the vehicle more accurate, especially in the cornering performance. The most advanced is also the E-Four electronic four-wheel drive system, which allows the power of the rear axle to be completely independent, eliminating the need for a mechanical structure connected to the engine, which is more similar to the drive mode of plug-in hybrid models. However, the traditional plug-in hybrid system in the case of battery lack of power in the rear axle has no power, but rongfang's rear axle motor is the main drive motor, can achieve 0:100-20:80 output mode, under the blessing of the front axle hybrid system, rongfang's battery pack has been in an efficient state of charge and discharge, and the drive ratio of the left and right wheels can also achieve dynamic distribution, which greatly improves the power performance and fuel economy of the vehicle.
Although other brands of urban SUVs in the market are also equipped with four-wheel drive systems, such as Honda CR-V's Real-Time AWD intelligent four-wheel drive system and Nissan X-Trail's second-generation 4x4-i intelligent all-mode four-wheel drive, they cannot achieve independent distribution of left and right wheel torque, so the performance in fuel economy and outdoor road passability is far inferior to Toyota Rongfang, it can be said that Rongfang's four-wheel drive system is "superior" in the entire compact SUV market.
Conclusion
Compared with the market with "fancy" technology configuration to attract consumers of a number of automotive products, Rongfang pays more attention to the improvement of vehicle hard power, its rich safety configuration and excellent four-wheel drive performance in the entire compact SUV market has a lot of advantages, especially to meet the needs of many light off-road enthusiasts, compared to other models of the same level is not a small selling point, which is also confirmed by the annual sales of more than 200,000 units. On the whole, rongfang's product strength is still relatively prominent, and it is a product worth starting with.