author
Cui Liwen
"The electric car is here, the home is over there."
Responsible editor 丨 Cui Liwen
Edit 丨 Chic
"Boy, what car are you driving?"
"Nio ES8."
"Electric car?"
"Yes."
"Can it work?"
"Give it a try."
Congratulations, after reading the classic dialogue at the beginning of the article that resembles the anime "Head Text D", the spring festival holiday of just seven days has become a thing of the past.
Fortunately, it is gratifying that even if the perception of "Spring Festival Gala" is still decreasing year by year, Shen Teng and Jia Ling are still rare and valuable, and they have brought two pieces full of baggage.
At the opening ceremony of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Zhang Yimou still maintained his consistent standards and presented a feast that was enough to amaze. If the Bird's Nest in 2008 is showing China to the world, then being in the same venue this year is more like we take the initiative to open our arms and embrace the whole world.
Focusing more on it, "returning home" has undoubtedly become something that every participant in this traditional festival is experiencing. No matter how far away it is, how much time it takes, going home, back to your parents and loved ones, is the most important thing in the world.
Because of this, with an increasingly strong sense of belonging as a support, the whole process often spawns many interesting experiences and stories.
And I, as a car editor, combined with the above background, can think of the most interesting and conflicting topic, that is, the tram homecoming.
Continue to promote, on the eve of the holiday, after brainstorming with the company's friends, "electric vehicles are at this end, home is there" has quickly become the most suitable theme. In the end, it was decided to use several different angles of the manuscript to restore the Spring Festival holiday and the bits and pieces in the use of electric vehicles.
As for this article, I took advantage of my position to borrow the real experience of the NIO ES8 test drive. The conversation at the beginning was by no means a fabrication.
01
Day 1: Out of town
In fact, as early as more than a month before the official holiday of the Spring Festival, I revealed to my colleagues around me that this year I was ready to drive any of the three SUVs sold in Weilai and drive back to my hometown - Lanzhou, Gansu.
The starting point is very simple, on the one hand, because I once read in the Weilai APP that an ES6 car owner shared his experience of driving an ES6 to Lanzhou from Shanghai during the National Day holiday, and felt that it was feasible.
On the other hand, just last year, with the gradual improvement of the layout of Weilai's high-speed power exchange network, Lanzhou has also become an integral part of the "five vertical and three horizontal", so I want to experience it for myself.
Open the charging map, enter the specific destination, the navigation shows the driving distance of 2032 kilometers, the driving time is about 26 hours, you need to make up the power 13 times in the middle, and the power supply time is about 8 hours and 50 minutes.
However, in Zhengzhou, Xi'an and other places, the epidemic suddenly struck, and for security reasons, the entire plan had to be "stranded". Subsequently, after discussing with my family, I decided to go to Wuxi together and spend the first Chinese New Year's Eve night in my 25 years without Lanzhou.
At 2:00 p.m. Beijing time on January 28, departing from the Harry Center in Jing'an District, Shanghai, and heading to Wanhui City, Huishan District, Wuxi City, driving a vehicle: the founding version of the NIO ES8 with a 100-degree battery.
Before departure, what I want to share is that only at the static level, although such an evaluation is slightly subjective, but comparing the appearance and interior design language of the three "Wei Xiaoli" companies horizontally, Weilai is undoubtedly a better combination of high-grade, luxurious and technological sense.
So when ES8 laid the foundation, the follow-up in ES6, EC6, including ET7, ET5, have been well followed. Especially sitting in the car, you will find that Weilai does not only rely on the "stacking screen" that most new energy manufacturers are accustomed to, and uses complex and expensive materials as much as possible to create the so-called atmosphere.
On the contrary, it is through the detail design that the look and feel and the touch reach a balance.
Returning to the truth, the ES8 drove out of the Harley Center, and because it avoided the evening peak, it quickly drove into the Beijing-Shanghai Expressway. The remaining distance shown by the navigation is 138 km, and at this time, the vehicle has a range of 435 km.
The air conditioning of the whole vehicle is set to 26 degrees Celsius, the NOP pilot assistance function is not used, the driving mode selection is standard, the speed is controlled at about 120 km / h, and the comprehensive energy consumption of the vehicle can be maintained within the range of 20-25 kWh per 100 kilometers.
It is not a very rigorous rough estimate, taking the ES8 of this driving as an example, as long as it does not drive roughly and fiercely, its high-speed endurance level can still reach 380-400 kilometers in a full-powered state.
Considering its curb weight, the power configuration of the dual motors, and the wind resistance coefficient of the medium and large SUV itself, this performance is quite qualified, but it is by no means excellent. And the endurance has not been a longboard for Weilai.
In contrast, as the only brand that can realize power replacement in the current C-end private market, the existence of its NIO Power replenishment system largely makes up for the user's anxiety. Especially last year, after investing manpower, material resources and financial resources, the total number of substations in Weilai in the country successfully exceeded 700, the chain reaction caused by the volume change gradually appeared.
After two hours of driving, in order to have a smooth trip in the next few days, the Weilai Replacement Power Station located in the service area of the G2 high-speed weir bridge was selected for the first replenishment.
When arriving, it was close to 6 p.m., and after the vehicle automatically placed an order, there was no queue in front of it, and it took only about 5 minutes to successfully complete the power exchange.
After communicating with the station brother, it was learned that because there were still a few days away from the upcoming Spring Festival, the queue at that time was not serious, but because it was a generation station, only 5 batteries could be supplied at one time, and after the peak stage, there would inevitably be a queue.
To this end, they will also inform users who are at the bottom of the ranking and need to wait for a long time to choose the highway and go to wuxi city for power exchange.
Behind the words, it can still be felt that at this stage, it is not only Weilai, but also the situation that there is a serious shortage of high-speed replenishment resources whenever the traffic volume surges on holidays. In contrast, power exchange has reduced the time cost as much as possible, if you choose the state grid supercharged pile, the waiting time is bound to be longer, the experience is extremely poor.
Soon, less than half an hour after leaving the weir bridge service area, the first day of the trip ended smoothly.
02
Day 2: Taihu Lake
I don't know how many people feel the same way, this year's Spring Festival holiday, the whole south with continuous rain, the body temperature has dropped to the lowest value in recent years.
So when I set off the next day, even though the ES8 had been parked in the basement, it was still unusually cold when I first boarded the bus. Therefore, it is very necessary to remotely open the air conditioner of the whole car in advance through the mobile phone and set the appropriate temperature.
The vehicle control page of the WEILAI APP, after undergoing the redesign of the UI, is obviously more concise, and the main functions are placed in a more obvious area.
As for today's itinerary, it is relatively simple, along Wuxi Huanhu East Road, enjoy the scenery of the entire Taihu Lake. Since the distance is about 100 kilometers, the distance is relatively close, and most of them are national highways, it is not necessary to make up for the middle of the way, and it is impossible to experience the NOP high-speed pilot auxiliary function.
But what I want to share is that the ES8, as a medium and large SUV, adopts a 6-seat layout, and the family members of the same company actually ride down, which gives praise for the overall space, especially the riding comfort of the third row. Compared to many of the 7-seat SUVs on the market, it is also easier to get in and out.
However, as a product priced at more than 500,000 yuan, the second row of seats cannot be electrically adjusted front and rear, which may be the place where it needs to be complained. In addition, when full, the remaining space in the trunk may not be able to cope with all the luggage that the whole family needs to carry.
03
Day 3: South Long Street
At the moment, it is getting closer and closer to the Chinese New Year's Eve. Therefore, during the day, I am busy preparing related New Year goods. In the evening, it was decided that all the members would go to Wuxi's South Long Street to enjoy the night view.
In the urban road, it still needs to be praised for the riding comfort of the ES8, including the sound quality of the speakers in the car, although there is no "big name" blessing, but the actual sound is excellent. Moreover, due to the choice of black and white color-block interiors for the test drive, passengers will feel too depressed at night under the background of purple atmosphere lights.
But the point that needs to be criticized is, and it's also a cliché, air suspension. On the way to South Long Street, after a maintenance section of about 1 km long, there are many potholes, and when the ES8 passes, the overall driving texture does not become very comfortable because of the blessing of air suspension.
Some of the excess vibrations, which are not well filtered, are eventually transmitted to the inside of the car. I clearly remember that I have experienced the Volvo XC90, also as a medium and large SUV, and the adjustment of its air suspension can be described as "calm".
In contrast, ES8 needs more optimization and upgrading in this regard to fill the gap. Only in this way can the driving texture be taken to a higher level.
However, for the new forces to build cars, intelligence must be their biggest advantage, and traditional car manufacturing experience is its most missing thing, so progress often takes time.
04
Day 4: Chinese New Year's Eve
"The brand has been established for 7 years, and NIO always has to learn to grow up on its own."
Such a sentence comes from a mobile phone memo after the end of 2021 NIO Day. At this moment, with the arrival of the Chinese New Year's Eve, most people always like to use "resigning the old and welcoming the new" as the best wishes.
And I, like Weilai, who described the successful seven-year itch, prefer to use "learning to grow" to give the upcoming 365 days, good wishes.
Important moments, not wanting to talk about the car, eating steaming dumplings, only one sentence is true: "Happy New Year." ”
05
Day 5: Return to Shanghai
On the first day of the New Year, we will end our journey in Wuxi and return to Shanghai. Got up early, simply cleaned up the garbage in the car, packed the luggage, and waited for the family.
After leisurely eating the slap chaos, go to Wuxi Huishan Haode Home for power exchange. Upon arrival, it was found that this was a second-generation station. The reserve of 13 batteries, as well as the no longer use of lifting power exchange method, so that its efficiency has been greatly improved compared to the generation of stations.
After communicating with the power exchange brother, I learned that the base of the entire Wuxi Weilai car owner is also growing rapidly. Therefore, the total number of local substations this year will exceed 20. Throughout the Spring Festival holiday, they are also on duty in turn, 24 hours service, to ensure the smooth replenishment of the owner.
After the greeting, drive the ES8 into the Beijing-Shanghai Expressway. Probably because of the first day of the Chinese New Year, the congestion has eased and the traffic flow is moderate. So I decided to go through a distance of nearly 150 kilometers to test whether there were any subtle changes in the NOP pilot assistance function after more than a year of iteration.
After all, as early as its launch, the same ES8, departing from Shanghai, had traveled to Qiandao Lake in Zhejiang. At that time, the biggest feeling of the NOP pilot assist function was that compared with Tesla NoA and Xiaopeng NGP, it was more conservative in terms of driving strategy, overtaking choice and even the timing of merging into the ramp.
After this experience, I can feel that NOP still maintains a relatively stable style, but in some details, adjustments and optimizations have been made. "Practical" might be a better description of it. During long periods of high-speed driving, turning on the NOP can indeed reduce the pressure on the driver.
To make a not too appropriate analogy, NOP is like a middle student in a class, who is mediocre in his own talent, through the continuous efforts of the day after tomorrow, he has been able to achieve the middle and upper rankings, and ensure that he does not make mistakes as much as possible, and what is missing may be some creativity and the ability to surprise people.
Perhaps, because of this, more and more look forward to the NAD that Weilai will launch this year...
06
Day 6: Mordor
Today's itinerary is very simple, that is, with the family, driving the ES8, visiting the rainy magic capital.
The City God Temple, Yu Garden, People's Square, East Nanjing Road, the Bund, and Lujiazui may have become numb to people who have lived in Shanghai for a long time. But for first-time visitors, you can still see the joy on their faces.
Somewhat rarely, the weather is not good, as the tallest building in Shanghai Center, its sightseeing layer is surrounded by clouds, resulting in the final inability to go, overlooking the night view of the entire magic capital.
Talking about Weilai, as of now, the total number of car owners of this new force has already exceeded 150,000, and the contribution provided by Shanghai in its strategic map needless to say.
Zooming in on the perspective, for a long time in the past, the fierce discussion about "who is the new energy capital of China" has never subsided. Referring only to the current relevant market share, as well as the acceptance of end users for pure electric models and plug-in hybrid models, Shanghai has undoubtedly become the leader among them.
Therefore, if WEIlai wants to win the future, it undoubtedly needs the help of the city. Therefore, as of January this year, the total number of substations in Shanghai has reached 72, and it is still expanding, breaking through 100, it is only a matter of time.
On the second day of the new year, go to the Zhangjiang AI future block for power exchange, also as a second-generation station, because the vehicle can be parked automatically, saving a lot of trouble. The whole process, without any delay. The power change time is much shorter than that of a generation station.
During the power change, it was also found that in just 5 minutes, after me, there were 5 ES6s queuing up at the same time. This also reflects from the side that with the expansion of the shanghai car owner base, the expansion speed of weilai replacement power station still needs to be well matched.
Otherwise, there will be another serious queue, resulting in a significant decline in experience.
07
Day 7: Northwest
In fact, just after the end of the power exchange in Shanghai in the second year of the first year, this year's Spring Festival holiday ES8 experience tour was even a staged "end".
Looking back, instead of defining the entire journey as "tram homecoming", it is better to call it the "wool" of Mammoth Weilai. Quietly speaking, the free battery change is really fragrant.
On the third day of the Lunar New Year, he drove the ES8 to Pudong Airport, parked it in the P4 long-term parking lot, and then returned to Lanzhou, Gansu Province with his family.
However, I still want to share that in the process of attending junior high school and high school parties, I suddenly found that some of them have become Weilai, Tesla, and ideal car owners. The penetration speed of new energy vehicles in such an inland northwestern town is far beyond my imagination.
Although the cold winter will still seriously shrink the battery life of the currently sold models, there is nothing wrong with using the use scenario only for commuting in the urban area and buying a smart electric vehicle.
"If you're buying for the first time, I don't recommend it, if you're buying an additional purchase, it's the right thing to buy." Just after the voice fell, I opened the Weilai APP and found that it was located in Lanzhou, and the first second-generation replacement power station had also been laid out.
08
Ending: First snow
On the sixth day of the Chinese New Year, I plan to take a flight at 2:40 and return to Shanghai. Open Didi a day in advance and make an appointment for the driver to leave at 12 o'clock.
Unexpectedly, when I got up and opened the curtains, I was greeted by a white expanse. Yes, it snowed in Lanzhou, and it was the biggest one in years.
Worried about the high-speed snow and the danger of road closures, he decided to take an intercity train to the airport instead. Fortunately, without much delay, everything went smoothly.
Starting, gliding, and with the wings within the portholes off the ground, I knew that back in Lanzhou, it would be next year. After nearly 3 hours of flight, it landed smoothly at Pudong Airport.
Open the Weilai APP, found that the vehicle's endurance in more than three days, dropped 21 kilometers, considering the temperature in Shanghai, can be accepted.
TI Terminal, take the shuttle bus, come to the P4 long time parking lot, find the ES8 waiting for me, unlock, pull the car door, call NOMI to navigate home, drive the vehicle to the Huaxia Elevated Highway, tap the blue backlit button on the left side of the steering wheel, the NOP Pilot Assist immediately opens, put a song of Zhang Zhenyue's "Xiaoyu", the Spring Festival holiday is nearing the end.
As for next year, I still hope to be able to drive the tram and really come back to my hometown once, even if I will encounter many challenges...
C-DIMENSION
WeChat | Automobile Commune C dimension