Li Kui or Li Ghost?
Author: Liang Zhihao
Faw Mazda's delisting may have been one of the most sensational news in the domestic auto industry last year.
Due to the perennial sluggish sales and the lack of new model support, FAW, which was not valued by Mazda, decided not to play, so far, FAW Mazda has finally become the history of China's auto market, and Changan has become Mazda's only partner in China.
What affects the hearts of fans and Mazda fans, in addition to the subsequent maintenance problems of FAW Mazda models, there is also the fate that CX-4 is about to face.
Perhaps many people do not know that the CX-4, which originally belonged to FAW Mazda, although strictly speaking, is a Chinese special model, but for a long time, it is the pillar of the entire Mazda brand sales in the Chinese market. On the one hand, under the blessing of Mazda's "soul movement" design concept, the appearance of the CX-4 is on par with other orthodox Mazda models, and the body structure of the coupe SUV makes it have a dynamic that the CX-5 does not have.
More importantly, Mazda, which has always pursued a lot in handling, does not pay attention to it because of its "impure pedigree", so the overall tuning and driving experience of the CX-4 have Mazda's consistent high standards, and because of this, consumers' recognition of this car is also quite high.
However, it is a pity that because the complete intellectual property rights of the CX-4 are not in Mazda, but in the hands of FAW, so with the FAW Mazda being finished, the CX-4 car is also doomed to have no successor model. Although the Changan Mazda channel is still selling this car, it is foreseeable that the time left for the CX-4 is running out.
Faw version of the "CX-4" is coming?
Since FAW has a patent for the CX-4 car, they naturally will not waste this great opportunity. Therefore, at the end of November last year, FAW's own brand FAW Besturn announced that it was about to launch its first coupe SUV, which is also the first new car of the new brand strategy of the Besturn brand - the Besturn B70S.
Yes, this car is just from the Mazda CX-4 "shell", but the Pentium side of its plastic surgery is still relatively thorough. In the front part, the CX-4's critically acclaimed soul design is completely missing on the B70S, replaced by what Bengten calls the "Sexy Curved Surface of the Philosophy of Light and Shadow" (which is tough enough), and the large front grille and sharp headlight design are extremely fierce.
Although I personally do not dare to compliment Pentium's design language, I have to say that this front face is indeed very eye-catching.
However, the B70S body side lines still retain the CX-4 shadow, and the fast-sliding roof and narrow windows give it a different body shape than the average SUV model. Unlike the CX-4's soft lines, the B70S is obviously tougher for detail, especially the C-pillar and the rear part. It is not difficult to see that in fact, FAW does not want people to associate this car with Mazda.
It is worth mentioning that although the front face design of the B70S is a bit difficult to say, the overall look and feel of its rear is still quite flavorful. Penetrating taillights are not uncommon today, but the city-walled design on the taillights is indeed quite innovative.
We have actually seen similar rear designs on Jaguar's I-PACE and Ford's Mustang Mach-E, and as for whether the designers of Pentium were "inspired" by these two coupe SUVs, we don't know.
In terms of body size, the Pentium B70S has a body circumference of 4555/1850/1515mm, and the overall size is more compact than the CX-4, but the wheelbase of 2750mm is 50mm longer than that of the CX-4.
In the mechanical part that more people care about, after parting ways with Mazda, the previous set of smart but less passionate 2.0L/2.5L+6AT powertrain was naturally replaced by FAW's own power. Based on the information currently available, the B70S will be available in two different power combinations, 1.5T and 2.0T, with a 1.5T engine with a maximum power of 169 hp and a maximum torque of 258 Nm, matching a 6-speed manual or 7-speed wet dual-clutch transmission. The 2.0T engine has a maximum power of 224 hp and a maximum torque of 340 Nm, and is matched with a 6AT gearbox.
In terms of objective parameters, FAW's two sets of power are much stronger than Mazda's two naturally aspirated engines, but thanks to Mazda's deep power tuning skills, the power of the CX-4 has not received much complaint before. Therefore, whether this new set of power can continue the high reputation of the previous CX-4 is still unknown.
Due to the complex "historical reasons", FAW Besturn B70S and Mazda CX-4 are two cars, who is Li Kui, who is Li Ghost is really no one can say. In terms of pedigree, FAW does own the complete intellectual property rights of this car, so it is indeed understandable to use it to create its own brand new car. But in the hearts of many consumers, CX-4 is the one who is rooted in Miao hong.
It is reported that the B70S car will be officially listed as soon as March, and with reference to the price of the previous B70 sedan (9.99-14.59 million yuan), the price of the main B70S model will most likely fall within 150,000 yuan, and the starting price of the Mazda CX-4 has been as high as 148,800 yuan, and whether the huge difference in price can make up for the gap in brand and design, this question also needs to be left to the market to give an answer.
(Some image source network)
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