Recently, a series of new cars such as GAC Toyota Xena, GAC Honda Odyssey, Dongfeng Honda Alishen, Beijing Hyundai Kusitu and so on have stirred up the domestic MPV market, and there is also a long-lost "friend" in the domestic market - Dongfeng Yueda Kia New Jawa. In fact, As early as 2004 and 2015, Jiahua was introduced to China in the form of domestic production and import, respectively, but in the end, it ended in a poor market environment. But now, as consumers gradually mature, the demand for product segmentation is becoming more and more obvious, it can be seen that the east wind of the MPV market has arrived, and Kia decided to give Jawa another chance, hoping that it can ride the wind and waves.
Appearance: steady and regular, full of aura
Dongfeng Yueda Kia's new Jawa and GAC Toyota Sai na, are the introduction of the American version of the model, so in terms of body size naturally do not have to worry, absolutely large enough, the aura is enough. In terms of design, the new Jawa adopts a more conservative conventional shape, and the square body contour seems to be somewhat contrary to Kia's previous radical design methods, but it is not difficult to find that some ingenuity is used in details, typical thick and fine.
The first thing that catches the eye is undoubtedly the "dazzling" matrix front grille, which is complemented by a lattice chrome decoration that shines in the sun. At the same time, the front grille also adopts Kia's iconic "tiger whistle" shape, and integrates the split high beam lights above the left and right sides, and the hidden effect shares the size of the headlight group without destroying the integrity of the front face, so that the headlights can be more slender, and the front face with the large and relatively simple lines is matched, cleverly creating a flexible visual effect.
The rear shape adheres to the concept of space-based, and the design is also relatively simple, with a typical MPV style. To avoid the stupidity common to this design, the new Jawa added a small spoiler, through-LED taillights, cut dents, and a silver anti-scuff plate at the bottom to enhance the sportiness and three-dimensional feel at the top of the rear. In addition, the LED width indication strip in the taillights also adopts an irregular shape, which not only echoes the front design, but also adds a little fashion atmosphere.
Interior: Warm sedan design
If you only rely on the interior design, it is difficult to detect that this is an MPV. Unlike the Buick GL8 and Honda Odyssey's design, which integrates the gear lever into the center console, the new Jawa looks like a sedan interior with a clear and reasonable functional layout. The double screen, wood grain trim, leather wrapping and stitching decoration show that it does not overemphasize how practical it is, but hopes to give the owner a sense of luxury car.
The 12.3-inch multimedia screen is built-in with Baidu Intelligent Interconnection System 3.0 developed by Baidu, and the UI design is simple and clear, which is easy to use. At the same time, in addition to the common multimedia and navigation functions, a large number of functions developed by relying on the Internet of Vehicles have greatly enhanced the convenience of using the car. At the same time, in addition to the regular media playback, the system also has a built-in function called "Nature's Voice", which can play a variety of white noises such as "quiet waves" and "open-air cafes", which can create a pleasant atmosphere in the car.
The rear caring function reflects the humanized side of the new Jawa as a 7-seat MPV, which supports the rear passenger visual call system, which can not only project the rear real-time image to the multimedia touch screen through the in-car camera, but also achieve barrier-free communication in the front and rear through the microphone and the car audio system. In addition, a quiet mode is provided, which automatically reduces the sound volume when turned on, and only the multimedia source is played for the front seat, thus providing a quiet and comfortable ride for the rear passengers.
The air conditioning panel is located below the multimedia touch buttons, which also adopts a touch operation mode, and only the temperature of the main/co-driver is adjusted to the physical lever. The air conditioning information is displayed through the monochrome screen, which can switch the front/rear air conditioning control with one click, and the function marking is clear and easy to understand, which is convenient for operation during driving. At the same time, above the right seat in the second row, it is also equipped with a separate control panel for rear air conditioning, which adopts a combination of physical buttons + monochrome screen, which is also very convenient to operate.
The new Jawa, which belongs to the Kia brand, naturally inherits the korean brand's tradition of consistently high configuration. The three-step adjustable seat ventilation/heating function in the front row is naturally a small point, in addition to providing double sunroofs, steering wheel heating, driver's seat memory, second row seat ventilation/heating, and many other high-level comfort features. Interestingly, the new Jawa series comes standard with rear privacy glass, and on this basis, manual sun blinds are provided for the second and third rows, taking good care of the rear passengers.
Motivation: Flexible "Big Fat Man"
The power of the MPV model is generally enough to use on the line, but this is enough to be used and the definition of the general family car is not the same, simply put, it does not need to be more radical, but the bottom must be sufficient, especially in the face of the situation of 7 people full load, the engine roars, the car is not going, so many people look at it, that is more faceless is not.
Dongfeng Yueda Kia's new Jawa power configuration is that kind of more secure type, 2.0T engine maximum power of 171.4kW, peak torque of 353N·m, in the same class has been relatively excellent, with 8-speed manual automatic transmission, from the parameter point of view the performance is remarkable.
The actual experience can first feel the maturity of this power system, tap the throttle without channeling, and step on the power output in a sequential and powerful manner, which is very in line with the requirements of an MPV. The gearbox is also very well coordinated, not in a hurry to downshift, but when sensing the acceleration needs of the throttle pedal, first reduce a gear to accelerate, if you still receive a signal of continuous acceleration, and then continue to downshift in exchange for stronger power. Some people may ask: "You are a double standard, put on the sedan and SUV is not this slow gear shift speed?" "In fact, it is not wrong, but for a smooth, linear MPV, the priority of passenger riding experience is definitely higher than the driver's driving experience, so the specific problem analysis, the performance of this 8-speed manual transmission is still worth affirming."
Of course, the new Jawa does not want to wrong the driver, so it offers a variety of driving modes, if you want to speed up the driving rhythm, you can switch to sport mode. In this mode, fully press the throttle to start, the front wheel will even have an instantaneous loss of grip, which is commonly known as "scratching the tire", but the phenomenon of looking up is more properly controlled, or can give the driver full confidence. At this time, the throttle response has become much more sensitive, and the gearbox's willingness to downshift is stronger, but it is still not aggressive, just a lot faster.
The new Jawa suspension system is a combination of front McPherson + rear multi-link independent suspension, and the independent rear axle is certainly more physically comfortable than the torsion beam non-independent suspension commonly found in MPV models. The same is true of the tuning style, in the face of speed bumps or large bumps in the pothole road, the suspension can absorb a lot of trivial vibrations, although unlike the Buick GL8's soft to the end style, the road sense is more, but the driving texture is also more excellent, quite a German car feeling.
And this kind of shock filter performance and its suspension and chassis tuning has a close relationship, in the premise of not changing the tone of comfort, the suspension support has been strengthened, especially when passing through the corner at high speed can obviously feel the roll is suppressed quite well, the body posture is stable, and there will be no large shaking phenomenon.
In addition, the steering force adjustment is also relatively light, coupled with the small number of steering wheel turns, it is completely impossible to feel that this car has actually reached more than five meters long. At the same time, this is also very compatible with its sedan-based interior style, so that the traditional MPV like Buick GL8 is more of a business attribute, people who buy a car are mostly used to sit, and for a home MPV, the owner often has to play the role of the driver, so compared to sitting up comfortable, driving up to enjoy is obviously more flattering, of course, the new Jawa ride experience is not bad, especially the control of NVH in the car is very good, the front row of double-sided soundproof glass blessing, even if high-speed driving will not affect the normal communication in the car.
Space: Comfortable and decent ride to enjoy
The 178cm tall experiencer sits in the front row, with two fists in the head space and ample horizontal space. In terms of storage space, although the number of storage slots is a little small for an MPV model, it does not affect the daily car experience too much, and some personal belongings can also find a place to stay.
Keeping the front seat unchanged, the experiencer comes to the second row, and the head and legroom allowance are one punch. At the same time, the second row of seats can also slide left and right, and when the seat is pushed inward, it can adjust a larger range, and even lie flat. In terms of storage space, the bottom of the front central armrest is equipped with a large storage slot and a sliding partition, and it is not a problem to put a pair of shoes inside, which is not available in most MPV models.
Keeping the second row of seats unchanged, the experiencer came to the third row, at this time the head space is 2 fingers, the leg space is one punch and two fingers, thanks to the huge body size, the third row of the new Jawa is more outstanding. In terms of storage space, the left and right sides are equipped with storage slots and cup holders to meet the storage needs of passengers in the third row.
The performance of the trunk is unexpected, and there is still a considerable volume in the case of the third row of seats. Although the depth is not long, it has a fairly good sunken space, especially when the third row of seats is folded and folded, it can be fully integrated into the trunk, thus forming a fully flat floor, and the storage capacity is greatly improved. In addition, the electric tailgate not only supports kick induction function, when the vehicle is turned off, the key is carried with it, even if the door is not closed, when the car reaches a certain distance, the rear tailgate will automatically close and lock the whole vehicle, which is very practical and intelligent.
Security: Keep up with the times
The top-of-the-line model in this test drive is equipped with comprehensive active/passive safety features, providing rare knee airbags in addition to the conventional front forward airbags, front side airbags, and front/rear head airbags. In terms of assisted driving, functions such as lane keeping assist, lane departure warning, parallel assist and active braking are all present, which can provide all-round safety protection for the people in the car. However, the anti-collision warning and parallel assist functions are more sensitive and easy to trigger during parallel overtaking.
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