If we push the timeline back to 10 or even 15 years ago, when consumers bought a car, it seemed that they had a kind of "non-joint venture and no buy" obsession. The reason for this situation is not difficult to understand, because at that time, domestic cars have not yet developed, domestic cars in the impression of many people is synonymous with "low-end", driving domestic cars out of the door is far less than driving a joint venture car has face. Even today, there are many consumers who have a kind of "discrimination" against domestic cars, and still think that domestic cars are not as advanced as joint venture cars. But in fact, the current domestic cars are not necessarily lower than the joint venture car, and many domestic car companies have begun to develop in the direction of high-end, such as Weipai under the Great Wall, Lynk & Co under Geely, and Xingtu under Chery. What we want to talk about today is also a relatively high-end domestic car, but it is not a high-end luxury model, but a "people's car" for most people.
This car is the Capgemini 280T, which is a new model in the Wuling Capgemini car series, with a pricing range of 115,800-125,800. For this new car that has just been listed, everyone may feel a little strange, but for Wuling Capgemini, I believe that everyone will be more or less impressed. Wuling Capgemini this car is the first model in the global silver standard car series of Wuling, which gives the "4 + X" as a unique selling point, and was quickly recognized by the market after listing. So far, the cumulative sales volume of Wuling Capgemini has exceeded 100,000 units, and in 2021, The annual sales volume of Wuling Capgemini can rank fourth in the market segment. The Capgemini 280T is a brand new model launched by Wuling after insight into the actual needs of consumers, but it will not replace Capgemini's existing model, but will be sold in the same house to us. So, what has changed with the Capgemini 280T, which started at 115,800, and is it still worth a look?
First of all, the Capgemini 280T replaced the main "heart" of a car, it replaced a high-power 1.5T engine, the maximum power of 177 horsepower, the peak torque of 290 Nm. Compared to the regular version of the LJ0 engine on Capgemini, this engine has increased its maximum power by 30 horsepower and a peak torque increase by 40 Nm. Moreover, the engine equipped with the Capgemini 280T pays more attention to the power performance of the engine at low speed, and it can output maximum torque at 1500rpm to 3500rpm. And 1500rpm is not a high speed for daily driving, the city is easy to run above 1500rpm, so driving a Capgemini 280T in the urban state, you can also accelerate overtaking relatively easily, and it is not easy to feel that the power is insufficient.
The second point, the Capgemini 280T, has upgraded the intelligent system in the car. However, the Capgemini 280T still uses a 10.25-inch multimedia screen, just like the regular version of Capgemini. Of course, the size of the screen does not affect the comprehensive experience of the in-car system, and the 10.25-inch screen is not small, which belongs to the mainstream level in the market. Back to the Ling OS Lingxi system, this system pays more attention to the convenience of the owner's car use process, and there are some small functions that can improve the car experience. For example, the road book function, it is an alternative navigation system, but different from the navigation, after choosing the road book, the road book will directly mark the tourist attractions along the way, gas stations and even hotels, restaurants, if you are ready to drive to the self-driving tour, the existence of the road book can save you the time of planning the travel route.
Then the third point we look at the configuration, Capgemini 280T covers a total of two models, namely the 280T automatic premium, and the 280T automatic flagship. Starting with the 280T Automatic Premium, it is equipped with 4 airbags, tire pressure display, child safety seat interface, reversing image, cruise control, sport/economy driving mode switching, automatic parking, keyless start/entry, leather seat, matrix LED headlights, automatic headlights, turn assist lights, multi-layer soundproof glass, Atlas silent tires and other configurations. On the basis of the 280T Automatic Premium, the 280T Automatic Flagship model has been upgraded with 6 airbags, panoramic image, active brake/safety system, full-speed adaptive cruise, panoramic sunroof, leather steering wheel, main driver electric adjustment/heating, air purifier, negative ion generator and other configurations. These configurations are placed on a model of less than 130,000, or more competitive, like the 129,800 Trumpchi M6 DCT luxury version, it only provides halogen lamp source, electric sunroof, cruise control and other configurations, but the price is still more expensive than capgemini 280T.
The fourth point of the last point is actually the place where the Capgemini 280T has not changed, that is, space. The length of the Capgemini 280T is still 4875mm, and the wheelbase is also 2800mm. This size actually has a little advantage in the face of trumpchi M6, BYD Song MAX and other multi-seat models of the same price. Inside, the Capgemini 280T comes standard with a 6-seat layout and doesn't offer more seat options. The two seats in the second row are designed with aviation first-class seats, the seats are relatively wide, with wings and leg rests, and the comfort of sitting inside is still relatively high. And we have to know that on the Honda Odyssey, the second row of leg rests are only equipped with medium and high-end models, and the entry-level Odyssey of more than 200,000 is not equipped.
In general, if a car wants to become a "people's car", it must not only be priced, but also meet the needs of the people. The Capgemini 280T car really sees through the ideas of the Chinese people and knows what kind of model the Chinese people want to buy. As a consumer, spending about 100,000 yuan to buy a multi-seat family car usually has higher requirements for riding comfort, hoping to bring a better travel experience to the family. The Capgemini 280T's built-in aviation seat and multi-layer sound insulation just improve comfort. Moreover, capgemini 280T has seized the two major characteristics of the current hot-selling car, namely performance and intelligence, and attracts consumers and facilitates consumers through the dual-end power of high-power engine + Ling OS Lingxi system. Finally, the configuration of this car is still relatively rich, and it is worthy of its own pricing of 115,800-125,800. You say, can such a car become a high-end "people's car"?