Editor-in-Chief | Zhong Kun
Author | Hulu Man
Edit | Chen Shuhao
Reports from car hoist circles
I don't know if you have found that there are fewer and fewer users who are willing to buy A0-class cars of joint venture brands today, and the pace of introducing/updating cars by major manufacturers is getting slower and slower.
Indeed, in this era of involution, a joint venture A0-class car needs a price point of about 100,000 yuan, and a self-brand A-class sedan or SUV is also at this price point. For consumers, for the same price, why not buy a bigger, more practical A-Class car?
The crisis of the joint venture brand A0 class car seems to have arrived. Complete delisting is almost impossible, after all, the car also has its own unique advantages, such as small body easy to drive, self-weight, light fuel saving, worry-free, etc.; and reducing the price and domestic car confrontation head-on, it is not realistic for manufacturers.
In fact, the best way out for the A0-class car of the joint venture brand is to change the characteristics of the past "tool car" and "scooter", and turn to the road of "boutique", and use the way of "yan" and "quality" to impress those young users. On the road to the boutique of trolleys, LIFE Laifu Sauce from Dongfeng Honda can be said to have made an excellent demonstration.
The foundation of quality
It is an improvement in appearance
Why did a small car more than a decade ago "know that this thing is cheap at a glance"? In fact, a big reason comes from the design level of the vehicle. Overly flat body geometry, low gloss paint, simple interior... Various factors make everyone think that the A0-class car is just a "means of transportation".
Today's Honda LIFE is optimized from the outside in. Speaking of appearance alone, Honda LIFE can distinguish between SPORT and CROSS design styles.
The design of the SPO-SS model is faithful to the original taste of the hatchback model, and it is outlined with a smooth waistline and a strong three-dimensional hood rib line, reflecting the glossy texture of the paint in the complex curved surface. At the same time, the front lip with a carbon fiber style and the surrounding sports surround make this eccentric car have a certain sporty temperament and attract the attention of young people.
The CRO-SS version of the model, through the sporty black surround, aluminum alloy luggage rack and higher chassis ground clearance, brings a strong cross-border style, so that this LIFE incarnated as a "little tough guy". In fact, no matter what kind of design pattern, Honda LIFE can be regarded as firmly grasping the young people's love of beauty and exquisite thoughts, and it is considered to have won at the starting point.
When you open the car door, the exquisite layout of the Honda LIFE is still continuing.
Take the interior design of this car, which shows a lot of differences from other A0 class cars. For example, the diversified line design brings a sense of layering, soft material filling avoids a sense of cheapness, and the full LCD dashboard and touch screen bring a sense of technology... Such optimization can indeed make the LIFE car look more advanced, and even the interior style is no less than many A-class family cars of 100,000 levels.
Of course, in addition to the design, Honda LIFE itself has also brought a lot of practical improvements.
Although it is a small car with a wheelbase of less than 2.6 meters, based on the Honda MM design concept, by compressing the engine compartment space, the seating space in the LIFE compartment is not crowded, coupled with the rear magic seat design, the overall comfort is not as good as many A-class cars, but it is more than enough to meet family use.
Configuration Advanced
Who says A0-class cars can only be used as a substitute?
A year or two ago, a certain A0-class car was listed, and the lowest model of this car had no radio, not even a stereo, which was complained about by consumers. In fact, everyone can accept the "simplicity" of the A0-class car, but cannot accept the "simplicity" of the A0-class car. LIFE from Higashimoto, in terms of configuration, also taught other cars a good lesson.
Even for the most entry-level models, life is equipped with a sound system with USB sources, LED lights, six sets of airbags, ESP and other basic configurations.
In the high-end model, the overall configuration of LIFE can almost be described as "leapfrogging".
Although this car is not equipped with a rich car networking system, but the mobile phone screen projection and other functions, you can also extend the mobile phone APP to the car machine screen for operation, to meet the daily car needs can be said to be no problem.
At the level of safety configuration, in addition to the rich passive safety configuration of the whole series, LIFE has provided intelligent driver assistance systems since the price of 108,800.
Front collision avoidance assist, side lane departure assist system, can effectively avoid the risk factors on the road, and the system intervenes in time to improve the safety of driving; automatic headlights, adaptive far and near light switching and adaptive cruise system, which helps to reduce the driver's working intensity and bring more convenient and more convenient operation. For many young people who pursue intelligence and convenient driving, about 100,000 LIVES is enough.
A more flexible and hands-on driving experience
It is the soul of LIFE
To this day, there are still many fans of A0-class cars, and these fans are generally driving enthusiasts. If you dig carefully, you will find that most of the A0-class car users who need to drive and have fun will generally choose Honda cars such as LIFE and Fit. Life, whether it is the power system or the chassis system, is in line with Honda's driving control concept.
The 1.5-liter Earth Dream engine delivers 131 hp and 155 Nm of torque to life.
Although many 100,000-class A-class cars currently use 1.4T or 1.5T engines with 250 Nm and 270 Nm, it seems that the power performance will be better.
But don't forget that life is a small car with a weight of only 1.1 tons. According to the horsepower/vehicle weight ratio, each ton can be allocated to 119 horsepower, which is beyond the standard of most family cars. It is also in this way that LIFE hardly has to go through too many modifications, nor does it have to brush the ECU, which can bring enough excellent power feeling to the driver.
In addition to the outstanding performance of motivation, the stability and economy of LIFE are also suitable for young people who are "shy in their pockets". Honda's mechanical reliability naturally does not need to be said, understand everything. The fuel consumption performance of LIFE can basically be controlled within 6L/100km, which can fully reduce the cost of using this car and is more friendly to young people.
After talking about the power, let's talk about the chassis of this car. Subject to cost and space considerations, the A0 class trolley generally uses the suspension structure of the front McPherson + rear torque beam, and the honda LIFE is the same.
However, although the suspension structure is simple, life's chassis tuning can be meticulous. Honda engineers adopted a low-friction chassis design, which, in simple terms, reduced the resistance of the suspension position by optimizing details such as rubber sleeves, top rubber, etc. In addition, the engineers have also fully optimized the suspension system to enhance the texture of the chassis, for example, when passing through bumpy roads such as speed bumps, LIFE can ensure the smoothness of the body as much as possible, avoid excess jumping, and thus bring a more comfortable car control experience and a more comfortable riding experience.
epilogue
In fact, for the A0-class car, we are not unloved, but we hope to see more and better products in front of us. For example, Dongfeng Honda's LIFE, this little guy, although not very large, but no matter how faceted it is, it is quite capable of loading. It has a more exquisite design and manufacturing process, has a higher practicality and configuration, and still retains a good playful attribute, placed in a bunch of A0 class cars of the same price, not to say it is a group, but at least it can look bright.
There is no doubt that a full-dimensional advancement like LIFE can truly be regarded as the "boutique" progress of a car. Of course, in the future, we also hope that toyota YARIS cars of the same class can also embark on such a boutique road.
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