For business MPV, the main appeal of business travel is to create a comfortable and relatively independent office area for the rear passengers. At present, the vast majority of business MPV on the market has done a good job in terms of rear comfort, but because many MPV do not fully define business travel, but the kind of business IKEA, it is difficult to create a completely business-oriented office environment in the back row. However, the 2021 SAIC Volkswagen MAXUS G20 will focus on the improvement of the rear intelligent aspect, so what is the actual performance of this car after the upgrade?
The shape of the whole vehicle has hardly changed
The 2021 MAXUS G20 basically follows the design of the old model in terms of vehicle styling, but there are still some subtle differences. The front part of the car is a family-style octagonal front grille, which can be combined with the lateral chrome trim to show some of the aura required for business. The style of matrix LED headlamps is also more distinctive, especially the arrangement of daily running lights has a high degree of recognition. The only difference between the old model and the new model is the styling adjustment on both sides of the central net, which eliminates the four LED light source fog lights on the old model, but makes the front of the car show more sporty elements.
Since it is an annual redesign, the entire body shape has not changed at all, and the body size has also been maintained at 5198/1980/1928 mm in length, width and height, and wheelbase 3198 mm, which is already comparable to the mainstream MPV models on the market. At the same time, the car is still equipped with double-sided electric side sliding doors, and the second row of windows also supports electric lifting. The rear part of the car has not changed from the old model, and the tail light of the LED light source can be lit to echo the headlights.
Compared with the old model, the interior and front row area of the 2021 MAXUS G20 have no design changes, but the car we photographed uses white and navy blue interior colors, which will improve the texture of some cars compared to the old model. The two-tone three-spoke multi-function steering wheel is not to be impeccable in terms of functionality or feel.
The front 12.3-inch floating central control screen is equipped with Ali's Zebra Zhixing Car Networking System, which has comprehensive functional coverage and also integrates smart life functions such as smart parking, refueling, express inquiry, coffee takeaway and so on. In addition, the car is also equipped with 64-color interior mood lights, which is convenient for the occupants of the car to create a more comfortable interior space. At the same time, the new car is also equipped with a series of driving assistance functions, including adaptive cruise, lane keeping, speed limit sign recognition, collision warning and so on.
The second row has a separate on-board system
For MPV models, the quality of the second row of seats determines the success or failure of this car, the 2021 MAXUS G20 is equipped with a combination of functions in one of the aviation seats, open the armrests to see the seat control panel, including power conditions, seat memory, seat ventilation / heating / massage and other functions. There is also a one-button adjustment function on the side of the seat, which can adjust the seat to a semi-reclining position, which is convenient for passengers to rest.
However, a small problem needs to be raised, that is, this seat will be affected by the armrests on both sides, resulting in the lateral width of the seat is average, so if the larger passengers sit in the second row, they may feel that some space is not enough, but this will not affect the riding comfort.
As the focus of this vehicle upgrade, the rear LCD screen that can only be controlled by the front multimedia linkage on the old model is completely "independent" this time. The complete set of rear multimedia systems is developed by SAIC Maxus and integrates many functions that are relatively necessary for business, leisure and entertainment in the rear.
SAIC Maxus provides four preset scenarios for the second row of passengers to achieve the linkage of sunroof, air conditioning, seat functions and lights. Passengers can control it on demand via control screen, voice and mobile app. In addition, the car cooperates with ByteDance and is equipped with a deeply customized Volcano Car Entertainment App, providing functions including today's headlines, vibrato, watermelon video and so on.
In addition, through the "Spider Intelligent Connection - Web in the Web" function, the mobile phone mapping function can also be realized to provide convenience for business meetings. However, I think that under this function, you can actually install a camera in the back row, so that when you really need to do a web conference, you can directly capture the video through the car camera.
Enough power and decent ride performance
In terms of power, the 2021 MAXUS G20 still uses a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine with a maximum power of 160 kW and a peak torque of 350 Nm, which is matched by an 8-speed manual transmission from ZF. At the same time, the new car also launched a model equipped with SAIC π series 2.0T diesel engine, with a maximum power of 120 kilowatts and a peak torque of 375 Nm.
As far as the gasoline version of the model we tested was concerned, the power performance was in line with my expectations for this car, the power output of the vehicle in the initial stage was relatively smooth, the power response speed was also relatively decent, and the overall view was in line with a business positioning of the car, and at the beginning moment, it would not make people feel uncomfortable because of the excessively violent power output.
When it is necessary to accelerate sharply, the response of the vehicle is also relatively moderate, and the power response will be slightly delayed, but it can be felt that the car's power reserve is sufficient, so there is no need to worry. After switching to the sport mode, the vehicle's power response will become more positive, the daily speed of the engine will be maintained at about 2000 rpm, in general, an MPV of this size with this powertrain, basically can fully meet the needs of any driving.
The steering wheel is moderately maneuvered due to the use of electric assist. The directivity is decent, although there will be a certain virtual position, but it is acceptable. The foot feeling of the pedal is soft, and the acceleration pedal is good to say, but the initial performance after the brake pedal is pressed down is average, and the middle and rear section can obviously feel the emergence of braking force.
Of course, as a business MPV, the comfort of the rear passengers is what needs to be paid attention to. The G20 adopts the front McPherson type, rear multi-link suspension collocation, which can basically effectively filter the road bumps when the vehicle passes through the airwave road, and the rear row basically does not feel the impact of fine bumps on the car. However, in the face of large bumps or undulating roads, due to softer suspension tuning, coupled with such a large body, the vehicle will produce some aftershocks.
The noise control of the vehicle is at a normal level from the most intuitive feeling, whether it is engine noise or tire noise and wind noise in a relatively good range when driving smoothly, but when it is necessary to accelerate sharply, it can be felt that the noise of the engine will be clearly transmitted to the car, and when driving at high speed, the wind noise control will also be affected.
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Although the 2021 MAXUS G20 has no essential changes compared to the old car, after adding the rear car system, it does provide a relatively independent office space for rear business travel, which may be a point that many MPV models that aim at business travel have not done.
And in comparison, the second row of G20 seats in the current market, both comfort and functionality are in the upper level, which may also lay the foundation for the MAXUS G20 in the field of business travel MPV. However, this car actually has a lot of places that can be optimized in terms of production process and powertrain, and I hope that SAIC Maxus can do better when it improves the vehicle in the follow-up