In the past year, more and more sports cars under Chinese brands have entered the market, and each of them has a good history, and the ambition is also very large, generally they are fist-punching and thinking, tearing up The crossing, just like a domestic sports car, the joint venture similar competitors can all stand on the side.
Actually? Whether it is the GAC Trumpchi Shadow Leopard, which has a "AMG" wind in front, or the Dongfeng Wind God Yixuan MAX, although the sales volume has been greatly improved compared with the products in front of the brand itself, there is still a big gap with the joint venture competitors. So, can Changan UNI-V succeed?
It is possible to do. Why do I say this, because there is another meaning. It may not work. The most well-known joint venture sports car on the market is the Civic, or Axela, and then there is SAIC Volkswagen's Lingdu. These models have been tested in the Chinese auto market for a long time, and sales have been very fixed. Civic, in particular, has stable monthly sales of more than 15,000 units. It can be said that the Civic is the benchmark model for compact sports cars. Almost every entrant wants to reach this height. However, for so many years no one has been able to shake its position.
So, can Changan UNI-V shake the status of Dongfeng Honda Civic? Can be compared. From the positioning point of view, Changan UNI-V also belongs to the larger size model in the compact sedan, its body length reaches 4680mm, the wheelbase reaches 2750mm, and the size of the Dongfeng Honda Civic is very similar, and has some advantages.
In terms of power, the Blue Whale NE series 1.5T engine equipped with Changan UNI-V has a maximum power of 138kW and a maximum torque of 300Nm. The Civic 240TURBO is equipped with a 1.5T Earth Dream engine with a maximum power of 134 kW and a maximum torque of only 240 Nm. In terms of transmission, the Changan UNI-V matches the Blue Whale 7-speed wet dual-clutch transmission, while the Civic uses a CVT gearbox. In fact, it is really interesting to let these two models run together.
Through some small details, we have found that Changan UNI-V and Dongfeng Honda Civic have intersecting parts in many parts, and it can be said that the two have formed a certain degree of competition. But who is better suited to today's consumers? Compare the design, configuration, power, and branding.
From the appearance point of view, our first impression will almost always think that the design of Changan UNI-V is more avant-garde and bold, while the Dongfeng Honda Civic on the other side is obviously less "brave", perhaps this global product, the shape is shackled a lot. Of course, this aspect is the advantage of UNI-V, in other words, it can also be understood as the success of the Civic global model. It has to face the global market, and even if some changes are made to the Chinese market, it is very limited.
From the front of the car, the design of UNI-V still continues the family design style of Changan UNI sequence. The borderless grille, in particular, is unique in the entire design world. Thanks to the avant-garde family design, the UNI-V's front end is sharper.
After integrating into this generation of family design language, the originally slightly outdated Civic has once again successfully reduced its age. The iconic wide chrome plating is now combined with the new mid-mesh shape, paired with the iconic flat design of the lightset, to take its sportiness to the next level.
In terms of body size, the UNI-V has a length, width and height of 4695/1838/1430mm, and a wheelbase of 2750mm. The Civic has a length, width, and height of 4674/1802/1415mm, and a wheelbase of 2735mm. In contrast, the UNI-V has a more wide-body coupe feel, with a longer body, a wider body, and a longer wheelbase, while the Civic's body height is lower, only 1415mm, which is more extreme than the UNI-V.
From the styling point of view, the design of UNI-V is more avant-garde, and also provides the most popular hidden door handle, coupled with two waist lines, further enhance the sports atmosphere of the vehicle itself, making it more pure.
It is worth mentioning that the UNI-V series is equipped with 18-inch aluminum alloy wheels as standard, and the sport version model with a guidance price of 123,900 yuan provides a 19-inch rim, which is more sporty than the Civic's 17-inch rim, and the overall look is undoubtedly better. However, in the case of full consideration of the economy of the car, it seems that the Civic's 17-inch wheels are not to blame.
Civic's styling is also clearly leaning towards the sports sedan, and the slip-back line design is very coordinated, which is definitely worthy of its enduring sales performance. However, the Civic did not implement the latest details that symbolize the attributes of the sports car, such as hidden door handles and real hatchback tailgates. And most importantly, it doesn't highlight some of the details of the personality, let's look at the rear of the car.
From the rear part of the car, we can see that UNI-V, as the vanguard of the family car market that Changan Automobile wants to impact, does provide a very intimate and bold detail design for Chinese consumers, that is, the electric tail wing. Just imagine, among the models currently on sale, in addition to a few sports cars under the luxury brand, or supercars, can we find any family car with an electric rear wing? No, not a single one, but since UNI-V, there has been.
UNI-V's electric rear wing is not only decorative, but also directly linked to the driving mode of the vehicle, when we press the electric rear angry button in the car, the vehicle will automatically adjust the driving mode to track mode, and the catapult start function will also be turned on. At the same time, the rear wing of the UNI-V also has a downforce of 25 kg, which reduces wind resistance. In fact, this rear wing does not really affect driving, but as a family car, especially a sports family car for young consumers, it is sometimes more meaningful than meaningful.
Coincidentally, the rear of the Civic 240TURBO CVT version also has a black tail. If you think UNI-V is too ostentatious, what do you think about this rear wing of the Civic? Is it because UNI-V is more avant-garde and bold in making the electric tail wing, which can make it shrink freely, and it is going to be spit on? No, after all, you see, the sales king of the joint venture brand segment has also made the same choice, or compromise, but it is more superficial. The purpose of the two is surprisingly consistent, to please Chinese consumers.
In terms of the design of the rear, UNI-V also seems to be more attractive and stunning, the through-type tail light group is both thin and long, and the tail light group on both sides is also very delicate, but in fact, the light group is actually a little small, and it feels that the designers of UNI-V are too strong, but the flaws are not hidden, which does not mean that the design of UNI-V has failed.
On the other hand, we look at the Civic's rear design, the wide and iconic Honda-style taillight group design, the red light strip on the periphery, the internal wrapping of reversing lights, turn signals, etc., which is enough to express the brand charm of Honda.
UNI-V's rear row style has been made in two ways, of which the sport version of the model is directly designed to be bilateral for a total of four out, while the other three versions on the market are both bilateral and different in detail. The exhaust shape of the two sides is good-looking, but it still seems to feel a little abrupt when placed on such a family car. In contrast, the regular version is more harmonious, showing the difference of UNI-V and leaving a low profile in the high-profile attitude.
The Civic also uses a bilateral double exhaust shape, but the design does not want to highlight this part too much, giving people a feeling of shyness. As a family car, bilateral double out is not necessary, but to add the word sports, such a design is more appropriate.
In fact, for the interior part, I believe that everyone has a lot of "slot points" for UNI-V, but it is undeniable that compared with the Civic, the overall design idea of UNI-V is younger and closer to the more real needs of Chinese consumers. At the same time, we do not deny that the honda's overall family interior design style behind the Civic cannot make too many radical changes to a car, and such an interior is successful enough because of the sales results that endorse it. So, compared to the exterior, the overall style of the interiors of UNI-V and Civic may be much worse, and we should not be surprised.
The interior design of the UNI-V is actually different from the first car of the UNI-T sequence, but it maintains a high degree of consistency with the second model, UNI-K. Its full LCD instrument adopts a different design idea from the general passenger model, and the style of the rear screen is directly used.
Civic's design is not out of the ordinary, well-behaved family car design, although it has been enough to "modernize" the transition. Compared with some more conservative brands, civic's interior is actually not old, adding a full LCD instrument and a floating central control screen, which is decent.
The steering wheel design of UNI-V is not traditional for anyone, because it is completely designed according to the steering wheel of the racing style, and the size is not large enough, which makes us not accustomed to the steering wheel when we first hold the steering wheel, and it is not comfortable enough, but the "tonality" is enough.
Civic's steering wheel design is obviously much more conventional, at least a circular steering wheel, and there is no flat bottom design, and the position of three or nine points is also designed with a grip groove for easy control.
The design of the central passage of UNI-V is quite careful, and in such a small space, we can see at least five kinds of decorative parts of various materials, so we can get a lot of visual comfort in details. In addition, there is a considerable sinking space under the central channel of UNI-V.
The Civic's central channel layout is generally similar to UNI-V, but the sense of technology is somewhat different from UNI-V. At the same time, it should be mentioned that the Civic water cup holder has an internal finite bitter, and the UNI-V is not designed.
In terms of seat design, the design of UNI-V feels more bold, using irregular design ideas, while high-end models also add Alcantara materials to further strengthen the attributes of sports cars.
In contrast, civic seats are somewhat monotonous and leaky, and the 240TURBO CVT version priced at 149,900 yuan provides a leather/fabric mix of seats, both in terms of grade and body feel.
In terms of power, both the UNI-V and the Civic are equipped with 1.5-displacement turbocharged engines, and the Blue Whale NE series 1.5T engines equipped with UNI-V have a maximum power of 138 kW, a maximum torque of 300 Nm, and a maximum torque speed of 1500-4000 rpm. The Civic's 240TURBO engine has a maximum power of 134 kW, a maximum torque of 240 Nm, and a maximum torque speed of 1700-4500 rpm.
In terms of transmission, the Blue Whale 7-speed wet dual-clutch transmission is matched with the UNI-V's 1.5T engine, and the CVT transmission is matched with the Civic 240TURBO engine.
From the overall quality point of view, UNI-V and Civic in many areas are between Bozhong, especially the mechanical quality part, the two equipped with 1.5T engine parameters are very close, only UNI-V equipped with the blue whale NE engine maximum torque of 300Nm, much higher than the Civic's 240Nm. However, the actual performance of the two, Car Vision Technology will be brought to you in the follow-up report.
From the configuration point of view, the performance of UNI-V is also obviously much better. In terms of external configuration, compared with the Sport version with a guidance price of 123,900 yuan and the Civic 240TURBO CVT combustion version, on the basis of the guidance price of 26,000 yuan less, the external configuration of UNI-V has more 19-inch aluminum alloy wheels, electric tails, inductive/electric tailgates, and panoramic sunroofs. In terms of internal configuration, UNI-V also needs more front seat electric adjustment, rear seat ratio recline, one-button lifting of the whole car window, rear exhaust air outlet, 10.3-inch central control screen, etc. In terms of active and passive safety configuration, UNI-V provides more 360° panoramic images, front and rear parking radar, and so on. It can be said that under the premise of having a higher price advantage, the configuration performance of UNI-V is also stronger.
Editor's Summary:
Since Chinese brands have long been at a disadvantage in the car market, this dates back to 2005. In fact, around 2010, in the initial stage of the development of our own brand, we also vigorously developed cars, but the results were not perfect, and we lost to the joint venture brand. This defeat has led us to focus all our development on the SUV market, which in turn has promoted the development of China's overall passenger car market. This time, Chinese brands return to the car track, whether it is technical tribute or car manufacturing experience, they are not the same as more than 10 years ago.
Take our topics of this issue, UNI-V and Civic. We admit that even if we recommend that you choose UNI-V, in fact, the sales of the Civic may still exceed UNI-V, which is caused by the environment, not the mistake of the Civic, and it is not UNI-V. All we need to do is try to add another option to some of the options, although this new option is slightly unknown. Dare to try is a new challenge for our current consumers, but also a new "big gamble" for manufacturers. (Text/Figure Car Vision Technology Li Liang)