About the Author:
Endurance Xing Gong, former head independent brand VD engineer.
1. Why buy this car?
More than a decade ago, an uncle in the family mentioned the third-generation Highlander 2.7 two-wheel-drive seven-seat luxury version, when I was still in high school. I just remember when the car just appeared in front of me, I had never seen the world, I thought, this car is too big...
Since I was in junior high school, I have been addicted to major automobile websites every day, starting from the parameters of all models to configure the appearance and interior characteristics of the study, so by this time I already have some basic "cloud evaluation car" skills, the bones of the northeast people love the genes of the big car, so that I am full of interest in this "big man", here to see, there to see, jumping up and down, now I still remember it vividly.
Out of the love of automobile fanaticism, the university naturally chose the vehicle engineering major, after graduation, he wished to become a head of independent brand endurance test engineer, during the company there was responsible for the joint venture brand FAW Toyota Corolla and SAIC Volkswagen Tiguan of the benchmark car durability test, Toyota Motor's design concept and ubiquitous lean management is particularly impressed, so that when he needs to buy a new car with a price of more than 300,000, he finally set the crown landing.
In fact, there is a quota of tax-free cars for international students in hand, but because the brand filled in FAW Audi when it was declared in Shenzhen, because the declaration place of Shenzhen is limited, so in theory, the quota is valid for a long time, and the follow-up learned that once the brand is determined, although the quota is valid for a long time, the brand cannot be changed...
The high-power model that Audi can choose at this price point is very limited, originally in 2020, the A6L 40TFSI fashion dynamic tax-free price can reach 327,000, but then the price has risen to 370,000 when the car needs to be picked up...
Another because the home is in the northeast, the winter snow period is up to 5 months, so it is still inclined to a four-wheel drive model, but the A6L four-wheel drive version is priced outside my affordability range, so the Q5L is also included in my alternative.
At this time, the Q5L mid-term revamp, the cancellation of the MMI control area on the consoles, made my liking for it decline, and in two test drives, I also found that the steering back torque of this car had a big problem...
This is really too awkward to accept. Coupled with Audi's too frequent after-sales maintenance projects (spark plugs, etc.) and high prices, as well as the lack of amazing driving experience impressed me, compared to the huge cost difference caused by The "four years and 100,000 kilometers of free maintenance" of Crown Landplay, I finally gave up the Q5L.
2, 10,000 km use experience,
Design flaws and problems are fragmented
In the end, this crown was chosen, does it mean that it is so perfect? This car is configured as a 2.5L HEV four-wheel drive luxury model, from October 2021 to the present (January 2022), has traveled more than 10,000 kilometers, out of professional sensitivity, I still want to talk more about the design shortcomings and failures of this car, which may also be the reader's most concerned point! The following may cause some people's comfort and some people's discomfort... However, all of the guarantees are absolutely objective (with the exception of the subjective evaluation part).
Compared with Highlander, I think the biggest difference may be the naming in the country, after all, the appearance kit is also the American version of highlander XSE version, as for the manufacturer's claim of "front row double laminated glass", may have a positive help for high-speed wind noise, but for the most serious NVH problem part of this car can only be said to be a cup of water, this will be specific.
Next, I will list the problems I have found so far in terms of the assembly process, design, and durability of this car.
Tailgate wear-resistant patch - poor position:
This problem is not only in my car, but also in the showroom car of the 4S store and the test car, which is a C-level problem in the endurance test problem.
Fender bolts - appearance abnormalities:
I don't know why, when I help my relatives and friends pick up the car, I will help to check it very carefully, and when I pick up the car, I will take it away after washing the car, and I didn't even lift the car up to check it, so that I didn't find this serious problem when I picked up the car.
This problem is definitely attributed to the final assembly, the initial suspicion is that the vehicle off-line final inspection found that the fender assembly is poorly adjusted when the screw caused, but this is also too non-standard it ... How can you unscrew the bolt paint of people's commercial cars, so that when it comes to selling cars, let the car dealers see it and not cut you a big knife...
Front-backed lower trim - abnormal appearance:
Recently, I found that the inside of the silver trim strips on the left and right sides of the lower part of the front of this car was poorly painted, and I did not have time to go to the 4S store to see what other commercial cars looked like.
Ventilation cover - abnormal action:
The ventilation cover follows the undulating movement when the wiper is working, and I heard that this problem has now been solved.
Left outer rearview mirror - jitter:
The left outer rearview mirror is shaky during cruising at 120kph, which is not well reflected in this video, and the right side can be better.
Four-door lower part - poor sealing:
The fully covered door was originally intended to improve the cleanliness of the threshold, but the sealing performance was too poor, and the dirt would still be rubbed on the trouser leg when getting off the car, and it would greatly increase the difficulty of washing the car and accelerate the aging of the rubber material.
Combined Light Control Switch - Cut Hands:
Switch the sub-module line, the feel is obvious, and this switch is too commonly used, the level of the problem can be given B.
Four-door seals - abnormal wear:
The rubber material that was polished off was on the door frame, and every time the car was washed, it had to be wiped...
Makeup mirror cover - grease precipitation:
The weather is hot, the secretion of oil is exuberant, in fact, the amount of grease is not controlled, and the weather is hot and precipitated.
Makeup mirror cover - stuck:
Two rows of 4-point seats - jitter:
When you look at the rearview mirror at high speed, you will find that it is very annoying, this video can not be filmed because I am driving, so I skipped...
Accelerator Pedal - Abnormal Sound:
The tremor at the pedal when the accelerator pedal is released quickly is unusual.
In addition, when the accelerator pedal is quickly stepped on to full opening, the pedal is initially crisp and rattling, similar to the sound of the pedal breaking, the subjective feeling is more frightening, this situation has appeared twice so far, and it has been ruled out that the sound caused by the foreign body stuck in the pedal stroke has yet to be investigated.
Firewall - Leak:
This is not necessary to take a video, should be the point of complaint of all car owners, this problem contains a lot of car owners said that the rapid acceleration of the engine noise problem, when the engine speed is high, the firewall is seriously leaking, the sound quality is extremely poor, accompanied by the acceleration pedal vibration feeling, floor vibration feeling.
At the B-pillar on the left - abnormal sound:
The problem occurs after the temperature is reduced, when the external temperature is below 10 degrees Celsius, the preliminary suspicion is that the sound of squeezing the panels on the B-pillar roof and the B-pillar is not like the sound of metal distortion, and the abnormal sound occurs when the body is slightly distorted, or slightly bumpy, and the specific reason needs to be further investigated (now the ambient temperature is about 20 degrees, and it does not ring... The video was lazy at the time, and now I have to find an environmental warehouse or wait until next year to watch it again).
Inner mirror base cover - abnormal sound:
The cover plate is poorly assembled, and it is easy to touch when rubbing the inner rearview mirror and make a knocking sound.
Co-pilot floor front - abnormal sound:
Steering wheel trim at six o'clock - abnormal sound:
Rear of the tail spoiler and roof outer panel - jitter:
It is more obvious when closing the back door, this problem appears on toyota, shame!
Tail section of exhaust pipe - rust:
When I first insured, I accidentally saw it, I really didn't deliberately look for faults, I didn't bother to look at the picture, Toyota...
Harness Protector - Missing:
This problem has long been discovered by the owner group, toyota explained: in order to better drain the heat, to prevent rain and snow weather, rain and snow can not be discharged.
But this explanation I am very incomprehensible, the North American version does have this complete body of the protective cover, North America it also rains and snows, and even if it is for drainage considerations, then FAW Toyota why not directly redesign a good drainage performance of the protective cover, directly remove the side, this practice does lose the grace of the international manufacturer, the reduction can be understood, this is a bit ugly Ha!
For the static failure of the vehicle and the slot point to write so much first, about the chassis is really no time to lift the car up to check (who said that foreign companies are very humanistic), follow-up if you are interested, you can also consider this car as a driver to send the foreign captain to test the car Ha!
3． About drivability and everyday practical feelings
In terms of drivability, I am not a professional, and can only be based on a large number of vehicle driving and using experience.
After watching the introduction of the Driver's School on highlander, most of the experience is consistent, the delicate steering feel, the linear gain, and the slightly advanced chassis filtering feeling under the TNGA-A architecture, the filtering of small bumps, the resolution of big bumps, in the same price point / medium and large home SUV can give a very high score, belongs to the performance of young and old.
But! Here's the point!
The suspension performance of the crown land release, when the temperature is reduced to less than 10 degrees Celsius, there will be obvious cracking, and the damping change of the shock absorber is too obvious, as if the DCC opened the motion mode, and the small vibration of the pavement of the groove cement road is acceptable, but the bumps similar to the speed reduction belt become particularly obvious after the speed exceeds 60 hours, and the sense of high quality that is not easy to create is greatly reduced. There will be a significant improvement in temperature after it rises, and I guess GAC's brother Highlander will do the same.
It is also because of the geographical factor that I can share some additional feelings of driving on snowy and slippery roads.
(Four-wheel exquisite ICE15 winter tire)
In Normal mode, around 80% acceleration pedal opening 0 initial speed turn head turn:
The torque output of the front wheel is still greater than that of the rear wheel, and it has not reached the effect of the official declaration, and the performance gap after closing the TCS is not large, the degree of freedom is low, and it is too biased towards conservative calibration, which can also be understood, after all, the positioning is pure family orientation.
The front wheel is obviously idle under the opening of this acceleration pedal, but the rear motor quickly gives torque distribution, from the front wheel to the rear wheel torque up to about 0.5s less than the time, or can ensure a high target trackability, it is not easy to push the head too much, just want to rely on the power given by the rear motor to slide away, it is very difficult.
At this time, you will think a little about the Q5L Quattro ultra and BorgWarner's 5/6th generation four-wheel drive system. But there is no regret, after all, the E-Four does not require excessive driving skills, and it is definitely a four-wheel drive family car suitable for Grandpa.
On ergonomics and space aspects:
There is a small platform on the upper edge of the front door interior version of the Crown Land, similar to the design of the Land Rover model, the elbow can be leaned on it in a high sitting position, but due to the limited horizontal width of the small platform, it is difficult to comfortably lean on it without opening the window, and if it is 2-3 cm wider, it is perfect.
In terms of front seats, it belongs to the leather is very soft, but the padding is hard, I personally use this kind of seat setting, with good shoulder support, long-term driving can effectively reduce the spread of fatigue, but I think the forward angle of the headrest is a bit large, in the case of not adding a neck pillow, it will cause the neck to fall empty and not be supported.
But this problem can be well solved after installing a neck pillow. The rear seats do not have the opportunity to ride, so they will not be evaluated. Regarding the three-dimensional space of the third row of seats, there is not much to say, anyway, it is the level of being hung by Tu Ang.
Since the above text has been sorted out, this car has traveled another 5,000km, and the most obvious feeling is that the weather is warmer and the fuel consumption has dropped. To sum up: this is a bucket car, no fatal injuries, but also no addictive advantage, dads, action, give up the BBA, live a solid life! Even if the oil price is "slightly" high today, there is no need to be afraid of stepping on the throttle and getting home late when leaving work, less than a few minutes of companionship for daughter-in-law and children! (Not moving barricades is a virtue)
Wen | durable Xing Gong
Picture, video | durable Xing Gong
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