This is the first time that BYD has test-driven a new BYD model after just announcing the suspension of pure fuel vehicles, and the feeling of product upgrading is very obvious, and it is intertwined with some sighs of change in the impression of the BYD brand.
I am no stranger to the Song MAX car series, originally it was a fuel vehicle when it was the main 100,000-level compact MPV positioning, with a strong price and balanced product force quickly achieved a monthly sales of 10,000 + scale, and even a single month sales of up to 20,000 units. Song MAX is particularly popular in the fourth- and fifth-tier markets, entering many multi-population families and becoming a hit in the compact MPV market that was originally regarded as "unable to make any waves".
I test-drove the Song MAX a few years ago, and I was impressed by the large central control screen, the flexibility and practicality of the third row that can be put down and can sit people, and the characteristics of comfort and easy opening. But this test drive to song MAX DM-i, still feel too fresh. If the upgrade of the new model is divided into three dimensions , the upgrade is not large ; the interior, a slight upgrade ; the power system, the improvement is great.
Design Interpretation:
The exterior has not changed much, and the upgraded roof version has a new idea
BYD Song MAX DM-i has two exterior designs, one is the regular version and the other is the "upgraded roof" version.
The exterior design of the regular version has not changed significantly compared with the fuel version models in recent years and even the original 2017 models, but the details of the front surround sides are different. The models of the Dynasty series still use the names of their respective dynasties as the central logo of the front and rear of the car. On the outside, the Song MAX DM-i is low-key, more like the change of a model of the year, only the green card and the DM-i logo in the lower left corner of the tail highlight the difference in its identity.
The "upgraded roof" version is quite innovative, like adding a suitcase to the roof of a regular model. This "suitcase" is actually connected to the space inside the car, but it is not really a suitcase. Inside, the roof of the upgrade has been designed with some designs that include the addition of lighting elements, an aircraft-like elegance with a curved roof, and a more transparent head space that makes the interior space more traveling.
Interior Space:
The sophistication has increased slightly, and the large screen is still the highlight
In terms of interior, the main layout and design have not changed much, and the change is that the trim panel of the dashboard has changed from the silver brushed style of the fuel version of the 2021 model to the three-dimensional relief style, which has some wavy bumps. The style of the gear has changed from the traditional chicken leg type to the flat style, which is more similar to the gear handle of the Tang series. The distribution of buttons near the gear has been greatly adjusted, and the panel structure consistent with Tang New Energy models has also been adopted, as well as design details such as crystal cutting start buttons, and the improvement of refinement is still very obvious.
Song MAX DM-i also prefers to build comfort in the application of interior materials, and the leather inside the steering wheel is filled with padding, which is warm and rich to the touch and has a good feel. Perhaps you see in the configuration list of the vertical website that the steering wheel of many models is written on imitation leather, but the actual performance gap is huge, such as the steering wheel of Song MAX DM-i, which is the same level as many 200,000-level joint venture models. The area of the plastic is also relatively large, the instrument table covers the material, the top cover of the front and rear door panels are soft acrylic, and only the third row of left and right handrails is hard plastic. The elbow design and decorative design materials of the first and second rows are in place visually and tactilely. The material grade in the third row is relatively larger than the front. In addition, the Song MAX DM-i is a short-tail box model after all, and there will only be ample loading space when the third row of seats is reclined.
Song MAX DM-i's car machine and central control large screen continue the tradition of high specifications, and seem to be stronger. The model I test drove offers a 12.8-inch panel center control screen, the size is already very impressive, the fineness, brightness and color are all praise, I think it is a full score in terms of the price of 150,000 cars. The 15.6-inch display used in the top model will be more shocking.
In terms of systems, based on the Internet of Vehicles and OTAs, it can provide all the software functions that I usually want to get, including music navigation. The minus item is that it does not have the interconnection function of mobile phones such as CarPlay; the plus item is that the battery and power monitoring information management system are full of scientific and technological sense.
In terms of space, there is no change from the old model, the second row is a little more than two punches of leg space level, a punch or so of head space, as a compact MPV Song MAX series of head space has not been that kind of mood beautiful sense of transparency, but said practical, enough.
Dynamic Feeling:
Acceleration brisk, silent and smooth are impressive
In terms of power, the Song MAX car series now only retains the Song MAX DM-i, that is, a power unit equipped with DM-i super hybrid technology, and the traditional fuel version completely bid farewell to the market after the production was discontinued in March this year.
This DM-i system consists of a 43.04% thermal efficiency Snap Cloud-Plug Hybrid 1.5L high-efficiency engine, an EHS mixing system and a DM-i dedicated power blade battery. The maximum power of the engine is 81kW, the maximum power of the permanent magnet synchronous motor is 145kW, and the comprehensive fuel consumption of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is 0.9L/100km.
The design goal of DM-i is mainly based on electric drive, efficient engine charging, timely auxiliary drive, and ultra-high efficiency in full working conditions. The Song MAX DM-i is more inclined to the characteristics of family cars, which means that it will cover a large area of short-distance transportation needs and medium- and long-distance travel, and the short-distance electricity consumption and the low fuel consumption of medium and long-distance can be well combined, compared with the high long-distance fuel consumption of traditional PHEV models, which has more economic advantages.
When I test-drove the Song MAX DM-i, I tried the "EV/HEV" power mode and the "ECO, Normal, Sport" driving mode.
Pure electric mode is not to say, quiet enough that I do not know the impression of "Song MAX", giving people a brisk and quiet feeling. It should be noted that the DM-i system balances the cost just right - if it is a pure electric vehicle with a price of 150,000 yuan, all aspects are relatively entry-level, and it is difficult to make a high-level sense of Song MAX DM-i in all aspects, including driving quality.
In HEV mode, I tried two test drives, one with a battery with 50% charge and one with a battery with 20% charge. Both cars will quickly start the engine after switching HEV mode, but the perception is slight, the engine runs in a low-speed and low-speed range, the noise is very small, and the vibration is almost imperceptible.
When the bigfoot throttle is stomped down, it is mainly the electricity that quickly pushes the car out, which is full of force and easy to control precisely. In this process, the engine does not immediately increase the speed, but increases the speed at a uniform speed, which has no effect on the sense of smoothness and does not have a lot of noise. This feeling is much higher than ordinary PHEV models, especially the common ONEs whose battery motors and engine specifications are not high (usually more than 100,000 yuan).
After trying out a few patterns, you might recite "DM-i True Fragrance" just like I do.
This test drive can also sense BYD's progress in the adjustment level of traditional cars such as throttle, brakes, and steering wheel. The throttle and brake performance are very mature, the foot feel is high-quality, the power control is precise, and there is no abruptness. But that's the level that a 150,000-class model should be, and it's finally qualified — I mean, I've never been very satisfied with my previous test drive on a BYD fuel car, especially when I was impressed by the steering of the Qin fuel version.
However, there is still room for further improvement in fineness. For example, the steering wheel of Song MAX DM-i in ECO and ordinary mode, gives a relatively large initial virtual position, light amplitude of the twist will not make the body have a larger lateral change, showing a distinct family tendency, but I think the ordinary mode of this virtual position if it can be a little smaller, it will be better; the virtual position in the sports mode is significantly smaller, the steering will be faster and more timely with the steering wheel control, which is more in line with the driver's expected performance.
In terms of chassis, Song MAX DM-i has no distinct improvement in the era of fuel vehicles, it is a medium to upper level, compared to the excellent performance of its power system, the chassis performance is a qualified green leaf. Here, the chassis also "thanks" to the Song MAX DM-i power system does not use a high-power motor or four-wheel drive, acceleration is light and fast rather than rough and violent, so it did not bring too much pressure to the chassis and other systems, the whole vehicle still presents a good sense of balance.
The driver concluded with >>>
In fact, before BYD announced the suspension of fuel vehicles, I was already aware of it, and the signs were sniffed from Song MAX DM-i. The model was launched in March this year, when it was surprised to find that the 2022 new car was all based on DM-i, and completely abandoned the traditional fuel system. This has also led to a jump in the price of the Song DM-i car series from 100,000 (120,000 after tax) to 150,000, which is relatively rare, because a large change in the price range in the traditional sense will lead to the risk of losing part of the customer base in the positioning of the car series.
Then BYD announced that the brand would stop production of traditional fuel vehicles from March 2022, and it suddenly realized that this was a major choice in the strategic direction of the company.
Returning to the Song MAX DM-i of this test drive, although the appearance has hardly changed, the upgrade of the interior is relatively small, but because of the excellent performance of DM-i, the new model still brings me a strong sense of freshness, driving and riding advanced has not been the same as the past fuel vehicles, you need to re-recognize this product. I believe that even if the price rises, consumers will continue to vote for Song MAX DM-i and BYD.
Text | Old cadre Zhang Bureau
Figure | The author took a real shot