March 3 is a normal Thursday, one Friday before the weekend. At 8:24 p.m. on this day, Ideal Auto began to live, announcing on the official micro that it would release a new model during the 2022 Beijing Auto Show: Ideal L9, although this Weibo word count is not much, but the amount of information is very large, directly pointing out its market positioning and characteristics: home, smart, flagship, SUV.
Soon, in less than 4 minutes, a kind name appeared in the comments section - "uncle".
In my memory, the deepest impression of the two "old uncles", one is his own uncle, when he was a child, he felt that he was omnipotent, and often bought us toys, took us to play computers, self-driving tours, and even rode 22 kilometers of bicycles to Xiangshan Park, which is simply an idol of life; the other is the classic sitcom "Northeast Family" in the old uncle of the army, Niu Xiaowei, although sometimes he will take advantage of his nephew's small advantage, but the key time is still quite "protecting the calves".
These two "old uncles" are tall, one is amiable, one can meet almost all the wishes of the children, and the other has something really going on. So does the "ideal L9" also have such qualities? If so, can it be competitive in the market? Today we are going to take a plate.
■ Almighty "Uncle"
Then, from March 9 until April 6, Ideal Auto posted "spoilers" on time every Wednesday, comparable to a serial drama, exposing the key information of the Ideal L9 showing the model positioning and characteristics one by one.
The most "domineering" design of the ideal L9 appearance part is the uniform front and rear through-line light strip, whether it is in the lighted state or not, this daytime running light can become the visual focus, creating a sharp future sci-fi style and advanced texture for the vehicle, and also in line with its flagship positioning.
In terms of interior design, whether it is the transparency created by the window and the sunroof or the steering wheel, the display screen, the double-door central armrest box and the wide seat, the interior of the car looks very atmospheric, combined with exquisite workmanship materials, which is in line with the aesthetics of Chinese consumers and the need for space.
In addition, the flagship characteristics of the ideal L9 are also reflected in the advanced configuration in the car, such as the sound system of the ideal L9 will use Dolby Atmos technology, composed of 7 groups of speakers to surround the whole car, 3 subwoofers to form a bass matrix, and 4 top speakers to form a sky surround, forming a 4D immersive audio and video effect.
There is also the Ideal L9 with a 2+2+2 layout, 6 seats are equipped with electric adjustment and seat heating, and the 4 independent seats in the front two rows also have seat ventilation and SPA-level ten-point massage functions. In addition, Nappa leather can have a very delicate touch and good breathability, while the interior-filled 3D comfort sponge enhances the comfort of the seat.
The "intelligent" attributes of the ideal L9 are mainly manifested in driving assistance and interior functions. According to the official introduction, the ideal L9 full car will have 11 cameras, of which 6 are 8 million pixels and 5 are 2 million pixels, of which 4 are surround view cameras and 7 are cameras set for driver assistance functions. At the same time, the new car will be equipped with 5 millimeter wave radars, 12 ultrasonic radars, and Hesai's AT128 lidar.
At the same time, its intelligent driving computing power platform is installed with two NVIDIA Orin-X processors, the final force will reach 508Tops, the dual processors are redundant with each other's computing power, and the power system, steering system, braking system and computing power platform power supply system provide more stable and reliable guarantee.
In the software part, the ideal L9 is equipped with the intelligent driving system of "Ideal AD Max", which adopts the full-stack self-developed perception, decision-making, planning and control software to ensure the reliability of the system and rapid iterative growth. For example, the AEB automatic emergency braking function used has been targeted according to the actual road conditions in China, which has strengthened the recognition ability of pedestrians and two-wheelers, further reduced the probability of traffic accidents, and can also achieve rapid iteration.
Therefore, the ideal L9 will be equipped with 5 intelligent driver assistance lights, and it is also the first mass production model to assemble this function, the most obvious of which is a separate small light that runs through the end of the daytime running light strip. I feel that this design is still necessary, because the ideal L9 should use intelligent driving assistance functions very frequently, which requires a reminder to the people around it.
In terms of in-car functions, the ideal L9 is equipped with two Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 chips as standard in the cockpit, with 24GB of memory and 256GB of high-speed storage capabilities, which together form a powerful computing platform, which will provide high-speed and smooth computing power for AI, software and entertainment applications in the car, and the car-machine system can directly switch between the 5G signals of two different suppliers, keeping the high-speed network online at all times.
At the same time, the ideal L9 is also equipped with 6 microphones and 3DToF sensors, which can establish a multimodal three-dimensional interaction space with deep learning capabilities, allowing the car and the driver and occupant to communicate and interact in the closest way to humans.
In addition, the Ideal L9 will be equipped with five displays, including an oversized HUD head-up display, a safe driving interaction screen above the steering wheel, a center control screen, a co-pilot entertainment screen, and a rear cabin entertainment screen. The last three screens use a 15.7-inch car-grade OLED screen, with 3K HD resolution and extreme color reproduction, it is reported that these five screens can achieve interaction under specific conditions. Interestingly, the center control, co-pilot and rear entertainment screen can all achieve Switch game projection through the Type-C interface, while charging the game console up to 60W.
For a large and medium-sized domestic SUV, in addition to being large enough and smart enough, it must be safe enough, and the ideal L9 will have a very good body torsional stiffness, and the use of high-strength steel and thermoformed steel is more than 80%, which can be achieved in the most stringent double-sided 25% bias crash test. At the same time, the front is equipped with double aluminum alloy anti-collision beams, which can effectively decompose the impact force from the front in the event of a collision.
In terms of battery protection, the battery pack of the ideal L9 adopts a double protection design composed of side guard beams and aluminum alloy shells, which can ensure the safety of the battery pack even in the harsh side column collision and bottom support tests.
Finally, talking about the power performance of the ideal L9, first of all, it will be equipped with a fully developed high-efficiency extended range electric system, the specific combination is a dual motor four-wheel drive + ranger, of which the maximum power of the front motor is 130kW, the maximum power of the rear motor is 200kW, the total comprehensive maximum power is 330kW, and the comprehensive torque can reach 620Nm, and the acceleration time of 100 kilometers is only 5.3s; in addition, the ideal self-developed and self-produced ranger has a thermal efficiency of 40.5%, under CLTC working conditions, The energy consumption of the fuel mode heat engine is 5.9L/100km.
In addition, the system will match a battery pack with a capacity of 44.5kWh, which can make the ideal L9 have a comprehensive endurance of 1315km and a pure electric endurance of 215km under CLTC conditions.
■ Can such an "uncle" fight?
Above we put the ideal L9 is a more comprehensive introduction, although the content is a bit long, but it is dry goods, but also let us see the hard power of this car. However, even with eighteen martial arts, can this "old uncle" occupy a place in the market competition?
I think this problem needs to be seen from three aspects: the comparison of audience, price and parameter configuration, because only if the price is right, can meet more consumer needs and has a better parameter configuration than the opponent, can a model survive in the market. Next, let's see how the "uncle" behaves in these three dimensions.
First of all, I think the biggest advantage of the ideal L9 is that it can meet the needs of many consumers, because from the exterior interior design to the intelligent configuration, from the large 6-seat layout to multiple independent screens, small tables, sound systems and other configuration functions, the ideal L9 can not only be used for home, but also commercial, not only as a city SUV, but also as an MPV. This "out of the loop" attribute is estimated to make many people ask themselves when buying SUVs, MPVs and even cars, "Why not buy an ideal L9?" ”
Of all the reasons for rejecting the "uncle", the price is probably the most mentioned and often decisive. The price range of 450,000 to 500,000 is estimated to discourage many people, after all, this is the price point of high-end luxury models and a relatively niche market. On the other hand, the models in this range are more or less "brand aura", especially the BBA brand SUVs, even if they are not superior, they are still "charming", and consumers who intend to buy them should not immediately turn to the embrace of "uncle".
However, if you calm down and compare carefully, the ideal L9 will still be better than the BBA at the same price in many ways.
Take the Mercedes-Benz GLE, which is also a medium-sized SUV, for comparison, which is closer to the size of the ideal L9, and some versions are even wider. In terms of power performance, the traditional fuel version of the GLE naturally cannot be compared with the ideal L9, and the plug-in hybrid version is better than the ideal L9 in terms of comprehensive torque parameters.
In terms of configuration functions, even if mercedes-Benz GLE is comparable to the ideal L9 in the comfort and convenience part, there should be a big gap in the degree of intelligence, especially in the car-machine system and human-computer interaction.
There is also the price, we see mercedes-benz GLE's current naked car price range is nearly 700,000 to 870,000 or so, the entry-level alone is 200,000 more expensive than the ideal L9 top match. In the System of Mercedes-Benz, the price point of the ideal L9 is comparable to the GRC with much smaller size and power.
This means that many friends who are in the Mercedes-Benz GLE, but suffering from limited budgets, no longer need to downgrade to choose THE GLC, but can choose the same level, the configuration is more complete, the price is at least 200,000 cheaper ideal L9, the money saved can also buy a Xiaopeng P5 or BYD Han EV by the way.
In the new energy market, I think that the ideal L9 at the same price competitor at this stage is only the same as the new force of the Weilai ES8, in fact, the two of them have their own strengths in size and performance performance, the ideal L9 is larger than the Weilai ES8, the endurance is longer, and in terms of power output capacity, the Weilai ES8 is better, and the zero hundred acceleration time is faster.
However, in terms of intelligence, there is a significant hardware generation difference between the ideal L9 and the Weilai ES8, such as the pixel of the camera, the ideal L9 already has 5 8 million pixels, as well as lidar and the number of chips and computing power, which are the more obvious advantages of the ideal L9. However, the backwardness of Weilai ES8 is also forgivable, after all, it is the old car of 2020, it is reported that the new version will use more advanced chips, and then we will have the opportunity to do two car driving assistance comparisons for everyone.
If you look to the future, the ideal L9 also has a "9" opponent, that is, the Xiaopeng G9, which is also a pure electric SUV with a large size. Although with the information currently released by Xiaopeng Motors, we are not able to directly compare the two models for the time being, but the official said that xiaopeng G9 will use the industry-leading X-EEA 3.0 electronic and electrical architecture, which can combine central supercomputing + regional control, and can also be equipped with higher performance chips, so that many intelligent auxiliary configurations can be rapidly developed and iterated. In addition, the Xiaopeng G9 will also be the first mass production model to support the XPILOT 4.0 intelligent driver assistance system.
In terms of power, Xiaopeng G9 will be equipped with XPower 3.0 power system, matching the 800V high-voltage SiC platform + 480kW high-voltage overcharge, and will achieve overcharge 5min in the future and the ability to replenish more than 200km. At the same time, the maximum efficiency of the electric drive system can reach more than 95%.
These information shows that the Xiaopeng G9 is also a large-size pure electric SUV with high degree of intelligence and power efficiency, which is very close to the ideal L9 in positioning, and its strength is evenly matched. If the final price of the two is also in the same range, the "showdown" between them will be very interesting.
■ So, who is the uncle suitable for?
For this problem, I think the ideal L9 should be more suitable for consumers who have a budget of about 500,000 yuan, and are not interested in traditional luxury brands, or want to "taste" new energy and new forces. Of course, as we mentioned earlier, the ideal L9 is a more versatile SUV, so it is suitable for both domestic and commercial, public or private use.
However, its price will still restrict the market development of the ideal L9 to a certain extent, on the one hand, because the current economic situation is not good, all walks of life are facing severe challenges, at this time most consumers are difficult to be willing to spend 500,000 to buy a car, even if forced to buy a car will find a cheaper model.
On the other hand, the current car cost continues to grow, the price of new cars is very susceptible to fluctuations, for the ideal L9, a high-end model of 450,000-500,000 yuan, the price fluctuation space is very small, and each price increase will have a great impact on its attractiveness.
■ Bang reviews
On March 16, Ideal Auto said at the end of the official "spoiler" that the Ideal L9 will be released from the Beijing Auto Show to April 16, and then on the last "spoiler" Weibo on April 6, the official said that the conference was postponed, and this series of changes disrupted the appearance of the "uncle" and the rhythm of the listing, and also made its final price become confusing. However, this can not hide its excellent quality, I believe that after mass production, the ideal L9 is not only fully qualified to become the flagship model of the ideal car, but also has the potential to become a representative and benchmark for future smart SUV models.
But in terms of market prospects, the ideal L9 will fall into a relatively niche market segment both in size level and price range, so my conclusion is that the ideal L9 has the potential to create a phenomenon-level sales performance of medium and large SUVs, but it is really difficult to replicate the success of the ideal ONE and become the "top stream" of the overall market. Consumers should expect this car to be "value for money", not "affordable".