Before the Hongqi LS7 officially began to test drive and go public, many people were willing to call the tank 500 the strongest domestic SUV at present. What is "the strongest domestic"? I think the first and most core factor point is that it has to be domestic. Does the domestic brand now have a 3.0T V6 turbo engine that can be called the number? At present, the tank 500 is the only "player" in this. What's more, in addition to the 3.0T V6 twin-turbo engine, the tank 500 also has a self-developed longitudinal 9AT gearbox, which you can stand? So at this point, I can't help but ask: Is the tank 500 really the strongest domestic SUV?
A few days ago, tank 500 held a regional media test drive meeting in Changsha, as an invited media, I threw myself into the full-day test drive of this popular SUV. At the time of the test drive, with the thinking and examination of it, and in the spirit of being responsible for our consumers, I found many excellent points and imperfections of the tank 500. Without further ado, let's get started with today's text.
1. How does the Great Wall self-developed 3.0T+9AT perform?
First, let's talk about the hardware parameters of the tank 500. The tank 500 is equipped with a Great Wall self-developed 3.0T V6 engine, which has Miller cycle, dual VGT variable section double supercharging, double injection, integrated water cooling and other technologies. In terms of data, the engine has a maximum power of 354 hp, a maximum torque of 500 Nm, and a thermal efficiency of up to 38.5%.
The transmission match is also the Great Wall's self-developed 9AT longitudinal gearbox, with a speed ratio range of 8.843 and a crystal gear. It is worth mentioning that this is the first domestically independently developed 9AT longitudinal gearbox, so it is not easy.
The body is a non-load-bearing body used in hardcore off-road vehicles, and the chassis adopts the design of the front double wishbone and the rear integral axle suspension. In addition, the tank 500 uses BorgWarner's third-generation intelligent four-wheel drive system, and provides low-speed four-wheel drive, tank turn, front and rear axle differential locks and other configurations.
It is worth mentioning the "intelligent all-terrain system" of the tank 500, the system can automatically determine what terrain is now in through the signal reflection of surrounding objects, wheel speed, throttle opening, etc., and can automatically switch driving modes in Auto mode to reduce the difficulty of driving. In addition, it can be locked in 4L and 4H modes, and can achieve 2.64 times the torque amplification. In short, from the hardware level, the strength of the tank 500 is indeed very strong, so how does it perform after it is actually opened?
The total length of our test drive is 120 kilometers, which includes most of the highway section and a small part of the urban road. From the actual driving experience, the 3.0T V6 engine will not feel insufficient when driving this medium-sized SUV with a curb weight of nearly 2.5 tons.
Whether it's standard, sporty or comfort mode, it gives you the calmness of a six-cylinder engine, and that's certainly the pleasure of a large displacement. However, when driving on high speeds, I think it is significantly better to hang up to sport mode. When it is necessary to overtake, the speed climbs faster, and the logic of the gearbox will change a little.
Speaking of gearboxes, the entire gear shifting process of this longitudinal 9AT gearbox developed by Great Wall is relatively smooth. On the high speed, it only takes 90km/h to hang up to the ninth gear, and in most cases it also maintains a "high gear and low speed" driving, which will help the fuel consumption performance of the vehicle.
Of course, the shortcomings of this gearbox are not nothing, in the standard mode, the gearbox downshift is obviously not particularly positive, but still gradually complete the acceleration of the vehicle, which I think is slightly conservative, mainly related to the tank 500 main comfort and business luxury reasons.
As for the braking effect, overall, the brake pedal of the tank 500 has a good foot feeling, the overall is relatively linear, the braking force comes relatively early, and under normal circumstances, the required braking action can be completed when braking to the middle section.
However, when you first get started, you will feel that the brakes are a little bit weak and soft, and after a period of adaptation, you will feel comfortable and confident to step on. Interestingly, the brake foot feel of the Tank 500 can be adjusted, and there are three modes: Comfort, Standard and Sport. Under normal circumstances, the standard mode is also sufficient.
In terms of chassis, the overall tuning of the tank 500 is mainly based on comfort, and after the addition of active electromagnetic suspension, the suspension can be adapted according to the driving mode and driving behavior. That is, the comfortable suspension can become softer, and for movement, the suspension can become harder. But then again, due to the tank's long suspension travel, the vehicle will still have a certain roll when cornering quickly, which is certainly normal, after all, it is a hardcore off-road style SUV with a height of more than 1 meter 9.
Finally, there is the NVH performance in the car. From the hardware point of view, the Front and Rear Windows of the Great Wall to the Tank 500 are equipped with double-layer laminated glass, and many places, including the doors, engine hoods, etc., are equipped with high-grade sound-absorbing cotton and ANC active noise reduction functions, so the hardware is horizontally leveraged. In the actual experience, the wind noise and road noise suppression of the vehicle during the driving process are very good, and the chassis sound insulation is better than I expected, so it is fully worthy of the level of 400,000 domestic luxury SUV.
In short, the overall driving experience of the tank 500 is satisfactory, as the first self-developed 3.0T+9AT powertrain of the Great Wall, it tells consumers with excellent driving quality, and domestic car brands can also create a good power system. For our people, the launch of this set of 3.0T+9AT powertrain can also stimulate the enthusiasm of the people to respond to the national tide, after all, before this, our domestic car brand did not really have its own 3.0T engine, which is rare.
From a long-term perspective, the more high-end models of the Great Wall in the future should all use this power system, so as long as a good start on the tank 500 model now, the next model sales will only be "smooth".
2. What are the highlights of the exterior and interior?
Tank 500 Black Samurai Edition
Tank 500 high-end customized version
At present, the Tank 500 has a total of four models to choose from, including the sports version, the business version, the Black Samurai version based on the sports version, the limited edition of 1000 units, and the high-end customized version based on the business version. Among them, the main difference between the sports version and the business version of the main sales is that the front face design is different and there is no "small school bag" (external spare tire) at the rear of the car.
Tank 500 Sport Edition
Tank 500 Business Edition
Personally, I think the sporty version looks better, not only because of the addition of a rear-mount spare tire, but most importantly, it strikes a good balance between luxury and simplicity. As for the business version, it will be more suitable for those who often have business needs.
In terms of interior configuration, the 12.3-inch LCD dashboard and the 14.6-inch large central control screen are already the necessary configurations for Chinese brands now, so the tank 500 must have it.
Secondly, functions such as front and rear seat ventilation, heating, massage, Nappa leather seats, 12-speaker Yanfeilis audio, fragrance system, air purification system, multi-colored atmosphere lights, rear 7-inch control screen, L2 level intelligent driver assistance system, etc., are also available on the tank 500, so there is no need to worry about the configuration level.
3. Who are the purchase groups of tank 500?
As for the purchase group of tank 500, one is to have a certain understanding of the basic common sense of off-road vehicles, usually more yearning for overbearing, land patrol, Wrangler models, but can not afford to buy, and at the same time paid attention to the tank 300 and Haval H9 such products of the crowd. After all, the Great Wall has accumulated some fame in the field of off-road vehicles (the Great Wall started with pickup trucks, and H5 and H9 are well received), so as long as the price of tank 500 is not outrageous, it will definitely be a hurry to place an order.
The second is those who want to buy a big car, compared with what Kinda Highlander, Tu Ang, Explorer, Lanjing and other products. After all, the former is either low configuration, or the power is not satisfied and expensive, so when there is a tank 500 now, everyone looks at the appearance, interior, configuration, power, aura and other good situations, naturally they will want to rush directly.
The third is the middle-aged consumer group who want to buy a luxury SUV but hesitate and have a budget of 350,000-400,000 in hand. After all, the new Tank 500 can kill most of the models in the community by virtue of its powerful aura, so this kind of crowd is definitely the most direct potential user of the Tank 500.
Written in the end: from the perspective of product strength, the tank 500 is indeed worthy of the current domestic "strongest SUV". Whether it is the appearance of the aura, interior design, material workmanship, or power performance, configuration richness, practicality, NVH performance, it has achieved the 300,000-400,000 price range can be called the "ceiling" level.
Therefore, in the face of such a domestic business luxury medium and large SUV that has both a domineering appearance of a hardcore off-road SUV and a high comfort of an urban SUV, as well as a domestic business luxury medium and large SUV powered by a 3.0T six-cylinder engine + 9AT, what reason do we rich people have to give up it? In short, the tank 500 is a model that I am willing to recommend, and I hope that more Chinese people will support our domestic car brands with practical actions in the future. (Text/Univision Auto Dazhuo)
Note: The picture comes from the network, the rights belong to the original author, thank you! This article only represents the personal views of the author and does not represent the position of Univision Automobile.