Lingdu is a compact coupe model independently developed by SAIC Volkswagen 7 years ago, known as a luxury wide-body coupe. The concept of coupe is still relatively high-end, and the emergence of Lingdu is actually to pull the price of joint venture coupes down a lot. But after all, it was 7 years ago, the demand in the coupe market was not high, and SAIC Volkswagen did not take the Lingdu as the main model. In the past two years, the change of consumption concept, coupe has begun to lead the trend of the times, and the listing of the new Lingdu L has undoubtedly clarified the new wind direction of the low-end coupe market.
Compared with the previous generation, the appearance design of the new generation of Lingdu L is a big change in painting style, and the shape of the whole vehicle is very radical, especially the aggressive headlight group and the exaggerated size of the dot-matrix grille design in front of the face, which has changed the inherent impression of the public's "matryoshka doll" design.
The unique design of Lingdu L
The front face adopts a sporty non-balanced layout, with an oversized area under the grille, quickly pressing down the hood, greatly lowering the visual center of gravity, showing a low posture closer to the sports car. The new headlights are shaped like geese and convey a strong visual impression. Lingdu L replaces the traditional grille with a transverse luminous light strip and is closely connected with the sharp headlights on both sides, using an exaggerated proportional relationship to enhance the sense of movement and recognition of the front face, with a dynamic through-beam logo, provoking the visual nerves of young users.
The frameless doors of the body are very windy, and the flip-back design of the roof is very dynamic.
Lingdu L's casual hatchback tailgate shows the sporty style of a coupe. The rear of the new car adopts a new layout, the shape is full of atmosphere, and the flat and narrow through taillights highlight the wider and lower body effect, and the sports atmosphere is soaring. Inside the taillights, the flat, narrow strips of light and the three-dimensional arrangement of lamp posts are combined to show a strong sense of depth and flow when dynamically lit. The rear bumper area features a large area of dark protectors, complemented by a laterally penetrating rear-row chrome trim, creating a wide, low-profile silhouette while showing pure sporty edges.
In terms of interior design, the new generation of Lingdu has also made great changes, using a new digital cockpit, 10.2-inch LCD dashboard and 10 or 12-inch central control screen using the fashionable dual screen design, the central control area is biased to the left cockpit, driving operation is more convenient. A new electronic gear handle has been added to the gear handle area, which is very delicate and compact, making the gear shifting posture more elegant.
A great experience under the new architecture
In terms of intelligence, Lingdu L is also very good, first of all, it is equipped with L2 level automatic driving, which is also the mainstream configuration of the moment. Thanks to the MQB-EVO advanced digital architecture, this set is called IQ. Drive L2 intelligent escort system, can actively help users cope with multi-dimensional driving scenarios in a variety of different road conditions, Travel Assist driver assistance system can monitor the surrounding environment conditions in real time, intelligent follow-up and stop and other functions.
For Lingdu L, and Audi A3L with the same platform may be its biggest pride, at least from the chassis point of view, Lingdu L uses the former McPherson independent suspension after the multi-link independent suspension can see the Audi A3L, plus the frameless window that the A3L does not have, when the small A3L is still a very good existence, if the driving control experience can be aligned with the A3L, the cost performance of this car is indeed very high.
The body size naturally has great advantages over the same class. Among them, the new generation of Lingdu L's length, width and height of 4784, 1831, 1469mm, wheelbase reached 2731mm, compared to the old model, the length increased by 169mm, the wheelbase increased by 75mm, the internal legroom increased significantly, but due to the sneakback design sacrificing most of the rear head space, the rear seating experience is slightly depressed.
Regrettably a powertrain
Although the new generation of Lingdu L has made great changes in terms of internal and external design and space, unfortunately, the power system is not surprised, and it still uses the 1.4T EA211 engine, and does not use the new 1.5TSI evo engine, and the transmission is matched with a 7-speed dry dual-clutch transmission, with a maximum power of 150 horsepower and a maximum torque of 250N·m. In the driving experience, the throttle response in the starting stage is relatively slow, there is a little frustration at low speed, stepping on the accelerator, the gearbox response is a bit "hesitant", and the power output is difficult to be on call.
Although this 7-speed dry dual-clutch transmission has a good fuel economy, it will wear out frequent automatic gear shifts at low speeds, which is easy to reduce the service life, and the cost of later maintenance is not low, plus this car needs to add No. 95 oil, and the cost of raising a car is really not low.
Auto Network Review: In March 2022, Lingdu's sales increased by 26.17% year-on-year and 186.65% month-on-month; in the past 12 months, Lingdu's sales reached the highest in December 2021, with sales of 8474 vehicles.
In the compact car market, Lingdu's market share in March 2022 increased by 0.49% year-on-year, and the ranking of compact cars rose by 14 places from the previous month. From January to March 2022, Lingdu's cumulative sales reached 16,946 units, down 69.58% year-on-year, ranking 21st in compact car sales.
Combined with recent sales and a starting price of 149,900 yuan, Lingdu L has a very high cost performance in the compact coupe market with its stunning appearance, and for consumers who pursue appearance and frameless doors, Lingdu L is definitely the best choice for this price point.