After three hours of squatting in the store, I got a first-hand information about e:NS1 | observation room

Observation chamber

Written by | Chen Hui

Without the engine, does Honda still have a soul?

I believe that this is the soul torture issued by the vast majority of "Honda fans", and I, as one of them, have struggled with this question countless times.

Until one weekend, I came across the e:NS1 at the mall, where I seemed to have found some answers after 3 hours of squatting.

Let's start with e:NS1. It is the first pure electric vehicle launched by Dongfeng Honda to hang Honda's logo, at first hearing this name, it is very different from Honda, complex letter combinations, not only uppercase and lowercase letters, but also added a colon, is this to drive crazy obsessive-compulsive rhythm? However, from Honda's point of view, it can also be understood that the "science and engineering man" who has no mechanical displeasure has begun to change sex. What's more, there is a more awkward name, called Toyota bZ4X.

Although the name is different, e:NS1 gives people a sense of déjà vu, yes, it is very similar to the temperament of Honda fuel vehicles. As a person who has been educated by Honda for many years, he said that this is also a routine operation of Honda, because there are really very few Honda cars in history that are fascinated at a glance, and most of them are gradually accepted over time.

However, now is the era of new energy, new energy vehicles have developed their own design language system, the most representative is Tesla. So, is the slightly conservative design of e:NS1 open? That's exactly the first answer I want to get.

About the design

I said conservative, but the post-95 sister said dignified

During the 3 hours of squatting on the spot, there were a lot of people who came to watch e:NS1, and there were people of any age. Of course, there are many people who know Honda and do not know this car, indicating that a good brand still has inherent advantages.

Among them, there is a little sister after 95 who stays behind for a long time, and from time to time takes out her mobile phone to find an angle to take a beautiful photo of e:NS1. I thought she was the staff of the store, after small talk, I found out that she was a designer, and recently was doing new energy vehicle-related design, in her opinion, although the shape of e: NS1 is not too eye-catching, but the overall design is more concise, the sense of detail is there, in line with most people's aesthetics, she even used "dignified" to describe. It can be seen that design is the most open choice question, but the conservatism in my eyes is the dignity in the eyes of the little sister.

However, through e:NS1, as well as Volkswagen ID and Toyota bZ4X, you can also see the gap between the traditional manufacturers and the new forces in the design concept, the traditional manufacturers will not engage in any exaggerated style in the design, years of experience in car manufacturing and aesthetic system will let them make a balance between tradition and fashion, there is no right or wrong, because the Chinese market is extremely inclusive, some people like to mark the new, and some people like to taste, just like the little old sister who thinks that e: NS1 is very attractive.

About intelligence

The 40-year-old big brother was fascinated for an hour

I thought that Mr. E: NS1 would probably pay attention to the driving information, but it turned out that I wanted to fork again.

Here is a big brother, about 40 years old, accompanied by his wife and children to visit the mall. It is estimated that I am tired of shopping and want to rest my feet here, but as soon as I sit in the e:NS1 driver's seat, I am attracted by the big screen in the car, and then I pull up a sales consultant, and it is more than an hour.

Frankly speaking, in the Honda family, the e:NS1 cockpit has the strongest sense of technology, in addition to the LCD instrument and the large central control screen, the rearview mirror is also a screen, integrating the function of the streaming media rearview mirror, the screen is increased, the buttons on the center console are naturally less, and it looks more concise.

The eldest brother is obviously an old driver, because he asked rhetorically, "The keys are integrated in the big screen, isn't it inconvenient to operate when driving?" ”

To eliminate his abuse, sales conducted a live demonstration. E: NS1's car machine supports intelligent voice control, calling "Hello Honda", and then setting up navigation, network song search, control air conditioning, driving window These functions can be directly voice controlled. After understanding, the eldest brother spoke a thick Chongqing dialect and fought again, and it turned out that the intelligent car engine system equipped with e:NS1 was indeed more advanced than the fuel vehicle version, and each command was received clearly, and the execution speed was relatively fast, so that our Civic often confused words it also understood.

e: NS1's car machine has added a lot of localization features, such as the well-known Tmall Genie. This function accesses many local applications: in the cooperative parking lot, no sense of payment can be realized; the built-in takeaway platform, driving home from work can be voice ordered, and when you return home, the takeaway is also delivered. There is also a function is very practical, now many charging piles are divided into busy time and idle time, the charging price is not the same, so, e: NS1 car machine built-in a rich charging mode, in the time of time, you can set idle time charging, saving the cost of the car.

For these life-oriented functions, the eldest brother is not interested, he pays more attention to the intelligent driving system of e:NS1, e:NS1 is equipped with Honda's latest Honda SENSING system, which supports L2 level automatic driving, and automatic parking is also very good in standard parking spaces (colleagues have done actual tests before). Before leaving, the eldest brother expressed his wish for a test drive and took the initiative to leave a message. I reckon he's a high-intention customer.

Judging from the important information of the big brother to understand e:NS1, the penetration of intelligence on consumers of high age groups is getting stronger and stronger. Joint venture car companies are more conservative in this regard, just like e:NS1, although there is a breakthrough, there is still a gap with the new forces. In this regard, my suggestion is that Dongfeng Honda may wish to take a bigger step and bring consumers a more memorable intelligent experience, which is not a difficult task for Honda, which likes to engage in technology.

About driving

Without the engine, Honda is still Honda

Back to the question at the beginning, without the engine, would Honda rely on design and intelligence to absorb powder? Of course not, the e:NS1 cancels the engine, but it inherits honda's valuable driving experience accumulated in the era of fuel vehicles.

From a parametric point of view, the e:NS1 is almost indistinguishable from other models in the same class. But when you drive it, you will find that it is very different from other pure electric vehicles. Take Tesla, for example. In terms of power output, Tesla's approach is to maximize the physical advantages of the electric drive system, step on the accelerator pedal, it will give you the most direct power output, such a practice will make you feel very cool at the beginning of the experience, but at the same time it is easy to make passengers motion sickness. Honda, which has come from the era of fuel vehicles, has chosen another more complex road, which is aimed at the different forces and depths of stepping on the accelerator pedal, deeply interpreting the driver's intention, and then letting the electric drive system simulate the power output logic of traditional fuel vehicles. Of course, motion sickness must be eliminated.

Anyone familiar with Honda knows that Honda has its own unique insights into handling. Unlike many pure electric vehicles that blindly focus on power output, e:NS1 has put a lot of effort into driving pleasure. Under the not-so-advanced chassis structure, it strives to make the entire chassis feel very compact, and the body has excellent following in the process of rapid lane change or mountain road splitting. The steering feels more correct – because of the new all-electric architecture, the weight of the front and rear of the vehicle is evenly distributed, and the e:NS1 steering is more controllable and gives people a sense of confidence compared to Honda's fuel vehicles.

As for the brakes, after the addition of the kinetic energy recovery system, I especially like to see that every deceleration on the dashboard has the feeling that the electrical energy is recycled, such an intuitive interactive experience, very cool, and its brake foot feeling and strength can make the driver feel comfortable.

Of course, these delicate driving experiences are actually difficult to describe clearly in words, and the best way is to try them yourself. Satisfied with the decision, not satisfied with bye bye to leave.

"Final Talk"

As one of the strongest engine bosses in the world, Honda has been wearing the aura of "buying an engine and sending a car", and the new energy that can penetrate quickly has taken away Honda's most core advantages at once. Where should The Pure Electricity of Honda, which cannot be used with Honda engines, go?

On e:NS1, I seem to get some inspiration. But I, as a loyal Honda fan, have higher expectations for Honda's creativity in the field of new energy. I'm not a no-brainer on the design, but in terms of intelligence and performance, the Honda can be bolder because it's the Honda that countless people are proud of.

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