When you think of Mitsubishi Motors, what model first comes to mind? Is it the EVO, a god car with outstanding performance, although it has been discontinued, but still at a high price in the second-hand market? Or is it the "Bobcat" Pajero, who has made great achievements in the world's major off-road races and is known for his classics, leather and durability? Undoubtedly, Mitsubishi's models have given our generation a lot of classic memories, but under the tide of vehicle electrification now, Mitsubishi has not announced its grand model electrification strategy like Honda and Toyota from Japan, which also makes Mitsubishi seem to have no sound in the domestic electric vehicle market, until the emergence of the protagonist of this article, Mitsubishi interprets this compact pure electric SUV in its own way, it is GAC Mitsubishi Atuka.
Before taking you through the experience, let's first talk about the life of Artuka, which is a model led by GAC Mitsubishi, but it is undeniable that it is indeed inextricably linked to the Aion V from the same group GAC Aeon. Although the two cars are built on the same platform and tend to be the same in terms of body parameters and power configuration, they show completely different styles in the design of the whole vehicle.
Just as the title is rigid and soft, in Artuka, the "hard" from Mitsubishi is interpreted in the design of the body, while the "softness" shown by Atuka in the design of the interior and the experience of test drive is a better fit for the needs of consumers in the current market, so that this compact pure electric SUV has its own personality.
Just - the continuation of the family
Now the model design, car companies emphasize what sense of futurism, science and technology, in order to meet the needs of more young consumers, which also makes many fuel models give people the feeling of pure electric vehicle models at first glance. There is no restriction of the traditional intake structure, but also let the front face of the model a variety of "imagination" design can be realized, so there are more and more "faceless" models on the market.
GAC Mitsubishi's Atuka is a bit the opposite, which is what distinguishes Artuka from the common pure electric model in appearance in my opinion, and it is precisely where it is "rigid".
The front face of Artucko Founder fully inherits the mitsubishi brand's family Dynamic Shield design language, tough, atmospheric forward grille using shield style design, as a pure electric vehicle, the front grille is naturally a closed design, the above irregular pattern detail design is also exquisite enough, the X shape composed of thick chrome decorative strips on both sides is also a continuation of the family shape.
Artuco's headlights also adopt the popular split design, and are well combined with X-shaped chrome trims, far and near light are led light sources, automatic headlights, adaptive near and far light configuration will not fall.
The body of the model we tested was designed in two colors, and the black roof beams and hidden door handles enhanced the design of the car side. The overall lines on the side of the body are smooth and flowing without losing the aesthetic sense. In terms of body size, Artukao has a length, width and height of 4630/1920/1728mm, and a wheelbase of 2830mm. The body wheels are designed with a black irregular hemming that shows a sense of power, and the 19-inch five-spoke asymmetrical wheels look tough enough.
The rear of artuco is also angular, the hexagonal lines on the tailgate show a tough style very well, the shape of the taillight group is sharp enough, and there is a very good visual effect after lighting, while the design of the lower spoiler with rich lines also adds a bit of movement to the vehicle.
If I were to rate Artuka's shape design, I would not hesitate to give a high score, at least it is very appetizing to me, and perhaps some female consumers will feel that it is too masculine, but this is exactly the tone of Mitsubishi, which also allows Atuka to have its own personality, and has its own distinctive characteristics in the environment of today's design convergence.
Soft-market fit
If Atuka is a continuation of the Mitsubishi family style in appearance, but in the interior design, there is no shadow of the Mitsubishi model, there is no sense of tough appearance, and it gives people more of a feminine feeling under the bright color scheme.
As a pure electric model, Artuca uses such a design is beyond reproach, because it is enough to keep pace with the times and is in line with the market, so many of the fashionable and technological designs and configurations that are now popular are presented in Artuka's car.
Like many pure electric models, artucko car is difficult to find the trace of physical buttons, all functions are integrated in the 12.3-inch floating central control screen, the UI design of the system is intuitive and concise, and the functions and expansion of the car machine system are rich enough. Voice interaction adopts a new generation of iFLYTEK XTTS, which supports sound source positioning and deep control of the car, and the overall response is timely enough, and the performance of the car machine system can be praised.
In the configuration of assisted driving, Artuka can be said to have reached the general level of this level of models, although there are some higher auxiliary functions like many models of new power brands, but the improvement of L2 level auxiliary driving functions and a good practical experience, coupled with the intuitive AR real-life navigation function, also allows Artuka to have a sense of technology as a pure electric SUV.
The "softness" in the interior is also reflected in the use of materials, the Artuco center console is coated with a large area of leather materials, and the parts of the interior door panel and the body that will be in contact on both sides of the central control platform are also used the same leather material, and the touch is soft enough, which also enhances the luxurious atmosphere of the Atukao car to a certain extent.
However, here is a little to complain about, which is also what I think is contrary to the "softness" in the interior, that is, the steering wheel that feels hard in the hand, as a 20-level model, even the top model we test drove did not provide the leather package of the steering wheel, hoping that in the future modification and upgrade, the manufacturer can make up for this.
Another "soft" in the interior is reflected in the design of the seats, the filling of the Atuka seats, especially the rear seats, are very soft, and the seat cushions of the rear seats have been extended, and everyone is not worried about the support of the legs.
Artuco's spatial performance can be said to be one of its highlights, the 2830mm wheelbase plus the four-wheel four-corner design gives a very abundant interior space, the rear leg space is close to three fists, plus the fully flat platform, and the soft and comfortable seat mentioned above, Artuco's riding experience undoubtedly has different competitiveness in this level of model.
In terms of trunk, Artuco's trunk has a conventional volume of 368L, and the rear seat support ratio is reclined, the trunk volume can be expanded to 1102L, and there is also a good volume of compartment storage space hidden under the tail box cover.
The reason why the experience of the dynamic part of Artuco is not used as a separate section to talk to you, because I think its performance in the dynamic part can also be summarized by the "softness" in the subtitle above, in short, the soft sense of acceleration, the gentle sense of direction and the soft chassis setting.
First of all, in terms of power configuration, Artukao is equipped with an electric motor with a power of 165 kW and a torque of 350 N·m, and the low-end model is equipped with a 71.8 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery, and the CLTC has a range of 500 km. Our test drive is equipped with a 69.9 kWh ternary lithium battery and a CLTC range of 520km.
From the perspective of the output power of the motor, Artuka is at the upper level of the same class of models, not like many brands of models to push up the configuration of the motor to bring users the ultimate acceleration experience, in fact, in the daily use of my personal more emphasis is the flat and linear output, that dizzying sense of acceleration is not the norm of our daily car, although the official did not give Artuka's 100 km acceleration performance, but with reference to the same power system of the Aeon model, its 100 km acceleration performance should be in the 7-8 second range , so daily driving, in terms of power, everyone does not have to worry at all.
Artuka has ECO, NORMAL, SPORT, ECO+ extreme energy savings and I-Pedal single pedal driving modes. In the energy-saving mode, the vehicle is more Buddhist, and the feedback of the electric door in the conventional mode, which is most used daily, is very soft, even in the sports mode, the pedal feedback is more sensitive, the power response is more direct, but it is still not very aggressive. The overall tuning is completely a proper household attribute.
The feel of Artuka's steering wheel is very gentle, there is no obvious vacancy, and the overall steering feel is also very linear, which is very in line with the tonality of the whole vehicle.
Artuco adopts the pro-McPherson rear multi-link suspension structure used by this class model, and the chassis has a good solidity, but the overall style is not too heavy, it is still a gentle style. The damping setting of the first section of the suspension is soft, and the filter is sufficient for small bumps, but when facing large undulations, the body will have a certain degree of shaking, which is also the drawbacks of the soft suspension setting. However, I believe that for the vast majority of users, they prefer the comfort that the suspension can bring, and at this point Artuco can be said to have handed over a good answer.
Say at the end
Although the test drive was relatively short, Atuka still impressed me, and the "rigidity and softness" in it was well interpreted. The tough shape makes it different from many pure electric SUV models on the market, with its own unique personality; the design and configuration of the interior can fully meet the needs of today's consumers; and the space is better than the performance of the same level. In terms of driving control, it also shows a relaxed and comfortable home attribute. For users who value the background of the joint venture and have a certain affection for Mitsubishi models, the arrival of Artuka undoubtedly brings them a good choice.