For the Renault car brand, I believe that everyone will not be unfamiliar, since its birth in 1898 in Europe has been one of the top sales of the family car brand, in 2021 Renault Nissan Alliance total sales reached 7.68 million units, ranking third in the world. At a time when the automotive industry is fully electrified, the proportion of European sales of the Renault E-TECH series (electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles) has increased from 17% in 2020 to 30% in 2021, and the comprehensive transformation to electrification has naturally become the top priority of Renault.
As an old friend of the Chinese market, Renault once again chose to set up a joint venture company to return, and in July 2019, Renault Group increased its capital by 1 billion yuan and officially became a shareholder of Jiangling Group New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd. In the new joint venture, Renault Group owns 50% of the shares and introduces the Renault-Nissan Alliance ASES and AVES quality assurance systems.
The first model launched is the protagonist of this issue of the show - Renault Jiangling Yi, the name "Yi" has a very strong Chinese element, more grounded than before, but also the English letter "E" harmonic sound, representing the electric car is beyond doubt. In addition, Yi as a global model has been released in Germany, the European version of the Renault Group travel brand Mobilize's new model "Limo", both models are from the Jiangling Group new energy plant, there is no difference in design, but some configurations are different.
Renault Jiangling Yi is positioned as a compact electric vehicle. Previously, the official guidance price has been announced: 13.98 ~ 199,800 yuan, a total of 6 configurations. The model of this test drive is a long-endurance smart version.
Clever combination of Chinese elements, big factory charm
In the front face design, Yi has the taste of a French car, with sharp edges and high recognition, highlighting the "X" shape. Arrow-like LED daytime running lights have a strong sense of technology, and the matrix LED headlights below are composed of 4 lenses, and the visual effect and lighting effect are equally powerful.
The new brand also uses a new logo, the logo called the Energy Gem can find the shadow of Renault, which is also the harmonic sound of the letter "E", also like the weapons of the Houyi - arrows and bows.
The side of the body pays great attention to the rounded line layout, which is very ethereal. The body size is 4675/1835/1480mm, and the wheelbase reaches 2750mm. Compared with the competitors of the same level, it is longer than the wheelbase of Qin PLUS. The sneakback shape gives the whole car a little more sporty. The hidden door handle is also equipped on the yi, which is not only helpful in reducing wind resistance, but also in line with the sense of technology of electric vehicles.
The 225/45 R18 Michelin Primacy Haoyue 4 tires are standard throughout the series, providing a good guarantee in terms of sportiness, safety and tire noise. In addition, the whole vehicle adopts 44 fast thermoforming steel and aluminum conforming materials, and the compressive strength is as high as 1500Mpa, which effectively improves the safety protection of driving and occupancy.
Renault ELE Tail Y-shaped headlights run through the side of the body to the rear, including taillights and turn signal strips, which have a strong tension with the upturned duck tail. The overall simplicity is generous, there are no excessive exaggerated lines, and it is more in line with the current popular aesthetic of electric vehicles.
Practical first, smooth voice interaction
The interior of Renault Jiangling Yi is dominated by dark colors, and the overall style is generous and calm. The 10.1-inch full LCD instrument and the 10.25-inch central control screen of the dual screen group are in line with the design trend of the current new energy models, and the carbon fiber color matching is used in some panels, which adds a lot of sportsmanship.
The car system supports iFLYTEK entertainment ecology, voice control and gesture control functions. From the actual experience, although the UI design of the car machine is very original, it is more convenient to use, and there are functions that should be there, no fancy, more practical. The voice interaction function provided by iFLYTEK is simple and easy to use, not only the accuracy and fluency of speech recognition are excellent, but also support continuous dialogue, which is the biggest highlight in the car and machine system.
In the software installed with the car, autoNavi navigation can be seen, and support voice callouts, as well as voice commands to the software, such as "turn off navigation voice". At the same time, there are QQ music members, listening to songs, navigation does not interfere with each other, the navigation interface can also be freely switched between full screen and small windows, which is very practical.
The air conditioning screen and physical buttons are retained, which should be more to meet the local regulations in Europe, as well as the needs of users, which we can all control by voice. The 360° panoramic image display is clear and unambiguous, even in low-light conditions, and the picture supports 3D sliding and directional guides.
Renault EJP also has a panoramic canopy with a large area and a segmented design. Officials show that the laminated metal silver glass insulation rate of this canopy can be increased by 17.18%, and the ultraviolet blocking rate can reach 98%.
The seats are comfortable and the rear space is not small
The Renault Jiangling Yi seat is made of black imitation leather material, which has good lateral support and is overall comfortable. The front seats are electrically adjustable, with the main driver's seat being electrically adjustable in 6 directions. Front-row drivers can easily find a comfortable driving position with plenty of leg and head space.
The back row space is larger than expected, and passengers who are more than 1.8 meters tall can also have about 2 punches in the legs and 1 punch in the head. The middle platform in the rear row has little impact on passengers, and the length and thickness of the seat cushions are available.
The space in the trunk is relatively regular, and the rear seats also support 4/6 ratio reclining, and the flatness after reclining is acceptable. However, the reclining of the rear seats is achieved by the handle at the trunk, which takes a little time to study.
The power output is smooth and the battery life is more reliable
This test drive is a long-endurance smart version, which belongs to the high-end version of a single motor. The vehicle is equipped with a permanent magnet synchronous motor with a maximum power of 110 kW and a maximum torque of 225 N·m. In the dual motor version, the rear motor can provide additional power, with a maximum power of 60 kW and can provide 170 N·m. Although it is a pure electric vehicle, it will not feel strange when you get started for the first time, and its driving experience is closer to that of a fuel model. In standard mode, the acceleration pedal gives you a very linear feedback, the speed of the whole vehicle is gentle, and there is no sudden feeling that other electric models accidentally "slither forward".
When switching to sport mode, the feel of steering becomes heavier, and the accelerator pedal becomes very sensitive, but the whole vehicle is still in a more comfortable situation. When steering and overtaking, the chassis support toughness is good, and the noise control is relatively good when driving daily. Of course, if there is a higher pursuit of power, you can choose the dual motor version, you will get a maximum power of 170KW, 0-100km/h acceleration only takes 5.8 seconds.
Renault Jiangling Yi's energy recovery is available in three stages, corresponding to 10%, 20% and 27% energy recovery respectively. Adjusted to economy mode and set to the highest recycling level, there is no particularly strong drag feeling compared to other electric vehicles.
During driving, the mileage display is more accurate. This version of the model uses a 60kWh battery, turns on the air conditioner on the city road (30 ° outside the car), and the power is driven from 90% to 20%, which can be about 300 kilometers. It is more than enough for daily travel, and the official mileage of 500km (NEDC) is not much different. The dual-motor version has a range of 50km less.
In addition, Renault EJ is also equipped with lane keeping assist system, uphill assist, steep slope slow descent and other functions. Easy to operate during use, the collision prediction function will be released when the brakes are released, and there are obstacles on the opposite side of the voice reminder, for novices or fatigue drivers will have obvious effects, improve the safety of driving. However, at present, only on the dual-motor model can you experience its EZOOM-Pilot 3.0 intelligent driver assistance system.
Summary: The first acquaintance with Renault Jiangling Yi will give people a bright feeling, in the price range of 15-20 million yuan there are many independent brand models to compete with, as a joint venture model Renault Jiangling Yi has its own characteristics, but also to a large extent integrated into the Chinese elements, in the car machine and interaction compared to other joint venture models to be more grounded. Since May this year, Yi has officially realized the two-way supply of cars between China and Europe, and as a global model, consumers will be more assured in terms of quality, and it is expected that the first joint venture pure electric model after the return of Renault can achieve good results.
This article was first published on the Titanium Media APP, and the picture and text | Wang Zhenchao