Whether in Europe, North America or China, the current planning for fuel vehicles is not optimistic, and the topic of banning combustion has been pushed to the forefront again and again... Although the environmental protection of new energy vehicles is still controversial and the core technology needs to be broken, its potential cannot be underestimated. From a product point of view, new energy vehicles, whether in performance or economy, have produced blood suppression on fuel vehicles. Feelings aside, there is no one who does not want a family car that performs well and also saves money. In this context, traditional car companies also have to make changes, instead of rolling in the internal combustion engine, it is better to enter the three electric products to find a new way out. Only by actively embracing change can we have the capital to wrestle with the future.
In the mainland, new energy vehicles are divided into two product paths: pure electric and plug-in hybrid. In some first- and second-tier cities, with the current level of infrastructure construction and the development level of pure electric vehicle technology, it can already well meet the daily travel needs of ordinary users, and by 2022, the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in most first-tier cities has exceeded 30%, and Shanghai, Shenzhen has even approached 50%, of which pure electric vehicles account for about 70%. But for northern and remote cities, considering the infrastructure and the actual travel needs and concepts of local people, consumers are still not very confident in pure circuit lines, or have higher expectations for pure electric vehicle products, based on the current stage of development, plug-in hybrid path can be oily and electrically advantageous is also popular, in February 2023, plug-in hybrid vehicles accounted for 33% of new energy vehicle sales, "cake" is not small, the potential is huge.
Plug-in hybrid not only attracts consumers, but also a cost-effective solution for traditional car companies. First of all, the high-thermal efficiency engine that traditional car companies are most proud of can continue its advantages in the field of plug-in hybrid; Secondly, fuel models with a certain market reputation can also generate part of the value of their accumulated brand power in the process of change; Finally, the cost of changing a plug-in hybrid based on the fuel platform is much lower than the cost of re-developing a pure electric platform. In order to allow their star products to continue to shine in the era of electrification, traditional car companies have begun to start in the field of plug-in hybrids, such as Great Wall Haval H6 DHT-PHEV, Changan's CS75 PLUS Zhidian iDD, etc... are based on the transformation of star products in the era of their own fuel, often product strength is also uneven, consumers must personally test drive, pay attention to screening.
Today we are reviewing the plug-in hybrid version of the Chery Tiggo 7 PLUS, along with the Tiggo 8 PRO PHEV. Before the arrival of their big brother "Tiggo 9", the top pillars of the two Tiggo series took the first step towards electrification... What is the power of their products? Did you step up the steps or step into the mud? Let's find out.
In terms of appearance, the plug-in hybrid version mostly continues the design language of the fuel version, and only changes have been made for details. The front design still adopts a hexagonal straight waterfall center net, with dual "L" shaped daytime running lights and matrix headlights.
The difference is that two blue banners have been added to the chrome banner of the middle mesh to highlight its special identity as a hybrid version. The two sides of the front of the car have become dot matrix design, eliminating the fuel version of the through trim, more technological.
Tiggo 7 PLUS plug-in hybrid version is positioned as a compact SUV, the new car has a length, width and height of 4530×1862×1696mm, respectively, and a wheelbase of 2670mm, which is 30mm longer than the fuel version. The body design still adopts a double waist line design, and the B/C/D pillars are all hidden to create the feeling of a suspended roof.
On the front fenders on the main driver's side, a new AC slow charging port has been added, and the red "T" logo of the fuel version has changed to a blue "T" logo. The DC fast charging port is located on the right rear side of the vehicle, and the fuel tank port is located on the left rear side of the vehicle.
The wheels have an 18-inch five-spoke closed design, which reduces drag and increases endurance.
The rear of the car almost completely continues the design of the fuel version model, with through-type taillights with Chery letter Logo, and bilateral four-way exhaust port trim remains, but the interior is outlined by blue lines.
In addition, the red trim on the upper edge of the tailgate has been changed to blue, and the tailgate is marked with a blue "PHEV" logo, indicating its identity as a hybrid car.
In terms of interior, the plug-in hybrid version continues the design of the fuel version model, using a white + blue theme color matching, almost all touchable places are wrapped in soft materials, and dual 12.3-inch dual screens are paired with air conditioning outlets throughout the style, which is very layered.
The 12.3-inch central control screen integrates navigation, entertainment, vehicle settings, voice assistants and other functions, and there is a row of touch panels under the air conditioning vent, which can quickly control temperature, air volume, refrigeration, circulation mode, etc.
The multi-function steering wheel adopts a flat-bottom design, and the panel integrates buttons such as cruise control, entertainment control, volume control, etc., with a 12.3-inch central control screen, which can display driving information in multiple dimensions, and the instrument screen also has a variety of themes to choose from, which can be customized to display information content.
The center console and the fuel version are consistent, divided into two layers of suspension design, the upper layer is a crystal electronic gear lever, driving mode switching knob, energy mode switching button, electronic handbrake, cup holder, mobile phone wireless charging pad, etc., the lower storage compartment and 12V power interface.
Front row space display
In terms of space, we have adjusted the main driver's seat to the lowest and there is 1 punch left in the headroom. Entering the back row without moving in the front row, there are 2 punches left in legroom, 4 fingers remaining in headroom, the length and height of the seat cushion are relatively moderate, the rear floor is close to flat, and the feet can reach under the front seats, and the overall performance is in line with the compact positioning. (Editor's height: 183cm)
Rear space display
The trunk opening is relatively large, equipped with a power tailgate, and the rear seats support 4:6 reclining, which can form a nearly flat storage space after all reclining.
Test drive experience:
The model we test drove is a plug-in hybrid version of the Tiggo 7 PLUS, equipped with Chery's 1.5T hybrid special engine + permanent magnet synchronous dual motor, with a comprehensive system power of 240kW and a peak torque of 545Nm; Among them, the maximum power of the engine is 115kW, the peak torque is 230N·m, the maximum power of the motor is 125kW, and the peak torque is 315N·m; The transmission is mated to a 3-speed DHT gearbox. In terms of battery and range, a 19.27kWh ternary lithium battery pack is adopted, and the WLTC has a cruising range of 80km. The acceleration time per 100 kilometers is 7 seconds, and the minimum fuel consumption in the state of charge is 5.95L.
The vehicle has three driving modes: economy, standard and sport, in economic mode and standard mode, the energy mode can be manually switched to EV (pure electric), for drivers with fixed charging piles for short-distance commuting, 80km WLTC pure electric range is basically enough, without the intervention of the internal combustion engine.
In HEV (hybrid) mode under urban conditions, we measured fuel consumption of 5.3L per 100 km, electricity consumption of 6.3kWh, and average energy consumption of 7.7L/100km.
In HEV energy mode, in the speed range of 0-40km/h, the vehicle will give priority to pure electric driving, and the 40-60km/h vehicle will choose the starting time according to the driver's power request. During slow acceleration, engine involvement is almost imperceptible; But if there is a relatively strong power request, it will produce a more obvious sense of disconnection. The subjective feeling is that the entire acceleration process is cut into three stages, the starting motor is very fast, the middle power connection is somewhat weak and dull, and the power is more abundant after the intervention of the rear internal combustion engine, and the power connection is not delicate enough and there is room for optimization.
In terms of braking, the brake pedal has two adjustable gears, comfort and sport, which need to be adjusted individually by entering the vehicle setup menu, or it can be optionally associated with the driving mode. The overall brake pedal feel is stiff, with longer travel in comfort mode and shorter stroke in sport mode. Personally, I prefer the adjustment of the sport mode, the braking process is more intuitive and linear, and the longer travel in comfort mode is a little less delicate.
In terms of steering, like the brake pedal, there are comfortable and sport two-speed adjustable, the steering damping force is relatively large, and the feel is a little sticky. In terms of feeling, the difference between comfort and sport is not very big, the central area of the steering wheel is left in a vain position, and the directivity is not particularly accurate, which is a tuning style closer to home.
In terms of chassis, the suspension texture of the vehicle is soft, and it is not crisp enough to handle fine bumps. When accelerating sharply, the phenomenon of head raising is more obvious, and the front wheels will have insufficient grip. This set of suspension tuning and tire configuration may be enough for the fuel version model, but for the plug-in hybrid version with more torque, it is a bit unbearable. In addition, the battery pack of the hybrid version is placed lower in the center of the bottom, and even can be directly visible to the naked eye from the side, although it ensures the space of the floor in the car, but it will have a certain impact on the passability of the vehicle.
In terms of NVH, the front window of the vehicle is made of double-layer laminated glass, which does have a good suppression effect on wind noise. In contrast, engine noise is more pronounced in the high-rpm range, and the sense of isolation is average.
Summary:
On the whole, Tiggo 7 PLUS has undergone electrification transformation, which is somewhat unsatisfactory. Although acceleration performance and fuel economy have been improved compared with fuel models, the driving quality and driving quality have not brought us too many surprises, and there is still some room for improvement compared to competing models in the same class. The launch of the plug-in hybrid version is the first step of Chery Tiggo series to new energy, and the price of the new car will be positioned at about 150,000 yuan, providing more choices for consumers who have the conditions to install charging piles.
What do you think of the hybrid version of Tiggo 7 PLUS? Welcome to leave a message in the comment area.
Photo/Wen Boxiao
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