At present, major car companies are rolling battery technology, motor technology, as well as higher-level intelligent cockpit and intelligent driving. Although these are good things for the future development of automobiles, there are always people who like to yearn for the distant places of poetry and songs, and visit the secret places in the distance.
So to achieve the above dreams, you must have a hardcore SUV. Because the road that a hard-core SUV can take, other SUVs may not be able to walk. Secondly, classic players such as the Toyota LC series, Mercedes-Benz Big G and Wrangler have long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and portrayed that owning a hard-core SUV = having a special lifestyle.
In the past 2023, under the premise that everyone is fighting for intelligent driving and cockpit, there are many hard-core SUVs worth paying attention to, among which new energy drive forms and Chinese brand models dominate.
Leopard 5
BYD DMO+Yunnan-P
The popularity of the Leopard 5 is very strong, and it has achieved 5,000+ sales in the first full natural month after its launch, and has been on the TOP5 domestic hard-core SUV sales list for many consecutive weeks. Its body shape is boxy, which is very much in line with the classic silhouette of a traditional off-road vehicle. Among them, there are anchor points on the left and right sides under the front of the car for dragging.
In terms of dimensions, the length, width and height of the Leopard 5 are 4890/1970/1920mm, and the wheelbase is 2800mm. In terms of off-road passability, the Leopard 5 has an approach angle of 35°, a departure angle of 32°, a longitudinal passing angle of 20°, and a minimum ground clearance of 220mm, while the model equipped with the Yunlin-P standard version of the intelligent control system can achieve a minimum ground clearance of 310mm.
At the rear, the Leopard 5 has an external spare wheel with a tire cover, while the standard version does not have a tire cover, while the Leopard 5 tailgate opens to the left, and the taillights are a retrospective design, with a square and tough rear tail profile shape, and the overall aura is sufficient.
In terms of dynamic performance, the Leopard 5 is equipped with an EHS electric hybrid system composed of a longitudinal 1.5T high-power engine and front and rear dual motors, with a comprehensive system power of 505kW and a maximum system torque of 760Nm. It is exactly the power level of a 5.0T off-road vehicle, and the acceleration time can go to 4.8 seconds per 100 kilometers. It also has a low-speed 4WD torque amplification function, and the torque of the rear wheel end can reach 8000N·m under the extreme escape working condition.
The Leopard 5 has three locks, of which the front and rear axle differential locks are mechanical. Since the Leopard 5 does not have a mechanical driveshaft due to its electric drive, the traditional "middle lock" becomes a programmally controlled "lock" function, which allows the system to force the front and rear axles to distribute power on demand. It also comes with 16 driving modes, including Intelligent, Snow, Sandbank, Terrain, Mountain, and Rock. It is worth noting that the Leopard 5 has the dual motor torque function at the front and rear, which can realize the same "Leopard U-turn" as the U8, and achieve a U-turn in situ with a turning radius of only 3.4 meters.
The Leopard 5 adopts a non-load-bearing body structure, and the front and rear suspensions are double wishbone independent suspensions, and the Yunnan-P version of the model can also adaptively adjust the height of the suspension, the size of the suspension stroke, and the softness and hardness of the suspension, and most importantly, it can be adjusted according to the road conditions during driving.
Model comments: The off-road field of the Leopard 5 can completely have a unique performance, and secondly, its own road performance is good, the internal and external appearance design is online, and the pricing is very reasonable. Maybe in a few more months, you will see more and more shadows of the Leopard 5 on the road.
Look up at the U8
Yi Sifang platform, Yunlin-P
High-end luxury is no longer exclusive to overseas brands, Chinese brands can be truly luxurious, even if the price is high, it can be recognized by the world. And BYD's high-end brand looks up and takes the first step. At last year's Shanghai International Auto Show, pre-orders began at 1.098 million yuan, creating a sales myth of 13,000 pre-orders within 48 hours.
Looking up at the U8, it is positioned as a new energy hard-core off-road SUV with a tough temperament. The front face adopts a huge "I" shaped grille and dot matrix LED light source, and the rear has an "L" shape and dot matrix layout LED light source, which is very recognizable.
In terms of size, the length, width and height of the U8 are 5319*2050*1930mm, and the wheelbase is 3050mm, with excellent interior space. The Deluxe Edition comes standard with 22-inch forged wheels, while the off-road version comes standard with 20-inch Forged Wheels exclusive to the Off-Road Player Edition.
In terms of power, the new car adopts a four-wheel four-motor structure, with a maximum power of 220-240kW and a maximum torque of 320-420 Nm, with a total power of 1197 horsepower, and will be equipped with Yi Sifang blade battery. In addition, looking up to the U8, the Yi Sifang platform perceives the movement status of the four wheels in real time, and the Yi Sifang technology platform can analyze the vehicle movement attitude and the grip of the four wheels, and automatically control the output of the four motors respectively to achieve the independent drive of the four wheels and the best grip.
The Yi Sifang technology platform can be said to have opened up the imagination of looking up to the U8, bringing a variety of interesting use scenarios, including in-situ U-turn, agile steering, emergency floating function and extreme anti-skid control. The principle of in-situ U-turn is that the inner and outer wheels rotate in the opposite direction, and it is more practical to complete the slow action on the ground with high adhesion. The emergency float function keeps the vehicle under control while floating on the water and heads in the direction of the front wheels, but it cannot be used as a boat.
The four-wheel independent control improves the safety performance of the platform, and the torque can be precisely adjusted to avoid dangerous situations such as high-speed punctures. The Yi Sifang technology platform allows the Yangwang U8 to maintain stable driving in desert off-roading, reduce the probability of getting trapped, and complete the challenge of increasing the speed of the ice and snow fixed circle limit by 10%.
The Yangwang U8 adopts a non-load-bearing chassis frame with cross-longitudinal members, and the hydraulic suspension system includes composite springs, active hydraulic special shock absorbers, continuous damping control modules, etc., which can adapt to extreme off-road scenarios and all-weather field driving needs. Different from air suspension, hydraulic suspension has many adjustment forms, high adjustment ceiling, and better reliability.
The Yunnan-P system can realize functions such as adjustable suspension stroke, continuous adjustment of damping and three-stage adjustment of suspension stiffness. In the off-road process, the four-wheel linkage technology ensures that the wheels are close to the ground and the grip is obtained. Looking up to the U8, it also has a large wading depth and passability indicators. The most important thing is that this system allows the U8 and Equation Leopard Leopard 5 to have a camping leveling function, when parking and camping in uneven fields, as long as the function is turned on, the Yunlin Intelligent Computing Center will monitor the body posture, and then through the single-wheel height adjustment, the plane of the body and the direction of gravity will always remain vertical, so that the user feels the same as parking on flat ground when sitting in the car. If a camping tent is installed on the roof, it will not tilt.
Model Comments: The pursuit of cost-effective selection of Leopard 5, highlighting the identity of the pursuit of a higher level of luxury experience, directly choose to look up to the U8. As a high-end brand, it should not only showcase high-end technology, but also provide high-end experience. BYD, as a domestic high-end brand, should continue to innovate and bring a pioneering experience to consumers, and the U8 will not disappoint.
BJ40
The design has highlights and 11 driving modes
The early product has not been updated for many years, and the arrival of the tank 300 has made the life of the BJ40 a little difficult. However, with the arrival of the all-new BJ40, I believe that the overall product power will make the Tank 300 feel a little pressure.
The design of the new BJ40 completely gets rid of the previous military style, and more integrates the current popular off-road vehicle style. The BJ40 is more concerned with detail design and functionality. The new BJ40 has several very characteristic designs that are worth paying attention to, such as frameless doors, which are really rare in off-road vehicles, and the opening method of the tailgate, which is the same as that of the Wrangler, which is also a scheme that is rarely adopted in the current new car design, and then there is a front light strip like a new energy vehicle style.
The length, width and height of the BJ40 are 4790/1940/1895mm, and the wheelbase length is 2760mm. Its approach angle is 37 °, departure angle is 35 °, longitudinal passing angle is 27 °, wading depth is 750mm, and the minimum ground clearance is 230mm.
The Defender's flat tail shape began to become popular in the subsequent new cars, and the external spare tire is an indispensable configuration for hard-core SUVs.
In terms of power, the new BJ40 City Hunter Edition model is equipped with a 2.0T gasoline engine provided by Honeycomb Yichuang Technology, with a maximum power of 180 kilowatts (245 horsepower) and a peak torque of 395 Nm, which is 15 kilowatts and 50 Nm more than the previous model, and the acceleration time to 100 kilometers will be less than 10 seconds. In addition, the all-new BJ40 will also be available in a diesel version, and even an extended-range version is expected in the future.
In terms of off-road functions, BJ40 will provide an electronically controlled time-sharing four-wheel drive system, equipped with front/rear axle differential locks, tank U-turns, terrain selection systems, etc., the self-developed ATS system can achieve 11 driving modes, 20 driving combinations, and off-road creep technology can also achieve 1 km to 12 km, a total of 12 levels of stable creep.
Model comments: BJ40 is an evergreen tree of its own brand products in the hard-core SUV, and its own off-road level and ability have been deeply rooted in everyone's hearts. This generation of the BJ40 not only retains the core off-road ability, but also brings some design details that are not found in the same product, and also makes its appearance make the Tank 300 feel the pressure.
Tank 400 Hi4-T
Hi4T+差速锁
The tank can be regarded as a sub-brand of the Great Wall impact off-road market, and the Tank 400 Hi4-T, which is based on the Tank 300, focuses on the economy and off-road market. It is built by the tank brand based on the off-road super hybrid architecture Hi4-T. The car is equipped with a plug-in hybrid combination of 2.0T + P2 motor + 9HAT.
The Tank 400 Hi4-T is equipped with the Hi4-T, an off-road super hybrid architecture developed exclusively by Changcheng Automobile for off-road new energy and based on the tank platform, and adopts the high-end longitudinal parallel architecture used by the same high-end vehicles.
In terms of design, the Tank 400 Hi4-T is the first hard-core off-road vehicle of Great Wall to adopt a mecha-style shape, which can be regarded as a design with both praise and controversy. The body size is 4985x1960x1900mm, and the wheelbase is 2850mm. The size is between the Tank 300 and the Tank 500, and from the design point of view, the mecha style of the Tank 400 Hi4-T takes the tough route, and it is also the most radical one in the tank family in terms of exterior design.
The rear of the car is the same, with a full-size rear spare wheel and a TANK logo on the frame, which is very visually striking. The configuration is also on par with the tank 500, equipped with electric suction doors, electric side steps and other configurations.
In terms of power, the Tank 400 Hi4-T is equipped with a 2.0T+9HAT hybrid system + P2 motor, with a maximum net power of 180kW and a maximum torque of 380N·m. The system has a combined power of 300kW and a torque of 750Nm. As an off-road vehicle, a strong power guarantee will be more reliable in extreme environments, especially in plateau road conditions, the impact of power is very small, which is also better than the characteristics of fuel models.
The tank 400 Hi4-T has an intelligent electronic control strategy of parallel connection of oil and electricity, equipped with three driving modes: pure electric, hybrid and intelligent, supporting kinetic energy recovery and intelligent power protection, with a comprehensive fuel consumption of 2.61 L/1 00 km and a fed fuel consumption of 9.52 L/1 00 km. The all-electric range in the WL T C mode is 1 05 km, with a combined range of up to 800 km.
The Tank 400 Hi4-T adopts the Hi4-T system, which has the advantages of off-road new energy such as mechanical true four-wheel drive, non-decoupling structure and three locks. Among them, the chassis is configured with a suspension structure of double wishbones and integral axles, and is equipped with a timely four-wheel drive system with a multi-plate clutch, which makes the vehicle have quite good passing performance, with an approach angle of 33 degrees and a departure angle of 30 degrees
Model comments: In the hard-core SUV market within 300,000, the tank 400 Hi4-T is very competitive, regardless of off-road configuration, performance, fuel consumption and tuning are very good. Especially in the off-road area, there is no need to doubt the capabilities of tank models at all. It may be that the design style of the Tank 400Hi4-T mecha may not be as wide as that of the Tank 300.
Tank 700Hi4-T
3.0T longitudinal six-cylinder engine
At present, the most expensive model of the tank, the tank 700 Hi4-T, is here, and the first version of the model on the market in the early stage is 700,000 yuan, of course, the first version is only sold as a limited edition. Pre-order prices for the regular model will be announced at the end of January.
In terms of appearance, the overall silhouette of the tank 700Hi4-T is different from the shape of the square box of the tank 300, but there are many inclined planes, which add some sporty and fashionable atmosphere in addition to toughness. Compared to the previous debut version of the regular model, most of the sporty exterior package has been removed, but like the front tow hook, the external spare wheel with a shroud is also equipped.
Tank 700 Hi4-T was equipped with an air suspension, and in standard condition the approach angle was 22 °, the departure angle was 26 °, and the longitudinal passing angle was 22.5 °; When the suspension is raised, the approach angle can be increased to a maximum of 27.8°, a departure angle of 32.4°, and a longitudinal passing angle of 28°, further improving the vehicle's passability and off-road ability.
It is equipped with a 3.0T longitudinal six-cylinder engine, matched with a 9HAT hybrid gearbox, plus a P2 electric mechanism type diesel-electric parallel hybrid, which can be directly driven by oil and electricity, and the acceleration can reach 5 seconds per 100 kilometers. On paper, the car's power performance is better than that of the Mercedes-Benz G500, and comparable to the strength of the Land Rover Defender V8.
The new car adopts a non-load-bearing body, the proportion of high-strength steel in the body is claimed to reach 99%, and the layout of the battery pack has also been optimized, arranged on the inner side of the cross-longitudinal beam and the upper part of the floor to avoid the impact of the battery when off-road.
Model comments: The Tank 700 focuses on the luxury hard-core SUV market, so it is not that the big G and the Defender can't afford it, but that the Tank 700 is more cost-effective. However, the price of the first version of the early market will be more or less expensive. If the price of the ordinary version can surprise people, I believe that the sentence will become not that the first version cannot afford it, but that the ordinary version is more cost-effective.
Prado
The rebirth of a classic model The only model without external charging and discharging functions
In the Northeast, Inner Mongolia or Northwest China, you can still see the figure of Prado, and when it comes to hard-core SUVs, you will definitely bring Prado. These domestic versions of the all-new Prado are coming, which are built on the same TNGA-F off-road platform as the Lexus GX, with a non-load-bearing body and a diesel-electric hybrid system consisting of a 2.4-liter engine and electric motor. Previously, it was rumored on the Internet that the price range of the new domestic Prado was 45-550,000 yuan.
In terms of appearance, the new domestic Pula unveiled this time only brings an exterior version, the front face adopts the iconic "TOYOTA" letter LOGO of the first generation model, which has a slightly retro feeling, with a square shape, rectangular design headlight cluster, split grille and thick front surround, presenting a very tough visual effect.
However, the industry leaders said that the new domestic Pula will provide three grid styling options according to different configurations, including the rectangular headlight shape (medium and high configuration), the retro round light shape that has been unveiled overseas (low configuration), and a special edition model, which does not use the "TOYOTA" letter LOGO, but uses the Toyota bull head logo (exclusive to the ultra-high configuration). Of course, the details are subject to the official final announcement.
In terms of body dimensions, the length, width and height of the all-new Prado are 4925/1980/1870mm, with a wheelbase of 2850mm, and in terms of off-road parameters, its ground clearance is 221mm, and the approach, departure and passing angles are 31 degrees, 22 degrees and 25 degrees respectively.
In terms of highlight configuration, the new Prado is equipped with a new generation of Toyota Safety Sense system, as well as off-road functions such as creep mode and steep hill descent, and in terms of power, the new domestic Prado is equipped with a hybrid system composed of a 2.4T four-cylinder engine and an electric motor, of which the engine has a maximum power of 330 horsepower, and the system has a comprehensive torque of 630 Nm, and the motor can also provide an additional 49 horsepower. The drivetrain is mated to an eight-speed automatic manual transmission, and is equipped with off-road functions such as full-time all-wheel drive, transfer case, and center differential lock.
Model comments: At present, the most concerned place about the new Prado is what its final price will be, if it is really as the beginning of the price of 45-550,000, but there is no charging and external discharge function, and a large number of independent brand hard SUVs have seized the advanced, then how many people will pay for the feelings and choose the new Prado?
(Photo/text/photo: Pan Honghan, Pacific Motor)