The new version of the new M7 has begun to be pre-sold, with a price covering 298,000-338,000 yuan (only the MAX version), and after the upgrade, the pre-sale price of these four cars has increased by nearly 10,000 yuan compared with the current model.
Previously, Yu Chengdong's vote on Weibo for the upgrade of the new Wenjie M7 hinted at some upgrade directions of this car, mainly four, including exterior interior, intelligent driving ability, driving experience, and comfortable configuration. Translated, the exterior and interior have been slightly changed, and the big mouth has become a small mouth, probably with the same new color scheme as the M5; Comfortable configuration, should be a high probability of a better comfortable, easy-to-use seat configuration.
Is that the point? Obviously, no, the focus is on intelligent driving ability and driving experience.
These two upgrade points, there is a 192-line LiDAR ADS high-end suit, which has been added to the new Wenjie M7; Instead of the basic version of ADS, which does not have a lidar solution and supports high-speed NOA function, it does not have urban NOA function. The rest of the change in the driving experience is a set of CDC suspension system (the old model did not have it and did not have to choose). However, the changes are limited to the MAX version, and there are no changes to the PLUS version.
So, what are the theoretical improvements of this car after the new configuration upgrade?
High-end version, can you have high expectations?
From the new launch of the M5 to the M7, basically, one thing I want to do is to equip more models with intelligent driving functions, or higher-level intelligent driving hardware, respectively, in the M5 and M7 have made two different choices. After the cost of lidar drops, more models will be equipped with ADS (there are hardware differences).
Let's look at the sensor level first, what's the difference?
The advanced version of ADS to be used on the M7 uses a more expensive 192-line lidar, followed by millimeter-wave radar and ultrasonic radar, with high-definition cameras, to complete a 360-degree perception of the environment without dead ends. Specifically, it can be equipped with 3 millimeter-wave radars, 12 ultrasonic radars and 10 visual high-definition cameras, which have been applied to the Zhijie S7.
The 192-line LiDAR version of the ADS solution, in addition to the other sensors mentioned above, can more accurately detect and identify objects in the environment, especially in scenarios such as irregular objects, abnormal weather perception, close cuts, tunnels, etc., LiDAR has a relatively large advantage (previously 126-line LiDAR).
- In the previous 126-line lidar, the transmitter could only send out 126 laser lines for scanning, while the 192-line lidar could send out 192 laser lines, and more laser lines meant that in the same scanning area, the 192-line lidar could obtain more data points, thereby improving the resolution and accuracy of environmental perception.
- Then, compared with the 126-line lidar, the detection distance of the 192-line lidar has been significantly improved, and the 192-line lidar used by Wenjie has a long-distance recognition capability of 250 meters, while the detection distance of the previously used 126-line lidar is only 150 meters.
Therefore, there is a relatively obvious gap between the two versions in terms of perception. The improvement under the two working conditions, first of all, there will be significant progress in the use of high-speed NOA, and the performance of the 192-line LiDAR M9 in high-speed NOA working conditions is very stable, especially in the details of the operation such as parallel lines and following the car. At the same time, on the NOA in urban areas, after the lidar with a high line beam, it will also have a better perception of the details on the street, which will help the smoothness and stability of the vehicle. After changing the 192-line lidar, it can be understood that the level of intelligent driving is on par with the M9.
Then, will the chip increase the computing power?
On the current Wenjie M7 equipped with lidar, the MDC 610 chip solution is used, with a maximum computing power of 200TOPS, which can cope with the two major functions of high-speed and urban NOA. Now, after upgrading the performance of LiDAR, the MDC 610 chip solution with a maximum of 200TOPS is still sufficient. Theoretically, it is possible to copy the algorithm of the M9 on the car.
In this way, the performance of the whole set of intelligent driving will be improved to a certain extent. For example, the operation of complex instructions in urban NOA conditions may be easier to handle. Previously, we have experienced the NOA function of the M7 urban area, although it can be done relatively stable, it is in the style of an "old driver", and it is also very comfortable to deal with merging lines and up and down ramps. However, after replacing the high-beam lidar, under the premise that the computing power is not adjusted, whether it will make a better experience in the urban NOA function (or a similar experience to the Wenjie M9) will require further real-vehicle testing to get a clear result.
What can I get in exchange for CDC suspension?
The current M7 still uses FSD variable damping suspension, and does not use CDC active shock absorbing suspension, which is indeed a relatively big impact on this level of family SUV, especially in terms of interior comfort. Then, on the new M7, this suspension system will be standard.
Now, in the same price or class, there are more and more family SUVs equipped with CDC active shock absorbing suspension as standard, and it should be the ideal L series that makes this configuration the extreme, which is a standard configuration for almost all of the series. Therefore, this time, the new Wenjie M7 takes this configuration as the main upgrade direction, which is quite reasonable and necessary.
The FSD suspension that is still in use is just to keep costs down at the beginning.
To say that the benefits of this set of FSD variable damping suspension, the first is that it does not require complex sensors and control systems, the structure is relatively simple, and the cost is low; Secondly, it can adaptively adjust the damping softness and hardness, relatively speaking, it can improve some interior comfort. Then, after replacing the CDC active shock absorber suspension, on the basis of the FSD suspension, the CDC suspension can collect data through sensors in real time and actively adjust the damping, which means that it can control the body attitude more accurately and provide a smoother driving experience.
Moreover, it responds faster because it can make immediate adjustments based on real-time traffic data, reducing the roll and pitch angle of the body, which will be very noticeable for a large car like an SUV. To put it simply, there are more adjustable parameters, faster response speed, and finally a better ride experience in the car. Of course, the final tuning style must still be a more comfortable style, after all, it still has to cater to the needs of the family.
Is there possible air suspension with CDC suspension?
CDC+ air suspension, this combination can be used together, for example, this configuration is on the M9. However, the possibility of the new M7 appearing at the same time is very small.
It is not difficult to achieve technically, and the space of the chassis should be able to accommodate the combination of CDC + air suspension, but it may be difficult to achieve in terms of the cost of the model. The price of a set of air suspension for M9 is almost 10,000 yuan, and the 400,000-level product can support this cost, but it is difficult to support this price for models sold within 250,000 yuan. Therefore, don't think about the air suspension for the time being, there is a CDC suspension that has been able to improve the entire driving texture.
The last point is about the size of the battery pack.
Personally, I feel that I may add a 2kWh battery pack like the M5 to improve the car's pure electric and comprehensive range capabilities. However, if this happens, the price of this car is less likely to change, after all, the increase in the 2kWh battery capacity also means an increase in cost, plus the basic version of the ADS scheme and the CDC suspension on the car.
Therefore, it is likely that the changes of this new M7 are mainly focused on the application of the new intelligent driving solution kit, as well as the improvement of the comfort of the car, as well as the possibility of fine-tuning the battery pack specifications (but it may be reasonable not to expand the capacity due to cost considerations).