If you ask me which new car is the most controversial in May, then the Star Journey ET is the first car I can think of. On the basis of the starting price of 189,800, what are the medium and large SUVs that can be equipped with front double wishbone suspension? At present, it seems that only Star Era ET on the market has done this. At the same time, the fuel economy of this new car is good, the extended range version of the model in the state of WLTC combined fuel consumption of 5.2L/100km in the feeding state, coupled with the low-cost characteristics of 92 gasoline, for family users, is attractive.
Perhaps it was because I was "moved" by the price of Xingtu Star Era ET, and the current situation is that the delivery time of Star Era ET has been extended to 1-2 months. According to the production news released by Xingtu Automobile's executives on social media, Xingtu plans to produce 5,000 units in May, with a ratio of 5:5 between the extended range version and the pure electric version, of which 300 vehicles need to be allocated for test drives and media test drives for the extended range version, and about 2,200 models of the extended range version can be handed over to users. In June, in order to make up for the lack of production capacity of the extended range version, the production schedule of Xingtu Star Era ET was changed to: the ratio of extended range and pure electric models is 6:4.
It is not difficult to see that Xingtu Auto executives miscalculated the market's enthusiasm for the Epoch ET extended range version. In fact, in terms of daily commuting or short-distance travel, the Star Era ET pure electric version is actually enough, take the pure electric version of the entry Pro, the price is 229,800 yuan, the rear motor drives, the official 000 acceleration is 6.6 seconds, the pure electric range under CLTC working conditions is 625 kilometers, it supports 297kW DC fast charging, and it only takes 9 minutes to charge the power from 30% to 80%, which not only has a good battery life, but also has a high energy replenishment efficiency, which is more suitable for home use.
However, for users living in the north, pure electric models are not the best choice. Because there is no battery technology that can avoid the problem of greatly reducing battery activity caused by the sudden drop in winter temperatures, there have been many automotive vertical media tests, and in extremely cold environments, the range of electric vehicles will be lost by at least half, and the battery life reliability needs to be iterated to eliminate user anxiety. Therefore, the price advantage of the Star Era ET extended range version has naturally been sought after by the consumer market, but many people have questioned: why does the extended range not have four driving forces? So, the question is, is it worth it if the Star Era ET Extended Range Edition does not provide four drives?
Let me share with you my actual feelings after taking a test drive at the store. As far as the exterior is concerned, I think the exterior design of this car has characteristics, but not much. The sleek lines accentuate the sense of style, but the disconnected design between the headlights makes me feel that it is not refined enough, and it can only be said that it meets the expectations of this price range. In addition, only the pure electric top model is equipped with 21-inch close-spoke wheels, and in addition, like the HUD and light language configuration, the extended range version and the pure electric version of the rest of the models can not be selected, which is not very reasonable.
In terms of interior, the 10.25-inch full LCD instrument is not quite in line with the current aesthetics, the more obvious black frame on the left is more abrupt, and the workmanship of the star bar and the back of the seat is relatively average, which does not stand up to careful scrutiny, I personally think that the texture of Yaoguang is better. As for the car machine, the whole system is equipped with a 15.6-inch floating large screen as standard, the hardware performance is supported by Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155, and the Xingtu OS system UI interface is relatively clean and tidy, but the operation logic is chaotic, there are no fixed physical buttons, and it is still not very convenient to use. Another point to note is that the position of the dashboard is a little awkward, sitting in the main driving position, no matter how you adjust the steering wheel, it will block the driver's observation of the instrument, and the blocked data includes mileage, gear information, etc.
However, when I drove the Epoch ET Range Extender Pro+, I still found a lot of advantages. Perhaps because the chassis adopts a front double wishbone and rear multi-link layout, the extended range version cannot coordinate the chassis layout and add a four-wheel drive system in a short period of time. But there is one thing to say, a large number of aluminum alloy suspension materials do bring better handling and driving experience, even if the car is fully loaded, in bumpy road conditions, the feedback of the rear personnel is also good, the main description is that the chassis has a sense of luxury, over the pothole road surface has toughness, shaking is not intense. Secondly, the car is equipped with front and rear soundproof glass as standard, and the speed of the car soared to more than 100km/h during the test drive, and the quietness of the car is still good, which is worth a plus. As for the space, I don't think there's anything wrong with it, and even because of the color of the seats, I think it's a little brighter than the Zeekrypton 001, which also has a wheelbase of 3 meters. The power part, the extended range version uses a single-motor rear-wheel drive layout, and the official 000 acceleration is 7 seconds 8, I think the power performance is decent, and it is enough to cope with daily household scenarios.
epilogue
To be honest, no one is perfect, and no car is perfect. Objectively speaking, the Xingtu Star Era ET Extended Range Edition is at the price of 189,800-225,800 yuan, which can give consumers a good configuration basis, which is indeed more conscientious. After all, the four-wheel drive system can not only improve the handling, but also improve the driving safety quality in the slippery and dangerous road environment, which is still more critical for family users who care about the quality of travel. In addition, there is still room for improvement and improvement in the details of this car, and I hope that those friends who have a strong interest in the Star Era ET will come to the store for a test drive before making a decision.