The high-end of Chinese brands seems to have become a trend in the past two years, and the most familiar ones are Lynk & Co and WEY. In fact, there is another "friend" who is very low-key, low-key to not many people who know it, so that they will not associate it with Chery, which is the EXEED Xingtu brand. Today's protagonist is Starway- Starway, which can be seen as the new TXL and one of the first models to adopt the M3X Mars architecture PRO.
M3X Mars Architecture PRO Highlights Quick Preview:
1. The architecture is exclusive to the Xingtu brand, using modular design, using a horizontal engine layout, with two drive forms: front drive and four-wheel drive.
2. The wheelbase and width range of the models under this architecture is large, covering passenger cars from compact sedans/SUVs to medium- and large-sized MPVVs.5
3. The proportion of high-strength steel in the vehicle increased by 15%, reaching a coverage rate of 85%.
EXEED Starway | aura
From the perspective of a car's aura, this Lingyun definitely belongs to the category of excellence. From TXL to Moonlight, it is absolutely noodle-oriented in appearance. Today's Lingyun is a facelift of TXL, which has been optimized for detail while retaining a stable and futuristic feel.
The wide front grille almost occupies the width of the body, across the entire front of the car, the bright black trim plate above with the brand English LOGO, but also there will be a gradual lighting or extinguishing effect, which is still relatively rare in traditional fuel vehicles.
The shape of the headlight group has not changed, it is quite sharp, the full LED light source does not need to be said, and the lens-type structure will also make the light more concentrated and enhance the lighting effect. The fog light area is still arranged vertically, with high recognition, and the middle net cooperates with a good effect.
On the side of the body, the two-segment waist line at the front fender and the concave shape at the door panel create a strong light and shadow effect, and also have a good three-dimensional feeling. In terms of body size, the new car has a length, width and height of 4780/1885/1730mm, and a wheelbase of 2800mm.
The 19-inch rim is still in the dense spoke style, with a kind of turbofan immediacy, which can't be faulted, but it is not amazing. The tires are from the UC6 series with a specification of 225/55 R19.
The tail of Lingyun outlines a strong visual effect of three-dimensionality through different types and curves, and the popular through-type taillights are equipped with a chrome decoration, which is very elaborate in the handling of details.
EXEED Starway | dual screen
The shape of the double screen has been added since the first small makeover of TXL, such a design has been more popular in Chinese brand models in recent years, and indeed this plays a vital role in improving the atmosphere of science and technology in the car, but perhaps such a design has been looking at it for a long time.
The three-spoke steering wheel is relatively stout, the grip is good, the leather material is very delicate, and the damping of the multi-function buttons on both sides is high-level, which does not belong to the loose and collapsed category. The flat bottom design seems to be trying to arouse your driving desire.
The two 12.3-inch screen backgrounds are based on black, which feels like it is deliberately creating a calm and deep artistic mood, and the overall quality is very good, the resolution is high, and the display is clear; the DESIGN of the UI also has a good sense of high-grade, and it is not a "fool" product.
In addition, the car machine system is very rich in functions, the operation is very smooth, but also upgraded to lion Zhiyun Lion 4.1 version, support OTA upgrade, but also has a lot of young people like the favorite features, such as CarPlay, online music / video, voice recognition control and AR real-life navigation, etc., want to play these functions thoroughly, it really takes a while.
The panoramic image function is absolutely praised, the 3D virtual image angle conversion is very smooth, there is no stuttering phenomenon, and the picture has no sense of splicing at all, in terms of this function alone, it is absolutely difficult to find opponents at the same level.
The air-conditioning panel is touch-type, with knobs with small screens on the left and right sides, and the overall shape is similar to that of the Land Rover model, and it is not necessary to pick the texture. It's just that blind exercise still requires a certain degree of difficulty, not as fast as direct voice control.
Leather seats with diamond stitching have been visually arranged for a sense of luxury, and the shoulders have been widened to provide better support. In addition, the padding inside the rear seats is significantly softer than that of the front seats, which is the performance of a medium-sized SUV that is mainly used for home use.
The style of the gear shift mechanism was changed to a shape similar to the aircraft joystick, when the N gear switched to R gear and D gear, because there was no LOCK key, it was necessary to push forward/backward twice, and the first time it was used, it also needed a certain adaptation, and the P gear was set on the left side of the physical button, which was not very smooth, but the manufacturer said that the model of the test drive was a test car, and it would be optimized later.
EXEED Starway | to show its skills
Due to the high sitting position of the driver's seat, even if the seat position is adjusted to the lowest, the head space of the experiencer who is 173cm tall at this time is only about one punch and one finger, which is decent.
Keeping the position of the front row adjusted unchanged, the same experiencer comes to the back row, the head space at this time is about one punch, and the leg space is more than two punches, which has a clear advantage in the medium SUV.
EXEED Starway | sense of luxury
General data
Engine: 2.0T turbocharged
Maximum power: 261 hp
Peak torque: 400 Nm
Transmission: 7-speed wet dual clutch
Our test drive is a 400T model, equipped with a 2.0T turbocharged engine, which uses a high-pressure oil pump, upgraded gas distribution mechanism materials, optimized combustion system matching and calibration, the maximum power can reach 261 horsepower, the peak torque is 400 Nm, the thermal efficiency has reached 41%, and the official acceleration time of 0-100km/h is 7 seconds. It is worth mentioning that the maximum torque output platform of this engine is 1750-4000rpm, which is wider than the previous 1.6T model of the Xingtu TXL.
The book parameters of this 2.0T engine are very attractive, and it is true in the actual driving experience. First of all, the tuning of the accelerator pedal is very pleasing, compared to the previous TXL pedal jump foot feeling is much milder, quite linear, through communication with the engineer, they are indeed re-optimized for the opening and closing of the accelerator pedal and throttle to ensure a better driving texture.
Acceleration within the entire statutory speed limit is absolutely sufficient, and the peak torque of 400 Nm ensures the presence of a push back feeling. The car has three driving modes: ECO, NORMAL and SPORT, and the difference between them is more obvious than the previous 1.6T model TXL, and you can clearly feel the change in power connection. It is worth mentioning that the brake pedal of this car is not empty, the release of braking force is also very even, and the foot feel is great.
The 7-speed wet dual-clutch transmission has been conscientious in most working conditions, able to actively upshift, decisively downshift, and the calibration of the engine can be the top spot in most Chinese brand models, which is also the most surprising point for me in this test drive. In addition, this car also changed the problem of the previous slow power connection at the moment of start-up, which is no different from the AT gearbox.
The setting of the entire chassis is not surprisingly comfortable tuning orientation, full of tough suspension in the face of road size bumps can try to help you smooth, and there is no excess jump, which is also the sense of closeness that engineers have been pursuing in research and development. Slightly deficient is lateral support, and if you tease it with a continuous shift of center of gravity, it will immediately respond to you with a larger tilt.
The light steering damping makes the car very easy to use, but the steering direction is not so precise, and there will still be a clear vacancy in the middle position, so the advantage of this setting is that there is no mental tension when cruising at high speeds. In terms of NVH, the front row of this car uses double-layer laminated glass, and the wind noise and road noise are well suppressed, but the sound of the engine at high speed is not so pleasant.
EXEED Starway | written at the end
The focus of the upgrade is clearly on the powertrain, with the 2.0T turbocharged engine and the 7-speed wet dual-clutch transmission making a qualitative leap in calibration, and the driving texture is really great. In addition, the M3X Mars architecture PRO has also optimized a lot in safety, and the proportion of high-strength steel in the vehicle has increased by 15%, reaching a coverage rate of 85%, and the Xingtu brand has really achieved high-end this time. How, will this car be your favorite choice? Please leave me a message in the comment area.