Car Review

Before Venucia was separated from the Dongfeng Nissan system and became an independent brand with equal status to Dongfeng Nissan, most of people’s impressions of Venucia came from the slogan “Vucen, originated from Dongfeng Nissan”. Dongfeng Venucia has always used facts to prove to us that after leaving Nissan to "fly solo", it still has the strength of "independent brand identity and joint venture car quality".

The new VSA intelligent module architecture and the first model born under this architecture - Venucia, are the latest masterpieces of Dongfeng Venucia. In previous static experience activities, we have seen some unusual tricks of Venucia, such as using the size of a compact SUV to create a super-large driving space and luxurious storage space. And in this dynamic test drive event, what surprises will Venucia bring us?

Smoothness alone is not enough, the sense of high-end is the trump card

"Vucus uses a dual-clutch gearbox?" Not long after the car drove on the road, Zhixingjun kept talking to his colleagues Double check this detail.

We can’t blame Zhixingjun for not doing his homework before the test run, because many parameters still need to be announced before Venucia is officially launched. So this time Venucia skipped the technical explanation and let us directly drive the trial car on the road for experience. But from another perspective, Zhixingjun prefers this kind of "blind test" test that avoids preconceptions. Using products to speak is sometimes more important than paper data.

The smoothness is the first impression of Qichenxing on Zhixingjun. Many friends often care about the engine parameters when buying a car. Little do they know that sometimes parameters are important, but we cannot ignore the effect of matching and tuning. For example, the Venucia is equipped with a 1.5T engine and a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox derived from the technology of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance. When driving, you can basically not notice the shifting action of the gearbox. Even on the stop-and-go urban road before getting on the highway, the smoothness of this power combination was still very satisfactory, which is why the conversation between Zhixingjun and the engineer began.

In an environment where competing products at the same level are staying away from dual-clutch gearboxes, Venucia can make the dual-clutch gearbox achieve a smoothness close to that of a CVT gearbox. The unique 48V light hybrid system is not unrelated. Although the 48V motor is not enough to give Venucia the ability to drive purely on electric power, it can provide additional torque compensation for the engine when starting or accelerating hard. On the one hand, it reduces the response lag of the turbine engine before the turbine intervenes and improves the response speed of the power. On the other hand, it also improves the frustration problem of the dual-clutch at low speeds.

In addition, the 48V light-hybrid system also has functions such as coasting shutdown below 15km/h, energy recovery and idle restart, giving Venucia even better fuel economy. According to official data, the car’s comprehensive fuel consumption is 6.1-6.7L/100km. On the day of the test drive, after a long period of idling and intense driving, the actual fuel consumption was only 8.5-9L/100km, which is already very good for a Venucia that is larger than most compact SUVs. Numbers.

At the same time, Venucia’s 1.5T engine is also a role that cannot be ignored. Zhixing Jun currently only knows that its peak power is 140kW (190PS), but in my impression, it is used by Changan CS75?Plus and Boyue Pro. The 1.5T engine is only 131kW and 130kW. Moreover, they also lack a 48V mild hybrid system. The technical content alone has been widened by the Venucia. Especially the confidence when overtaking at high speed can indeed give the driver enough confidence.

What also gives Zhixing Jun confidence is Venucia’s chassis, steering and driving quality. After Zhixingjun drove the Venucia through a short stretch of bad road, his colleague sitting in the back seat couldn't help but praise: "This car is more comfortable than the Tiguan L."

Indeed, whether it is driving Or the riding angle, Qichenxing is both relaxing and comfortable.

No matter when driving over speed bumps or on undulating roads, the suspension can well suppress excess body shaking, and the roll control in corners is also quite good.

It proves that Venucia did not simply soften the suspension, but systematically considered the complex and changing domestic road conditions and the needs of most consumers for comfort and handling stability, and adjusted the chassis. The school has made adaptive settings, and this is also its advantage based on the VSA intelligent module architecture.

Compared with those platforms or architectures for global models, the VSA intelligent module architecture is based on Venucia's understanding of domestic consumers. In other words, we can regard the VSA intelligent module architecture as a modular architecture tailored for Chinese consumers, and it can also be understood as the basis for Venucia to achieve this high-end driving experience.

Leap-level comfort under the VIP concept

Vucia's car-making concept of "every customer is a VIP" is also an interpretation of the promotion of luxury in Zhixingjun's view . However, leather and wood alone cannot create a sense of luxury. At most, it can only win a comment about the materials used. To achieve a true sense of luxury, all aspects of design, craftsmanship, space and configuration must be taken into consideration.

In the interior color matching, in addition to the common all-black and black-brown color matching, Vesuvius also has a black and white color matching scheme. To be honest, there are not many SUVs in this class that dare to use white seats. This is a test of the design of the central control and the color of the cabin space. Generally, only luxury SUVs with at least 500,000 yuan can handle it.

But Venucia uses it very well, thanks to the many design details in the cabin, such as the door panel lining with diamond pattern, the 7-color ambient light embedded in the central control panel, etc. . Of course, Venucia's cabin space that surpasses its class is indispensable. When talking about cabin space, many friends will think of the longitudinal space performance of the rear seats. In fact, this is just one dimension of measuring the space of the carriage, and the other dimension is the lateral width of the carriage.

Previous articles have mentioned that the body size of Venucia is far larger than that of compact SUVs in the same class. Its size is mainly reflected in the two indicators of wheelbase reaching 2756mm and body width reaching 1905mm. Take the well-known Audi Q5L as an example, its width is only 1893mm. Moreover, the rear floor of Venucia also adopts a completely flat design. It is said that its rear position can easily accommodate three passengers, which is absolutely not true.

In terms of storage space, Venucia also takes advantage of space exploration, including a rear-sliding double-opening multi-mode central armrest box that cleverly combines the storage functions of cup holders and armrest boxes into one. . At the same time, Venucia has also made a hollow design under the shift lever, turning it into a huge storage compartment. Not only that, when Zhixingjun opened its trunk, he also found that the trunk floor had an upper/lower double-layer design. If there is a need to load extra-height luggage, this design will come in handy.

With ample cabin space as the basis, the more important riding comfort has greater room for display. For example, the queen passenger seat with electric leg rest adjustment is an unforgettable design. Moreover, Venucia also thoughtfully features a "one-button leisure" mode for the driver. When turned on, the driver's seat automatically reclines the backrest for you and turns on the massage function, which is very suitable for parking and taking a nap.

Of course, Venucia does not treat rear passengers favorably. At least with the zero-gravity seats and neck-protecting aviation headrests, the comfort is completely on par with those in the front row, and the rear seats also have two-level backrest angle adjustment. If you still feel dissatisfied, you can use the passenger's "seat stow" function to maximize the space on the right side of the rear row.

“This is equivalent to moving the Chivas sofa at home directly onto the truck.” A colleague commented after experiencing it.

During the epidemic, everyone was accustomed to wearing masks when going out. Zhixingjun also wore a mask when he first got in the car and started test driving, but then took it off. Because Zhiqichenxing’s air-conditioning system is equipped with a high-dust-collecting activated carbon filter made of the same filter material as an N95 mask, which has an “N95 mask-level” purification effect, the air in the car is clean enough.

Sometimes the evaluation of a car's ride comfort is not limited to the ride itself. Just imagine that when you sit in a car with a strong smell, it may be useless no matter how comfortable the seat is. It can be seen that Venucia’s consideration of these details is indeed more thoughtful than many SUVs in its class.

New heights of Zhiqu Technology

As soon as they enter the vehicle of Venucia, many people will be attracted by the 15.6-inch touch screen. But when he first got in the car, Zhixingjun didn't have time to play with it. After all, the larger screen also meant that there were many functions integrated into it, so he had to get familiar with it gradually. Moreover, looking at the screen while driving is not considered safe driving.

You can ignore the screen temporarily, but the navigation still needs to be set up. But I didn't expect that this matter was taken care of by the on-board staff in the back row, and he directly used voice to wake up the on-board system and help Zhixingjun set the destination. You must know that voice control is nothing new, and some models also have the function of supporting Cantonese recognition. The problem is that even the voices of passengers in the rear seats can be clearly recognized, and the sound sources from the front, rear, left and right positions can be distinguished. In my impression, Venucia is the first to achieve this.

This is not over yet. After the navigation is set up, the 15.6-inch screen displays the familiar Baidu map screen, but the 12.3-inch full LCD instrument panel presents an AR real-life intelligent navigation screen. Zhixingjun carefully observed that this AR real-life intelligent navigation does not simply project the camera image onto the instrument, but combines the current lane of the vehicle to judge and identify it, and then gives corresponding navigation instructions. It can be said to be overwhelmingly intuitive. Traditional navigation map.

In addition to looking at the instruments, Venucia’s W-HUD intelligent pilot head-up display system also allows Zhixingjun to obtain navigation, vehicle speed, gear, driving assistance and other information. By the way, Venucia’s HUD is a type that is directly projected onto the glass, so there’s nothing to be picky about in terms of clarity and brightness.

Remember that this Internet of Vehicles system 4.0 was developed by Dongfeng Venucia and Baidu, so it makes sense that functions such as team formation, hotel reservations, and smart parking lots have been transplanted one by one. For the passengers in the car, it is quite enough to rely on QQ Music, Himalaya FM and iQiyi videos in the Internet of Vehicles System 4.0 to pass the time on the road.

But Venucia’s intelligence is not only reflected in the vehicle network, but also includes its intelligent driving assistance system. According to official information, Venucia will be equipped with a 3D AVM panoramic surveillance image system, DVR smart driving recorder, BOSCH ESP 9.3 system, and include LDW lane departure assist, FEB front automatic emergency braking, UPA reversing radar warning, etc. Including 13 active safety assistance functions.

Zhixing has something to say

Nowadays, the biggest pressure on self-owned brand compact SUVs should come from the increasing pressure of joint venture brand SUVs. The only way out is to rely on brand power and product power for ourselves. Build a deeper moat. Through the VSA intelligent module architecture, Venucia integrates the technical achievements of the "Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi" alliance and the joint venture standard manufacturing system, and achieves breakthroughs in product value based on accurate grasp of consumer needs.

The auto market in 2020 will inevitably continue to be reshuffled, and only benchmark-level products can avoid the fate of elimination. Obviously, Venucia is currently the most competitive product among independent compact SUVs.

This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.