Tried 9 electric cars, made 1100?

This article is from Guo Junhua, a member of the 42HOW community.

Introduction

I am 28 years old, working for a state-owned enterprise, and I have won the new energy quota this year. I have been paying attention to new energy vehicles for a long time. I accidentally came across an article from Garage 42, and then continued to follow Beijing’s new energy vehicles in several WeChat groups of Garage 42 (such as new energy vehicle owners group and interest group, etc).

About Tesla

The first brand I paid attention to and test drove was Tesla.

In 2019, in Yizhuang, the exquisite and high-end hall displayed Model S, X, and 3 (the domestic production had not yet been stopped at that time). The attention of Tesla in China was obvious to all. The reasons why I and everyone else were interested in it should be the same: high brand value, high technology content, avant-garde appearance, more mature products, and the increasingly affordable price of Model 3, etc.

At that time, the domestic Model 3 priced at about 350,000 yuan, allowed more people to step into Tesla and try to own it, so things that I, who only had a salary of several thousand yuan, had unrealistic thoughts about owning a Tesla.

Moreover, Model 3 is now being domestically produced, with a price reduced to 290,000 yuan, which undoubtedly lowers the threshold for consumers who want to own a Tesla.

However, in the end, I may not choose it, although it is an excellent car in all aspects among the many brands I have test driven and its position in my mind is second to none.

There are two reasons.

Firstly, the space is small. I am 184 cm tall, and I can feel the sense of urgency in the car during the two test drives. If I adjust the front seat to a suitable position, the back seat will not be suitable for another adult to sit in, although the panoramic transparent roof to some extent relieves the sense of space constraint of Model 3.

Secondly, I want to try an SUV. Because I have a Civic, it has been two years with over 40,000 km, an out-of-town plate, and I have to consider selling it this year due to the restriction policy. We have known each other enough during the two-year relationship with the Civic, and driving it gives me a feeling of being one with the car. Two years of love, dependency, and separation, who can understand my feelings?

I realized that SUV is more suitable for me after using cars for two years.

For example, when there are four people in the car, the space is just enough and the rear seat experience is definitely not good;

For example, I often put suitcases in the trunk, the trunk space of a sedan will appear cramped, and it is concave, which makes it difficult to take out and put in;

For example, there is an issue with driving visibility. I often drive on the fifth ring road, where it is easy for large trucks to not see you, and you may not see them either.

Another important point is that because my workplace and residential area are both outside the fifth ring road, parking is not a big problem. There is always a place to park at any time.

Impressions on three new energy vehicles

Therefore, in the past three months, I have focused on the following models.

Nio ES6, WM EX5, GAC Aion LX, and Chevrolet Equinox.

I have test-driven the Nio ES6 twice (the second time was just to collect a small Xiaomi speaker, haha), and it was really great. However, there are too many options to choose from, and the financial and battery leasing plans are complicated. The salesperson estimated that it would cost 380,000 yuan, which is beyond my budget, so I had to strike it off the list.

Therefore, below, I will focus on the test-drive experiences of WM EX5, GAC Aion LX, and Equinox.

1. Sales attitude at the dealership

I think GAC New Energy has the best sales attitude. I went to the one on Tianbei Road in Shunyi District, which should be a new store that is less than two years old. The sales introductions, service attitudes, and professionalism of the test drivers made me feel comfortable and sincere.

Next is WM. I went to the direct-operated store in the Olympic Village, where the service attitude was also good, and the entire process was professional and standardized, demonstrating WM’s Internet genes, the new force in self-branded car manufacturing, and completely market-oriented operation. However, there is room for improvement in the professionalism of the test drive specialist.

On the day of the test drive with WM, after starting the car, the central control screen can be rotated from vertical to horizontal orientation, but it failed twice in a row, which was a bit embarrassing.Translate the following Markdown Chinese text into English Markdown text in a professional way, preserving the HTML tags inside Markdown and only output the corrections and improvements, without explanations.

Next up is Changxing, which gives the impression that sales should be good. But from the sales and front desk services, it doesn’t feel like they’re selling products. It’s like museum staff. We’re just here to visit. Even as an amateur, I could tell that the test driver was also an amateur.

2. Driving Experience Comparison

GAC Aion LX

The interior design and controls of the GAC Aion LX are both superior to those of the other car. Of course, it’s positioned as a luxury SUV and is also more expensive. The high-end extended-range version costs approximately 280,000 yuan with my chosen options. However, the salesperson told me there are still many discounts available, and they have a three-year interest-free installment policy, so the price is negotiable.

The first impression of getting into the car is that it has a lot of space and feels luxurious. It’s very much like a NIO car. Although the car is very large, driving it can give people a sense of lightness. The steering is firm, but not light and floaty. The floor accelerator is strong and powerful, and there are many high-tech features with excellent design that are intriguing.

As for brand value, as a state-owned joint venture company, I personally think that the brand value is not as good as that of Chevrolet, let alone that of NIO and Tesla. In my mind, it is equivalent to new-generation car companies such as WM Motor.

There are also two details to note. The degree of opening for the skylight is not enough, and the rotary knob-type shift lever has an average texture and feel. However, overall it is a good car that knows what consumers want and is very considerate.

Chevrolet Changxing

The second-best is Changxing. In terms of interior design, it looks more like a traditional gasoline-powered car, more conventional. But in terms of exterior design, it has to be said that it is really good-looking.

The floating roof and sharp, aggressive LED headlights give it a high-end look. At the same time, the exterior design has elements of both a station wagon and an SUV.

The driving experience feels quite luxurious, with good sound insulation and very smooth when driving over speed bumps. The engine is average, but sufficient. The only major drawback is the range, which is only 410 km. According to new owners feedback, some can only charge up to 390 km with full battery.

Currently, the car is only available for purchase in Beijing and there are no cars immediately available. Orders placed now will take at least one month to arrive, with limited discounts. The total cost comes out to around 180,000 yuan. Therefore, I think this car is suitable for low-key and practical people who don’t require high-range driving.

WEY EX5

Lastly, I would like to discuss the WEY EX5, which I test drove just two days ago. I was interested in WEY because a colleague had owned one since early 2018, which was among the first automobiles in the country (with a reasonable price and large size). My colleague thought the car was good, so I decided to consider it as well.

Firstly, the 520 km range of the WEY EX5 is quite good and can meet my regular commuting needs from Shunyi to Daxing.

The exterior design is average, but the car is large.

In terms of the interior, the large central display and integrated racing seats are really nice. The design is the simplest of the three cars and quite intelligent.

When driving it, the car can feel slightly unstable (compared to the Changan CS55) and the direction may not be so accurate. Perhaps the car’s high center of gravity causes extra tilting when turning.

Lastly, I want to say that there are too many optional features for the WEY automobile. Even the panoramic sunroof is an add-on extra cost and if you want leather seats, you will need to spend more money. Currently, there are discounts of between twenty to thirty thousand yuan in stores. The cost, including a 520 km range, comes out to around 180,000 yuan. However, you can pay in installments without interest. Additionally, if you know a WEY old-user, you can obtain 10,000 yuan discounts.

Summary

In addition to the three cars mentioned above, I have also test-driven XPeng G3, Qichen T60, Roewe Ei5, Hyundai Angeno, and Changan E-Pro in the past two months. The common point is that they are almost all SUVs, and another common point is that they can all receive test-drive benefits such as Xiaomi speakers or JD cards.

This year I will definitely buy a new energy car, and after seeing so many of them, I became more and more hesitant about which one to choose.

Choose Guangzhou Aion LX? Not cost-effective and not cheap in price;

Choose Chevrolet Changchun? The endurance is average;

Choose WM EX5? Average product control;

Choose NIO ES6? A bit expensive for me.

In the end, I’ll just leave it to time to choose.

Finally, I wish all major car companies to continue to work hard, find their own foothold in the harsh market environment, constantly improve their products and services, and achieve better sales performance. This is what we as consumers want to see the most.

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