Got the key for a deep test drive and finally took a step forward to “IDEAL”. It was not as stunning as expected, but luckily it was black, otherwise it would look so much like the famous “water drop”. I have tried out all the new car powers one by one, but I particularly want to try out this extended-range model.
In 2015, I bought a famous “second-child car,” a seven-seater 2.0T “Dahan”. The spacious space, comfortable chassis, fuel-saving automatic start-stop, zoning air conditioning, seat ventilation, panoramic sunroof, etc., are all entertainment-oriented features. From pregnancy to birth to the child’s gradual growth, “Dahan” did not disappoint. Of course, the fuel consumption was also obvious. Due to the need to pick up and drop off the eldest child for school and all kinds of extracurricular classes, daily commuting plus weekend outings, with an average fuel consumption of 11-12 liters per 100 kilometers, the monthly average cost is 2,000 yuan. In 2018, the new energy indicator came down, and I bought a pure electric small car before the end of the year. For the whole year in 2019, I drove the small pure electric car around the city, except for long-distance travel requirements or more than 4 people. Due to its surprisingly energy-saving performance, it is worth mentioning that the previous 1.5 months’ fuel cost for “Dahan” is equivalent to one year’s electricity bill for a small pure electric car. Since then, “Dahan” has become a “long-distance car” and “family reunion car”. Sometimes, I wonder if there is an “IDEAL” car with “Dahan’s” spacious and comfortable space and long-distance performance, as well as the quiet and cost-saving of pure electric cars. That would be so great! Indeed, “IDEAL” is here in 2020…
To be honest, it was hard for me who has been used to driving medium and large SUVs to accept smaller models, including Model X, except for the six-seater ES8. I have to say that the designers of “IDEAL” can be called “smart”. They almost caught all the needs of second-child and elderly-cars. I guess they are also a group of middle-aged dogs with old and young people to take care of! Of course, the atmosphere and low-key design are also what I like. Hehe, I don’t want to say too much praise, just three obvious satisfying experiences:
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Four screens, six seats design, and the entertainment system for the co-pilot are definitely great weapons to deal with children, which can ensure safety and maintain quietness. For a crying child in the car, safe driving is just empty talk.
Adolescents prefer to wear headphones and show off in the third row, as long as there is a C-port fast charging, let them go! (Just don’t annoy others). I heard that the new OTA upgrade supports Bluetooth headphones of the co-pilot entertainment that can be driven, which is a great benefit for long-distance travel.- Maybe the test drive car has white seats or maybe it’s just that my “Big Han” has an all-black interior. The elderly man was full of praise since he got in the car. He commented on how spacious the car was, how comfortable the seats felt, how soft the headrest was, how beautiful the black roof was, how convenient the electric seats were, how gentle the air conditioning blew, how quiet the ride was, how good the music sounded, and how he was completely enchanted.
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The function of starting the car automatically when entering the driving seat, the automatic locking of the car doors in “P” gear, and the driving experience-enhancing features, like the brake pedal starting from 0 speed or the millimeter-wave radar detection, are also critical factors that test the intelligence of the car’s system.
To be fair, except for Tesla, I haven’t found any car with outstanding car system and auxiliary driving system. This is where real ambition lies. It has been confirmed that the Idea ONE has quite an ambition. Every time I start the full-speed range adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping system, I can’t help but sigh with emotion. When rich people travel, it is often so simple and boring.
The disadvantages are coming! To be fair, I’ll point out three. Within three days, the Idea ONE went missing once, and it couldn’t be called out no matter what, making it necessary to restart (here, I would like to give praise for the dual system); the unified problem with SUVs is that the chassis is too high, so it really needs a boarding pedal; the wireless charging panel should have an air outlet on the side, otherwise it will be too hot to charge wirelessly. In addition, the entire process of the range extender is not perceptible. Maybe it’s because I like to listen to something while driving, or maybe because the noise of the range extender at startup is not as loud as I imagined. It’s a neutral evaluation, and overall it’s much quieter than the “Big Han”.
Finally, a little expectation. If the full battery range could be increased to over 300 kilometers, the cost of using this car would decrease substantially, since the costs of picking up and dropping off children or parking on the side of the road and sleeping with the air conditioning on would all be converted to electricity costs, which would be much cheaper. At the same time, the Ideal ONE could also become a “thousand-mile horse” in name and in reality (charge the battery to full and fill the gas tank, then run a thousand kilometers). I hope that the manufacturer can pay more attention to and adopt these suggestions.
Thanks to Garage 42 for providing this valuable in-depth test drive experience. It brought a little amazement to the spring of 2020 after the epidemic subsided!
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.