1. How is the cruising range of Changxun? Is it enough for your daily commute? What is the farthest distance you have driven the car now?
Let me first explain my usage situation. I currently commute to work every day with Changxun, because my home is in the outskirts of Beijing, and the round-trip to the city is nearly 130 kilometers. I have driven over 10,000 kilometers since taking delivery of the car three months ago, and have recently completed the first maintenance service. Without modesty, my driving distance should be considered very high.
One-way includes about 40 kilometers of highway (with a speed limit of 120) and more than 20 kilometers of urban roads, so my driving conditions are relatively comprehensive and representative.
1) How is the cruising range?
The cruising range is very good and can be said to perform above average.
As I dislike driving slowly on the highway and always accelerate quickly, I consume more energy on the highway section, about 30-40%, but the cruising range consumption on urban road sections is greatly reduced, and ultimately recouped and overtaken. The actual cruising distance and the display distance are consumed at a ratio of about 1:1 throughout the day.
From this, it can be seen that if you use Changxun for daily city commuting, it is very likely to achieve a cruising range higher than the NEDC nominal value. According to the actual driving experience of car owners, this is indeed achievable.
There are many cars whose nominal cruising range is higher than that of Changxun, but few can exceed the NEDC nominal cruising range in actual conditions, both at low and high speeds.
As for the effect of temperature on cruising range, since this car was launched in late February, it has not been through extremely low temperatures, so I cannot give a definite answer. But from driving with warm air in early March to ventilation throughout and using air conditioning (eco mode) all the time until now, the cruising range consumption has not changed significantly.
In terms of energy consumption, the instantaneous power consumption at a cruising speed of 100 km/h is around 11 kW, around 17 kW at 120 km/h, and almost 40 kW at nearly 140 km/h. If the acceleration, especially rapid acceleration, can reach over 90 km/h, it is advisable to maintain a speed of around 100 km/h to save energy on the highway and avoid rapid accelerations as much as possible. Additionally, I advise all drivers that if you cannot drive at 120 km/h on a highway with a speed limit of 120 km/h, do not drive in the innermost lane, otherwise you will be cursed by me ten thousand times.
2) Is it enough for your daily commute?
Since there are many charging stations in my community, including a lot of Teletubbies slow and fast charging stations, and I also installed a home charging station, I charge my car every day. One round-trip commute is certainly enough, but I have not tested how many round-trip commutes can be completed in total. Two round trips should not be a problem, but I have no confidence in three.
For most people who only use it for city commuting within Beijing or live in second- or third-tier cities, you can drive it casually.
3) What is the farthest distance you have driven the car now?
The main purpose of buying Changxun is for daily commuting, and due to the epidemic situation, I have not used the car for a long-distance trip, apart from daily commuting.The farthest I have been is to attend an offline activity organized by the official car club Hechangtuan at Han She in Miyun Mountain, which is about 160 kilometers round-trip. It’s not much more than my daily commute, so I don’t have much experience in this area.
2. Which configuration did you purchase? What discounts did you get? Did you apply for installment payment for the car? What is the interest rate?
I purchased the top-level Xingyu model, mainly with the manufacturer’s publicly available discounts, including 5,990 yuan off during the launch promotion and UClub points equivalent to 6,000 yuan, which can be used to exchange for charging cards and other items, etc.
In addition, there were gifts from the 4S store, but since it was still the launch period, I didn’t receive many of them. The situation may be better now.
I also received a 2,000 yuan car purchase subsidy from DianDongBang, which is said to be one of only five quota in the city.
There was no installment payment, but SAIC-GM’s financing service provides interest-free installment payment for two years with a limit of 90,000+ yuan, or 1.5 year with a limit of 120,000+ yuan. According to feedback from other car owners, the application process is quick and funds can be transferred within the same day or the next day at the latest.
However, there are two issues with SAIC-GM financing: firstly, the store may charge additional fees, which are lower than bank interest rates for loans; secondly, it is mandatory to purchase robbery and theft insurance, which increases the final price.
3. How did you consider the configuration when making your choice? Can you give some advice?
I believe that the Changchun range can actually be divided into two configuration ranges: Xingxiang and Xinghe, and Xingyun and Xingyu. There are large differences in configuration and price between the two ranges, but small differences within them.
If you are sensitive to price, you can choose the lower-end range. If you care about the comprehensiveness of the configuration, you can choose the higher-end range. Since I value features like cruise control and active safety, I chose the higher-end range, and I decided on Xingyu instead of Xingyun because it was only 5,000 yuan more expensive.
In terms of actual driving experience, some of the additional features in Xingyu are not very practical, so I would recommend Xingyun for those who value cost-effectiveness.
4. Are you satisfied with the noise control? Does it feel noisy when driving normally?
Noise control is one of the most important reasons why I chose the Changchun range after trying out many other brands and models. The Changchun is the only model I’ve tried that is quiet when the windows are closed and you can hardly hear the electric motor or the low-speed pedestrian alert. Therefore, this car should have put in some effort in suppressing its own working noise.
After purchasing it, I found that the car’s NVH is relatively biased. It does very well in suppressing its own working noise and outside noise, and you can only hear a slight noise from the motor at high speeds or during rapid acceleration. However, it does not match the performance of its sound suppression features for tire noise, wind noise, and road vibration noise at high speeds, which are not as good as the previous highlights. Also, the noise in the rear seat is louder than the front seat, perhaps because only the front seats use double-layer glass. Of course, this is an electric car at this price range, which is comparable to a gasoline car with an engine capacity of 100,000. It cannot be expected to be too high.In the electric cars I’ve ridden in at a similar price point, some three-box sedans have better noise performance on the highway than the Changan CS15. I guess it’s related to the car’s spatial structure. The CS15’s interior space, which is transparent from front to rear, amplifies some of the noise like a drum, but there’s no noise suppression in terms of its own work, compared with a car like the WEY Micro Blue, which may be better but I haven’t tried it. It depends on which aspect you are more averse to.
5. Is it possible that your car will bottom out during your driving?
I have encountered a few situations that appear to be “bottoming out,” but when I brought it in for servicing, it was carefully inspected and there was no damage or scuffing on the entire chassis or suspension. Therefore, the previous suspicions should be noises coming from the suspension system under certain circumstances.
In addition, the Changan CS15’s battery bottom is relatively exposed, giving the impression of being very low to the ground. However, because the body is relatively high overall, the final ground clearance with no load is 14 centimeters. This height is high for a sedan, whether electric or gasoline-powered, and if it’s any lower, then all sedans are doomed. In addition, the CS15’s chassis, including the engine compartment and battery position, is covered with relatively thick fiber material protective plates, and the battery pack shell also gives a particularly heavy and sturdy feeling. Even if there is some bottoming out impact, I believe it won’t be a big deal.
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.