A few days ago, I participated in the test drive event of the Landtourer FREE extended-range version. This car has been officially available for pre-sale since March 31st, and as I had not seen the car before, I was looking forward to the test drive.
However, the version I tested was not the final production model, so the following opinions are only based on the batch of cars I drove and may differ from the delivery model, but this article should still be readable.
Basic Information
The Landtourer FREE comes in both extended-range and pure electric versions. The official price was announced at the end of March and deliveries will begin in the third quarter of this year.
About Luxury
I believe that everyone has a different definition of “luxury” in their hearts. But in terms of vision, touch, and even smell, even the smallest sensations unconsciously push us to label certain items as “luxury”, which leads us to the same destination.
Appearance
The most intuitive experience with the Landtourer FREE is its size. As a mid-large SUV, its length, width, and height are 4905 * 1950 * 1690 mm, and the wheelbase is 2960 mm.
When the Landtourer FREE picked me up at night, the luminous logo and connective light strip on the front face can be easily recognized from far away. The front face with a straight waterfall grille looks more like a traditional fuel car, which may be more acceptable to some users.
Looking from the side, you will find that the car design is more like a traditional fuel car, as the distance between the A-pillar and the headlights is significantly longer. The car’s overall appearance shows a slender “yacht-style” with the multi-spoke shaped wheels and the right window line that tapers towards the back.
### Interior
From the overall layout and materials used inside the car, the LanTu FREE Extended Range version does create a luxurious atmosphere.
Under the hint of the beige interior, I am already scrutinizing the details. The steering wheel buttons, center console buttons, electronic shift lever buttons on the left, and even the air conditioning vent knobs, these tiny details show that LanTu has put in effort.
My favorite part is the front seats, spacious and soft. Equipped with 12-way electric memory adjustment, seat ventilation, heating, and massage functions, and even adopt eco-friendly textiles certified by the EU. Therefore, I did not smell any odor inside the entire car.
The spaciousness of the rear seats has been highly praised by my colleague Rhinehart. Also, underneath the rear air vents, there is a USB port and a USB-C port that supports up to 60W, which deserves a big thumbs-up.
But there are drawbacks in the rear seats too. Firstly, the small air vent at the center of the armrest box is not friendly for the middle passenger when the seats are fully loaded. Secondly, this smaller rear air vent cannot quickly cool the rear space.
The depth of the trunk space is also very large, thanks to the five-seat, two-row layout and the 4905mm body length.
About Performance
This test drive’s theme is “high performance”, focusing on driving experiences in several activities in the morning within the training field, experiencing the handling of this mid-sized SUV.
Acceleration
It is claimed by the official that the LanTu FREE range-extender model is equipped with front and rear dual motors with a comprehensive maximum power of 510 kW and a peak torque of 1,040 N·m, which accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds, while the pure electric version is in 4.7 seconds.
In terms of linear acceleration experience, accelerating pedal fully pressed down, the heavy vehicle weighing about 2.3 tons directly rushed out and kept the person firmly pressed against the large seat. The VCU engineer of LanTu FREE also told me that the acceleration decay is very slight when the battery SOC is above 10%, and that the range extender will be forced to start when the battery SOC is at 20%.
Meanwhile, the engineer also said that the promotion of acceleration is currently relatively restrained, and that further release of power and torque output is likely to be achieved through OTA, which will be faster than the 4.5 s acceleration.
Handling
The layout of front double wishbone and rear multi-link independent suspension should be positively recognized as favorable hardware basis.
After switching to sports mode, the air suspension will reach its lowest point (30 mm up and 70 mm down), and the body posture will be more aggressive.
Although the vehicle’s limits were not reached during the site test, the standard P-ZERO tires from Pirelli issued a squeaky squeal in the center of the bends. Upon closer observation, it was found that the adhesion of the airport’s cement floor was too low compared to that of the asphalt road, and although the limit of the tires had been reached on such a road, the entire body’s posture control was still very good.The steering wheel has only two levels of turning resistance adjustment, which are both on the light side. Surprisingly, the height of the air suspension cannot be adjusted in the customized driving mode options.
The setting of the accelerator pedal is also quite strange. The initial response is slow, while the output in the middle and later stages is very strong. The overall feeling is very similar to that of a small-displacement turbocharged engine, with the speed accumulating in the early stage and a burst of power in the middle and later stages. Coupled with the suspension leaning towards a comfortable tuning style, it is very easy to make passengers feel nauseous when driving in traffic.
About the Range Extender
The range extender is a frequently talked about topic. In my personal opinion, its most significant feature is the implementation of pure electric drive. However, energy transfer and conversion inevitably result in energy loss. For example, when cruising at high speeds with low battery SOC, the low efficiency of the range extender directly manifests as higher fuel consumption.
The LanTu Free is equipped with a 1.5-liter four-cylinder turbocharged engine that uses 92-octane gasoline. Compared to the Ideal ONE, it has a slight advantage in terms of economy. The thermal efficiency of this range extender can reach 35%, and it can output a rated power of 60 kW. Combined with a 33 kWh lithium-ion battery from BYD and a 56L fuel tank, the LanTu Free has a comprehensive NEDC range of 860 km.
As mentioned at the beginning of the article, the front compartment of the LanTu Free is very long, and I discovered that it was already packed to the brim after lifting the cover.
About the Intelligent Cabin
Although the focus of this experience is not on the infotainment system, I still had a lot of fun playing around with the three 12.3-inch screens.
First of all, the screens are very delicate, and the content is also quite rich. The design style of the infotainment system is completely different from that of traditional automakers. Yes, this system is made by Huawei.
However, there were problems with the infotainment system in the current version because it is not a mass-produced model.
The touch operation of the infotainment system is not very responsive, and the face detection is too sensitive and often automatically activates the dialogue.
Moreover, the up and down screen function, which is a highlight of the system, got stuck once during my test drive. After the screen was raised, the display interface remained at the down screen interface.
As for the touchpad, currently it only supports sound adjustment, play/pause and other functions, and there is no touch feedback. I don’t know what kind of functions will be realized after OTA updates in the future.
Although there are many problems with the car system at present, I believe that these problems will be fixed before delivery.
About ADAS
The perception hardware of Landtu FREE is as follows:
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9 cameras, including 3 used for ADAS
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3 millimeter-wave radars
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12 ultrasonic radars
It can realize ICA cruise assist, LCC lane center keeping, AEB automatic emergency braking, FVSR forward vehicle start reminder, and FCW forward collision warning. Although there is a considerable gap compared to the industry leaders, as the first car under the Landtu brand, the most important thing is to start mass production as soon as possible and steadily improve. However, the weak ADAS capability is still the biggest shortcoming of Landtu FREE.
As for the highly publicized automatic parking and other functions, I did not try them due to the fact that the markings on the parking lot were damaged by water.
However, during the convoy driving, I found a function that was not advertised. When Landtu FREE perceives that the car behind is approaching at a fast speed, it will remind the car behind through double flashing lights.
Conclusion
On the way back, the local driver master drove flexibly in the traffic with Landtu FREE. I asked him if he would buy one, and his answer was very thought-provoking.
He said that his family had an old Teana, and after driving this car, he felt very good in all aspects, but the only problem was that it was difficult to convince his family to spend 300,000 to buy an unknown domestic car.
Although the traffic was congested, almost all the drivers around looked at Landtu FREE, but I think most of them were curious, and the rest were attracted by its appearance. But when they know that it is a local car brand, will they immediately turn their heads and withdraw their gaze?
On the long and difficult road of China’s automobile brands’ high-end development, it is necessary to have a strong product and an absolutely “infectious” story. Both are indispensable. However, facing the impact of new technologies, if you want to seek breakthroughs in product strength, you need to compromise with the top suppliers again and again, and then things become clear: develop your own.
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.