According to the official website, the “Intelligent Music Cockpit Enhancement Kit” for 18,000 RMB includes velvet carpets, Danna theater-grade sound system, Nappa leather seats and corresponding cockpit themes. When we placed the order for this package, it was not due to the Danna sound system, as no one in our family is particularly interested in music and we thought the difference in sound quality would not be significant. The first reason we chose the package was actually for the leather seats, as we have young children and leather seats are easier to maintain. The different colors of the leather seats also correspond to different cockpit themes, and we chose the sporty red theme.
However, when we picked up the car, we immediately felt that the additional 10,000 RMB was well spent, as the sound system was not just leather seats, but also the highly praised Danna sound effect that everyone talked about. The basic Smart Enjoy Edition and Smart Zenith Edition both come with eight speakers, while the optional upgrade includes a total of 18 speakers. I did not specifically research the additional 10 speakers, but at least four of them are obvious: two high-frequency speakers located under each A-pillar, and two on the driver’s seat headrest. Below is an image of 18 speakers:
The two speakers under the A-pillars ascend after turning on the music, which is particularly cool.
While waiting for the sales staff to prepare various documents when picking up the car, they may have intentionally allowed us to experience the difference between the sound system without the accessory package and the sound system with it, perhaps to make us feel that the additional 18,000 RMB was well-spent (or maybe so we wouldn’t be bored waiting). We first listened to the sound system without the accessory package on the P7, and for our untrained ears, it sounded pretty good and the sound quality seemed quite stereo. But without comparison, there wouldn’t be any way to know for sure. When we listened to the upgraded sound system in the smart cockpit, we suddenly realized that the previous eight speakers were not enough, even for our untrained ears. We cannot describe it professionally, but it can be said that the eight speakers are like a home theater effect, while 18 speakers create a 5D surround sound effect. If we had not chosen the 18-speaker music cockpit from the beginning, we might have regretted it immediately after listening. Also, the smart cockpit’s driver seat headrest music functionality, which is heavily promoted, surprised us with its good performance.
Finally, the smart cockpit’s driver seat headrest music functionality, which is heavily promoted, surprised us with its good performance.The feature we were initially focused on wasn’t actually the one we found most useful. We had heard about the “driver-only mode” that, when activated, only allows sound to come from the music headrests. We thought this was particularly helpful for traveling with kids (or anyone else, really) – when a child is listening to a story or sleeping in the back seats, there’s no chance of disturbing them. It’s a very thoughtful feature.
We also noticed a very humanizing setting on the headrests: when playing music and following navigation simultaneously, the driver would hear the navigation instructions clearly through the headrest. Other passengers barely even notice the prompts; it’s as if the default setting directs sound only through the headrests. Of course, this feature requires more than just multi-speaker technology.
In addition to these speaker-exclusive features, the XPeng P7’s music cockpit has four built-in sound effect modes (which seem to only come with XPeng’s own music cockpit): authentic, gentle, dynamic, and vocal. They’re achieved by adjusting the low, mid, and high frequencies. It’s safe to say that we could tell the difference, but only because the music sounds so good, especially with the additional eighteen Danish speakers. Haha…
Now, the nearly theater-quality Denon sound system aside, let’s take a moment to address the velvet floor mats that come with the car.
It’s not that they’re bad or anything; the problem might be that they’re too good. When we drove the car home, my dad (a nearly 60-year-old experienced driver) immediately noticed how nice the mats were and decided to protect them with extra mats. And so, we never really had a chance to see the original mats. With some optimism, we hope that in a couple years when the P7 is less new, taking off the mats will transport us back to those magical days of new-car ownership.
Finally, we should mention the leather seats. We expected them to be the highlight of the car, but once we added the Denon speakers, we realized that the value had practically doubled. Instead of buying a set of speakers, it felt like we were getting a bonus set of leather seats.
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.