Looking at the wide road without cars in front of me, I silently pressed down on the accelerator and brake pedals while starting the countdown in my mind.
3, 2, 1! As the brake pedal was released, I was pushed back into the seat with a “bang.” The sound of the range extender and electric motor working accompanied the soaring numbers on the dashboard, and before my brain could react, the speed had already reached three digits.
My heart was pounding heavily as I approached the end of the straightaway, and I reluctantly pressed the brakes. The opposite direction of the acceleration caused my body to lean forward from the backrest, and with the sudden decrease in speed and the automatic flashing of the hazard lights, I realized that the stopping distance was much shorter than what my brain predicted.
0-100 acceleration in 4.5 seconds and a 35.95-meter stopping distance at 100 km/h. Only by experiencing it firsthand can one truly understand the pleasure that speed brings.
As I put down the LanTu FREE in my hand, my gaze returned to the interior of the car. The subtle fragrance emanating from the air freshener and the warm atmosphere created by the delicate blue and white leather made me wonder: Is the LanTu FREE a versatile athlete that balances sportiness and luxury, or is it just a sports-focused vehicle with a luxurious interior?
Don’t worry, after reading this article, you’ll have your own judgment.
In addition to experiencing the LanTu FREE, there was also a preview test drive of the LanTu Dreamer electric MPV at the LanTu product day, which was the first dynamic test drive offered since its debut at the Guangzhou Auto Show.
Is it Fast? Very Fast!
Based on the LanTu ESSA architecture, the LanTu FREE offers two power options: hybrid and electric. The two models we test drove were the hybrid four-wheel drive and the electric four-wheel drive, both of which are equipped with dual motors.
Electric four-wheel drive power specifications:
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0-100 acceleration in 4.7 seconds
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Equipped with an 88 kWh battery pack with a NEDC driving range of 505 km
Hybrid four-wheel drive power specifications:
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0-100 acceleration in 4.5 seconds
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Equipped with a 1.5T four-cylinder range extender with a rated power of 60 kW and a maximum power of 80 kW
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Equipped with a 33 kWh battery pack, the pure electric range under NEDC conditions is 140 km and the comprehensive range is 860 km.The two models have the same electric motor power with a maximum power of 510 kW and maximum torque of 1,040 N·m. To give you an idea of these numbers, the 2021 Lamborghini Huracán STO has a maximum power of 470 kW and maximum torque of 565 N·m.
Although Lamborghini still outshines the Voyah in terms of weight ratio, it is undeniable that the high power and torque output of the electric motor is a brutal “dimensional reduction” to traditional fuel vehicles. Could you have imagined a few years ago that you could buy a mid-size SUV for 300,000 RMB with 700 horsepower and acceleration in the 4-second range?
Now let’s turn our attention back to this plug-in hybrid version of the Voyah, the Voyah FREE. Rotate the driving mode to “high-energy mode”, and the instrument panel slowly descends, the air suspension also drops to its lowest point, and the entire vehicle enters “combat mode”. At the same time, stepping on the accelerator and brake, the range extender started with a low growl. Suddenly releasing the brake, there was no expected wheel slip, and the four-wheel drive system catapulted me out smoothly.
The Voyah FREE is equipped with Pirelli P ZERO tires and large brake discs. During emergency braking, you can feel that the brake pedal stroke is relatively long, the overall foot feel is soft and linear, but the actual braking force is not low.
During the entire test of sudden acceleration and emergency braking, the air suspension firmly supported this more than two-ton behemoth, and the sufficient support of the suspension gave the driver confidence. When switching lanes at high speed, the body of the car remains stable, and the actual driving experience is more like a sport-oriented midsize car.
The benefits brought by this front double-wishbone, rear multi-link, and adjustable air suspension are obvious. In addition to adjusting the suspension height through the button, the suspension of the Voyah FREE also supports automatic adjustment according to speed.
However, it should be noted that the Voyah FREE has relatively large play in the steering compared to a sports-oriented chassis.
For an SUV with a comfort orientation, this steering system can receive a high score. However, if evaluated from the perspective of sports performance, the relatively loose steering drags down the chassis and power at high speeds when taking sharp curves. Although the looser steering can reduce the pressure of high-speed driving, I feel that this comfort-oriented steering system is somewhat disjointed compared to the levels of the powertrain and chassis.Although the official 0-100 km/h acceleration time of the pure electric version of the Voyah FREE is 4.7 seconds, which is only 0.2 seconds slower than the extended-range version, there is still a difference in acceleration performance at high speed.
The extended-range version still maintains very good acceleration momentum after 100 km/h, but the pure electric version’s acceleration ability is slightly weaker than that of the extended-range version, which may be related to the heavier weight of the pure electric version.
However, this is only a subjective feeling difference between the two cars. The absolute acceleration ability of the pure electric version is still strong.
Not a “Sporty” Car
Press the mode switch button and switch to “Comfort Mode”. The body slowly rises, and the Voyah FREE enters the most comfortable state. This test drive provided various road conditions such as Belgian roads, gravel roads, and manhole cover roads to test the suspension’s comfort.
From the configuration of the front double wishbone, it is not difficult to see that the Voyah FREE pursues sportiness. Will it sacrifice comfort because of the pursuit of a sporty chassis tuning? With such concerns, I have tightened my lower body and prepared to face the impact before driving on the Belgian roads and manhole cover roads.
But to my surprise, the Voyah FREE’s shock absorption performance on these rough roads is quite good. Although the overall suspension performance is still more responsive than cars like the NIO EC6 or the Li ONE, which aim for pure comfort, the front and rear suspensions absorb vibrations sufficiently and provide adequate support, presenting a solid and high-quality experience.
Driving into a cross-hilly road section, the large travel of the air suspension came into play.
The process of compressing and releasing the suspension during the car’s left and right twists is very smooth, and there is no unnecessary shaking when continuously handling such large undulations. When driving over manhole covers with a depth of 3-4 cm, the vibration that has been absorbed is hardly noticeable inside the car. I even have some doubts: “Is that it? The vibration is really much smaller than I imagined.”
It should be noted that the pure electric version and the extended-range version have the same chassis configuration, but due to the existence of a larger capacity battery pack, the pure electric version of the Voyah FREE is 40 kg heavier than the extended-range version. However, the extra weight may make the pure electric version of the Voyah FREE feel more stable when handling bumps.## The Internal and External Resemble a “Big Yacht”
The first impression that the Voyah FREE gives me is that it resembles a cruise ship on the sea. The longer front hood design and slender body lines naturally shift the visual center backwards, which coincides with the spacious deck of a yacht.
Although the body length reaches 4,905 mm, the shape of the Voyah FREE does not appear bulky. With the air suspension lowered to its lowest state, the visual sensation is very low and creates a tough and sporty atmosphere.
The appearance of the Voyah FREE does not have too many exaggerated designs. Perhaps to the layman’s eyes who are not familiar with it, it is not much different from a fuel car.
The biggest difference between the extended range version and the pure electric version lies in the grille design. The pure electric version adopts a closed hexagonal grille. By removing fancy decorations and unique designs and retaining the simplicity and straightness that luxury cars should have, this mature and stable exterior style may be more acceptable to the target consumers of the Voyah FREE.
In the front part, the middle width indicator light crosses the front of the car, and the turn signal lights on both sides are naturally connected as a whole. The flat grille and the vertical bar air intake grille have a huge Voyah logo in the middle. There are two fang-shaped chrome-plated decorative strips in the fog lamp area, and the front end of the car is slightly inclined forward, making it look like a sleek and ready-to-go white shark.
The side of the car is simple but not lacking in fine details: there are guide grooves designed next to the rearview mirror to reduce wind noise; after unlocking the car, the hidden door handle slowly emerges, and the white indicator light on the handle lights up with it, giving it a ceremonial feeling; meanwhile, the English brand name “VOYAN” of the Voyah brand is printed on the black trim that extends to the tail of the car on the sturdy C-pillar, making the thick C-pillar not monotonous.
The rear uses a through-type taillight that echoes the through-type width indicator light on the front. The inside of the left and right taillight chambers are in the shape of arrow feathers, making the entire taillight more slender.
Starting from the taillight, the lines of the Voyah FREE converge inward, creating a strong three-dimensional feeling.
Sitting in the driver’s seat, the combination of blue and white leather once again brought to mind the word “yacht”. The interior and exterior of the Voyah FREE are very consistent, with a luxurious design concept running through it.
In the current era of “large screens for all”, three large screens in the center console may not seem unusual at first glance. However, the Voyah FREE’s center screen adopts a liftable structure that still catches the eye. In addition to being controlled by buttons, these three large screens are also linked to the driving mode. In “high-energy mode”, they automatically sink to increase information density and improve driving visibility. This seems to be in line with the McLaren’s flip LCD instrument panel.
The 12.3-inch LCD instrument panel supports night vision and AR real scene navigation, which meets mainstream standards in functionality.
The central screen is equipped with the Huawei HiCar system, which guarantees functionality. However, the overall operating smoothness is slightly lacking, although it is not enough to cause lag. The luxurious interior naturally raises my expectations for it. The manufacturer’s staff said that they will continuously improve the operating experience through OTA updates in the future.
Two points requiring criticism are that during the process of selecting the driving mode through buttons, it cannot be selected by sliding on the central console, which violates the operation intuition. Additionally, when adjusting the driving mode during driving, the instrument panel will correspondingly rise and fall. During this process, the instrument panel will have 1-2 seconds of black screen, only displaying the Voyah logo. This issue may pose a threat to driving safety.
However, the Voyah manufacturer said that they will optimize these two issues in the future.
The seats are equipped with ventilation, heating, and massage functions, supporting 12-way power adjustment, and the overall support is good. The headrest angle can also effectively support the head, with maximum comfort.
Due to its 2,960 mm wheelbase and five-seat design, the rear space of the Lagonda FREE is quite impressive, and the pure white leather seats provide great visual and sitting experiences. However, since this event did not provide a long-term test drive, we can anticipate how the support performance of the Lagonda FREE seats will perform during long drives.
Surprise Egg
During this Lagonda product launch, I also had the chance to test drive the electric luxury MPV dream house model. Due to confidentiality agreements, we couldn’t take any photos of the interior of the 7-seat dream house. However, my colleague 63 has already experienced the 4-seat dream house at the Guangzhou Auto Show.
Since the car is still in the engineering sample phase, the driving experience is for reference only.
The dream house has a body size of 5,315 mm * 1,980 mm * 1,810 mm, and a wheelbase of 3,200 mm. It is definitely a large vehicle in terms of visual and interior space experiences. In terms of power, it is expected to be similar to the Lagonda FREE, offering a dual-lane choice of pure electricity and extended range, as well as a front double-wishbone and rear multi-link suspension, with acceleration of 5.9 seconds per 100 km.
Although the size is enormous, when entering the narrow entrance of the test drive area, we had to be careful not to scratch the car’s body. However, once driving on the wider road, the dream house did not have the anticipated “heaviness.”
This 7-seat dream house is incredibly agile and responsive, with good acceleration even with a light tap on the accelerator. The steering, which I criticized as excessively loose on the Lagonda FREE, feels just right and responsive now.
Hexagonal Soldier?
Objectively speaking, the Lagonda FREE doesn’t cut corners when it comes to production.
To make a comparison with the fish head with chopped pepper dish, the car body structure design, battery pack safety, all-aluminum chassis, and front double-wishbone suspension are like premium grass carp. The impressive handling and 4-second acceleration are like spicy chopped pepper. The issue is that the loose steering is like adding sugar to the fish head with chopped pepper, which some people may avoid based on their taste preferences. The ingredients are undeniably excellent, but everyone feels like something is missing.
Furthermore, Lagonda wants to boost its brand image by claiming to be a high-end “new power” car builder, and does not want people to associate its new brand with Dongfeng. However, it also claims to have the technical backing of Dongfeng Automobile, which is owned by the Chinese state. Balancing and choosing between these two factors is also something that Lagonda needs to consider.
Many people say that the Lagonda FREE is comparable to the Ideal ONE. However, the brilliance of Ideal is that in the public eye, it is the “Cheng Yaojin” by prioritizing comfort, intelligence, and large space for six passengers. These three axes have produced a significant anchoring effect which makes people easily remember the brand.The impression that Voyah gave me is that they are trying their best to create a “Hexagonal Warrior,” but the final result may be “Jack of all trades, master of none.” In the current highly competitive electric vehicle market, the most important thing for a new brand is to find its own topic and attract its own “target users” from it.
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.