Author: Rezz
On May 6, Changan Shenlan’s official video account released a comprehensive interpretation video of its first mid-size sedan, C385, showcasing its external appearance, interior details and some functional designs by Changan New Energy Automobile Technology Co., Ltd. CEO Deng Chenghao, which is an eye candy for us, consumers who have been eagerly waiting for this car. Now, let’s analyze the information revealed in this video.
Changan Shenlan C385’s body size is 4820/1890/1480mm and wheelbase is 2900mm, which is larger than Tesla Model 3 and BYD Han but slightly smaller than Xpeng P7. However, the optimized rear seat space of the new car is more comfortable and suitable for sitting than Xpeng P7. Thanks to the overall aerodynamic styling and 19-inch low wind resistance wheels, the new car’s overall air resistance coefficient is only 0.23Cd.
The brand new all-electric digital platform EPA1 will use a rear H-arm type multi-link independent suspension system and adopt rear-wheel drive, and support dual-motor four-wheel drive expansion. It is worth mentioning that Changan Shenlan C385 will also be equipped with the intelligent vehicle domain controller Changan Intelligent Chip and the intelligent cockpit domain controller (Qualcomm 8155 chip), and support full car OTA upgrade.
Changan Shenlan EPA1 platform can achieve L4 level intelligent driving, which sounds a bit exaggerated. How was it achieved? First of all, it needs to have a set of intelligent driving domain controllers. It adopts multi-chip redundant control design, can efficiently collect information from 27 sensing components of the whole car, and can achieve valet parking and advanced intelligent assisted driving. Therefore, intelligent driving functions such as automatic entering and leaving ramps, lane changing, memory parking in structured parking lots and remote pickup are followed.
In terms of power, the new car will provide three different power units: pure electric, range-extender hybrid, and hydrogen fuel cell. Among them, the pure electric vehicle will adopt a single-motor rear-wheel drive layout, and the performance version will have a maximum power of up to 190kW with a comprehensive range of over 700km (CLTC), and the comprehensive power consumption is 12.3kWh/100km. The official test acceleration from 0 to 100km/h is only 5.9 seconds.
For comparison, BYD Han’s two-wheel drive version has a power of 150 and 230 kW, with a maximum range of 700km. Tesla Model 3’s rear-wheel drive version has a maximum power of 194kW, and a range of 556km.
The upcoming plug-in hybrid model has not revealed specific information, but from the figure, it will be a 4-cylinder engine. The official statement says that its comprehensive driving range can reach over 1200km (CLTC), with a pure electric driving range of over 200km, and a fuel consumption of 4.5L/100km. In addition, the hydrogen fuel cell version has a comprehensive range of over 700km (CLTC).
Exterior
In terms of lighting, the upper part of the split-style headlights is a daytime running light integrated with a turn signal, with a unique petal-shaped design inside, while the lower part includes low beam, high beam, projection and interaction lights. It supports automatic switching between high and low beams. At night, the high beam will automatically turn on, and when there are oncoming vehicles, it will switch to low beam automatically.
The projection light can project car language on the ground, interacting with pedestrians in front of the car. The interaction light has up to 264 LED light sources, which can display vehicle information such as gear position PRND to remind pedestrians to pay attention to safety. It can also show special scenario animations such as birthdays, refueling, flowers and applause, etc. The light language library can be updated and expanded according to system upgrades and user needs, enhancing personalization and playability.
The whole series comes with 19-inch wheels as standard, featuring innovative five-star closed design, which not only reduces the drag coefficient to 0.23Cd, but also makes the overall look full of tension. Optional five-spoke sport wheels are also available.
There is also a detail that a rear-facing camera is arranged on the front fender of C385, but only the high-end version with advanced driver assistance is equipped with it. On other models, it is just a decoration piece.
The C385 door is designed as a frameless door, which matches its sporty positioning. However, in the early stages of development, the door shape was defined as having a frame. After numerous discussions and intense PK within the team, the market and marketing team felt that it must be a frameless door, while the financial team thought the cost would be very high. But in the end, the entire team decided that it must be user-oriented to bring us consumers the cool and sporty frameless doors, which are a major advantage and praised feature of this car.
Looking at the rear end, the C385’s tail design is extremely exaggerated. The tailgate is even embedded with a wing, continuing the cool design of the UNI-V coupe’s wing. The through-type taillights combined with a diffuser design bring a strong visual impact, not only providing downforce to enhance stability during high-speed driving, but also reducing wind resistance.
In addition, it is equipped with a liftgate, with a depth of more than one meter. The advantage of a liftgate is obvious: the opening angle is large, making it more convenient to use the trunk space. The rear seats also support a 4/6 folding ratio, and there is a subwoofer on the right side of the trunk. The entire vehicle has a maximum of 14 speakers.
Interior
In terms of interior design, the C385 is also different from all existing models of Changan. It does not have a large screen piled up, and the instrument panel and central control screen are independently arranged.
The layout consists of a 10.25-inch LCD instrument panel and a 14.6-inch central control screen, both of which are of mainstream size. Moreover, they can be rotated horizontally by 15 degrees, which is called the sunflower screen with intelligent steering, a first in the industry.
For the car’s system function, it provides multiple scenes mode. The air conditioning and seat heating will have linkage under corresponding mode. Changan New Energy Automotive Technology Co., LTD CEO Deng Chenghao demonstrated two scene modes in the video: campfire star and snow hut. In the campfire star mode, the objects displayed on the central control screen can be dragged and have actual functions. Moving the seat forward or backward can adjust the seat heating, and dragging the wood to the fire can increase the temperature of the air conditioning. The wooden box is a small surprise, placed into the campfire will show a fireworks effect.
Although all these functions are pretty good, there would still be some lags in the actual demonstration. According to the performance of the 8155 chip, these lags can be optimized well in the later period. So let’s look forward to the future experience of the actual vehicle.
In terms of UI design, the layout is also quite refreshing. The left side is a scrollable functional module bar, which mainly displays entertainment content, such as navigation and music information. The right side shows the first layer of the map directly, and the bottom is the quick control area of the air conditioning. The right side will also display information such as tire pressure and energy consumption. However, the UI is not yet final, so it can only be used as a reference for now.
In terms of the central control screen, we can see that the C385 is designed with maps as the main interface display. On the left side, there are menus for music, phone Bluetooth connection, and driving mode adjustment. The content of the bottom menu bar may be a bit extensive, but all functions can still be understood at a glance.
The design of the air conditioning vents continues Tesla’s style. Since it is electrically adjustable, it can only be adjusted on the screen. From the details, it can be seen that both the main and co-pilot seats support heating and ventilation functions.
The steering wheel is designed in a double-spoke flat-bottomed sports style, and the shifter also uses a double-spoke design, which saves space in the central area and provides more storage space. The middle area where the shifter is omitted provides a dedicated wireless charging position for mobile phones, which can effectively fix the phone, and the surroundings are cup holders.
The use of ambient lights in the car is also well-designed with Chang’an’s deep blue style. The decorative panel can display a variety of colors and supports music rhythm display.
In terms of the car roof, there is an integrated ceiling light above the front row, which supports touch control for opening and closing; in addition to the lights, it also integrates an SOS button, hazard lights, and an in-car camera. The rearview mirror is designed to be frameless, giving it a more advanced look. The panoramic sunroof measuring 1.9 square meters is equipped with Low-E glass that effectively blocks 99% of ultraviolet rays and has a high heat insulation rate of up to 80%. While enjoying an unobstructed view, you can also enjoy the sunshine.
Competitive Analysis
The positioning of the Chang’an C855 is the same as the Tesla Model 3, which is positioned as a mid-sized sports sedan. In addition to the electric four-wheel electric drive, this car also has advanced intelligent technology. Other electric vehicles that will be launched this year, such as the BYD Dolphin, NIO ES8, Leapmotor C01, and already-launched models such as the Xpeng P7, will also be competitors. Compared with these competitive products, the Chang’an C385 has certain follow-up advantages. However, due to its late release caused by the epidemic, it is a congenital disadvantage.As a latecomer, the Changan C385 will be sold through the brand new channels of Changan Shenzhen Blue, and it will also offer three power configurations that other competitors do not have. At the same time, it is larger in size than the Tesla Model 3 and the BYD Dolphin, but slightly smaller than the NIO ES6, the LI ONE, and the XPeng P7. Overall, its length, width, and height are in the middle of the electric car market, neither too big nor too small, more like a qualified midsize car than its own fuel-powered car UNI-V. With a range of over 700 km, it also has a longer range than the Tesla Model 3 rear-wheel drive, and its acceleration performance is slightly faster.
Pure electric and range-extended models are currently popular mainstream power forms in the market, which can satisfy users with different needs. Therefore, its coverage and impact are even greater. In addition, according to the pictures released at the press conference, the company plans to offer battery swap options in the future.
Of course, with models like the Model 3 and the XPeng P7 priced in the range of 200,000-400,000 yuan, this market is still very broad. If the C385 has a more competitive price, becoming a hot sale is only a matter of time. In the era of domestic cars, can Changan really enter the new energy field and challenge the big players like Tesla and BYD?
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.