Author: Rezz

On July 31, 2022, Ne Zha S was officially launched. A total of 8 models were released, with prices ranging from RMB 199,800 to RMB 338,800. In terms of power, there are two options available: 1.5T range-extender and pure electric version, with a range of 1160km for the range-extender and a maximum range of 715km for the pure electric version.

The naming of each version of Ne Zha S, “big, medium, and small”, just reminds me of the most classic and widely spread segment of Mr. Luo Yonghao.

For consumers who originally did not pay much attention to Ne Zha cars, this naming sequence is nothing but a fun and amusing joke. But for potential consumers who are really interested in Ne Zha S, how competitive is this “grown-up” and “flattened” Ne Zha new car?

Supercar exterior design

First of all, in terms of exterior design, the overall appearance of the new Ne Zha S is different from the tone of the previous Ne Zha small and compact SUVs. It belongs to the “grown-up” Ne Zha, adopting a brand-new coupe design language and is also the first mass-produced model of the self-developed “Shan Hai Platform”.

The front face is equipped with an active closed grille, matched with a chrome-plated dot-matrix array similar to the Mercedes-Benz starry sky grille to show its new energy identity. The split LED headlight groups on both sides are located under the “sharp eyebrows” daytime running lights, and they match the “sharp” light language system to bring a good sense of technology.

The four raised lines on the hood show the sporty and aggressive temperament, and coupled with the three-stage black hidden grille of the lower part of the headlight assembly, it shows a low-key and restrained sporting effect. Overall, Ne Zha S makes a distinction from products with a middle and low-end positioning through a brand new design language.

In addition, the only Ne Zha S model equipped with a laser radar is the rear-wheel-drive long-endurance laser radar version, with a price of nearly RMB 320,000. It is equipped with dual-redundant 2 laser radars integrated in the front bumper.Different from the two lidar sensors mounted on top of the car of NIO ET7, ES7 and other models, the front bumper-mounted sensor of NETA S reduces the visual disruption but also poses potential collision risks. Over the weekend, a media colleague crashed into the front bumper lidar sensor of their own XPeng P5 after a collision. Not to mention the cost of replacing a lidar component and who will bear that cost, installing and debugging a highly integrated lidar during the pandemic and chip shortage can consume a lot of time and human resources. It is unclear what kind of protection measures have been taken for the lidar sensor of NETA S.

The NETA S model is nearly 5 meters long, and the slender and tall waistline and neckline of the vehicle’s side body improve the overall muscular and streamlined sense of the vehicle, while also optimizing the drag coefficient. The long-tailed design, hidden door handles, and 62° inclination of the windshield enable smooth airflow over the hood and top, reducing the drag coefficient by 0.003Cd and bringing the overall drag coefficient down to 0.216Cd. The multiple-barrelled 19-inch black-forged wheels paired with red brake calipers give off an impressive sporty atmosphere.

It’s worth noting that the top-of-the-line four-wheel-drive version of NETA S comes with a scissor door design, which supports electric opening and closing, giving it an even cooler look. Of course, the price of the scissor door configuration is also very cool, at RMB 338,800.

The tail design with multiple lines creates a good sense of hierarchy. The slender boomerang-shaped tail light with a penetrating design on both sides of the car enhances the overall visual effect of the tail. The slightly upturned small ducktail and the black diffuser at the bottom bring a striking visual impact. If combined with a mountain grey matte body, it almost gives people the feeling of an AMG GT four-door sports car.

In terms of overall dimensions, NETA S has a length, width, and height of 4980/1980/1450mm, and a wheelbase of 2980mm. Its width-to-height ratio is 1.36. The overall size has reached the level of a B+ segment car. Compared with its competitors XPeng P7, BYD Dolphin, and Deep Blue 03, its three dimensions have surpassed them in all aspects, even surpassing the wheelbase and width of the larger Zero Run C01, and almost catching up with NIO ET7.

However, the price is similar to that of its competitors, which plays a card of misaligned competition. It depends on whether consumers are willing to pay for the cool and stylish appearance or the reliable three-electric system and the brand’s craftsmanship and reputation.

There are fewer physical buttons in the cabin.

In terms of interior, NETA S offers black and grey dual-tone interiors and wood grain decoration. The center console features a 12.3-inch full LCD instrument cluster, a 17.6-inch 2.5K resolution center LCD touch screen, and a 12.3-inch co-pilot touch screen, paired with AR-HUD Head-up Display for four-screen interaction, covering driving, control, entertainment, and other aspects of demand.

The 17.6-inch 2.5K resolution center LCD touch screen has a screen-to-body ratio of over 90% and is only 13.3mm thick. The 12.3-inch co-pilot touch screen is also well integrated into the center console air vent area in front of the co-pilot.

At the same time, the car is equipped with a 1.9 square meter insulated panoramic sunroof above the cabin, and an AR-HUD enhanced reality head-up display system is equipped in front of the dashboard, which can combine navigation instructions and road scenes, but from the rendering, it only has a texture effect, and is not an immersive effect like Mercedes, and it is not clear how it will perform in the final car.

The cabin is equipped with a 7.1.4 channel audio system consisting of 21 speakers with a total power of 1216W. Both the driver and co-pilot seats are equipped with two speakers on each side of the headrest, which can play the sound of navigation and music separately without interfering with each other.

The most prominent feature of the NETA S cabin is the few physical buttons. Not only is four-screen interaction completed through voice and touch screen, even the control area on the steering wheel only retains two trackballs and four touch feedback buttons. Even the window and trunk switches do not have physical buttons, but are integrated into the car screen, hoping that the operation will not be too cumbersome when actually using the car.

Perhaps to better display the dashboard information, the suspended leather steering wheel in the car is not a standard circular or symmetrical polygon, but an asymmetric design with a larger upper and a smaller lower.

In terms of seats, the front seats of Neta S are called executive-level seats, equipped with heating, ventilation, welcome function, memory, footrest, and five massage modes. The rear seats can be adjusted between 27-35 degrees and have privacy glass.

In terms of intelligent driving, there are two options: NETA PILOT 3.0 and NETA PILOT 4.0.

The NETA PILOT 3.0 intelligent driving system is equipped with five millimeter-wave radars, eleven cameras, a dual high-pass Snapdragon 8155 chip with 16TOPS computing power, and multiple intelligent driving assistance functions such as Neta’s intelligent high-speed navigation assistance (NNP) and memory parking (NTP).

The NETA PILOT 4.0 is a more advanced intelligent driving assistance program, which can realize 200TOPS high computing power Huawei MDC610 computing platform, equipped with Huawei MDC 610 96-line lidar, 5 millimeter-wave radars, 2 forward-facing 8M cameras, 8 surround cameras, 4 panoramic cameras, and 1 rear view camera. With the saturated hardware configuration, and the NETA Pilot software, it can support high-speed and urban navigation assistance (NCP), 500-meter remote pickup without people’s call, and 1,000-meter long-distance memory automatic parking.

In terms of power, Neta S provides extended-range hybrid and pure electric power systems. The extended-range hybrid version is equipped with a 1.5T four-cylinder engine + dual-motor four-wheel drive system, with a large-capacity 43.5-degree battery, a fuel tank capacity of 45L, and a pure electric cruising range of 310km and a comprehensive cruising range of 1160km. The pure electric version provides single and dual-motor drive systems, among which the dual-motor version is equipped with a maximum power of 340kW and a peak torque of 620N·m, and the 0-100km/h acceleration time is 3.9s for the four-wheel-drive race edition and 6.9s for other models, with a braking distance of 33.5m per 100km.

The 88-degree Yawei power ternary lithium battery, combined with Neta’s self-developed Tian Gong battery system and Honzo-EPT 4.0 battery thermal management system, can control the safety of the battery to the highest degree, and improve the winter cruising range and low-temperature charging efficiency by 20%.

In terms of the chassis, it is equipped with front double-wishbone independent suspension and rear five-link independent suspension. The Neta S passed the Elk test at a speed of 80km/h. With the chassis of excellent handling and comfort, a low center of gravity of 470mm and a front-to-back axle loading ratio of 50:50, it can balance high-level handling and comfort, which is not easy.

Catch up with XPENG and Surpass LEAPMOTOR

Overall, the product concept of NETA S is impressive. Despite being the lowest configuration PHEV in the lineup, with the 43.5-degree battery, the pure EV mode can run 300 kilometers, making it more attractive than those 50-100 kilometer PHEVs. It also does not face range anxiety like its 400-600 kilometer pure electric competitors.

There are indeed many highlights in terms of configuration. 21 speakers, dual LiDAR, dual 8155 chips, AR-HUD, four-piston painted brake calipers, 19-inch forged wheels, seat massage, passenger leg rest, rear privacy glass, and almost everything that can be “stacked” in this and even higher-level cars.

Compared with its competitors in the same segment on the market, I am optimistic about this car being close to the sales champion Han DM-i in this sub-segment. Its better and tighter “racetrack-level” chassis control, RWD and AWD driving modes, no brand deduction points, and updated trendiness style make it stand out. It is also a mid-to-large-sized Sedan, but the coupe style of NETA S makes it appear more youthful.

As for the recently released several new cars, DeepBlue SL03 seems to be targeting the best-selling hybrid models of B-class cars, the Honda Accord Hybrid and Toyota Corolla Hybrid, while NETA S is focusing on P7 of XPENG, Tesla, BYD Han, and LINGPARK C01 for differentiated competition.

The NETA S has a very large price range, from 199,800 yuan to 338,800 yuan, showing that NETA has high expectations for this car, and the success or failure of its brand value lies in this one move. After all, NETA’s products were mainly concentrated in the low-end models, and the sales network was mainly in third-tier and fourth-tier cities, with “popular but not favored” NETA U and NETA V, which were jokingly called the “ten-thousand-yuan ride-hail and taxi fleet”. It could be said that NETA remained “stagnant”.

According to the latest sales data in July, NETA has already become the number one in new energy vehicle deliveries, with only two small SUVs sold in a single month, with sales of 14,037 units, a year-on-year increase of 133.5%. Its delivery volume in the first seven months of this year was 77,168 units, a year-on-year increase of 184.6%, surpassing the ideal 70,803 units and in pursuit of XPENG’s 80,507 units.

However, as we enter August, XPeng Motors’ flagship SUV XPeng G9 will be open for pre-order, and will officially launch in September. The sales competition in the future will enter a white-hot stage with NIO ET5, which is responsible for volume. It is not to be underestimated.

It is worth mentioning that among the new cars delivered by NIO in the same month, 1382 were delivered to overseas markets.

Now that NIO U and V have stable sales, with a stable basic market to maintain stability, and with the launch of the “Growing Up” new car, NIO S, it has developed a new customer base and will be delivered in the fourth quarter.

Whether NIO can continue to gain momentum in the second half of the year, occupy more space and customer base in the first-tier and second-tier cities, and achieve the brand’s counter-trend rise from bottom to top, let us wait and see.

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.