Dreamer for a week, sharing experience of car selection, pick-up and use with friends!

I. Car purchasing experience

There are already two cars in my family’s garage, and one GL8 fish van has been driven for nearly 6 years. In fact, I never thought of buying a new car before, and didn’t pay much attention to it until one day when my family decided to send the GL8 to another place, so a new car was needed.

To be honest, I initially wanted to buy a 7-seater large SUV, but after looking around for a while (I won’t go into detail about the brand), I found that the third row of 7-seater SUV is basically emergency seating. Except for Volkswagen’s Touareg, which I wanted to persuade my family to buy, but the seats were too hard, so I gave up and shifted my focus to MPVs.

GL8: powerful but noisy

Talking about MPVs, let’s start with the GL8. This car has been with me for 6 years, commuting everyday with me, going north and south. After summary, I think the car is good, but occasionally there is a strange noise while driving, and sometimes it disappears. The power is too weak, it is impossible to overtake on the national highway. The manual transmission has a very high RPM and huge noise, making me feel very indifferent when driving. This is also the reason why I initially want to switch to SUV. As I want to try a new brand for the new car, so I did not try Land Rover Du Zun and Ai Wei Ya.

Odyssey and Elkin: safety concerns

I didn’t try Odyssey and Elkin. The third row of these two cars are already near the glass, and GL8’s crash test is not good. I really don’t know how these two cars can withstand the impact. In addition, as for Honda’s “buy an engine and get a car for free” thing, I won’t go into details about the chassis and other aspects here. I just directly PASS.

Legendary GM8 and Roewe IMAX8: mismatched positioning

I didn’t consider the legendary GM8 and Roewe IMAX8. My family thinks that buying a car should be better than the previous one. I think these two cars have a good cost performance, but you know how Chinese think.

KIA Jiahua: no confidence in after-sales service

I went to see the KIA Jiahua, and personally speaking, I think the appearance is not bad, the interior is also satisfactory, and the functional layout is also good. It is said that the parts are imported and assembled in China, and the later maintenance is expensive. Furthermore, since Dongfeng Yueda KIA seems to be about to divest, I am worried that this brand will suddenly disappear, so I dare not buy it.

Toyota Sienna: strong plastic smell, poor comfort and power

The Toyota Sienna is a global car model, a product under Toyota TNGA architecture that can withstand collisions overseas. It is very practical as a household nanny car overseas, but has a star halo in China. This is the car model that I have been paying attention to for almost half a year. After test-driving it personally, I gave up. The whole car smells like plastic. I didn’t know where to put the tire in the left rear of the third row. The space utilization of the whole car is high, but the comfort of the third row is compromised for the convenience of storage due to the thin seat and the cutting corner. The third row is still head-on and doesn’t provide enough support for long-distance trips. The engine roars on the highway, and there is a feeling of squeezing the power out, so I gave up on this one.

Mercedes V: requiring third-party modification, high price, expensive maintenance# Mercedes-Benz V, let’s talk about it

This is a car that really stirs up my inner conflict. Let’s not talk about the Weiting (Vito), this one simply cannot be compared in terms of safety and comfort. Our family loves the spaciousness of the V, and as for its driving experience, the less said the better. We have been drawn in by its spaciousness for far too long, and have done quite a bit of research on it, but the new car dealers all require additional modifications, which I am not a fan of. Moreover, the price for this car is a bit steep for me once it’s off the lot, and it’s not that suitable for commuting to work. The cost of maintaining it later on is not cheap either. So, I have been keeping it on the backburner.

Gasoline cars summary

After looking around at gasoline cars, I haven’t found anything suitable. I thought about the fact that I need to pick up and drop off my child, and the two gasoline cars at home would be restricted from driving two days a week. So, why not just get an electric car that qualifies for a green license plate? Since I don’t have the need for a pure electric MPV, I am currently considering the Lingtu Dream-Life and the DENZA D9.

DENZA D9: No actual car, poor community atmosphere, and inadequate chassis chips

Let’s start with the D9, which was originally what I had in mind. Chinese people have a high market share when it comes to car purchases, so that’s definitely not wrong. At least the after-sales service can be guaranteed. However, this car is too amazing. In order to prevent the Dream-Life from being sold using PPT and KT versions, DENZA has been delaying both the launch time and exhibition time. There are various disputes on the DENZA group chat every day, and I can’t stand the atmosphere. Actually, what made me decide to give up on it was the 1920 chassis height, which is even higher than the VIA’s chassis, and the chip. I don’t believe that DENZA can play any tricks. Investing in the interior is not a requirement that I am looking out for in my car purchase at the current stage.

Ideal L9: No demand for color TV or refrigerators, etc.

As for the L9, it is a derivative product that comes out on the way to the Dream-Life. The appeal of the Ideal ONE is beyond doubt, whether it’s based on assembly or bragging. Selling well is the king. However, the second-row large screen display and other high-tech features in this car are useless to me, and I am satisfied with the car’s spaciousness. The necessary configurations are basically there. As for the quality of the chassis tuning, let’s not talk about it. But if you want me to spend 470,000 yuan on a bunch of things I don’t need, I still think it’s not suitable. So, I’m not considering the L9 either.

Lingtu Dream-Life

Finally, the Dream-Life. It has caught my attention since last year’s car show, and the reason why I started paying attention to this brand in the first place was because of the safety and environmental protection concepts. This combines with my previous thoughts that Volvo should produce an MPV. I did not expect that the domestic brand would be the one to realize this idea.

After an in-depth understanding of this brand, although it has not been around for long, the underlying chassis has been cultivated in the market for many years with the backing of Dongfeng. This is definitely not a minor detail.

Different from traditional gasoline MPVs, the Lingtu Dream-Life was born on the ESSA native high-end intelligent electric architecture, and is based on the world’s first dual-power high-end native electric architecture for MPVs. The updating and iteration of new energy technology depends on how the brand controls this area. Then there’s the front double wishbone + rear five-link + CDC magic carpet suspension, this invincible chassis makes me, who is obviously not that enthusiastic about driving, burn with desire. Moreover, it comes with a lifetime quality guarantee for pre-sales, so I made my decision resolutely.

II. Driving Experience

The MG New Generation Power System “Lanhai Power” supports two power solutions: high-performance pure electric and intelligent multimode driving. The low-carbon version I purchased uses Dongfeng’s self-developed 1.5TGDI “China Heart” top 10 engine, with a thermal efficiency of 41.07%, and matches intelligent switchable power modes, supporting direct engine driving in specific scenarios with abundant and smooth power output. I usually adjust the kinetic energy recovery to the minimum in the comfortable mode, and the high energy mode is useless because I never use it in my usual driving scenario (unless the speed is automatically adjusted on the highway).

The power is indeed good, and driving in the city at night is very comfortable, with a smooth switch of lanes just like a small car. The mechanical quality of the car is really good, and the suspension filters the road feel to a certain extent, but there is no extra shaking after passing through a bumpy road, and it is very responsive.

The car is much softer when passing over speed bumps than the GL8. It doesn’t lean when turning at a speed of 70km/h on a ramp, and there is no need to step on the gas pedal when climbing hills, and there will be no more following large trucks for overtaking.

My wife is satisfied with the experience of urgent acceleration and urgent lane change after driving it, and she doesn’t have to worry about picking up our child in the future. However, she needs to familiarize herself with the operation mode of the car machine.

III. In-car Configuration

The Voyahm MG is the first MPV model in the world to be equipped with the flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 chip, with more powerful computing capabilities and faster response speeds, working with a gigabit 5G network to bring smoother voice interaction, navigation, and audio-visual entertainment experience.

The MG is equipped with a 1.4-meter unbounded through-style intelligent three-connect screen. The three screens work together, and the main and co-drivers can push navigation, music, and other information to each other, providing an independent and personalized cockpit experience.

The whole car is equipped with 5 millimeter wave radars, 7 cameras, and 12 ultrasound radars, supporting 26 advanced driving assistance functions, including automatically changing lanes when turning on the turn signal, fully automatic parking in all scenarios, and remote control parking. It is the first MPV model equipped with an L2+ level driving assistance system, covering all scenarios of car life.# Same-level leading OTA upgrade function for the whole car
The OTA upgrade function enables the vehicle to stay new and allows users to continuously experience cutting-edge technology. There are a bunch of high-tech configurations loaded in the car, but please ensure stability. You only know how ironclad a warranty is until you need it.

IV. Comfort

Regarding the size, Dreamer’s overall dimensions are comparable to the V-Class, and the actual interior space is equivalent to that of the GL8. The car is wider than the GL8 but has roughly the same longitudinal depth. However, when sitting in the third row, you can put your feet under the second-row seats or spread them out to the sides of the second-row seats, greatly improving the comfort of the third row for long-distance self-driving. Additionally, the third-row seat is quite comfortable.
Thanks to the different chassis design, Dreamer’s collision safety is undoubtedly superior to that of the same level, and the most important electric battery of new energy vehicles also has a 1500MPA lower protective plate.
Dreamer is equipped with zero-gravity and wide seats, with second-row independent seats having a 70° large-angle electric leg rest and a maximum backward angle of 155°, as well as sleep headrests. Dreamer also has three modes of heating, ventilation, and massage functions, made of OEKO-TEX eco-textile certified skin-friendly fabric for infant protection, providing a first-class seating experience.

The three-zone intelligent air conditioning, purified air management, and Denon audio system bring an immersive, relaxed experience. In fact, the Dreamer has more than 80 sound insulation and noise reduction designs throughout the car, making the in-vehicle noise lower than that of ultra-luxury executive sedans when driving at 60km/h, 80km/h, and 120km/h. Combined with the silence characteristic of electric drive, it achieves a deep-sea-level sound insulation effect.

V. Energy Consumption and Endurance

As I have only driven a few hundred kilometers so far and all of them are electric, I have not needed gas since it was supplied at the time of delivery. Here’s my insights on electric energy consumption below.

This morning, due to various reasons such as road closure, congestion, and standing water, my five-kilometer journey to work took me one and a half hours during heavy rain. However, the screen still displays 19.9KW/h, which may not be entirely accurate. In reality, the first time I charged it, I drove more than 90 kilometers in the city, so I do not have a problem driving it in the city.

The endurance mileage is not exaggerated, and no matter how congested the traffic is, I no longer worry about it. Electricity can be used like gasoline — it’s whimsical, haha.

VI. Suggestions for Dreamer Improvements1. Increase the adjustable angle of the third-row backrest, which cannot move forward or backward due to the beam below, but the adjustable angle can provide users with more choices according to different usage scenarios.

2. Increase the capacity of the low-carbon battery. Although I only commute for nearly 10 kilometers a day, I would like to use all-electric power when taking a trip. Everyone thinks that the more electric power, the better.

3. Accelerate the fast charging modification. The initial design did not consider this because of the small battery, but it is difficult to find a slow charging pile when traveling. This can provide users with more choices.

4. Increase the size of the steering wheel or add an armrest to the driver’s seat. Long-distance driving requires arm support, which is very important.

5. Add a 220V power supply in the car. Now everyone knows how to use the 5-hole socket, but they are not sure how to convert it or worry about various problems caused by the conversion.

6. Add a rear sunshade. This is needed for both home and business use.

The above is my preliminary understanding. The intelligent multi-mode system needs more data from car owners.

For a better experience, choosing Dreamer is hoping that the Voyah brand will become better and better. The positioning of the car is correct, please strengthen the quality control. I believe that Dreamer will be the first shot for Voyah to establish a good reputation for domestic brands!

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.