Limits of Automotive Technology?

As an iconic representative of automotive technology, Honda has been relying on core technologies, including internal combustion engines and the three key components, and has become one of the most renowned technology innovators in the auto industry for more than 70 years. With VTEC and Red Head engines that are not only fuel-efficient and high-performance, but also durable, Honda has won a large number of fans among automotive enthusiasts.

After entering China through joint ventures, Guangzhou Honda has inherited almost all of Honda’s superiority in technology, performance, reliability, and durability. Precisely because of this, more and more Chinese consumers have been steadfastly choosing Guangzhou Honda products for over 20 years.

Now, the era of electric vehicles has arrived. In the new energy sector without combustion engines, how can Guangzhou Honda maintain its technological edge?

The company’s first pure electric vehicle, the e:NP1 Ji Pai 1, offers a brand-new answer.

Recently, we embarked on a special test-drive journey – the e:NP1 Ji Pai 1 pure electric travel experience camp. This test drive was highly flexible with no teams or fixed routes, allowing us to freely interact with the e:NP1 Ji Pai 1. In order to experience the driving performance of the e:NP1 Ji Pai 1 from different perspectives, we specially arranged trips to Wuxi, Suzhou, and Hangzhou.

Between “Riding” and “Driving,” Joy is Infinite

The starting point of this test drive was at the Guangzhou Honda Yinhe e Center in Wuxi.

This place resembles a futuristic technology experience center where visitors not only have the chance to experience actual vehicles, but also immerse themselves in the showcase of the vehicle’s three-electric-drive technology using AR and MR technologies.

Starting from May of this year, e Centers and e Spaces, gathering the new sales concept of the e:NP brand, will be open across the country. Guangzhou Honda is upgrading the unique GHAC advantage, “The Total Value of Guangzhou Honda Car Life,” to a brand-new total value of pure electric car life, a new trend of car viewing, test-driving, and purchasing experiences.

Without further ado, let’s set off immediately. Our first destination is the Nianhuawan Purple Clay Museum, which is more than 30 kilometers away from the E center and includes city roads, highways, and scenic roads with narrow lanes and few cars, which is perfect for me and the Honda e:NP1 Jipai 1 to get acquainted.

One highlight of the Honda e:NP1 Jipai 1 is its extreme friendliness to passengers. When driving on congested city roads, the vehicle always has a smooth following sensation, and the vehicle can always maintain its most natural posture during frequent stops and starts, with braking and starting without any abrupt feeling. People and the car are always in a “resonant frequency,” optimizing the ride experience to the greatest extent. Such meticulous adjustments are sufficient to demonstrate the technical team’s thoughtfulness and consideration for passengers.

The e:NP1 Jipai 1 also has excellent power performance. In actual driving, the acceleration in the front is rapid and natural, and the acceleration in the middle and rear is always linear and stable. This feeling is closer to that of a gasoline-powered car, reminiscent of the comfortable experience brought by naturally aspirated engines in the era of internal combustion engines. In addition, the vehicle’s suspension support is excellent, with accurate and sharp turning when entering curves, efficient braking efficiency, and effective control of vehicle body roll throughout the process. Obviously, while embracing the new era, GAC Honda has still perfectly retained and inherited its unique driving pleasure genes.

Intelligence makes cars become “good companions” for travel

For long, tedious highway driving, relying entirely on human assistance is a thing of the past. On the way from Wuxi to Suzhou, I also had the opportunity to experience the smart configuration of the e:NP1 Jipai 1.

The high-speed road adaptive cruise control (ACC) and lane keeping assistance functions of the e:NP1 Jipai 1 are very useful. When following a vehicle on a highway, the millimeter-wave radar’s intervention makes the vehicle distance monitoring more accurate and sensitive, which, in combination with the vehicle’s stable power output, provides an effortless following experience.In a nutshell, the DMC driver state perception system of e:NP1 Jipu 1 can keep an eye on you who are driving. If it detects that you are drowsy or tired, it will immediately intervene to stimulate you in various ways, such as turning up the volume of music, increasing the air conditioning, popping up a reminder icon, and playing warning sounds.

Of course, this intervention is gradual, and the reminders can be classified as ordinary, mild, moderate, or severe, and e:NP1 Jipu 1 will perceive your fatigue before you become aware of it.

Moreover, DMC’s monitoring of drivers is not limited to fatigue. When a driver shows a joyful or sorrowful expression during driving, it will also be detected, and the system will pop up corresponding text information to amplify your joy or relieve your emotions.

Of course, a “smart” car needs to identify more than just faces. The Honda SENSING 360 intelligent driving assistance system, which relies on cameras and millimeter-wave radar, accurately and efficiently perceives the blind spots in the driver’s line of sight to eliminate many safety hazards.

In addition, e:NP1 Jipu 1 has a very intelligent and intimate feature – AR live navigation. With it, we can enjoy the surrounding scenery on small roads in the water towns of the south of the Yangtze River without any additional stress.

When heading to an unfamiliar destination, we can wake up the system with voice and see the road scenery projected on the central screen, which is exactly the same as what we see with our eyes, and it is more intuitive than traditional 2D/3D navigation systems. During actual driving, the AR live scenery on the center screen, combined with virtual directional arrows, forms a “double guarantee”, even if it is an inconspicuous small road, it is not easy to miss.

It can be said that e:NP1 Jipu 1 is not only a “smart” car, but also a mobile smart terminal and our travel “partner”.

More than just a car, it is a mobile living space.In this era, the functionality of a car has evolved beyond transportation, it should also become the carrier of our lives.

The first thing that satisfies us about e:NP1 Jipai 1 is its practical spatial design, it has a large trunk that can hold all the equipment necessary for an outing, which is the decisive factor in our decision to go camping in the suburbs of Shanghai. At the same time, it also has a thoughtful design – the luggage compartment floor can be adjusted in two levels, making it easier to access rear items and load and unload large luggage.

At the same time, the e:NP1 Jipai 1’s reverse charging function also allowed us to achieve “free electricity” during camping. After setting up a large tent, we plugged in the electric coffee pot, in-car refrigerator, and mobile barbecue, connected the projection screen and projector, and even outdoors had a sense of ceremony.

More importantly, it’s not just a simple loading tool and “power bank”. During camping, if you choose a tailgate tent, the interior space of the vehicle is also extended as a part of the tent, unlocking some new gameplay.

For example, by folding down the rear seats and placing an inflatable mattress between the trunk and the rear seats, opening the rear skylight sunshade manually, and the interior of the car immediately becomes a sunroom. Moreover, by using voice commands to call up the Honda air conditioning, music or movies can be played, and in combination with the BOSE sound system carried by the e:NP1 Jipai 1, the interior of the car can be transformed into a temperature-appropriate audio-visual theater.

Conclusion

What does the era of electric vehicles mean for Honda?

Honda’s CEO, Toshihiro Mibe, provided an explanation: “From gasoline cars to electric cars, what is changing for the entire industry is not only the shift from engines to batteries, but also the new value of mobile travel.”

Obviously, GAC Honda and the e:NP brand will continue to carry Honda’s technological label in conjunction with the new era background.Specifically, GAC Honda is actively embracing the new era by continuously creating more intelligent products, launching more forward-looking experience centers like e center that combine online and offline experiences, and further exploring and improving in the service and experience fields on the basis of existing sales networks and channels. These may be the intuitive expressions of “mobile new value” mentioned by Sanmu Min Hong.

This kind of value will bring consumers a brand-new life scene related to cars. It is also Honda, GAC Honda, e:NP brand’s real exploration and breakthrough of the boundaries of new travel era through e:NP1 Extreme Surge 1.

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.