Writing: CH_Chen Han
The first truly self-owned car of Hozon.
In the crowded market of new energy vehicles, there is still no dominant pure electric car in the price range of 150,000-200,000 RMB.
For pure electric cars, this price range is a challenge, especially for sedans. Many joint venture medium-sized gasoline sedans have lowered their main sales prices to this range. Due to battery costs, electric sedans are difficult to match the same size and luxury feel at the same price point.
However, the market with no dominance may be the blue ocean in the red ocean. Hozon, a newborn calf in the industry, wants to give it a try.
The Hozon A06 can be said to be the first truly independent new car of Hozon. It no longer has any sister relationship with any car of GAC Aion, and is a brand-new model developed independently after Zhuhai’s investment.
The official positioning of A06 by Hozon is “Pure Electric Smart Sports Car”. This new car has opened pre-orders at the Chengdu auto show with prices starting at RMB 180,000.
As a pure electric medium-sized sports sedan, A06 not only competes with BYD Dolphin, Changan Blue Core SL03, ZERO Run C11, and NIO ES6, but also competes with gasoline B-class sedans at the same price point, such as Chevrolet Malibu, Buick Regal, Ford Mondeo, and even Honda Accord.
Speaking of the strengths of the Hechuang A06, the car has a length of 4,960mm, a wheelbase of 2,850mm, and a maximum range of 630km, which makes it a practical car.
At the same time, it also has a high degree of recognition in design. The official design concept is called “Vector Aesthetics”, which attempts to create the beauty of a design that can be reconstructed, extended, transformed, and freely shuttled in two- and three-dimensional spaces, similar to vector graphics.
Forgive my lack of understanding of the designer’s profound and mysterious description, but I only know that this car looks very sleek.
There aren’t too many sharp lines on the body, but sports accessories have been added to the front bumper and side skirts, making the car look like a water droplet on a dish. It’s not flamboyant, but it’s condensed with a sense of power.
The car lights are the best part for creating a sense of high-end appearance. Hechuang A06 uses a split-type front headlight and a through-type tail light design, which is common, but the recognition of the styling and the effect of the light are still quite good.
The front headlight is designed in a shape similar to the number “7” and is embellished with a blue energy bar. The taillights are designed with a flying wing shape, presenting a transition from wide to narrow in the middle.Unfortunately, as a sports car model, the hatchback design of the Hozon A06 is still too conservative. If the sense of power at the rear can be strengthened, the overall design of the car will be taken to the next level.
In terms of the wheels, the Hozon A06 uses a very distinctive five-spoke, dual-color, petal-type, semi-enclosed wheel. The tire size is 245/45 R18.
The prototype car uses JiaTong Control P10 series tires. From the name, it is not difficult to see that this is a set of tires that emphasize handling. Previously, a Hozon A06 with 19-inch tires was also exhibited at an auto show. That car used the higher-positioned Michelin e.Levity series tires.
Another detail to note is the position of the charging port. Currently, this display car has a fast charging port on the left front fender and a slow charging port on the right rear fender. However, in the production version, both charging ports will be located at the rear of the car.
At first glance, there isn’t much surprise in the interior of the Hozon A06. We are already used to the horizontal center console and the enclosed cockpit design. The color scheme is a refreshing mix of black, beige, and orange accents, but there are no features that really stand out.
However, when you sit in the car and look closer, your appreciation will gradually increase.
Firstly, the interior of the A06 is equipped with a large amount of soft materials.
The white leather on the door panels, central console, and armrests has a texture similar to fabric with a tactile feel of concave and convex surfaces. The seats feature delicate and smooth perforated leather, which provides a soft feel similar to Nappa leather. The wrapping and perforations on the steering wheel are well made with a great tactile feel. As a result, the whole car conveys a rich and high-end feel at the tactile level.
Secondly, I am fond of some of the design details of the A06.
For example, the position of the central armrest reminds me of the arms of a mecha or the mask of Iron Man. Especially, when the cover of the cup holder slowly opens, it has a ceremonial feel of appearing on stage.
Moreover, this position is also practical, providing not only two panels for placing phones, cup holders, and armrests, but also complete interfaces like TYPE-C, USB, 12V, and SD card. However, it is not known yet whether one or two wireless charging panels for phones will be installed here.
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Finally, its excellent space performance and riding experience comes into play.
With a length of nearly 5 meters, the Hechuang A06 naturally has a spacious interior. In addition to the well-designed seats and adequately stuffed fillings, the overall riding experience is quite comfortable.
Especially in the rear seats, both sides of the seats, backrests, and headrests are wide, and the sitting angle and seat height are reasonable. Even if the front seats are adjusted to the lowest position, there is still enough space to stretch your legs, and the seats are comfortable enough to sit in a relaxed posture.
Coupled with the panoramic sunroof with a top area of 1.7 square meters and the visual widening effect from the white color scheme, sitting in the rear two positions can give you a riding experience close to that of a C-level sedan.
However, I think there is still room for improvement in the seat design of the Hechuang A06. The rear seat cushion can be made longer, and the front seat can be adjusted lower, as currently, the driving position is too high.
If these two issues are improved, I can give this car a 99-point rating for its riding experience. At present, it is probably at the level of 85 points.
During this experience, the car’s infotainment system and front/rear trunk were not yet open, so many experience items were lacking.
“`The 14.6-inch screen powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 chip not only cannot be played with, but we cannot even see what functions the touch buttons on the steering wheel correspond to, let alone evaluate whether they are user-friendly.
In terms of power, as the first model based on the joint venture H-GEA global pure electric architecture, A06 will provide two power options: front-wheel drive and dual-motor four-wheel drive. The motor will adopt a three-in-one stacked flat wire motor with 20,000 rpm high integration, high slot filling rate, and lightweight structure. The motor’s peak efficiency is as high as 97.3%.
The performance of the joint venture A06 four-wheel-drive version is one of its most concerns, with a maximum output power of 340 kW and zero-to-100 km/h acceleration time of only 3.7 seconds. According to official information, the four-wheel-drive version will achieve a 50:50 weight distribution ratio and a 1640mm wheelbase to ensure vehicle handling and stability.
What is the actual driving experience like? I am looking forward to it.
Joint venture A06 will be officially launched next Monday (October 31) and will be delivered by the end of this year.
We should soon know about its price, its car performance, and its driving experience.
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.