My Impressions of Taking Delivery of SGMW R7, the New Energy Vehicle
I have been driving fuel vehicles for 16 years and my previous car was from Roewe, which is generally trusted by people in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai. So this time I decided to try their new energy vehicle – Fevan R7.
I picked up the car on November 1, and the salesperson told me that I was among the first batch of car owners in Zhejiang, so they had prepared a grand delivery ceremony for me. I felt very honored! As one of the first few people to try the new car, I would like to share my experience with others.
I bought the high-performance version with a 90-degree battery, 21-inch wheels, Nappa leather seats, AR-HUD, electric-suction doors, streaming rearview mirrors, and battery swapping. The total price was 240,900 yuan (with a 20,000-yuan deposit deduction and a 12,600-yuan national subsidy for new energy vehicles).
In my opinion, the price of 240,900 yuan is very reasonable for this level of configuration.
Some people say that battery swapping may not be practical, but I did the math and found that, with a 100,000-yuan discount and a monthly rental of 1,560 yuan, it would take about 5.3 years to break even.
I know that most of you may be more interested in how the car performs on the road. Although I only drove it for a few days, I would like to share my initial impressions.
(By the way, the delivery ceremony was quite impressive. Don’t be jealous, my friends! Ha ha)
As for the driving experience…When I first stepped on the accelerator, I felt the R7 had a sense of weightiness, unlike the feeling of an electric car that jumps out with a touch of the pedal. The power increase is linear. The chassis doesn’t loosen on city roads, but it is not as stiff as a sporty car. When passing over speed bumps, the rebound is quite clear without any aftershocks. Overall, the driving feel is still there, which may be SAIC’s advantage due to its more accumulated experience compared to new players. Regarding the infinite mode, I heard before I bought the car that the energy recovery and deceleration of new energy vehicles were too strong, and there was a slight jolt when braking. After actually driving it, I felt it was okay, similar to my previous feeling when driving a gasoline car.
The highway navigation assistance is quite practical, and it is set to default on. I experienced the navigation assistance on the highway. When the voice instructed “open the navigation” and entered the highway, it automatically changed lanes to the far left fast lane. When approaching the highway exit, I didn’t need to signal, the R7 would signal and change lanes to the far right lane before entering the tollgate. It can also recognize the driving status of front and rear vehicles to ensure safety.
The corner performance is quite good, with a suitable entry point for large corners. The driving process is relatively smooth, and it maintains a good speed when turning.
I go to work at a company about 20 kilometers away, and sometimes I encounter traffic jams. Overall, the navigation assistance function can still make me feel more relaxed, at least on the highway and when encountering traffic jams. (Next time when I have the chance, I will take a video to show it.)
The AR-HUD feels like the HUD system on a fighter jet, full of combativeness. On the road, it locks onto the target, as if it’s ready to launch at any time. Haha. But I have to say, the recognition rate is quite high, thanks to Huawei’s support. It makes driving feel more secure.
Range:
With a 90-degree battery, the CLTC range of 606 kilometers is within the mainstream range.
I have driven over 140 kilometers in the past two days, and still have 420 kilometers left with 72% battery. I think the performance is pretty good. Of course, there is still range anxiety when driving an electric car. I look forward to JN Exchange Station occupying the whole country and making my battery swapping experience more efficient.
As for the charging speed, it’s just average. It’s better to develop a good habit of charging the car overnight at home.
Large Screen:
The more I look at R7’s interior, the more I like it. The Nappa leather seats are just right in terms of softness and firmness. The interior as a whole has a high level of integrity and doesn’t look like a modular house like Tesla. Unlike the layering design on the Ideal One by XPeng, the large screen is very enjoyable to look at when it’s not lit up. My wife can even use it to check her makeup.
The triple-screen division of labor is clear in the bright screen state. The co-pilot screen only lights up when there are passengers and also saves power. The driver’s dashboard is responsible for driving, the central control is responsible for navigation and control functions, and the co-pilot screen is responsible for entertainment without interference. Although there are no physical buttons, the system functions are still easy to find, but you still need to learn and familiarize yourself with them.
Many functions still need to be explored slowly. Currently, I’ve only used basic navigation, air conditioning, music, and app functions.
Using voice commands these days is so comfortable. I just need to say “hi FlyFun, open navigation” or “open music”. I don’t need to be distracted to adjust by hand. It’s much better than my previous fuel car!
But the most core feeling is, atmospheric! Paired with my brown interior, it looks good!
The recommended option is to choose a streaming media rearview mirror. The 8 million cameras are very clear at night, and when it rains and foggy, it’s safe to have a streaming media rearview mirror to look at.
However, on the first night of driving back, when I entered the underground parking lot, the reversing image suddenly didn’t display. I don’t know what the situation is. After restarting, it returned to normal. I hope it won’t happen again in the future.
Because it has not been long since I got the car, I am still exploring it. However, I feel that buying a car is like finding a girlfriend, it varies from person to person. I like the R7’s appearance, interior, and technological sense. Some people may think that there are some things that are not what they want, so you just need to choose according to your needs. Overall, I am quite satisfied with the price of 2,409,000 yuan for this configuration.
This is just a brief introduction for now. As I spend more time in the automotive industry, I plan to share my deeper experiences with everyone. I also hope to use this opportunity to interact with my friends in the car community. Please feel free to engage with me! (Later, I will also write a post about the car delivery process, so stay tuned!)
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.