Author: MuMu
The attribute of MPV products itself is both for personal and commercial use, which has created a special market. The special feature of this market is that the basic demand for the product is large, but the uses are relatively scattered, which makes it difficult to standardize the product.
Traditional MPVs, such as Elfa and Lexus LM, basically occupy the high-end market, while the Buick GL8 is more for the mid-to-low-end market.
Therefore, whether it is a traditional model or a new energy pure electric MPV model, how to grasp the demand for “both commercial and personal use” is very important. Previously, we had the Voyah Dreamer, the DENZA D9, and now the GAC Aion 009 has also entered the market. There will also be an Ideal MPV model in the future.
The market is bustling, but who can stand out depends on the product itself.
In this article, we will discuss the GAC Aion 009 from several aspects:
- The basic strength of the GAC Aion 009
- What are the advantages of the GAC Aion 009?
- What are the disadvantages of the GAC Aion 009?
Luxury or Practical?
Before the GAC Aion 009 was released, Aion Automobile focused on promoting it as a “luxury, high-end, and lightweight luxury” car. However, we all know that the communication of the company and the actual feeling of the product to the users are often “separated by the screen”.
In the following paragraphs, we will discuss whether the appearance of the GAC Aion 009 matches the pictures.
Let’s talk about the “appearance” first
The GAC Aion 009 currently has two models:
- WE version priced at 499,000 yuan, equipped with a 116-degree battery, and has a CLTC cruising range of 702 km;
- ME version priced at 588,000 yuan, equipped with a 140-degree Kirin battery, and has a CLTC cruising range of 822 km.
Both versions have the same basic appearance. Whenever you talk about the design of a car, there are always many difficult points, because “design” itself is a rational matter, but whether the design is good-looking or not is a particularly subjective matter.
Surprisingly, before its launch, users on the internet overwhelmingly criticized the GAC Aion 009 as “ugly”. After the formal launch, users who saw the actual car changed their mind and gave the car a “good-looking and imposing” evaluation.
The change is mainly due to the fact that GAC Aion gave users a surprise in the design.“`markdown
For a long time after the debut of the Jinkou 001, its design became deeply ingrained in the minds of users, and the separate-style headlights and front face became the iconic style of Jinkou. Therefore, before the release of the 009, users easily thought that the 009 would continue this design, which is commonly known in the industry as “family inheritance”.
However, Jinkou took a different approach and used a completely new design language to demonstrate that “families need to push out new ideas”.
The Jinkou 009 front uses vertically arranged daytime running lights to simulate the grille style of traditional fuel vehicles, which resembles the grille design of Rolls-Royce. The two sides of the grille feature separate-style headlights, and the upper part has “door-shaped” daytime running lights, while the headlights are connected to the design of the lower air intake.
According to official information, the 009 is the world’s first MPV equipped with an intelligent front grille, which includes a total of 154 independently controllable LED light sources in the headlight assembly and features an evolving “fountain of light” interactive lighting language.
The side design adopts a common floating roof design, but differs in that the A/B/C pillars of the car body use a hidden design, presenting a floating effect for the roof. The C pillar uses a vertically decorated strip in the high-gloss chrome of the front face, which is a mutual echo in terms of design.
At the rear, the 009 adopts the currently popular through-type taillight design, with the ZEEKR logo in the middle, and the “light wing” crystal LED taillights have 402 LED light sources in total, giving a very good visual effect when illuminated.
From the perspective of the actual vehicle, when you first see the 009, you will indeed be shocked by its powerful presence. This is not just referring to the large size of the car body, but also to some details like the occasional chrome accents on the car body.
# Inner Structure Evaluation
After observing for a while, you may whisper "009 looks pretty good".
This phenomenon proves that 009's design team has succeeded.
### Roof Space
The 5.5 m² roof space is covered with Ultrasuede luxurious suede material and Oswei suede. This should indicate that Xpreen insists on making 009 luxurious.
All models come with Nappa leather seats, but not all Nappa is called Soft Nappa. Exclusively imported full-grain leather is 30% softer and more comfortable than regular Nappa, as well as being softer, skin-friendly, dustproof, and stain-resistant.
At the same time, the front seats are also very rich in configuration. The front seats are equipped with electric adjustment, front seat ventilation and heating, front headrests are adjustable, and the driver's seat has memory.
The front cockpit also consists of two screens, a 15.6-inch central control multimedia screen, and an embedded 10.25-inch instrument screen. Compared with the slender instrument panel of 001, 009 upgraded the instrument panel size to 10.25 inches, displaying more content with clearer fonts.
The steering wheel of Xpreen 009 adopts the same three-spoke design as the 001, with the left side serving as the auxiliary driving area and the right side as the multimedia area. However, unlike the 001 steering wheel, the 009 steering wheel buttons use physical buttons instead of virtual panels, which is a change made by Xpreen in response to user feedback.# Translation
In terms of design, it is apparent that the design team of 009 has put in great effort. However, this can be a double-edged sword: on one hand, the more effort put into the car, the better the configuration and materials will be. On the other hand, over-designed vehicles can become bloated and unappealing, leading to aesthetic fatigue for users after extended trips.
So, let's discuss what 009 has done right in terms of design.
## Sticking to the Right Things?
It is difficult for us to conclude whether 009 is targeting commercial or domestic markets because, from the perspective of automakers, both markets are necessary to consider. However, from the perspective of product design, the definition of the market is based on the demands of the specific market segment.
Therefore, I will discuss two different approaches.
### Commercial
009 is positioned as a high-end car, which appeals to a relatively informed group of customers. The main demands of this group for MPVs, or for any transportation tool, are "spaciousness" and "comfort".
Because the amount of time spent inside the car is not very long, usually no more than 2-3 hours, for scenarios such as meetings with clients or traveling between cities, the demands of commercial customers are relatively simple: "comfort".
But it is often these two words that are the most difficult for automakers to achieve. Zeekr has done a great job on several core points:
First, the entrance process.
The door opening height of the second row of 009 is 1.24m, and with the help of the air suspension, the lowest step from the ground to the second row is only 36 cm, allowing the owner to have a very elegant entrance posture.
To get into the third row of seats, there is a 1.1m long electric sliding rail that can be controlled with a single click. When I saw this design at the launch event, I didn't think it was convenient, but after test driving, I changed my mind. This is a design that all pure electric MPV models can learn from in the future.
When users want to get into the third row, they can click to move the second row to the very front of the rail, leaving enough space to allow a 180cm tall male to get into the third row with his legs side by side instead of one behind the other. In short, the space is very large.
Secondly, in terms of the process of sitting in the car, the 009 series comes with second-row airline seats as standard, with independent seat armrests that offer more thoughtful support to passengers and keep their palms and arms in the most natural and relaxed state.
The seat uses a unique 7-layer seat structure and has a 25mm high-density shock-absorbing layer and 10mm dream sponge, which can improve the seat support rebound even in temperatures as low as -17℃ while achieving better shock-absorbing effects, being soft but not sinking.
The seat has 3 levels of intensity and 5 modes to soothe the waist and back. With an extra-long leg rest that supports electric 4-way adjustment up to a maximum of 65 degrees, it can extend up to 50cm.
It also has multiple passenger seat memory and a shape-matching switch designed for different parts of the seat.
Moreover, the 009 does not have a passage between the second-row seats, resulting in a significant improvement in riding comfort after the seats are widened.
The 009's second-row air conditioning has a micro-control screen, officially defined as "smart bar," which can display air temperature, air volume, and air blowing angle, and will display the local time when not in use for a long time.
Finally, the 009 achieves a spacious and transparent interior with a 7.4m² cabin area and a maximum vertical height of 1,337mm, maximizing space utilization. Each piece of exterior glass on the 009 is large and visually appealing, making the interior feel very transparent, but at the same time, privacy is well taken care of.
In conclusion, the advantage of the 009 in commercial use is to focus on the big picture while paying attention to details, finding the real needs of users when getting in and out of the car and riding in it, and solving them.### Home Use
In theory, this level of MPV has no absolute commercial or home use, and these users overlap with each other. However, the product design needs to find the balance point of market demand. The advantages mentioned above are still applicable in the home use market, and switching from boss or customer to family members should not lower the standards.
But compared to commercial use, home use cars need to incorporate some "warmer" capabilities.
Zeekr 009 car entertainment system is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 chip, based on in-car 5G and high-speed Wifi, and provides exclusive digital TV ecology and massive entertainment content for the back seat.
009 has achieved the perfect integration of car entertainment ecology, digital TV ecology, and mobile phone screen projection ecology, and created the industry's first ZEEKR OS system deeply customized for MPV. It realizes the linkage of five screens: instrument screen, central control screen, roof screen, and Smartbar touch screen.
With Zeekr's strength, there are almost no major problems in some basic functions. What really affects the user's purchasing decision is often a vehicle model that caters to a niche market. Whether it can meet this part of the user, both in terms of space and ride comfort, 009 can exceed the same level.
As mentioned above, I gave 009 an 85-point evaluation, and the remaining 15 points are also crucial.
## Excellent Driving Performance of 009
First of all, it should be noted that the test drive model is still a PP model, and the details of the vehicle can still be adjusted. Therefore, the "downsides" mentioned below are based on the PP car.
Zeekr 009 has a length, width, and height of 5209/2024/1856 mm, and a wheelbase of 3205 mm. The advantage of a large body is that it can maximize the cabin space, but it sacrifices some comfort in order to achieve this.
The overall length of 009 is 5209 mm, which is obviously a large vehicle. In order to take care of the driver, Zeekr intentionally compressed the front cabin to make the front part of the car shorter. From the outside, the front of the car looks shorter, but from the driver's seat, it can be seen that the width of the front cockpit is very wide. The actual feeling brought is that the front view for the driver is more like transferring from the outside of the car to the inside.This design, while not solving the driver's visibility problem, makes the overall posture of the car especially attractive. Plus, with a front overhang of 897mm and a rear overhang of 1107mm, the 009 has greatly improved longitudinal space utilization.
### Driving Performance
The SEA Haomang architecture gives the Geely Ji-Ke 009 a greater advantage in terms of space, safety, comfort, and driving performance. The native pure electric architecture provides this MPV model with a solid foundation and powerful capabilities.
The Ji-Ke 009 is equipped with a dual permanent magnet synchronous electric motor power system, featuring:
- A combined maximum motor power of 400 kW and a combined maximum motor torque of 686 Nm;
- An acceleration time from 0 to 100 km/h of 4.5 seconds;
- A stopping distance from 100 to 0 km/h of 36.9 meters.
The Ji-Ke 009 offers five driving modes: Comfort, Economy, Sport, Personalization, and Snow. Personalization mode allows for individual adjustments to driving, braking, steering, and air conditioning. Additionally, suspension settings have been redesigned with new icons, making adjustments more convenient and intuitive.
The 009 provides three conventional driving modes: Sport, Economy, and Comfort.
There are differences in power response between these driving modes:
- Under the Economy mode, the power output is somewhat lazy due to the vehicle's weight of over 2.8 tons, so each acceleration requires a deep press of the accelerator pedal.
- Under the Sport mode, the dual motors and the engine can fully unleash their high torque output, which quickly propels the over 2.8-ton behemoth. The overall power output is also sufficient, making overtaking maneuvers easy during low to medium-speed driving.
- The Comfort mode strikes a balance between economy and power, delivering the most harmonious performance.
Surprisingly, there is a clear perceptual difference between driving modes, with a linear accelerator pedal calibration and normal feedback strength.
However, after trying several driving modes, I found that the initial braking force of the brake pedal was too light, and it required strong pressure to get a noticeable braking effect. This issue is particularly pronounced under the Economy mode.
According to Geely's official data, the stopping distance from 100 to 0 km/h is 36.9 m. However, in my actual driving experience, the braking force felt insufficient.In terms of suspension, the 009 is equipped with front double wishbone and rear multi-link independent suspension system, together with a full automatic air suspension system, CCD electromagnetic damping system and hydraulic lining, providing both precise handling and comfortable ride.
Although it is an MPV model, the overall suspension tuning is not biased towards comfort, and the handling is not too soft but has some toughness to it.
Meanwhile, the driving experience of the 009 is also excellent among MPVs, maintaining the driving experience of the 001 while adding some comfort.
In cornering, the 009 can significantly suppress lateral sway, but due to its high center of gravity, the body attitude is still relatively intense.
Here’s a detail: it rained in Shanghai on the test drive day, when the 009 was driving at high speeds and performing fast lane changes, the side slip control was outstanding. Keep in mind that the 009 is a large car over 5 meters in length.
Now let’s talk about the NVH of the vehicle. In both comfort and economy modes, the quietness is excellent, with only slight tire noise when driving over speed bumps or on rough roads.
The 009 supports three types of energy recovery adjustments, but the gradient adaptability of the three modes is still acceptable. In the “one-pedal” mode, the 009 also provides the option to come to a complete stop relying only on energy recovery.
When the energy recovery adjustment is set to the highest level, there will be some energy recovery intervention when releasing the accelerator pedal. However, the energy recovery is not very obvious when set to low gear.
After energy recovery intervention, the mid-to-late-stage mechanical braking feeling gradually increases, and as the brake pedal depth increases, the overall braking sensitivity and smoothness are good.
Moreover, the 009 is also equipped with the lightning-fast switching function that was previously unique to the 001 YOU version, which can achieve a 0.4-second lightning switch between two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive.
For driving comfort and safety, the 009 fully utilizes the advantages of the electric drive system and provides a dTCS distributed traction control system, which can be modularly configured for different electric and hybrid vehicle platforms.
Integrating the DMC motor torque control into the MCU motor controller, the control signal transmission and complete response loop is 10 times faster than the traditional TCS system.
## Intelligent Driving Capabilities
The intelligent driving system continues to use the dual Mobileye EyeQ®5H that was on the 001.
Regarding the intelligent driving assistance, it is expected that the 009 will continue to use the 001's driving assistance hardware system.The Jidu 009 is driven by two Mobileye's latest system-on-chips (SoCs), EyeQ®5H, and equipped with surround vision system as well as other auxiliary driving decision and navigation technologies, with OTA update function capability.
Mobileye Q®5H adopts 7nm process technology, with a computing power 20 times higher than that of the previous generation. The Jidu 009 has an eagle-eye perception system, which includes:
- 12 short-range ultrasonic radars;
- 15 HD cameras (7 are 8 million pixels and 4 are fisheye views);
- A 250m long-range millimeter-wave radar, and also has centimeter-level high-precision maps.
The 009 is also equipped with the antelope evasion function. When there are pedestrians beside the current lane, the vehicle will automatically slow down to pass like a human driver. If a pedestrian suddenly crosses the road at this time, the driver has more sufficient reaction time.
If the driver does not respond, the vehicle will also trigger the automatic braking function to avoid accidents. When the user opens LCC in the urban road environment, if there are many pedestrians on the roadside, the vehicle will travel at a speed lower than the set speed to ensure safety. And when there is a large vehicle in the adjacent lane, the vehicle will actively shift to one side.
When a parked vehicle beside the lane is about to occupy the driving lane by opening the door, LCC will make the vehicle deviate a certain distance in the current lane, without affecting oncoming vehicles, while avoiding collision risks caused by other vehicles and personnel getting on and off.
If the parked vehicle beside the lane does not open the door, but the parking position is unreasonable and a quarter of the vehicle body occupies the current lane, LCC will also control the vehicle to shift within the lane to exclude potential collision risks like a human driver.
### Conclusion
The Jidu 009 continues the steady feeling of the 001 in driving, and the performance of the chassis is still very strong. Although the car is large, it is still very flexible to drive.
However, if some users still feel that it is not easy to drive a big car after driving, this is because the 009 is indeed a very large vehicle in terms of physical volume. Although the Jidu engineering team has done a lot of optimization, it is still a big vehicle, but Jidu has optimized it very well.
If there must be a drawback in terms of space, it can only be wind noise. In order to obtain spaciousness, Jidu used a very large area of glass on the 009, which is easy to understand - it is spacious and bright.
It is also because of the large area of glass that the wind noise is relatively high, which will become more obvious after the speed exceeds 100 km/h. However, it is also possible that this is because the test drive car is a pre-production car, and it may be optimized in the mass-produced car.# 这是一个标题
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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.