Writing by: Liang Zhihao
Are five-seater cars replacing seven-seater ones as a new trend?
After realizing the limitations of ordinary seven-seater SUVs in terms of practicality, five-seater SUVs have suddenly become a new hot spot in the market, and car companies have also quickly captured this previously overlooked sub-segment. Previously, everyone was keen to forcibly squeeze three rows of seats into compact SUVs, now the trend is to use luxurious “five-seater” layouts in mid-sized and even large SUVs.
As the number one player in the field of independent brands and new energy, BYD naturally will not miss this market. Recently, their new flagship five-seater SUV, the Guardian 07, was officially launched. The new car is positioned as a mid-sized SUV, with a price range of 202,800 to 289,800 yuan for six different configuration models.
Ocean Network Flagship Model
As a flagship SUV for BYD’s Ocean Network, the Guardian 07’s design essentially follows the brand’s other models. Compared with the Tang DM-i of the Wangchao series, which has a high-end and stable style, the Guardian 07 is more inclined to be youthful in appearance, with a more versatile and complex front design.
In particular, the grille portion, in addition to multiple horizontal decorative bars, also has a circle of grille lights on the outside, and the decorative plate with the BYD illuminated logo above forms a similar through-style structure with the large headlights on both sides, making the Guardian 07’s front face highly recognizable during both day and night.
On the side of the car body, the Guardian 07 uses hidden door handles that are popular nowadays, and the sheet metal on the wheel arch and side creates a more rugged visual effect. In the high-end models, the Guardian 07’s D-pillars also have energy indicator lights that display the charging status and serve as a welcome effect when the vehicle is locked or unlocked or charged.# Translation
In terms of size, the Escort 07 has a body size of 4820/1920/1750mm, which is 50mm and 30mm shorter in length and width than the Tang DM-i model, respectively, and an increased height of 25mm. However, in terms of wheelbase, the two models are identical at 2820mm.
Although the appearance of the Escort 07 is quite different from the Dynasty series, overall, it is still very much in line with the tastes of domestic consumers, and even more attractive to some consumers who are detail-oriented.
The Large Five-Seat Layout is the Biggest Highlight
In terms of publicity, the large five-seat layout has become the biggest selling point of the Escort 07. Indeed, for a medium-sized SUV with a wheelbase of over 2.8 meters, the space that can be utilized in the rear seat is really huge. Of course, in addition to the objective spaciousness, the Escort 07 is also satisfactory in terms of configuration.
Some conventional configurations do not need to be mentioned. Even in the most basic model, we can find advanced configurations such as 360 panoramic imaging, power tailgate, variable suspension hardness, and steep slope descent, etc. As for the numerous high-end configurations on the top-of-the-line models, they are simply too numerous to count.
In terms of overall interior style, although the BYD Han 07 has not undergone any revolutionary changes, it now features the same unique door handle as the Han Yue Plus to differentiate itself from other BYD models, and with the standard leather interior across the range, the overall interior atmosphere remains top-notch. Of course, we also hope that BYD will innovate more in terms of interior styling in the future, giving us more surprises.
Efficient Hybrid as Standard
In terms of mechanics, the BYD Han 07 series all adopt the highly acclaimed BYD DM-i and DM-p hybrid systems, which are available in different versions with ranges of up to 100km, 205km, and 175km respectively, depending on price and configuration.
The 100km pure electric version is equipped with a battery rated at 18.3 degrees, while the 205km pure electric version is equipped with a battery rated at 36.8 degrees. It’s worth noting that despite its larger battery capacity, the latter version can charge even faster thanks to support for fast charging technology, making it even faster to charge than the lower-range version.
However, all of this is just icing on the cake, because with the help of the DM-i efficient hybrid system, the Han 07 can achieve ultra-low fuel consumption of 5.8L/100km even if it is used like a regular gas-powered car without ever charging.
After years of technological iteration, the DM-p model also has decent fuel economy. In the case of adding a set of rear electric motors to achieve four-wheel drive, the power consumption of the Guardsman 07 DM-p is only 6.7L/100km, which is much higher than the DM-i model. However, considering its strong power that can reach 100km/h in 4.7 seconds, 0.9L/100km fuel consumption is really nothing.
Different Dual Car Strategies
After the brand was divided into two networks, many people worried that BYD’s Ocean Network and Dynasty Network would sell various “sister models” through two different sales channels like brands that have two joint venture factories, such as Toyota, Honda, and Volkswagen.
However, it is obvious that this simple and rude dual car strategy did not appear on BYD. For now, the Ocean Network and the Dynasty Network have clear divisions of labor. Although the car models of the two networks occasionally have benign competition (such as Qin Plus and Destroyer 05), most of the time they “do their own job” and use their resources to cultivate different user groups.
Of course, the reason why this novel strategy can work well is inextricably linked to BYD’s current large size and super strong brand appeal. After all, currently, any model of BYD’s any network can take the lead in the market. In this case, there will definitely be more new cars like the Guardsman 07 that can fill different sub-markets in the future. Considering the positioning and strength of this new car, I believe that many joint venture SUVs at the same price range have already started to tremble.
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.