Writing: Wu Jingtao
“The last bus of the national subsidy”, won’t you take it?
In the blink of an eye, we are approaching the last week of 2022, and in just a few days, we will soon welcome the arrival of the new year. For the new energy vehicle market, with the end of 2022, the country’s financial subsidy policy for purchasing new energy vehicles will also officially “come to an end”.
According to the current policy, the new energy vehicle purchase subsidy policy will expire on December 31, 2022. After that, the state will no longer provide subsidies to vehicles that are registered after this date. (Currently, the subsidy amounts are 4800 yuan/vehicle for plug-in hybrid cars and 12600 yuan/vehicle for pure electric vehicles.)
The cancellation of the national subsidy will certainly have an impact on new energy vehicle brands and consumers who are waiting to buy. Therefore, many brands have recently launched a new round of preferential policies.
For example, ora recently launched the “price guarantee” policy and the “ora Happy Cat 2nd Anniversary Fans Festival” event. We were also the first to go to the store to see if choosing to buy a car now, during the last stage of the “national subsidy”, is a wise choice.
Captivating Design
As a model that has been on the market for two years, ora Happy Cat’s exterior design is still very simple and durable.
Thanks to the “Morandi retro style” design tone, the design elements of the entire front of the car are very simple. The fully enclosed grille, round headlights, and the powerful contour lines on the hood make the visual effect of the Happy Cat front simple yet three-dimensional.
The lines on the side of the car are also simple, without complicated decorative strips, coupled with 18-inch five-spoke wheels, the visual impression of the side of the car is both simple and powerful.
It is worth noting that both charging ports of the Happy Cat are located on the front fenders of the car, and this design with the charging ports located at the front of the car may require the front of the car to be parked in certain specific charging spots before charging.
The tail is the most recognizable part of the Euler Cat EV. The overall shape of the tail is quite solid, and the brake light adopts a hidden design, which is set inside the black frame of the rear windshield. When not lit, the presence of the brake light is very low, but when the brake light is on, it can increase the level of hierarchy of the rear of the vehicle through the light.
At the same time, the tail of the Euler Cat EV is also equipped with a small spoiler design to enhance the dynamic atmosphere of the tail.
If the main tone of the Euler Cat EV’s exterior is “retro and concise”, then the interior is a delicate collision of colors.
The Euler Cat EV we photographed uses popular green and beige as the main color scheme for the interior, with orange as the contrasting color on the steering wheel, air conditioning vents, and seats.
This set of interior color schemes makes the entire cabin’s color matching show a sense of quality, and the design of the contrasting colors is lively without appearing too abrupt.
After comparing various colors, I personally prefer this green, beige, and orange color combination, and highly recommend everyone to come to the store to see the effect of this color scheme in person.
As an electric vehicle model that targets young consumers, having an exquisite color matching scheme for the interior is not enough. The daily driving experience also needs to be carefully considered.
The Euler Cat EV is equipped with a dual-screen design composed of a 7-inch LCD instrument panel and a 10.25-inch central control screen. The content displayed by the instrument panel is very rich, but the design of the instrument panel interface is slightly incompatible with the interior atmosphere. If the instrument panel interface design could be optimized, it would not only enhance the interior appearance, but also make it easier for the driver to obtain information.
The central control screen of Euler Cat is equipped with popular intelligent configurations such as 360 panoramic imaging, mobile interconnection, and voice interaction.
In addition, in the vehicle settings, Euler Cat is also equipped with a set of L2 level assisted driving system, which can realize functions such as front and rear collision warning, intelligent cruise control, and lane keeping. In addition to the protection of 6 safety airbags, in terms of active and passive safety, the configuration of Euler Cat still belongs to the mainstream level of today.
The model we photographed is also equipped with electrically adjustable front seats, seat heating, ventilation, massage, and heated steering wheel. These several comfort configurations are helpful in improving the comfort of the front row driver and passenger. At the same time, this is also a configuration that several ladies inquired about during our exploration.
As an A0 class electric vehicle, the interior space of Euler Cat is another key concern. Cat has a wheelbase of 2650mm. In actual experience, even if a passenger of 1.75 meters sits in both the front and rear rows at the same time, the legroom is not cramped.
Among the same class of vehicles, this riding space can be considered “proper”. Even when traveling with multiple people, the rear space of Cat can handle it calmly.
The texture of the color matching, the configuration, and the experience “are not lacking” are the most impressive parts of the Euler Cat’s interior design for me. Especially among young consumer groups, Euler Cat stands out among the same class of vehicles with impressive interior design, which can attract more attention.## Power and Range
In terms of power, the Euler Cat adopts a front-mounted single electric motor powertrain, with a maximum motor power of 105kW. The official 0-50 km/h acceleration time is 3.8 seconds.
As for the range, Euler Cat offers two range versions under NEDC conditions, 401 km and 501 km respectively. Except for the base model, all other configurations offer two types of batteries for consumers to choose from: ternary lithium and lithium iron phosphate. Regardless of the chosen battery, vehicles with the same range and configuration have the same price.
In terms of energy supplementation, the charging speed of the Euler Cat is also ideal. Under fast charging, it only takes 30 minutes to charge from 30% to 80%.
In response to the common concern of electric vehicle drivers in winter about reduced range, the Euler Cat is equipped with a new generation of smart temperature control system. It can maintain the battery in an efficient operating temperature range by recycling motor residual heat, thus enhancing winter range performance.
In early December, Autohome released the results of its winter testing in Beijing. In an external temperature environment of 8-10°C, the Euler Cat’s range achievement rate was close to 70%. Even in the subsequent extreme cold environment range testing at -30°C, the Euler Cat’s range achievement rate was still among the top tier, and its performance even surpassed some models priced above 250,000 yuan.
In terms of power and range, the Euler Cat is among the best in its class. The results of Autohome’s winter testing reflect that the Euler Cat has good adaptability to the current low-temperature environment.
Policy “Tail”
If you are planning to purchase a new energy vehicle recently, you may be struggling whether to make an early purchase for the subsidy. At the same time, many people are also worried that ordering a car now will not allow them to register the car before the end of the year, causing them to miss out on the 12,600 yuan national subsidy.
In response to this situation, Euler issued a limited-time price guarantee statement on December 1. Users who place an order and pay a deposit before December 31, 2022, and meet the requirements of China’s subsidy policy will have the subsidy difference caused by delayed vehicle delivery borne by Euler Automobile. Euler will deliver the vehicle at the post-subsidy price of 2022.
This means that as long as the vehicle is eligible for government subsidies and the deposit is paid within this year, even if the vehicle will not be delivered until next year, it can still be purchased at a preferential price that enjoys national subsidies. With this official “price guarantee” policy, it is believed that some consumers who have been holding their funds may be relieved of their concerns about whether they will miss out on the national subsidies.
In addition to the “price guarantee,” there are also promotional offers. In December, Euler launched the “Euler Happy Cat 2nd Anniversary Fan Season” event, which not only enjoys the national subsidies but also four additional preferential and subsidy policies, with a total of up to 18,000 yuan in preferential efforts. Friends who are interested can consult the store for details.
Purchase Suggestions
At present, the Euler Happy Cat 2022 Moroccan version has six models, divided into two endurance versions of 400km and 500km, and the official price range is 129,900-171,000 yuan.
If the daily use of the vehicle is mainly for urban commuting and there is no excessive requirement for cross-city or long-distance trips, then the recommended model is the 400km Endurance Luxury version with an official guidance price of 151,000 yuan.
Although the entry-level Light Enjoy version has the lowest price, it is only equipped with two safety airbags, so it is not recommended. The 400km Luxury version priced at 141,000 yuan has relatively complete safety configurations (6 safety airbags + L2 driving assistance system) and can be considered first for friends with a limited budget.
The luxury version we recommend is 10,000 yuan more expensive than the 400km Luxury version, but it has additional practical comfort configurations, such as panoramic sunroof, electric tailgate, face recognition, 6-speaker audio system, heated steering wheel, electric adjustment of the front passenger seat, driver’s seat memory, heated, ventilated and massage function of the front seats. It is the most cost-effective in terms of configuration by spending 10,000 yuan to get these configurations.The 500km version model with the same configuration is priced 20,000 yuan higher. Consumers can choose according to their own actual needs. Moreover, it is known that there is still a certain amount of discount on the terminal sales price of Ora Cat.
If you appreciate the appearance and interior design of Ora Cat and are satisfied with its level of configuration, then seizing the “policy” tail in the last week of this year and enjoying the double benefits of price protection and preferential policies plus the terminal sales price discount, I believe this is definitely a high cost-effective and rational consumption.
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.