Author: Chen Jianli
There’s a new choice for 300,000-class SUVs, and its second row has no rival in the same price range. Even facing traditional luxury brands like BBA, it has a great advantage. Its strength can easily outperform 95% of 5-seater cars. Call a spade a spade, it is the ideal L7.
As we all know, Ideal Motors has always been very good at promoting its products. Li Xiang himself often says striking words. But putting the hype aside, both L9 and L8, and the newly released L7, have real strength. From the release conference of L7, we can see that Ideal Motors compared it with the BMW X5 (long-wheelbase) several times. Is the recently facelifted BMW X5’s biggest rival actually the Ideal L7?
In terms of price, Ideal L7 is still divided into high-end and low-end models, Pro and Max. The former is priced at 339,800 yuan, and the latter is 379,800 yuan. Also, for the first time, a lower-end model – Air, was launched. The price of L7 Air is down to 319,800 yuan, and the price of L8 Air is announced to be 339,800 yuan.
As a car reviewer, introducing the appearance of the Ideal L7 is undoubtedly the easiest job, as it is almost a proportional reduction of the L8, with no significant differences except for the size and the third-row window line.
However, if that’s all, it might make the designer seem perfunctory. Therefore, two exclusive exterior colors are provided for the L7: one is pearl white paint that doesn’t require additional costs, the other is a multi-layered Aurora Red special edition paint, which costs an additional 10,000 yuan.
Other exterior accessories are basically the same as those of the L8, equipped with 20-inch wheels as standard, and the option for an additional 21-inch option. The power-operated pedal is also one of the optional items.
In terms of dimensions, the length, width and height of the Ideal L7 are 5050/1995/1750mm respectively, with a wheelbase of 3005mm, which is basically the same size as the L8. If compared with the domestic BMW X5, the length of the two is similar, but the wheelbase of the domestic BMW X5 is longer.
If only sitting in the front row, it is difficult to tell which Ideal model it is for a short period of time, and the layout and hardware are exactly the same as those in the L series.
However, it is regretful that in order to place the related hardware of the rear independent air conditioning, the storage compartment under the center console of the front row had to be cancelled in the L7. Also, the cup holder at the back end of the front middle armrest was cancelled due to the rear air conditioning, which to some extent, sacrificed the convenience of storage.
The vehicle entertainment system has always been the main battlefield of the new forces. Next, the L7 and other models of the L series will introduce new gameplay such as “Audio Master” and “Task Master”. The former allows car owners to independently adjust more parameters about the sound equalizer, and share with other car owners through a sharing code to obtain more diverse sound.
The front windshield of the L7 adopts a dual-layer silver plating process, which in simple terms provides heat insulation and blocks ultraviolet rays. The heat insulation rate of the glass is above 50%, and the ultraviolet blocking rate is as high as 99%. It is difficult to verify the authenticity of this data. The best way is to experience it in a test drive car in the summer, and see if the temperature inside the car is relatively low after being parked outside for a long time.
Moving to the second row, this is the most important area for the ideal L7. Its positioning is a large five-seat SUV, and the first consideration is legroom. Passengers under 190cm can enjoy relatively sufficient legroom, and can also unlock the queen mode of the rear seat to expand legroom performance.
Under the back of the front passenger seat, there is an electric leg rest, which can be used regardless of whether the front passenger seat needs to be adjusted forward. In addition, the backrest of the second-row seats supports 44° adjustment, which can obtain different comfortable sitting positions in different riding scenes. All the angle adjustments are electrically powered, which is not only unseen in luxury brand models in the same price range, but also not a standard configuration in million-level SUVs. Like the L8/L9 models, the front screen can also control the folding and lifting of the second-row seats, which is a very practical function.
In addition, seat ventilation/heating/massage has become an ideal standard for the rear seats, the central armrest is very spacious, ergonomically designed, and the damping sensation of the up-down adjustment is also excellent.
The second-row seats of the Ideal L7 are relatively backward, and the backrest is basically behind the C pillar (rather than flush with it), so the area where the outer arms of passengers on both sides touch is wrapped in leather. Even if the second row is fully loaded with three passengers, passengers will not be pressed against their bodies by the door armrest, but will touch the softer area.
Since most of the hardware of the car body is the same as that of L8/L9, the power system of L7 is naturally the latest set of 1.5T PHEV system, with a maximum power of 449Ps and a peak torque of 620N·m, and even the parameters have not changed. But thanks to the lower weight, the acceleration time of L7 per 100 kilometers has also been shortened to 5.3 seconds.
Also due to the weight reduction, the WLTP pure electric range of L7 can reach 170 kilometers, but the total WLTP range is the same as that of L8, which is 1100 kilometers.
Ideal L7 Pro and Max will start delivery in April. The Pro version (same as Air version) of lane keeping assist (LKA) Plus function can achieve autonomous overtaking and lane changing in non-navigation state, narrowing the gap with NOA. If nothing unexpected happens, L8 Air and Pro can also OTA upgrade LKA Plus.
Since the launch of the L series, Ideal’s sales have truly “taken off”. The monthly sales of L8 and L9 can reach about 10,000 units respectively, which is not easy for new brands in the market to achieve such performance. Ideal’s success is not accidental. It truly grasps the pain points of household cars, understands the needs of household users, and there are few better alternatives in the market.
Although L7 may not be able to achieve the sales volume of its predecessors in “tens of thousands of units”, because there are relatively more options for large five-seater SUV models, judging from its functions, hardware, and usage properties, the market performance of Ideal L7 is definitely not inferior.
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.