Card stucking, system crashing, green screen…since its launch, the car infotainment system of Xpeng P7 has received a lot of complaints. Xpeng, which has been under the spotlight, probably never expected that it would become popular in a way like this.
However, it’s not only the problems with the infotainment system that make Xpeng P7 so popular. The outstanding power performance and chassis quality, remarkable handling and advanced driving experience have also been praised by many. It’s precisely because people love the driving experience of Xpeng P7 so much that they hate the problematic infotainment system.
Previously, Xpeng officially announced that they will increase the proportion of self-developed infotainment software and aim to achieve five major version updates by 2022. On March 23, Xpeng began to roll out the first big update–Xpeng OS 2.0–which is part of the five updates they promised. So, from the release of the 1.0 system in October 2021 to the 2.0 system upgrade, has the infotainment system of Xpeng P7 been improved or not? To find out, we interviewed three Xpeng P7 owners: Mr. Xie from Zhangzhou, Fujian, Mr. Huang from Shaoguan, Guangdong, and Mr. Zhang from Shenyang, Liaoning.
Does the current version still lag?
Mr. Zhang: No, but it’s not exceptional either.
“I think the overall smoothness of the system hasn’t improved significantly from version 1.1.1 when I first got the car to version 2.0.1 after the update. I feel no difference between the previous and the current version, and I can’t say it’s very smooth when using. However, it’s still usable, and basic functions are available.”
Mr. Zhang thinks that the infotainment system of Xpeng P7 falls into the “usable” category. As for the issue of lagging of the navigation system, Mr. Zhang thinks it doesn’t affect usage either in version 1.1.1 or in 2.0.1. When it comes to improving the fluidity of the map, he suggests using the lightweight option for the map in the car and downloading the offline map of the current location when receiving the car.
“Not many people know that there is a lightweight map option in the car. If you turn on this option, the map will cancel some 3D modeling that consumes power. Additionally, I downloaded the offline map of my location when receiving the car. It doesn’t need real-time computation and saves some computing power.”
However, Mr. Zhang also thinks that the change from version 1.1.4 to 2.0.1 has little difference in the overall experience. Although there were some improvements and enrichments to the existing functions, it did not help to improve the smoothness of the system.
Mr. Xie: It started out fine, but it got laggier as I use it.
Mr. Xie’s feelings are completely different from Mr. Zhang’s. Mr. Xie picked up his car at the end of November last year and was one of the earliest users of the JIKE KE 001. He also stated frankly: “The performance of the 1.0 version car machine was really terrible at the beginning.” Mr. Xie said that the car machine was visibly laggy at that time, and the response was very slow, not to the level of normal use at all. After receiving the 2.0 version update in April, Mr. Xie said:
“When it was updated to 2.0 in April, I thought the fluency was as expected, but now, after almost a month, the entire car machine is getting more and more laggy.”
Mr. Xie thinks that JIKE KE 001’s car machine is similar to early Android phones. The fluency is pretty good when the system is first updated, but then black screens and lags follow:
“After the update, I ran on the highway once, and then there was no response for three to five seconds after adjusting the air conditioner. Another time, after entering the service area and then getting back on the highway, the entire system blacked out and restarted after driving only 100 meters. And another strange thing is that after using the navigation continuously for two to three hours, the whole system will become very laggy.”
Mr. Xie does not drive frequently, and sometimes leaves the car in the company for four or five days, so cache accumulation may not be the reason why the car machine lags. After trying to restart, Mr. Xie found that the car machine also couldn’t reach the level of fluency after the update, which puzzled him.
Mr. Huang: Fluency only lasts for 1-2 days
Car owner Mr. Huang is not particularly concerned about the performance of the car machine. As the car machine did not affect his driving experience, Mr. Huang said he would not deliberately focus on this aspect of performance. However, Mr. Huang also found a problem similar to Mr. Xie’s: after updating, the car machine became more and more laggy with use.
“It becomes a bit smoother for one or two days every time after the update is completed, but in actual use, you will find that it is getting more and more laggy. So even after updating to 2.0.1, I don’t think there has been much improvement in lag.”
Regarding the evaluation of whether JIKE’s car machine lags after updating to the 2.0.1 system, each car owner has their own evaluation criteria. But from their statements, the current performance has improved to a certain extent compared to version 1.0, and there is no problem with basic functional use. However, it still falls short of the owners’ expectations of fluency. From their words, you will find that phenomena such as slow response and black screens and restarts still occur from time to time.
Praises for progress
Bluetooth Key
After discussing the overall fluency of the car media system, I asked these car owners about their specific usage experiences.
“The most noticeable improvement is that the accuracy of the Bluetooth key has been enhanced. In the current version 2.0.1, I think the accuracy of Bluetooth key recognition for automatic door opening can reach 90%. Sometimes it may take a few seconds to recognize, but I’m not sure if it’s a problem with the phone. Generally speaking, this feature can now provide a good experience. “
Mr. Zhang is very satisfied with the optimized Bluetooth key unlock success rate, and Mr. Huang, who uses an Android phone, and Mr. Xie, who uses an iPhone, both praised the accuracy of the Bluetooth key under different systems. However, Mr. Xie raised a question:
“From version 1.1 and beyond, I think the usage experience of the Bluetooth key has been done well. But I have encountered a big problem: my iPhone XS sometimes cannot log in to the APP, and it takes 3-4 times to enter continuously. If I can’t log in to the APP, the Bluetooth key cannot be used normally, and this problem has not been improved. “
Energy Consumption Display
In the original version, the energy consumption statistics of JiKE’s were very inaccurate. Therefore, in the description of JiKE OS 2.0 version, JiKE officially stated that they optimized “various system energy consumption displays.” Mr. Zhang praised this:
“Before this, my car often showed that driving accounted for 99% and other systems accounted for less than 1%. After the system was updated, I finally knew how much energy each part consumed. For example, how much electricity does the lighting system consume? How much power does the air conditioner consume? I hope to have a clear idea.”
However, Mr. Xie has a different usage experience with the same feature:
“After the update, the energy consumption of each section can indeed be displayed. But after I fully charged the car and drove until it had 30% battery left, the energy consumption display returned to the previous situation: driving accounted for 99% and other parts accounted for 1%. I don’t know if this is a BUG.”
5G Switch
This feature was not added in version 2.0, but everyone believes that the addition of this feature has solved a lot of problems. Mr. Zhang shared that before the 5G switch, the car lost connection directly when entering tunnels or underground parking lots or places without signal, which not only affected the navigation and entertainment system, but also the voice system. Mr. Zhang said that he tried to call EVA but found no response, which was very frustrating. But after the 5G switch was added, he kept this function turned off.## Some Critiques
Facial Recognition
In order to balance the comfort of entering the car and driver identification, the current strategy of Xpeng P7 is to only move the seat with the Comfort Entry feature, so that the DMS on the steering wheel can maintain a fixed position. However, Mr. Zhang stated that even with this method, the user experience is still not great:
“Facial recognition for entering the car still isn’t particularly usable. The recognition accuracy is not particularly high, and in my city, Shenyang, we’ve just gone through an outbreak of the pandemic. It was impossible to successfully identify me when I was wearing a mask. By the time I had reacted and removed my mask, it was already too late. At that time, I certainly couldn’t get out of the car and get back in again.”
Mr. Zhang also added that currently, the facial recognition feature can only achieve seat and steering wheel adjustment and rearview mirror adjustment. If functions such as air conditioning, seat ventilation and heating modes, massage strength, and ambient lighting color are added to the customized facial recognition, this function can be considered fully-formed. From what Mr. Zhang can see, he believes that this feature is somewhat redundant.
Surround-View Camera
In response to the problem that the surrounding-view function and rearview camera cannot be clearly seen at night, Xpeng P7 had made improvements in version 1.1.1 by increasing the exposure to increase visibility. Although several car owners do not have any critiques about the display effect, Mr. Zhang told us that the delay for this feature is indeed a bit high:
“I think a good rearview camera should feel like a mirror, and the feedback given should not be delayed. However, my feeling using Xpeng P7’s system is like watching a surveillance camera. Although there is no situation where the car is far away and the picture does not move, there is still an obvious delay that can be seen by the naked eye. I’ve heard that a friend in a car owner group has crashed his rear bumper due to this delay.”
Mr. Xie also stated that not only is there a delay in the display of the car’s camera, but the warning from the car’s sensors is also delayed:
“The display effect of the 360-degree camera has improved compared to before, but the speed of the radar to recognize obstacles is still a problem. I have encountered electric cars passing by the side of the car, and the car doesn’t start alarm until the electric vehicle has already driven far. At that point, the car starts to beep.”
However, Mr. Xie jokingly stated that when reversing, he still has to rely on his own eyes, and the rearview camera and surround-view camera are only for reference. He doesn’t particularly pay attention to this aspect.
Setting Memory
# Update to 2.0.1
The problem of seat memory loss, which was heavily criticized before, has been improved. However, there are still some issues with the memory of certain settings.
“The automatic window closing function when locking the car often turns off by itself. It’s not that it doesn’t remember, maybe it works fine for a while after you set it up, but one day it suddenly doesn’t remember and then the setting changes from on to off.”
Mr. Huang said that because of this, he doesn’t trust the lock and window memory function at all now. He manually raises the windows every time he gets off the car.
“Although sometimes it works fine, what if it doesn’t? I’m afraid that if the rain function fails one day, the car will get flooded.”
Interestingly, although the car model and software version are the same, two other car owners encountered this problem while Mr. Zhang did not. However, Mr. Zhang has also encountered a strange problem: the ambient lighting in the front and back of the car is not synchronized with the car display interface. Sometimes the ambient lighting is clearly on, but the car tells you it’s off.
Regarding the ambient lighting, Mr. Xie added that in previous versions, the ambient lighting often defaulted to off when getting in the car, but in the 2.0.1 version, he found that it was almost always on every time he got in the car.
In addition to the above issues, the three car owners also mentioned issues such as the LCD screen unable to display real-time power, leakage of light in the central control screen and instrument panel in the dark, video frame drop when watching videos on the central control screen, insufficient display information on the HUD, and inconsistent home charging pile and vehicle charging information.
How about assisted driving?
ACC
“Why can’t regenerative braking and ACC be linked? Regardless of the user experience, using ACC consumes more energy than driving manually, which is very unreasonable,” complained Mr. Zhang helplessly. Similarly, Mr. Xie also said that in hilly areas with many ups and downs like Zhangzhou, Fujian, ACC not linking up with regenerative braking is a waste of energy. He says that sometimes after driving on the highway for dozens of kilometers, the displayed recovered energy is only a few kilowatts. And during the process of using ACC on a long downhill road, Mr. Xie found that the brakes made a “clack” noise, which was very scary.
Mr. Zhang added that the working state of the ACC on the Polestar 1 is not mature enough:
“When I follow a car at a slower speed and it changes lanes and leaves, the system suddenly accelerates to the set cruise speed. Think about it, with a car of over 500 horsepower, the sudden acceleration is quite scary.”
Mr. Huang added that not only is the acceleration abrupt, the braking from using ACC is also sudden, making people very uncomfortable. Mr. Xie, who has a child at home, simply doesn’t use this function:
“I already find ACC uncomfortable when driving alone, and I am even more worried that my child will get carsick in the back seat. So, I don’t use this function much.”
AEB & FCTAWhen it comes to the performance of the AEB (Forward Collision Mitigation System) and FCTA (Forward Cross Traffic Alert) on the extremely expensive 001, everyone has a lot of places to complain about. Mr. Zhang first expressed that these two systems are too sensitive. He said, “I encountered a situation where there was a pedestrian pushing a bicycle in front of me when I turned. I was driving slowly and was still five or six meters away from him, but the car suddenly braked sharply, which was quite scary.”
Mr. Xie also encountered this situation: at the epidemic prevention checkpoint at the exit of the expressway, he was following the car in front, and when the staff approached, the vehicle suddenly braked sharply, which was quite embarrassing. Huang directly turned off these two functions, saying, “When I commute every day, there is a narrow turning section on the road. I can pass it normally, but the system thinks I can’t. So when there is still some distance from the obstacle, the system will suddenly brake heavily, which can be frightening.”
Huang said that whenever the vehicle is completely stopped by this system, the gear display of the vehicle is in the D gear, but the power has been completely cut off. You have to push back to the P gear and then switch to the D gear to restore the power. Regarding LDW lane departure warning, several car owners said that the extremely expensive 001 has not yet updated the LCC lane keeping function in the push, so a single lane departure warning seems a bit unnecessary. Here, they also urged the extremely expensive to complete the update of the LCC function as soon as possible, and quickly add the ACC and kinetic energy recovery linkage function.
“Did you regret buying the extremely expensive 001?” Mr. Zhang said, “I never doubted the mechanics of this car from the beginning, and I went for it, so I don’t regret it at all.” Mr. Zhang has lived in Sweden for 7 years and, as a former Saab owner, he has high requirements for driving experience. Mr. Huang also said that the driving experience of the extremely expensive 001 is worth praising. He felt that the smart system of the extremely expensive car is much better than his previous car, which was a traditional gasoline-powered car. In daily driving, the extremely expensive 001 always gives positive feedback, so he does not have the idea of regretting his purchase.Mr. Xie, on the other hand, had the specific intention of purchasing a spacious 5-seat car. As a father, he compared various products and found that Zeekr 001 could meet his needs perfectly without looking outdated. Although he was satisfied with his choice, Mr. Xie still had a suggestion for Zeekr:
“I am quite satisfied with the product competitiveness of Zeekr 001. However, concerning the Zeekr brand, I believe that the previous public opinion incidents were a test of the bottom line for Zeekr towards consumers. Once you have made a promise, you should keep it. I hope Zeekr can treat consumers better.”
Interestingly, while browsing the Zeekr community on the Zeekr APP, a Zeekr sales representative from Shanghai called me. Although I was slightly reluctant due to concerns about my information being leaked, I decided to chat with him.
From his words, I learned that the proportion of customers who are hesitant to buy cars due to negative evaluations of Zeekr’s vehicle networking is not high. The intelligent upgrading of the vehicle networking system can be carried out subsequently, so more people are concerned about the mechanical quality feedback after test drives. Zeekr has an advantage in this regard.
However, in the fierce competition among new energy vehicle companies in China, everyone is trying to develop strengths and make up for weaknesses. Although some of Zeekr’s competitors have deficits in mechanical quality, they are also catching up at an astonishing speed. In the current situation where competitors are watching eagerly, “if you don’t advance, you retreat” has become “if you advance too slowly, you retreat.”
Time waits for no one, and Zeekr must make greater efforts to keep pace with the competition.
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.