This is my second time to see Ideal L9. The first time I saw the static car and was very satisfied, so I placed an order. After the L9 test drive car arrived at the store, the store manager contacted me to arrange for a test drive.
There’s nothing to say about the service. The store manager personally took me for the test drive, which made me feel a bit embarrassed.
L9 Static Experience
The number of L9 test drive cars was limited and there were many people waiting to try them out, so I had to wait a while after arriving at the store. The store staff gave a detailed introduction of every aspect of the L9. The exterior is very sleek with smooth curves. The star-shaped LED lights in the front two meters are very beautiful, and there are auxiliary driving indicator lights below the headlights. When using the auxiliary driving feature, the lights are blue, which looks very nice, while they are orange during normal use.
This is really a car designed for my aesthetic taste!
Entering the car, I focused on experiencing the second and third rows. The space in the third row was surprising, it’s very spacious and the backrest angle is adjustable. Once the angle is adjusted to the right position, it is very comfortable. There are cup holders and charging ports, which earned them a high praise.
The second row has a refrigerator with sufficient capacity to hold water for a family, and with the leg rest open, recline the seat towards the back, turn on the massage feature, watch TV, and play games. Wow, this is so comfortable! I tried the gesture control of the rear entertainment screen, which responded quite quickly, but it requires some learning cost. When driving, I would prefer using the remote control because it would be tiring to keep raising my hand. I estimate that the third-party remote control accessories will be sold out in no time!
Let me brag about the ideal 7.3.4 Dolby panoramic sound system once again, playing “Hotel California,” the sound effect was particularly good and very shocking.
NVH is also good, the sound outside the car could not be heard at all, and you can slightly hear the loud music being played inside the car from outside. So, can we stop talking about the sound of the range extender now? You can’t hear it inside the car anyway.
Okay, that’s all for the static experience.
L9 Dynamic Experience
Let’s hit the road!
The test drive guy took us to get on the car. Sitting in the co-driver’s seat, I was attracted by the delicate screen quality and what I would call the strongest simulation display currently in mass production. The two 8155 chips are indeed powerful, the screen operation is extremely smooth, and the modeling is delicate. Even the rolling of the wheels on the road can be dynamically displayed.
Finally, it’s my turn. When I entered the driver’s seat, the huge HUD display caught my eye, and the display of navigation, driving assistance information, vehicle speed status, etc. was very comprehensive. I couldn’t help but ask, do we still need instrument panels now?
Ideal L9 has changed the gear lever design of Ideal One, canceling the lever and replacing it with two large wireless charging areas and key induction areas, which makes the operation more convenient.
I was not used to the auto-reset turn signal when I first used it, but after driving for a while and then driving other cars, I found automatic reset is more convenient. As for the suspension, the road I drove on was quite good, so it was very stable on the asphalt road. After passing a few speed bumps, there was slight vibration, but it was not obvious.
This time, I specially tested the turning and U-turn of L9, and the 5.2-meter car could turn around without requiring a long distance. Moreover, the lateral force during turning and U-turn was really small. When I drove Ideal One before, the body leaned heavily during turning, and the car felt like it was drifting. In summary, I am satisfied with the tuning of the chassis this time.
Now let’s talk about the ADAS. After turning on ACC and ALC on the urban road, the car gave me the feeling that it was driven by an experienced driver, and it was very smooth and comfortable, unlike other automakers’ autonomous driving attempts, which often behave nervously and make loud noises. I want to compliment the Ideal ADAS team for their outstanding algorithm, which may currently be the best in the market.
Finally, let’s take a look at the key of L9. It has a frosted texture and an oval shape like a stone, which is very beautiful and comfortable to hold. Unfortunately, it seems that UWB technology is not supported, and I don’t know if it will be opened through OTA in the future.
Conclusion# L9 is a key step for the improvement of the Ideal Brand and a crucial battle from one car taking the world by storm to two cars dominating the city. It is my great honor to witness the rise of domestic cars and the realization of Ideal’s dream into reality.
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.