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It is my pleasure to be one of the first owners of the Ideal L8 in Hangzhou and share with you all why I chose the Ideal L8 on the Garage 42 platform. I purchased the Max version this time, which comes in black and orange with 21-inch wheels.
Why Choose the Ideal L8?
When the news of the Ideal L8 was first released, I was already paying attention to it. Some of the configurations really hit the spot for me. So, after watching the L8 launch event, I almost made my decision to buy the car within 3 seconds without any doubts.
However, I was actually interested in the L9 at first, but I missed the opportunity to be one of the first owners of the Ideal L9 due to my late attention. Therefore, by choosing the Ideal L8, we might be able to enjoy the benefits of being one of the first owners.
We feel that there is not too much difference between the L8 and L9, so we ultimately chose the Ideal L8.
Why Choose Max Instead of Pro?
We chose the Max version because it is not significantly different from the L9. The biggest difference of the Max version is in the changes to the advanced driving assistance system, such as the number of laser radars and cameras.
Our thinking at the time was that we believed advanced driving assistance technology would become more mature and stable 3 to 5 years down the road. Currently, the advanced driving assistance system of the Pro version is almost entirely camera-based.
At the product launch conference, we heard that the goal is to achieve automatic driving within 3 to 5 years. With more hardware, we felt that the driving experience would be better.
How Do We Evaluate Other New Energy Brands?
When we started to choose a car, we primarily looked at new energy brands. At first, we looked at NIO, but felt that its interior design was too simple. Additionally, since our daily travel distance is over 100 kilometers, and we occasionally have long-distance business travel needs, we didn’t want a pure electric vehicle. Choosing NIO would also cause range anxiety, and the price was a bit high, starting at four to six hundred thousand yuan, which is out of our budget.
Later, we looked at XPeng Motors, but at the time, it only had the G3 and P7 models available. I did an offline tour of the G3 in Hangzhou, and noticed that the car had constant problems. This raised my doubts about the brand. When the P7 came out, it overturned my original perception. However, after test-driving it, I felt that it was not as comfortable as I thought it would be. It was more sporty, and since I’m quite tall, sitting in the rear seat made my head hit the glass, making it too hot during the summer, and my entire head became sweaty. After test-driving it, I decided not to consider it anymore.In May and June, when we went to see the Ideal ONE, my wife really liked it. But I said, “They’re still selling the 2021 model, and it’s almost 2023, so they’re definitely going to have a generational change.”
Later in July, we heard about the L8, so I told her, “Why don’t we just wait for the L8? This car is definitely a step up from the Ideal ONE and is due for a generational change.”
Overall, we quite like the Ideal brand. Of course, another reason is that the overall comfort is pretty good. After test driving it, you’ll have the desire to buy it.
Why did you choose L8 instead of L9?
When I was considering a new car, I was also considering whether to get a six-seater or a seven-seater, because many six-seater cars have a poor experience in the third row, and it’s uncomfortable to sit there.
I’ve been driving a gasoline car for about six or seven years. The thing I hate most about it is that it takes forever to accelerate when you step on the gas pedal. I like to occasionally pass other cars while driving, so after test driving the L9, I really felt that it was awesome, and I couldn’t go back to driving a traditional car.
In addition, I often have to drive for an hour or so, which can make me feel back pain and fatigue. So I really appreciate the Ideal seats with massage and ventilation functions, which are really comfortable in the summer.
The biggest differences between the Ideal L9 and the Ideal L8 are the table board, fragrance, refrigerator, etc. Actually, we really care about the small refrigerator, so we did consider switching to the L9 when we were making our final decision. Also, the L9’s ten-point massage is a bit more comfortable.
There’s another reason: When we were considering the L9, they told us that we would have to wait until January to get it. We thought that was almost Chinese New Year; if there was a pandemic, the delivery would be delayed, and there would be too many variables. Also, the perks of being a new car owner would be lost. So we figured that choosing the L8 Max instead wouldn’t make too much of a difference.Choosing the Max over the Pro was also due to the rear entertainment screen. We thought it would be more entertaining for the kids when we took them out on a ride. We also wanted to consider the next two to three years. Of course, the L8’s comfort and technology is what appealed to us the most. The interactive experience of the voice assistant is very useful for us. We also have some smart home devices at home, and Ideal One’s response time is quite timely. “Open the air conditioning, seat ventilation, windows” and other instructions can be recognized accurately without me having to look for physical buttons.
Favorite charging method?
The three new electric vehicle makers have different charging methods.
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XPeng uses a high-voltage platform for fast charging with 800V technology.
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NIO mainly focuses on battery swapping, which takes 3-4 minutes to complete.
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Ideal One uses a range extender, and refueling takes only two to three minutes to fill up the tank.
Since we are considering Ideal One, we are because it combines refueling and charging. As I just said, we usually travel about 100 kilometers a day, so we only need to charge at home for commuting in the city.
Of course, refueling is more efficient, and there are more gas stations. The overall popularity of the charging stations may not be as good right now, especially for NIO, which requires swapping batteries. Finding a swapping station can be quite challenging.
Will you trust autonomous driving?
Ideal One’s autonomous driving and automatic parking are quite useful. We tried automatic parking and found it to be accurate but slow. This may be related to the car’s large size and the surrounding environment, such as parking spaces.
However, I don’t think I’ll use it very often. Most of the time, I will still park by myself. Unless there are cars parked on both sides of the parking space I want to stop, and I can’t get out, I might use remote parking.
Regarding autonomous driving, because I drive long distances frequently, I will consider using it when on a highway or elevated road. I have worked in an industry related to autonomous driving before, so I am willing to accept new things.I always believe that technology is constantly improving. At the beginning, it may not be the best, but it will definitely be gradually optimized in the future.
Closing Words
Personally, I am not a big fan of joint venture cars or foreign cars. I have a special preference for our domestically-produced cars and am truly a loyal user of them. I think that our domestically-produced cars, especially in the field of new energy, are leading many countries in terms of both technology and other aspects. I believe that our domestic new energy brands will definitely get better and better!
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.