With the policy of prioritizing the allocation of new energy vehicle quotas to households in Beijing, it is natural for those who have participated in the lottery for 8 years and failed to catch a quota to take advantage of the national policy for convenient daily travel. With the problem of quotas solved, choosing a suitable new energy vehicle for family use has become a new issue.
Spaciousness is a Must-Have
As a sturdy man standing at 195 cm tall, my daily car needs cater to a family of two and occasionally a one-day trip with my parents to the outskirts of Beijing. Therefore, spaciousness is the top priority when buying a car. Compared with other new energy vehicles on the market in China, the space of the DENZA X is outstanding. Even with a height of 195 cm, there is still room for approximately one fistful of headspace when sitting in the driver’s seat. When the seat is adjusted to a comfortable position, there is still satisfactory legroom in the back row. After raising the steering wheel, there is no leg entrapment. During the two days of test drive, the cramped and tired feeling was not experienced despite driving in congested urban road conditions and on the high-speed highways of the suburbs of Beijing in rainy and snowy weather. From the exterior, compared with the EQC, which is of direct descent to Daimler, the DENZA X has an absolute advantage in overall size.
High Exterior Design is Also a Must-Have
As a young person born in the 90s, the aesthetics of the vehicle used every day must be high as well. Designers from Daimler, like Li Yihuan, imparted the Mercedes-Benz widely recognized design genes and car aesthetics to this “hybrid” car.
Firstly, from the exterior, the overall design of the DENZA X is simple, flowing, and elegant. The design of the car body and the streamlined front and rear headlights maintain a concise and straightforward style, which is consistent with the electric aesthetics of new energy vehicles.
Furthermore, the interior design focuses more on enhancing the vehicle’s luxury feel. The metal brushed lines in the center control area, the wood grain pattern on the side of the door, and the multi-color ambience lighting design, all add a lot of color to the technological ambience of the interior. The Style by Mercedes-Benz badge and Brembo brake pads add to the luxury and superiority of the car.
Comfort is Indispensable
In a city like Beijing, where commuting time is long, the importance of comfortable means of transportation goes without saying. Firstly, ample space enhances the comfort level, and at the same time, benefits from the long history of Mercedes design.The seat comfort of the DENZA X is also satisfactory, and the design of the backrest fully considers the scientific ergonomics. The front of the seat can be stretched forward to provide further support for the legs, so even after sitting continuously for 3 hours, you won’t feel back or leg pain. The standard seat ventilation and heating system also relieves the dilemma of 90s working-class worries about additional installation costs.
The PHEV version of the DENZA X needs further upgrade. In this test drive, the pure electric range of the PHEV version of the DENZA X can reach 100km, and it takes about 3.5 hours to fully charge using slow charging. After a short test drive (after driving 9.1km on a fully charged battery, there are still 89km of range left), the range under pure electric mode is still relatively accurate.
Different from the idealONE’s series hybrid PHEV (engine only charges the battery but does not participate in the transmission), the DENZA X is a parallel hybrid PHEV, which means the engine can only participate in the transmission but cannot charge the battery. It can only utilize the energy from braking during deceleration to recharge. However, the energy returned during braking is limited. Therefore, as long as the battery is dead, the engine will always have to work, even in the parked state, effectively becoming a “fuel vehicle”. Therefore, the fuel consumption of the PHEV DENZA X is not low.
Although the fuel consumption information cannot be found on the dashboard, after driving to Bazhou more than 150km away from a full tank of gas, the fuel tank was only one-third full. The size of the fuel tank of the official website cannot be found, only that the engine has a displacement of 2.0L. According to the estimated size of BYD Tang’s fuel tank (53L), the fuel consumption of the DENZA X in hybrid mode may be around 10L per 100km. Hopefully, the next-generation DENZA X can introduce a parallel hybrid PHEV model.
Finally, I saw the DENZA X’s immediate predecessor, the EQC, in an underground parking lot in Sanlitun. Each has its own strengths, but the DENZA X does not lose its momentum to the EQC, and the entire vehicle is also larger than the EQC.
As a new energy index holder, who like me, has special space requirements, I sincerely say: Buy it, buy it, just buy it!
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.