On June 11, when I saw the announcement of the P7 crowd-testing event by XPeng Motors from Garage 42 on their official website, I knew that I had the chance to experience one of the top three domestic pure-electric vehicles on the market! And this time, the opportunity lasted for 7 days, not just a few minutes during a test drive!
I exclaimed, “Garage 42 is so kind!”
Currently, I do not own any cars, having recently graduated and living in Shanghai. At first, I intended to buy a gasoline vehicle, but after realizing that I was not qualified, I was “forced” to turn my attention to the new energy vehicle market.
After learning about Shanghai’s policy on new energy vehicle purchases, I found that I was eligible. Of course, don’t expect me to have much spare cash; I will have to rely on my family’s support.
In terms of the cost of using the car, I checked the prices of charging stations currently on the market, which generally range from 1 to 2 yuan per kWh. Based on the battery capacity of the XPeng P7 rear-wheel drive long-range intelligent version (71 kWh), the cost of a full charge would be 1.5 yuan/kWh x 71 kWh = 106.5 yuan.
The NEDC range is 586 km, but a 20% discount is usually applied during the summer, which means it can actually run about 468.8 km within the city.
Based on driving 50 km per day, I can recharge every 7 days in the summer and every 5 days in the winter, which adds up to 100 yuan per week.
I think this is very acceptable! Of course, XPeng provides 3000 kWh of free charging per year, hehe.
Based on consumption of 71 kWh of electricity per week, the monthly usage would be 284 kWh, which means that 3408 kWh are needed per year.
This is equivalent to spending 408 kWh of electricity per year, which is approximately 612 yuan. I can only say this is a great deal!
40% off for battery life?
The remaining battery life after picking up the car was 282 km, but after arriving home, it was 238 km. The odometer showed that I had driven 44 km, but in actuality, I had only driven about 25 km, a ratio of approximately 1.76:1. Huh? It seems that the previous ratio was not quite right? It was pretty much a 40% discount?Translation:
Actually, it can only run at around 351.6? Maybe it’s related to my driving habits. You guys can share your own experiences with electric usage in the comments below.
Why can’t I open the ADAS?
As someone who has long been curious about ADAS, I couldn’t wait to try it out. So why don’t I have permission to open it? Do I have to scan the code?
As someone who has never driven a Xpeng P7 before, I am puzzled~
I remember seeing a video that said to flick the right lever down twice to turn it on? Did I do something wrong?
I opened the car settings and found that all the ADAS settings were off. I was confused~
Forget it, I’ll just drive myself.
An hour later, I finally made it home!
I opened the ADAS settings to see what happened!
Turns out, it needs to learn!!!
Well, let’s see…
Half an hour later, all of it was learned! I wanted to try the parking memory function in the parking lot, but watching the video… it doesn’t seem to be very useful for me.
Charging up
Because I was going from Shanghai to Wuxi the next day, which is 128 km away, and the battery had 238 km of remaining range, I had to play it safe during my first long-distance electric car trip.
After checking the charging app, I found a nearby charging station with many DC fast charging ports that Xpeng owners seem to frequent.
Being a novice to charging, I took the gun out first. Then I met a Xpeng owner who saw my confusion and asked me if it was my first time charging an electric vehicle. He then imparted some knowledge: slide down the car screen, open the fast charging port, remove the charging gun and insert it into the charging port, and then scan the QR code to pay.
Thanks, brother!
Charging up!
Why does it feel so slow?
It feels like I’m using the same charger as the guy before.
This doesn’t look right. Let’s change to a different one!
That’s more like it!
Advanced Coupe Curved Design
Finally, with the time to take a closer look at this car during charging.
From mathematics to aesthetics, from trends to emotions. The exterior design of the P7 originates from the cross-border design inspiration between mathematics and aesthetics, and the perfect blend of gradual disappearance and the body, which maintains the dynamic tension of the entire vehicle while constantly stirring up emotions in the minds of users.
The streamlined design style comes from aerodynamics terminology, describing a smooth and flowing external shape of an object. This shape reduces the air resistance of the object when it is moving at high speed, as is naturally crafted in a car.
Very stylish!
Sufficient Power
For an electric car, I don’t have too many power requirements. The electric car with a 0-100km/h acceleration of 6.7 seconds has already given me a strong enough feeling!
Overtaking is easy and effortless.
Seems Really Relaxing
With the assistance of driving, the car keeps the lane centered, cruises at a set speed, and actively monitors the preceding vehicle to maintain a safe following distance.
So much so that I only need to hold the steering wheel, observe the surroundings, and enjoy the beautiful scenery!
Principle: Never move when autonomous driving is available!
Switching lanes with signals is amazing, but why do turn signals not turn off automatically after successfully doing so? Anyone knows the logic behind it?
Enjoying the Traffic Jam
From being uneasy at the beginning to letting the autonomous driving take over in a traffic jam, of course, my foot is on the brake and my eyes are looking around.
Much more comfortable than hitting the brake and the accelerator alternately.
I just need to set the front and rear spacing to level 5, then I won’t worry.
Hello, Xiao P
Hello, Xiao P, navigate to…
Hello, Xiao P, play music…
Hello, Xiao P, turn on defrost…
Hello, Xiao P, blow the air conditioner towards my head…
Hello, Xiao P, deploy the airbag???
My Car Purchasing Standard
This time, I did not use NGP. If there are more opportunities, I may try it!
In my opinion, firstly, the road conditions are complex this time, secondly, I am not that at ease, and thirdly, basic autonomous driving assistance and turning signals are enough!
Currently, there are three commercial-level vehicle models in the market with assisted driving based on navigation: Tesla (NoA), XPeng (NGP), and NIO(NOP), all of which must be tried. The Huawei autonomous driving video in Garage 42 went viral before, stunning many people, including me.
I am interested in new energy vehicles because of my demand for intelligence and automation.
Therefore, I have set a standard: Intelligence and assisted driving should be the top priority when purchasing a car.
Leisure Time While Charging
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.