With the Model 3, Tesla has swept the three major new energy markets in the United States, Europe, and China. As there are no direct competitors, Tesla Model 3 can be described as undefeated. However, with the arrival of XPeng P7, the situation may change, with fierce competition potentially starting from the Chinese market.
Taking XPeng P7 as an example, it undoubtedly poses positive competition in terms of price against the Model 3. Recently, I had the opportunity to test drive the P7, and my overall impression can be summarized as “China’s Tesla.” At present, this should be considered extremely high praise.
The reason for this judgement is mainly due to three factors: cool design; advanced intelligence; and excellent performance. These three points are also the product essence of the Tesla series. XPeng Motors is able to achieve these three points, on the one hand, due to its own strength, and on the other hand, due to the overall strength of China’s new energy supply chain.
- Appearance: 90 points
“A car must first be beautiful.”
Regarding the design of the P7, XPeng’s chairman He XPeng expressed his satisfaction with the media. Yes, in comparison to Li Shufu and other pioneers, top executives like He XPeng have higher standards, as they are good at throwing capital and have naturally higher expectations.
Take the appearance of the XPeng P7 as an example. In order to minimize the body height, custom small modules were used, and in order to reduce the wind drag coefficient, the P7 was taken to the Wind Tunnel Center of Tongji University in Shanghai for wind tunnel testing. Obviously, the new generation of automotive manufacturers led by He XPeng has long since abandoned the practice of pirating others’ designs.
The design of an electric car should follow certain elements, from color to structure, to sheet metal processing, and the P7 meets all of these requirements. Its visual effect is refreshing and full of fashion sense, like the innovation of touch screen phones compared to previous keypad phones. This is undoubtedly a trend.
Regardless of whether the main consumers are young people, in terms of design, electric cars should have their own exclusive designs. The claim that the design of electric cars should not be too different from that of fuel-powered cars is merely an excuse for not fully transitioning from traditional to new energy.
The P7, however, is different, coming from the XPeng SEPA electric propulsion architecture. This means that in order to achieve the ultimate product power, XPeng engineers do not have to worry about a certain structure that cannot be changed, or increased costs. They can start from scratch and make a dream car without hesitation.To achieve its ultimate design goal of “beauty”, the P7 adopts design language such as frameless doors, panoramic glass roof, hidden electric door handles and coupe-style, which is a real investment. This is visible, but what is invisible includes automatic front grille, automatic charging flap and the large wheelbase-to-length ratio (the ratio of wheelbase to length, which generally describes the excellent space of the car and is an advanced explicit feature of the pure electric platform).
Compared to the visual impact of the exterior, the interior of the P7 is full of a sense of technology, with its main instrument panel consisting of two LCD screens, 10.25 inches and 14.96 inches respectively, which is a forward-looking choice similar to that of Mercedes-Benz and GAC. In addition, the provision of Nappa leather sport seats and the Dynaudio theater-level sound system, seems to be constantly conveying its positive attitude towards luxury.
However, in addition to technology and luxury, what most satisfies me about the P7 interior is its human-machine engineering.
Although it is an electric car with a battery-covered chassis, its overall sitting posture is not high. Those who are familiar with the shell batteries should know that this is very difficult to achieve, as it requires the chassis engineering team to compromise and compromise with the styling team. Now it seems that the effect is quite good. The low sitting posture makes the P7 worthy of its name as a “coupe”, and at the same time, it is also a big temptation for consumers who like the P7’s sporty style. This “compromise” is completely worth it.
There is also a steering wheel of the right size.
Large steering wheel? Small steering wheel? Currently, new car companies are generally making SUVs, so the steering wheel as a whole is relatively large, and the actual driving experience is not very good, some of them even feel like sailing. For electric cars, I think a small steering wheel is a trend. It is not only small and beautiful, but more importantly, it can fit the quick response sporty performance of the electric car power system, which is especially true for the P7, which is positioned as a coupe.
Overall, in terms of design, the XPeng P7 is very impressive and catches enough signals for forward-looking electric car design, which is not easy for a new car company. Of course, it requires strong support behind it, from research and development strength to financial support, and the firm belief of founder He XPeng in beautiful things.
- Three Powers Score 90
The P7 uses a self-developed three-in-one (motor + motor controller + reducer). From the appearance, the layout is very compact, with the controller located at the angle between the motor and the reducer, which is currently a more advanced three-in-one layout method. The biggest advantage is that it provides more Z-directional space. Therefore, even with a car height of only 1450, the XPeng P7 has a decent front trunk. I always believed that an electric car must have a front trunk, not only to demonstrate its product advantages compared to combustion engine cars, but also because it is determined by the characteristics of electric drive. Without a front trunk, it can only mean that the design level is still very low.### On the three-in-one power system of XPeng’s G3
It is said that the three-in-one power system is the second-generation product of XPeng, which shows its improved electric drive technology. In fact, the XP-Power2.0 system, which is installed on the G3, won the “China Heart” 2019 New Energy Vehicle Power System Technology Leading Award, along with other heavyweight players such as the BYD DM3, the Hongqi 3.0T engine, and the Geely hybrid system.
According to XPeng engineers, although it is self-developed, the core components are still purchased. For a host plant, not every component of the so-called self-developed three-in-one system needs to be self-developed. For example, the motor, or certain control modules and chips, are provided by the suppliers who specialize in their respective fields. As for the manufacturer, the most crucial aspect is providing design drawings and parameters, and conducting software calibration, which is the core capability.
On the handling of the XPeng P7
Now comes the overall driving experience of the XPeng P7. First of all, human-machine engineering should be the most basic, most important, and most easily overlooked product feature, including adjusting the angle of the steering wheel, the travel and comfort of the pedals, the softness and wrapping of the seats, the front-to-back and left-to-right visibility, and the reach of the arms.
With the development of in-car voice systems, the requirement for arm stretching has been somewhat reduced, so the main instrument panel, sub-instrument panel, and central control large screen do not need to be deliberately tilted towards the driver, facing all passengers directly. Specifically, for the P7, although the display of the central control instrument panel is located almost in the center, which poses some difficulty in reaching it, the main virtual buttons for operation are still located on the left and bottom sides, which is easy to use in practice.
As for the steering wheel, it has been discussed earlier and will not be repeated here.
Regarding the P7’s pedal travel, because I have just test-driven another new SUV from a startup carmaker, whose brake pedal had a significant problem: the difference between the travel of the brake and the accelerator was too large, resulting in a large braking action that increased driving fatigue. However, the P7 has improved this issue very well, with an appropriate difference between the accelerator and brake travel that both ensures safety and makes for an easy driving experience.
However, in terms of the initial braking force tuning, I feel it is slightly too sensitive, that is, overly sensitive, and when it comes to the connection with AUTOHOLD, compared with the imported Model 3, the P7 is more smoothly tuned. As for the P7’s chassis feel, this is where I am most willing to give it a high score.
For an electric vehicle, it is difficult for the chassis to be stable with hundreds of kilograms of battery pack. Therefore, the argument that the thickness of the chassis can be judged by the degree of jumping through bumps and potholes needs to be adjusted. How to adjust it? For most models that are still in the process of being converted from gasoline to electric, judging the completeness of the chassis is of greater priority.## Translation starts
For the current electric vehicles, it is a common practice to increase the endurance and enhance intelligence. However, essentially speaking, these are considered as adding configurations and stacking costs. In the end, the wool is still taken from the sheep. The question is, how many brands can really get the wool?
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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.