At the Guangzhou Auto Show on November 22, 2019, WM Motor officially released its second car model, the WM EX6 Plus, with the first Founder’s Edition model being launched at a price of 2.399 million yuan after subsidies.
After the press conference, many people asked me what the difference was between the EX6 Plus and the EX5. I thought the EX6 Plus was just a bit bigger and more expensive, but after a two-day test drive of the WM EX6 Plus, my opinion changed. From the feeling of riding to driving, there has been a big change in the EX6 Plus compared to the EX5.
What has changed and what hasn’t changed in the EX6 Plus?
In summary, “the design has not changed, but the functions have changed, the hardware has not changed, but the tuning has changed.”
Next, I will show you the differences between WM’s second and first car models in terms of appearance, interior, and driving experience.
Appearance
The most intuitive difference between the EX6 Plus and EX5 in appearance is the size and design. The EX6 Plus is much larger, and its side profile is reminiscent of the Audi Q7.
Compared to the EX5, the width and wheelbase of the EX6 Plus have not changed much, but its length has increased by 217 mm, making it a mid-size SUV.
The exterior design still embodies WM’s family design language, with the most representative being the black decorative strip running through the front face and the illuminated logo with interactive functions.
The EX6 Plus’s headlights are composed of 74 LED lights, and the shape of the small light below echoes the logo of WM. When lit at night, the recognition is very high.The most eye-catching feature of the side profile of the car is the 19-inch two-tone multi-spoke wheels. The size of 19 inches is just right for the robust body of the EX6 Plus. As for the tires, EX6 Plus uses Primacy 4 tires from Michelin.
Moving to the back of the car, EX6 Plus still uses a through-type tail light design, but the thickness of the tail light has been greatly increased, and the logo also lights up when the brakes are applied.
However, one criticism is that, like the EX5, the quick charging port of EX6 Plus is placed in the front, and it is not easy to fit the car into narrow charging spots. Furthermore, the body size of EX6 Plus has reached 4.8 meters, so it is hoped that WM Motor can adjust the layout and length of the wiring harness inside the car and move the quick charging port to the back of the car.
That is the exterior introduction of EX6 Plus; next, let’s take a look at the interior.
Interior
When I got into the car, I had three most intuitive feelings: “First, the interior design still follows the style of EX5, but many adjustments have been made in the details. Second, the display style of the dashboard has changed. Third, the comfort of the seats has been greatly improved.”
In terms of hardware, the size of the dashboard screen is still 12.3 inches, and the central control screen is 12.8 inches. However, a new display mode has been added to the dashboard screen, and there are different display styles for different driving modes.Under the new display style, the left side displays the visualization of auxiliary driving, the middle displays driving information, and the right displays multimedia information. There is no absolute superiority or inferiority compared to the old version; both can clearly present information to the driver, giving them another option.
However, there is a small issue in the new mode: the progress bars for power output and energy recovery are hidden in the decorative area below the screen, and the markings are not prominent enough.
As for the vehicle system, WM Motor has added six new scenes including Cinema Time, Smoke Break, Romantic Moment, Commuting, Parent-child Travel, and Air Purification. Drivers can enter these modes by voice or touch.
In these different modes, the vehicle hardware will be adjusted automatically. For instance, in Cinema Time mode, the car will automatically close the windows, adjust the air conditioning to a comfortable temperature and wind speed, and turn the rotating central screen into iQiyi.
These six modes can be thought of as six shortcut keys, and the instructions behind them can be set according to users’ needs. This feature is particularly useful for parents or smokers.
On the other hand, there are two aspects of the vehicle system that remain unchanged.
First, the Living Engine 2.0 system still uses the bubble style display. The advantage of this style is that bubbles will dynamically change their size and frequency of use. However, the disadvantage is that these functions are displayed through analogue graphics, which makes it a bit difficult for first timers to navigate.
Second, the vehicle’s processor chip still uses the Texas Instruments J6 chip, so the overall fluency of the system may be somewhat lacking.
In terms of functions, WM Motor has added Kaola FM to the original Amap, QQ Music, and iQiyi.
In addition, the virtual assistant Xiao Wei has been given two new images, and many more non-wake-up words have been added, resulting in a very good recognition rate from our actual tests.
Adding wake-up word-free feature to voice control greatly enhances its practicality. Many simple operations that are inconvenient to perform while driving can be easily completed with voice commands. The only hindrance to frequent use of voice commands is the cumbersome wake-up words. What should take no more than 5 seconds to complete can take up to 20 seconds with added dialogue. By providing a variety of wake-up word-free options, WM Motor has effectively solved this problem.
Now let’s take a look at another change, the seats and the space.
The EX6 Plus seats have the same style as the EX5, but the level of softness and wrapping has greatly improved. The filling material in the center of the seat is very soft, and the overall fit between the seat and the human body is better.
A soft lumbar support has been added to the back seat area, ensuring greater comfort on long journeys.
Regarding space, although the EX6 Plus’s wheelbase has not changed much compared to the EX5, the overall position of the seats has changed, resulting in ample space in the EX6 Plus back seat.
In addition to passenger space, the EX6 Plus also has a very large trunk. According to WM Motor, a six-seat version of the EX6 Plus is expected to be launched in 2020, so stay tuned.
Finally, let’s talk about a few changes in details.# Changes and Improvements in the Interior of the WmAuto EX6 Plus
Firstly, the facial recognition camera, which used to be above the steering wheel, has now been moved above the center console. This allows the system to quickly recognize a user’s face and log in to their account independent of the position of the steering wheel. Furthermore, the OTA update planned to be released in 2020 will include an “eye gaze activation voice” feature. This means that the camera can automatically detect when the user is looking at the central screen and wake up the voice assistant, replacing the need for a voice command.
Secondly, the function of the buttons near the gear lever has been adjusted. An Autohold physical button has been added, while the kinetic energy recovery regulation button has been removed.
Thirdly, interior details have been improved. The door handles and audio decoration covers, which were criticized on the WmAuto EX5, have been improved on the EX6 Plus.
Fourthly, the issue of door thresholds protruding due to the addition of reinforced struts on the sides of the body has been resolved on the EX6.
In summary, although the design style of the interior of the EX6 Plus and the EX5 has not changed, WmAuto has made many optimizations and upgrades to the functionality and details.
Power
Let’s look at the specs:
- Motor type: Permanent magnet synchronous motor
- Max output power: 160 kW
- Max output torque: 315 N·m
- Acceleration (0-100 km/h): 9.5 seconds
- NEDC range: 500 km
- Battery capacity: 69 kWh
- Battery brand: CATL
- Battery type: 811 ternary lithium battery
The power parameters of the EX6 Plus and EX5 are the same, but due to the larger weight of the EX6 Plus, acceleration may be slightly slower.
In terms of driving experience, the WmAuto EX6 Plus has four modes: Energy Saving, Comfort, Sport, and Personalized. Drivers can adjust power, steering, and kinetic energy recovery.
Under the energy-saving mode and comfort mode, the power output of the EX6 Plus is very smooth, and the entire acceleration process is also very linear. Under the sport mode, the power response is very quick, but the overall power output is not linear enough, and a slight press on the accelerator will result in a strong power output, which may feel a bit jerky.
As for the steering, the EX6 Plus is equipped with a steering assist electric motor from Bosch, which not only consumes less power but also has three adjustable modes of steering feeling.
The actual steering feel when driving is quite different from that of the EX5. The EX5 is light and has a strong electronic feel, while the EX6 Plus is heavier. Even when adjusted to the comfort mode, the steering force is heavier than the EX5, which is a personally preferred steering feel.
Regarding the kinetic energy recovery, WM Motor has recalibrated it, and the EX6 Plus can achieve a relatively slight one-pedal operation. At the same time, the energy recovery of the brakes is combined in the EX6 Plus.
As for the suspension, the EX6 Plus still adopts the McPherson front suspension and torsion beam rear suspension structure, but it has been re-tuned. The suspension is well-handled during fine bumps, and the comfort will be better if thicker tires are used. After going through larger bumps, the suspension has greatly improved the absorption and filtering of vibration compared to the EX5, and there is no longer the obvious shaking of the body after going through large bumps.
Regarding the ADAS, since the EX6 Plus and the EX5 both adopt the Bosch L2 ADAS hardware, there is no difference in capabilities. Therefore, it will not be repeated here. In conclusion, this ADAS system is suitable for use on highways, and can reduce driver fatigue to some extent. Interested friends can review our previous article for details: All-road experience WM Living Pilot | 42Test.
As for the configuration, it will not be introduced one by one here. This has always been a strength of WM Motor, and furthermore, this is a top-of-the-line version of the EX6 Plus.
WM’s goal has always remained unchanged for their second car, and every new carmaker has always been particularly anticipated. There are many experiences to be gained from the first car, and the second car is a symbol of the maturity of the company.# Translation
The first mass-produced car of WM Motor, EX5, has been launched for one year. During this year, both media and users have given a lot of feedback to WM Motor. Unfortunately, many of the problems could not be improved on EX5 in time. These suggestions have been incorporated into EX6 Plus, making it an optimized and upgraded version of EX5. We can clearly see the changes and improvements on EX6 Plus.
Improvement is a good thing, but it is not enough. WM Motor has always taken the route of cost-effectiveness. For WM Motor, the goal of being a promoter of electric vehicles has not changed. This road is not that easy.
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.