With China’s automobile export volume jumping to the top in the world, the domestic automobile market is also undergoing profound changes at the same time, and the automobile consumption market has gradually started the upgrading process from quantity to quality, and it is more urgent for independent brands to explore their own upward path. Whether in order to survive in the era of involution or seek industrial breakthrough in the narrow incremental market, major brands have come up with their own upgrading direction and specific measures.
Therefore, a few years ago, independent brands launched new brands with luxurious positioning to build high-end vehicle series. After several years, their development paths were different, some focused on tonality and some focused on scenes. However, this brand born out of the group still focuses on the original product strength, and the latest technology of Chery Group can basically be seen on the models of Xingtu brand, and its models are still expanding.
As the "early elder" of this sub-brand, Xingtu Lingyun is a very representative one. Not long ago, the new generation of Lingyun in Xingtu officially opened for pre-sale, and the new car was pre-sold with three configuration models, with a pre-sale price range of 149,900 yuan to 179,900 yuan. Before, we have had a static experience of it. Then, as the performance of Starway brand, what will it feel like to start?
A new generation of Lingyun is the key model of Star Road brand 2.0. Its appearance maintains the "texture aesthetics" design of the old model, and the overall outline style has not changed much, but the adjustment of details has made the flavor of the whole vehicle more modern.
Compared with the old models, the new generation of Lingyun focused on the details of the front of the car. Chrome-plated decorative strips were added at the front grille, and the large-size medium net with penetrating LED daytime running lights maintained the recognition of the star route. The large-size air inlets on both sides of the bumper were embedded with vertical fog lights, and the black decorative strips were added around them, which was more radical.
In terms of color, the new model adds a star-green car color, and this greenish color system can be regarded as the "net red" now.
In terms of body size, the length, width and height of the new generation Lingyun are 4780×1890×1730mm respectively, and the wheelbase has reached 2800mm. The data has slightly changed compared with the old models. The official said that it has the body size of medium and large SUV and the maximum height-width ratio of the same class, which also makes its interior basic space have sufficient protection.
In terms of the rear end, the new generation Lingyun uses horizontal penetrating lines to increase the layering of the vehicle, and the upper part of the rear end is equipped with a top spoiler, which further widens the visual effect with the design of penetrating taillights. The rectangular exhaust pipes with two sides add a little business atmosphere to this car.
Our test drive car is also equipped with brand-new MC6 series high-performance tires with specifications of 245/45 R20, front ventilation disc and rear solid disc braking system, and with double-cylinder and double-piston floating calipers and Bosch ESP9.3 body stability system, the handling limit and braking performance are also higher.
When you open the car door, you will find that the new generation of Lingyun has changed so much. It has changed into the latest style interior modeling used by Chery’s new models. The suspended IP platform+prancing central island platform+dual-spoke steering wheel builds the basic visual style, and the visual center of the entire cockpit is undoubtedly this 24.6-inch Galaxy-surrounded true curved screen.
This curved screen presents a parabola-like smooth bend. Although the two screens are not directly connected, the whole outer screen is seamlessly spliced, and the final texture is very good and full of advanced feeling.
On the basis of creating a luxurious atmosphere, the exclusive light cloud white and elegant silver black interior colors, as well as the 256-color stepless color-changing surrounding atmosphere lights also create a more gorgeous and textured cockpit atmosphere.
The display effect of the central control screen is clear. The digital AI smart cockpit created by Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 flagship chip and LION 5.0 Zhiyun system is displayed on it. CarPlay, Gaode map, Chejia Internet and other applications are seamlessly integrated into it. The touch operation is silky, the voice control responds quickly, and the range of functions supporting control is also very wide.
In terms of intelligent configuration, the new car standard configuration includes 21 ADAS driving assistance functions, including FAPA automatic parking assistance, AEB automatic emergency braking system with pedestrian+bicycle identification, DOA+DOW door opening warning and other configurations.
In terms of cockpit acoustic experience, it is very worth mentioning the car audio system. The test drive car has 7.1.4-channel panoramic sound surround sound 23 speakers+main driver headrest. The audio adopts+dual-core DSP processor technology and is equipped with an independent power amplifier. The total power reaches 1080W, and you can enjoy excellent auditory enjoyment during driving.
In terms of seats, the new generation of Lingyun is equipped with NAPPA leather-covered first-class seats. The front seat heating and ventilation, leather steering wheel, Bluetooth key, keyless entry and dual-zone independent air conditioning are all standard.
On the passenger seat, Lingyun has also joined the now hot Queen’s passenger mode, and also has the function of seat massage, so the "Queen" can have a better comfortable experience when sitting here.
Or the same level of power ceiling?
Since its birth, Starway Lingyun has always been the performance of Starway and even the entire Chery brand, and this attribute is no exception in new models. In terms of power, the new generation of Lingyun has brought dual-power configuration: the 300T model is equipped with a 1.6TGDI engine, with a maximum power of 148kW and a maximum torque of 300N·m, and the fuel consumption under WLTC is 7.4L/100km, which is 3kW higher than that of the previous generation engine and 1.6% lower. In terms of transmission system, the matching is a 7DCT gearbox supplied by Getrag.
The 400T model we test-drive is equipped with a 2.0TGDI engine that Chery won the "Top Ten China Hearts", with a maximum power of 192kW and a peak torque of 400N·m；; The transmission system is equipped with a brand-new 8-speed automatic manual transmission. Its supplier is unknown, but it is certain that its identity will definitely be a surprise, and it may be officially unveiled soon.
The model we test drive has a shift paddle, but as for the details of the shift lever, our test drive vehicle has a shift mode with a bosom gear. The short electronic shift lever is ordinary in shape, and the shift position display is located at the right rear of the steering wheel. The damping feeling of shifting is a bit sticky, but the position sense of the shift position is quite clear.
As long as you get started, you can quickly feel that the engine’s response to the throttle is very positive. In fact, the orientation of the turbine is more urban, and the positive pressure can be established at a lower speed, and the peak torque of the engine comes earlier. In the initial stage, it will be somewhat docile, but as long as you apply a little pressure to the throttle, the engine can make the speed rise rapidly in a short time, and then the power begins to emerge quickly and fully.
In fact, the power output logic of the power system is more economical. Personally, it is the best and most comfortable to control in the economic mode. When the city is driving at a medium speed and steady state, the engine speed is always kept hovering in the range of 1300 rpm. In the normal driving state, the transmission is more active in upshifting, and it will complete the gear shift before 2000 rpm in order to achieve better fuel economy with a lower speed.
In terms of the quality of gearbox, after careful adjustment by engineers, its selection of gears is more mainstream, and its handling of shifting actions is more mature. No matter in cruising or low-speed crawling working range, you can feel its character is very peaceful, even a bit like CVT.
As for the most obvious acceleration in the middle of the power experience, you don’t have to worry about the power output at this time, and the response speed of the gearbox downshift is still very fast. As long as you click the throttle in the middle and high speed, the output of the engine will not be very alert, but it can also be guaranteed to be powerful at any time, and there will be no feeling that you suddenly need to accelerate but the power of the car can’t come or come too slowly.
The new car provides seven driving modes: economy, standard, sports, snow, sand, mud and off-road. When the driving mode is adjusted to sport, the response and downshift speed of the throttle will be more alert, and the shift speed will be pulled to about 3000 rpm to meet the opening of the throttle under your feet. But no matter what the working conditions are, the power system is looking forward to cooperating with your power requirements in different scenarios.
Lingyun is not a car, but the potential of power gives people a profound feeling in the speed range of the whole world. The speed limit of the city, which has been accelerated to 80km/h, is extremely light and comfortable. It is full of power but it is not easy to give you a subjective feeling of passion. But there is no doubt that as long as you are willing to give oil, not only at the traffic lights, but also at the speed of cruising, this power combination will still make you feel that the potential is surplus, and it is no problem to call it a "big steel gun".
The model we test-drive is equipped with a timely four-wheel drive system, and the sixth-generation electro-hydraulic four-wheel drive system of Borgwarner is blessed, and its response speed is shortened to 120 milliseconds. With its help, the car won’t be as keen on "skidding and starting" in the starting state as the common steel cannon car, and it’s not easy to hear the sound of tire skidding no matter how big the input angle is, but it can feel the high-spirited action of the front of the car and the urgent acceleration afterwards.
The chassis of the new generation Lingyun continues to adopt the suspension combination of front McPherson independent and rear multi-link independent, with the power layout form of front front drive or front four-wheel drive of our test drive. This chassis has undergone several rounds of adjustment by engineers, and its style is more used by users in China. The whole chassis adjustment has a obviously comfortable and luxurious personality orientation.
Therefore, when driving it, you can also experience this level of high-level feeling in the smooth road commuting of the city, and you will not feel a big bounce when passing through the broken road. It almost completely filters and isolates the vibration of various small potholes and roads, without the slightest fine vibration.
In fact, for such a big car, chopping and climbing is obviously not its use scene. Its steering damping setting is very light, and it is more linear with the speed gain, which directly affects that you will not feel "competitive" with the steering wheel when you are in the corner. However, it is subject to its own SUV form, and the longer suspension stroke also makes its steering wheel directivity have obvious virtual position. The following level of the tail is also in line with its size, and it is not as good as leapfrog. There is still some sense of big car when turning quickly in narrow roads or corners.
The performance of NVH is remarkable. The multi-mute acoustic package technology commonly used by Chery brand has been configured. The front double-layered laminated mute glass +ANC active noise reduction has achieved multi-level NVH noise suppression, and basically no sound can be heard when sitting in the car at idle speed. In addition, the engine gearbox also has a noise reduction design. In the actual experience, the disturbance of gear shifting at low speed and the occasional noise vibration from the engine is almost negligible, and the engine sound with rising sound line can only be heard when accelerating rapidly, but the "sound quality" is quite good.
The wind noise and road noise from the chassis are also well suppressed. At high speed, the main noise sources are the wind noise brought by two exterior rearview mirrors and the wind noise from the roof, which is also affected by the wind impact brought by the relatively large and square car body. After careful experience, the noise control below 100km/h is ideal, and the conversation in the train is the same as that at low speed. There is no need to raise the tone, and the overall NVH is very online.
Summary: Nowadays, most of the self-owned high-end brands are hatched with new energy vehicles, and as a pure fuel vehicle, Star Way Lingyun can be regarded as a "legacy of Canghai". This upgrade, the new generation of Lingyun not only adds a lot of configurations, but also improves the performance. It is as friendly and full of performance potential as the old one. On the whole, it not only has the capital to fight against joint ventures at the same level, but also has the strength to be hard at the same price. Its high-end is not just lip service.
