Some models are equipped with non-independent rear suspension. Is the "new" Ralink still competitive?

On the Internet, there is a saying "three aunts on the road".

The so-called "three big moms on the road" refer to the most common models of "turtle-speed cars" driving on the road, and the GAC Toyota Ralink is one of them. But have you ever thought that maybe it’s not that the drivers of these models don’t want to drive fast, but that the cars themselves don’t drive fast? ?

At the end of the Spring Festival in 2023, I drove my family’s Lelink Shuangqing all the way south from Shaoguan back to Guangzhou.

My experience with this car can be said to be mixed. The good thing is that the Ralink under the TNGA architecture is indeed easier to drive than the old model, and Toyota's THS hybrid system is indeed more fuel-efficient. , the average fuel consumption is just over 4 liters. ?

There are slightly more things to worry about, such as weak power; an almost useless engine; a worrisomely calibrated auxiliary driving system and an odor that cannot be found from the source. ?

As a person who was born and raised in Guangzhou, I have always had an inexplicable fondness for GAC Group, a local enterprise. I do not want to see the products of GAC Toyota with such worrying strength. ?

Fortunately, GAC Toyota seems to have made adjustments. On March 23, the new Ralink was officially launched.

"New generation" Ralink

According to the official statement, what is released this time is the "new generation" Ralink, launching 6 pure gasoline models and 3 This is a gasoline-electric hybrid dual-engine model with a price range of 113,800-148,800 yuan.

But when I saw the pictures and configuration of the model, I couldn’t help but wonder, is this really a replacement model?

In terms of appearance, there are almost no changes between the new model and the old model. Except for small details such as the change of the grille shape of the front surround into a diamond design, other places are basically the same as the old model. consistent.

As for the interior, the overall design language has also not changed.

However, it is commendable that some of the configurations of the new car will be equipped with a 12.3-inch full LCD instrument panel. In addition to the 185T model, all other models will also be equipped with a 10.35-inch multimedia central control screen. It is the "ancestral big TV" of older models.

The most exciting thing is that the new 10.35-inch central control screen supports the mobile phone interconnection screen projection function of Apple CarPlay, Baidu CarLife and HUAWEI HiCar. Users of any mobile phone have the right to choose. , CarPlay is no longer “exclusive for low-end devices”.

In terms of power, the new Ralink is still equipped with three power systems: 1.8L hybrid, 1.5L naturally aspirated, and 1.2T turbocharged, so why do the officials say this is a new generation model? ? ?

In fact, the main reason why it is called a replacement is because Ralink is the first model equipped with "Toyota's fifth-generation intelligent electric hybrid dual-engine system", which is also the biggest improvement of the new car.

Compared with the nickel-metal hydride battery in the hybrid system of the old model, the new model has replaced the ternary lithium battery from BYD. This set of batteries has a higher energy density, and the power of the electric motor has also been improved, making its overall power increased by 15 horsepower compared with the old model, to "up to" 137 horsepower.

In addition, the new Ralink is equipped with Toyota's new generation T-PILOT intelligent driving assistance system. All dual-engine versions are equipped with Toyota's latest Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 smart travel safety suite as standard.

Quietly reducing configurations

Although in my opinion this new model can only be regarded as a mid-term minor facelift, the strength of the new Ralink has indeed improved. Just when I thought that GAC Toyota was doing a pretty good job this time, I discovered another clue.

When I was looking through the configuration, I was surprised to find that the 1.5L naturally aspirated version of the three-cylinder engine has all the rear suspension systems replaced by the old double-wishbone independent suspension. It has become a torsion beam non-independent suspension system on new models, which is also commonly known as "car suspension". ?

This inconspicuous change may bring about completely different changes.

?

The picture shows 22 models

Although some well-adjusted non-independent suspensions can also bring a good riding experience, independent suspension and non-independent suspension The difference in structure is destined to have a gap between the two sides. ?

We all know that replacing the non-independent suspension can reduce the manufacturer's manufacturing costs, but the new Ralink has no obvious price reduction. Isn't this a naked reduction in configuration?

In addition to the suspension structure, the new Ralink has also regressed in terms of safety.

When promoting the old GAC Toyota Ralink, it often uses the standard 8 airbags in the entire series as a selling point. However, looking at the configuration table, we can find that except for the 185T version of the new Ralink, which comes standard with 8 airbags, the other models only come with 6 airbags as standard.

The knee airbags and passenger seat cushion airbags have been reduced in the main sales model. If there is no such configuration in the first place, you may not care too much, but it is somewhat unkind to remove the existing configuration.

A careful comparison of the configuration tables of the old and new models shows that the 185T model using the 1.2T engine has almost no upgrades. It even lacks radar and LED front fog lights, making it "lonely". The 1.5L three-cylinder version and the dual-engine version have indeed improved, but they have also significantly reduced equipment.

I thought that the configuration of the new model has been improved, and the price has basically remained unchanged. It can be called "increasing volume without increasing price." Unexpectedly, GAC Toyota was not so generous, and it was still "the wool comes from the sheep."

The competitiveness is not strong

If you think about it carefully, the competitiveness of GAC Toyota Ralink is really not strong anymore. ?

Two or three years ago, when the penetration rate of new energy vehicles was not that high, people’s acceptance of PHEV models was not that high. Thanks to Toyota's long-standing reputation, the HEV hybrid version of Ralink has been favored by many consumers.

Yes, with a fuel consumption of just over 4 liters per 100 kilometers and brisk acceleration below 40km/h, Ralink feels really good. But to this day, is such a performance still "beatable"?

In terms of power, PHEV models can support higher-power motors due to the presence of large-capacity batteries, and have strong power and fast acceleration. Take the BYD Qin PLUS Champion Edition model with an entry price of 99,800 as an example. Both have an official 0-100km/h acceleration time of 7.9 seconds, and the total power reaches 180 horsepower.

Looking at the new Ralink, although the power of the hybrid model has been improved after using new technologies, reaching 137 horsepower, the acceleration time from 0 to 100km/h is still only "9 seconds." Not to mention the 1.5L three-cylinder version with only 121 horsepower and the lower-power 1.2T model, which will only accelerate slower.

In addition, when I drove the old Ralink, the vibration control after the engine intervened was really bad when the battery was depleted due to long-term idling. The "hoarse sound" of the engine when accelerating at medium to high speed is also uncomfortable. For a family car, the vibration and noise of the engine will only make people uncomfortable.

Even compared with models that also use HEV hybrid form, Ralink does not have an advantage.

The GAC Trumpchi Shadow Leopard hybrid model that I have test driven is better than the GAC Toyota Ralink in terms of power output and chassis texture. And the Shadow Leopard hybrid version priced at 128,000-148,000 yuan is not much more fragrant than the dual-engine version of the Ralink, which starts at 133,800 yuan?

In terms of configuration, all new Ralink models come standard with a 4-speaker “advanced audio system” and a plastic steering wheel. The entry-level model does not even have radar and reversing imaging. Such configuration may be early on domestic models. It was just sprayed out of the sky.

Even in terms of fuel consumption performance that Ralink is proud of, it is not dominant now

PHEV models such as BYD Qin PLUS, although the fuel consumption is relatively low despite the loss of power, It is higher than Ralink, but since it can be recharged, the average cost of use is not higher than Ralink.

At present, the only advantage of GAC Toyota Ralink may be its long-term reputation and quality stability. After all, it is not yet clear whether other new cars in the past two years are reliable.

Written at the end

Perhaps because after seeing the well-built bZ4X suffer a "severe beating" from the market, Toyota still adopts a very conservative strategy in the Chinese market.

The development of pure electric models is not going well, and hydrogen energy models are still in their infancy. Rather than being rash and aggressive, Toyota might as well "rest on its laurels" and play it safe. After all, GAC Toyota's cumulative sales in the Chinese market in 2022 will reach 1,005,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 21.4%.

Judging from the current situation, it is not a big problem for GAC Toyota to make money safely.

But in my opinion, GAC Toyota still has some concerns, otherwise it would not publicize the intelligence level of its models in a big way. Because if GAC Toyota does not improve its intelligence level, it may be caught up or even surpassed by independent brands!

It’s just that when promoting, GAC Toyota did not grasp the degree of success. The slogan "100,000-level Ralink, one million-level intelligence" is really hard to understand.

If the car itself is not intelligent enough, why do we need to use the screen projection function of mobile phones on the three major platforms? And how can intelligent hardware with only two cameras and one millimeter-wave radar at most compare to some self-owned brand models of the same level?

Although I haven’t test driven the new Ralink yet, the old model’s “erratic” lane keeping function left a bad impression on me, so I didn’t test drive the new Ralink. Intelligent driver assistance system has too high expectations.

The so-called million-level intelligence may just be compared with Toyota’s own million-level models.

I wonder if the reputation and sales that Toyota has accumulated over a long period of time will be caught up by other brands and eventually collapse due to overly conservative strategies and low cost-effective products?

(Some pictures are from the Internet)

This article comes from the car owner's guide of the author of Yichehao. The copyright belongs to the author. Please contact the author for any form of reprinting. The content only represents the author's opinion and has nothing to do with Bitauto