Explore the store and experience the Red Flag H9. How do you view its similarities with Audi and Mercedes-Benz?

Red Flag H9 has aroused widespread concern since it came out, and its popularity has only increased. As the first mass-produced luxury car of its own brand, what is the product strength of Hongqi H9? What are the highlights? Does its design really have the shadow of other luxury cars? With such a problem, the author recently went to Hongqi 4S store for a close-up experience.

I was shocked at the moment I saw the car keys.

Perhaps because of the working day, there are not many people watching cars in the exhibition hall, and two or three groups of customers are scattered, almost all of them are over 35 years old. According to the sales consultant, most of the customers who come to Hongqi 4S store to see cars, especially H9, are older, almost between 35 and 40 years old. The comparison models are Audi A6L, BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

After that, the sales consultant took out the car keys, remotely controlled the red flag H9, and let it perform a light show. Objectively speaking, the light show of Hongqi H9 is really cool, and the temperament of the lamp factory is not lost to Audi A6L.

The front face of Hongqi H9 adopts a straight waterfall grille, and the middle net is connected with the matrix headlights on both sides through the U-shaped chrome decoration on the outer edge. The three-dimensional red flag logo in the middle gives people a solemn and powerful visual sense. Looking at the gas field in front of the car, you really don't lose Rolls-Royce.

As soon as I saw the car keys, I looked puzzled. Because I saw the car key of Hongqi H9 on the Internet earlier (as shown below).

But the car key of this 2.0T exhibition car in the exhibition hall is like this (as shown below), which is exactly the same as that of the old Audi A6L. In this regard, the sales consultant explained that Audi belongs to FAW Group, and Hongqi is a high-end brand of FAW. "Audi engineers participated in the design and development of Hongqi", so the shape of the car key is similar to that of Audi A6L "which is understandable".

▲ Red Flag H9? 2.0T car key

▲20 18 Audi A6L car keys

Not only the car keys, but also the shadow of Audi can be seen in some car interior designs. Including the shape of the cup holder in the car, the position of the cigarette lighter and the switch position of the trunk on the main driver's door, are exactly the same as those of the Audi A6L.

▲ Red flag H9 cup holder and cigarette lighter power supply

▲ Audi A6L cup holder and cigarette lighter power supply

▲ Red Flag H9 Door Panel Trunk Switch

▲ Audi A6L trunk switch

There is a strong sense of luxury in the car, and some details are "very Mercedes-Benz"

To tell the truth, although the news about the red flag H9 is overwhelming on the Internet, the author didn't have much amazing feeling when he opened the door of H9. Compared with the Hongqi model before 10, the interior of Hongqi H9 is indeed a qualitative leap. However, in terms of the level of making cars in 2020, the interior of Hongqi H9 is actually similar to that of most independent brands, with two large screens and a pile of wood grain decorations in the central control, plus various nightclub-style atmosphere lights and leather seats, creating a sense of luxury for consumers.

In terms of details, Hongqi H9 is equipped with a large central control screen integrated with the car networking system, and the air conditioning system and multimedia settings also retain physical buttons and knobs-you can vaguely see the shadow of learning from others, such as the buttons of air conditioning settings, the button design of one-button start, and the button position and opening method of the central armrest box are very similar to Mercedes-Benz.

▲ Red Flag H9 air conditioning settings

▲ Mercedes-Benz S-class air conditioning settings

▲ Red flag H9 is started with one button.

▲ Mercedes-Benz E-Class starts with one button.

▲ Red Flag H9 Central Handbox Modeling

▲ mercedes benz c-class armrest box shape

In this regard, the sales consultant explained that Hongqi is a brand-new self-developed model, which may draw on some elements of luxury brands in R&D technology, but overall, the interior design is completely self-developed. In fact, in my opinion, even if the red flag draws on some design elements of Mercedes-Benz and Audi, it is not a bad thing. We are against wholesale plagiarism and borrowing. Judging from the details seen above, this car does have the shadow of a German automobile engineer. As long as it is research and development, not reverse plagiarism, there is nothing to blame. Many design elements are considered to come from Mercedes-Benz and Audi just because they are used early and have become symbols of family models for a long time. Domestic luxury brands may need enough time to accumulate.

The comfort in the back row is good, but the space is not "luxurious"

For cars, the hardness of seats is a special test for ergonomic design. Blindly pursuing wrapping and softness may bring a good first impression, but if the support is insufficient, long-distance riding may make passengers feel backache. And if the seat is too hard, it may not be the style that an executive car should have.

The comfort of the rear seat of Hongqi H9 is worthy of recognition. The seat is moderate in hardness and good in support. Moreover, the adjustment of electric leg-dragging and electric seat is added to meet the comfort needs of passengers with different figures.

In terms of configuration, Red Flag H9 has 4 seats and 5 seats to choose from. Equipped with rear central armrest with seat adjustment function, independent air conditioning adjustment and two USB interfaces. The level of configuration is not amazing, but it is just the level that an executive class car should have. In addition, in this 2.0T exhibition car, the author didn't see the sunshade in the back row, which is not interesting enough for an administrative car.

In terms of space, the body size of Hongqi H9 is 5137/1904/1493mm, and the wheelbase is 3060mm. After the front row is adjusted to the author's daily driving posture, the space in the back row of Hongqi H9 is relatively plentiful, but it is not as big as expected.

In terms of power, it also has a constant relationship with Audi.

Red Flag H9 has introduced two power versions: 2.0T turbocharged and 3.0T supercharged. Among them, the 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbocharged engine is equipped with a 48-volt light mixing system with a maximum horsepower of 252 horsepower and a maximum torque of 380n·m；; ; The 3.0-liter V6 supercharged engine has a maximum horsepower of 283 HP and a maximum torque of 400 N m. The 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox is matched with the two engines.

The motivation of Red Flag H9 is perhaps the most controversial place. Why is it controversial? Comparing the engine parameters of Hongqi H9 and Audi A6L, it can be found that the parameters of the 2.0T engine with Hongqi code CA4C20TD-3 1 are not much different from the current high-power EA888 engine of Audi A6L. And if you are familiar with Audi, you will find that Audi also has a high-power version of EA888 engine, with a maximum horsepower of 252 horses and a maximum horsepower of 380 Nm.

Secondly, compared with the old A6L supercharged engine, the 3.0T supercharged engine on Hongqi H9 has different peak power and the same maximum torque. To this end, the sales explanation is that this 3.0T engine of Hongqi is all independently developed by Hongqi, and it is the strongest 3.0T engine in China at present. V6 engine, "referring to the technology of German engine, the cylinder head and cylinder block are made of aluminum alloy, and the water-cooled exhaust manifold technology and in-cylinder direct injection technology can effectively reduce the exhaust temperature and reduce the emission of pollutant particles".

However, in any case, the origin of this 3.0T engine and Audi should still be quite deep.

Let's talk about the gearbox. It can be seen that the Red Flag H9 is equipped with a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox. This gearbox, code-named DCT400, is made in Tianjin. Since it is a vertical power shift, it is inevitable to think of the dual-clutch gearbox of Audi code DL382 next door. Moreover, it is worth noting that Audi's gearbox is also produced in Tianjin, which is also vertically arranged, equipped with wet clutch and compatible with four-wheel drive system. However, the low-profile version of the DL382 provides a front-wheel drive model without the traditional mechanism of the rear axle. Hongqi H9 is a front and rear drive layout, so simply from the perspective of gearbox structure, this gearbox has little to do with Audi's vertical front drive gearbox, at least it is not completely reverse development. So I'm also looking forward to what it's like to open the red flag H9.

Let's talk about it finally.

Through this static experience, the author found that Hongqi H9 did show a sense of surprise and luxury in appearance and interior, but from some details and core motivation, we can still see the shadow of reference. Even when looking at the car in the exhibition hall, the sales consultant did not shy away from its relatively ambiguous relationship with Audi A6L.

How should we look at this matter? I think the so-called reference should be divided into two levels: one is complete reverse plagiarism, which is directly taken to the cottage without the consent of the other party. Another kind of reference is to stand on the other side's shoulders, with the technical assistance of the other side's engineers (official or unofficial), adopt some mature technical achievements, digest them for our use, and innovate on this basis, so as to shorten the development cycle and catch up with the advanced as soon as possible. The boundary between the two is sometimes not clear. But at least for the latter formulation, the author is not disgusted. Because as far as technology development is concerned, the necessary reference is the only way to shorten the development cycle.

How to treat the similarities between Red Flag H9 and Audi and Mercedes-Benz?

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