Xpeng G3 owners test drive P7: a pure electric coupe that is more in line with national conditions and second only to Model S

The Xiaopeng P7 test drive camp that I have been longing for finally came to Shanghai last weekend. I am so happy and excited!

In the afternoon of the first day of test drive, I arrived at the Shanghai Xiaopeng Comprehensive Service Center to attend the East District regional press conference.

After arriving at the scene, the first thing that caught our eyes was a white exhibition car. This is the first time I have seen a real white P7 car. It is much better than I imagined. It feels very clean, agile and extraordinary, exuding a unique and noble temperament. I personally feel it is much better than the other silver show car on site.

The theme of the scene is Shanghai’s time travel from the past to the future, and P7 comes to you across time and space. Other things that impressed me were that the fresh meat mooncakes on site were very delicious; several executives of Xpeng Motors shared some highlights of the P7; Long Er introduced the touching story between him and Xiaopeng; I also saw There are many Peng friends that I have never met before, such as the great god Xuan Ye who is blessed by two goddesses, Pan Pan, a post-2000 employee of Xiaopeng, the elegant and wise Feng Yuan...

Not much more, let’s talk about cars.

The next day, we came to the test drive site next to the Minpu Bridge and started the official test drive. There are show cars and test drives here. I looked at the show cars here for a while, and then drove a few laps in the venue. Let me talk about my experience in several parts.

1. Interior design

The show car I saw at the test drive venue this time felt better in interior than the engineering vehicle I saw in the Hangzhou Delivery Center showroom before. It is much better, mainly reflected in the following aspects:

1. The rear seat space has been greatly optimized, and it feels like a new seat design has been adopted. I am 174cm tall and weigh 62kg. When I sit down, I am still more than two fists away from the front seat. Although the front row still has integrated sports seats, they are not as bulky as before, and the visual space experience is much better;

2. The canopy glass is heat-insulating and worry-free. Although it feels hot to the touch, when the air conditioner is not turned on in the car, there is no obvious feeling of heat being transferred from the top of the head. However, looking directly at the sun through the canopy will still feel very dazzling, and the light in the car at noon may cause discomfort to the people in the back row;

3. The riding experience is acceptable. The Nappa leather seats have perfect softness, good wrapping, and are very comfortable to ride. I didn't find any discomfort when riding in the front row. The height of the rear seats is a bit short. It feels like a design that is slightly taller than the Maodou III and slightly shorter than a normal car. This also leads to insufficient support around the knee joints of the legs, and you may feel a little tired after riding for a long time. Personally, I think this is influenced by the fastback design. In order to ensure the rear head space, the seat height is limited;

4. The overall interior has a certain texture, which should be said to be a bit simple. It has a sense of high-end, but it is quite different from the sense of luxury in the general sense. Personally, I feel that this is probably like the difference between neutral and cold home decoration and simple European decoration.

2. Car-machine system

1. Little P has evolved but not completely. When completing routine tasks such as opening car windows, adjusting the temperature, listening to music, recommending routes, recommending food, etc., Little P can give accurate answers or responses, basically without stopping, and will not make people feel paused; similarly Regarding the problem, in personal testing, the response time is slightly shorter than that of the G3 car.

Let’s talk about the continuous conversation function demonstrated at the press conference.

First of all, you need to tell Little P to start a continuous conversation to trigger this scene. After triggering, continuous dialogue performance is stable. When I ask questions with the same content at the press conference, Little P can recognize and give the same or similar answers.

The slight flaw and shortcoming is that when I engage in continuous conversation mode, it is not as smooth and rapid as in the press conference video, and Little P’s speaking speed is not that fast. During the continuous conversation, if he encounters a question that he cannot answer, Little P will not respond for a long time, and then he will say "I don't know what you said."

Overall, the small P is indeed much better than the G3, but there is still a lot of room for continued evolution.

2. The large screen is smooth and has complex functions.

Before, I always felt that the black borders of the P7's large screen would affect the aesthetics and user experience of the car. This time, after actually experiencing it on the show car, I found that it was not as uncomfortable as I imagined. Especially after matching the interior environment of the car, I didn't feel any obvious inconsistency.

The display on the large screen is very clear, and watching videos feels almost like using a PAD at home. The content on the large screen adopts a card-style design. On the far left side of the central control screen are function cards that can be slid, such as "Music", "Navigation", etc. I think this is very good, and it can quickly lock the information content you want to adjust.

However, some function switches on the large screen are hidden so deep that it takes four or five layers of searching to find them. In this way, the operation pressure for ordinary users is doubled, especially in scenarios that require blind operation, which may affect vehicle driving safety.

3. There is a blind spot when touching the car. Considering the coupe design, the driver may sit buried in the seat when driving. In this posture, it is difficult for the right hand to operate the rightmost screen area. Of course, voice operation can solve this problem, but it is still not friendly enough for users who are accustomed to using touch functions.

4. The ring buttons on the steering wheel touch normally. I personally feel that there is no particular discomfort when scrolling, and there is no inconvenience when scrolling to switch menus.

3. Power system

The version I tested was a four-wheel drive mid-range model. The dual motors have a total power of 316 kilowatts, providing a powerful power of 655 Nm of torque and 430 horsepower.

In the sports mode, shift the D gear and press the switch to the bottom. After about 0.5 seconds of lag, the whole person will be ejected immediately and then be firmly pressed on the seat cushion. The acceleration from 100 kilometers to 100 kilometers measured by the mobile phone of the car companion was about 4.8 seconds, but the dizziness was not strong.

There is a slight lag at the moment when the switch is pressed, and then a strong pushing sensation is immediately felt. Personally, I think this is because the motor has been adjusted to make the power linearly explode first partially and then fully. This may be more friendly to users who have just come from fuel vehicles.

During the entire braking process, the feeling is very clear at every moment. The sudden resistance, the loud sound of ABS operation, and the ticking sound of double flashing warning lights are all very clear. In addition, the entire braking process is very stable and there is no slippage or deviation. The foot feel is also very linear, and the ABS bounces when I step on it hard, which gives me confidence in braking. This is really much better than the G3.

Of course, the specific distance has not been measured, but judging from the distance of the ice cream cones next to the road, it is about 38 meters, which is higher than the previously announced data. Since I am not a professional myself, and the visual distance may be biased, this data is for reference only, although I feel it is reasonable.

4. Chassis Suspension

S-winding and figure-8 turns were performed on site.

P7 feels relatively stable, but not very good. Especially during the pile-circling test, when the vehicle speed is about 40 or more, you will feel the vehicle rolling to a certain extent. Although the amplitude is not large, it still affects driving confidence.

Comparing this point with the Lynk & Co 03 I have driven, I personally do not feel that the P7 has a better experience than the 03, but this may also have something to do with the weight of the vehicle.

During the steering process, the direction is still following the hand, but when adjusted to the heaviest steering mode, it is still not too heavy, and I personally feel it is a little bit empty. When passing speed bumps, the performance was acceptable. The front row experience only heard the sound but did not feel the bumps.

The overall feeling is that P7 strives to find a balance between comfort and movement. Personally, I think it’s pretty good. After all, extreme sports conditions are still very rare.

5. Sound insulation

Just a static experience, no road experience.

In static conditions, the sound insulation effect is very good, and there is almost no sound outside in the car. With the windows down, the noise outside is actually quite loud. Opening and closing the front window is a completely different world.

I turned up the music volume in the car to 12 and stood outside. The overall feeling was better and I didn’t feel any particularly loud sounds coming out. But NVH is a complex experience, especially when driving. Not only external sounds, but also wind noise, tire noise and the vehicle's own noise will have a certain impact.

6. Other details

1. Pop-up door handle. I was worried about the feeling of pulling the door handle before, but I tried it this time, and the feeling is quite clear. The quick pop-up and retraction, combined with the characteristics of a coupe, give it a cool feeling.

2. Automatic parking. For a 4.9-meter car, automatic parking is not as flexible and easy to use as the G3, and it still feels relatively conservative and sluggish. Although it was finally possible to get into position smoothly, the proportion of steering in place was greatly increased.

3. The prompt sound is science fiction. The low-speed beep experience is very sci-fi and has a completely next-generation feel. The sound is really difficult to describe clearly. It probably feels like a spaceship taking off.

Let’s talk about my personal experience with several competing products

1. Model 3

The advantages of Model 3 are its brand power, more extreme performance, and more advanced FSD system. Mature, brand power is something that individuals have different perceptions of, so I won’t go into details. In terms of performance, Maodou III is definitely more sporty, and the explosion is more rapid, and it is an artifact for releasing adrenaline.

Although Xpeng’s XP3 system is expected to be as good or even better, as of today, FSD should still be the best automatic driving assistance system. The advantage of Xpeng P7 lies in its more comfortable internal experience, smarter system, and more advantages at the same price.

2. BYD Han

The advantage of BYD Han is that the interior is more luxurious. I once saw Han's show car at Supermarket Plaza in Shanghai. The leather touch and wood grain decoration of the interior, as well as the center console, create a more luxurious experience. The rear space actually has a little bit of an executive-level car experience.

Smart driving is the shortcoming of BYD Han. I checked the hardware configuration on site and found that it is basically only at L2 level. As for the styling of the vehicle, it’s all a matter of opinion. The advantage of blade batteries is safety, but personally I don’t think the safety of ternary batteries is very risky, but it is always better to be safer.

But the most important point is that the price of Han is not clear yet. Without price comparison, it is just a rogue.

Overall, I think the Xpeng P7 is definitely worth recommending. Although it does not pursue the ultimate experience like Tesla, it has put a lot of effort into the comfort, usability and space size that Chinese people value. In my opinion, this is a product that is higher than Edamame III and lower than Edamame S.

However, I still felt some shortcomings in this event, which are listed below. I hope Xiaopeng can do better in the future:

1. Passenger glove box. It's inconvenient to open and will hit the passenger's legs, and the space inside the glovebox is relatively small.

2. Wireless charging location. It's too close to the lower part of the center console of the vehicle, and it feels too deep. The bad experience it brings is that it can't be touched by hand, which is not convenient enough.

3. Open the front trunk. The opening method is too complicated and loses its common meaning.

4. Open the door handle. Opening the door handle feels reversed, and you need to use the hand that is not on the side of the door to make it easier.

5. The middle deputy in the back row is a bit crude when lowered.

6. The organization and execution of test drive activities are average. The test drive object standards, specific arrangements and emotional comfort were relatively average, and test drive customers were often dissatisfied with the order. In addition, the Model 3 model used for comparison is covered with various sarcastic language. I personally have reservations. Every car has its own advantages and strengths. There is really no need to do this.

This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.