Some experienced old riders may still remember that Chery once had the "Fengyun" series. Now, Chery has regained the name of "Fengyun" in the field of new energy, and it seems that it also intends to add a handful of firewood to the domestic new energy vehicle market that continues to roll in. The first model of Chery's new Fengyun series, the Fengyun A8, is positioned as a plug-in hybrid compact sedan and will be officially launched on January 3 next year. Recently, we also conducted an initial test drive of this new model. The performance under the blessing of new energy seems to be needless to say, the new car's stacked intelligent cockpit, safety configuration and comfort experience are certainly eye-catching enough, but the most surprising thing is probably the Chery Fengyun A8's ability to control fuel consumption. (Note: This test drive model is not the final version on the market, if there is any difference between software and hardware, the final version shall prevail).
The test drive route is about 130 km long, including city roads and intercity expressways. This distance is actually cleverly designed to exceed the vehicle's all-electric range of 127 km (CLTC mode). In other words, pure electric vehicles cannot run the entire range, and the hybrid use of oil and electricity will be inevitable. In this mixed state test, the average fuel consumption score can be controlled at about 3L 100km. And if you have a good foot feeling, it is possible to achieve a score of about 2L 100km. It's just that this sacrifices power, and if you count the power consumed by shooting, you'll only have about 20% of the power left on the return trip. In addition, the time for a day round trip is relatively tight, and the sparks and lightning all the way back are carried out, and when taking 3 adults, the fuel consumption is only 4L 100km under the working condition of approximate feeding. Together with the power consumption, the combined fuel consumption is 42L 100km, which happens to be the test feed fuel consumption result of Chery Fengyun A8 (WLTC mode).
As we all know, Chery has a 3-speed DHT technology tree in the field of hybridization. So, is the fuel consumption control ability of Chery Fengyun A8 also due to it?The answer is clearly no, and it is doubly negative. First of all, the Chery Fengyun A8 does not use the 3-speed DHT hybrid transmission, but adopts a more common single-speed scheme. Secondly, under the logic of hybridization, the vast majority of common situations have little relationship between the number of gears and fuel consumption. Even if there is, the relatively low fuel consumption can only be regarded as a by-product. But this is a bit against common sense, and it is said that the more gears, the more fuel-efficient it should be
To figure this question out, we first have to answer: why do hybrids, or even pure electrics, need multiple gears?In short, the core focus is performance, not energy saving. This logic is similar to why Porsche wants to build a single set of two-speed transmissions on the rear axle of pure electric vehicles. Because the working conditions covered by the motor are basically within 80km h, it is of course harmless to cope with high output occasionally, but the pursuit of higher performance is a bit stretched, which is obviously unacceptable to Porsche.
Returning to the hybrid logic, thanks to the presence of the internal combustion engine, this both relaxes the channels for obtaining performance, but also adds special limitations. First of all, it goes without saying how friendly the internal combustion engine is to high-speed conditions. But if you want to add the gearbox structure, then the electric motor, as one of the power sources, must be positioned before P3. Coupled with the limitations of most transverse engine structures, the axial space pressure of the entire powertrain becomes unprecedented. So, when it comes to balancing performance, space, and cost, the P2 single-motor solution stands out. The natural advantage is that all power sources can be amplified by the gearbox structure. The disadvantage is that a single motor integrates a variety of work contents, has high stability pressure such as heat dissipation, and its own power is easy to be limited by space. In order to break free from this shackle, Chery designed two drive motors on the 3-speed DHT structure, which were arranged in P2 and P2 respectively5 Position. With functional staggering, it has multiple gears and stability as well as cost advantages.
So, such a good technical solution, why doesn't Chery use it for Fengyun A8?The answer is simple: no. As mentioned earlier, the demand for multi-gear hybrid power is due to the pursuit of high performance. The Chery Fengyun A8 is just a compact sedan, even if you want to drive such a car to get a high-quality high-speed experience, you can't afford to sacrifice multi-gear DHT. And just over 1The width of the car is 84m, although it is relatively comfortable in the A-class car, but the powertrain will not pay attention to the level, and we can also find that the Chery Fengyun A8 has been stuffed to the brim. In terms of price, it is understood that Chery Fengyun A8 top configuration may also be controlled within "landing within 150,000 yuan" (for reference only, not final**) But this leads to a new question, there are so many single-gear P3 motor solutions on the market, why can you be fuel-efficient?
Old drivers have experienced that the normal working conditions of "small horse-drawn carts" will not save fuel. The ease of the "big horse-drawn car" is more conducive to controlling fuel consumption. Chery Fengyun A8 is obviously the latter, which can be known even by looking at the data. 1.The 5-liter internal combustion engine has a maximum output of 115 kW and a maximum torque of 220 Nm. This is still a tuning in pursuit of high thermal efficiency, but in terms of power, it is quite close to the new EA211 1 that Volkswagen has just launched in China5t engine. As for the motor, the maximum power of the Chery Fengyun A8 drive motor reaches 150kW, even compared with the Tiggo 7 PLUS plug-in hybrid version with its own 3-speed DHT solution, the power of the drive motor of the Fengyun A8 is significantly higher. This is also in line with the previous introduction of Chery's two hybrid technology solutions.
As we all know, the more power a motor has, the higher the speed range it can cover efficiently. From the perspective of driving experience, Chery Fengyun A8 is very keen to take over the vehicle with electric drive under normal working conditions within 80km h. And relying on the advantage of the power of the internal combustion engine, a relatively radical feed management scheme is given. For example, in EV+ mode, the driver can even use the battery capacity up to 15% without triggering the mandatory power retention strategy. If the speed is slowed down further, the capacity that triggers the mandatory power protection may still be lowered. That also lost the value of practical application, so we didn't try again. And in the high-speed cruising state, the speed at which the internal combustion engine charges the power battery is also quite good. The power consumption on the surface was once negative, which also prepared us for the urban congestion conditions in the later part of the return trip.
As for the internal combustion engine, its job function is certainly not just to generate electricity. According to the official data, the vehicle accelerates from 90 to 120 km h in just 38 seconds, which is obviously due to the output of the internal combustion engine. Due to the ample power reserve, the sound from the engine compartment when the internal combustion engine is triggered by pressing the throttle deep is not the usual roar of cars in the same price range, including gasoline vehicles. In terms of detail tuning, whether it is sharp acceleration or re-acceleration at high speed cruising. With the accelerator pedal opening at a large angle, unlike the fuel car, it will test the speed of downshifting and wait for the engine speed to rise. The Chery Fengyun A8 uses its own high-horsepower drive motor to "give the internal combustion engine a ride", while waiting for the engine to climb the speed to the appropriate stage, so as to take over the main power output. The switching of functions between the two can basically only be judged by the sound of the engine compartment. For drivers who are accustomed to driving Xi fuel vehicles, the cost of getting started is extremely low, and the overall experience is fast and smooth.
Written at the end: In fact, since the era of fuel vehicles, Chery has been out of the circle with its excellent power system performance. After entering the new energy era, whether it is a single-speed hybrid, a multi-gear hybrid or even a range extender. We have also talked many times about the underlying technical logic, Chery has a preference for building a high-quality power system architecture with the internal combustion engine. Through the test drive of the real car, we can also clearly perceive the confidence behind this preference. As for the specific energy consumption performance, it is just a manifestation of one of the user's clear perception in the state of adaptation technology.