For off-road veterans, it has been a surprise lately.
Prado, who had been absent for several years, finally returned, and the ** of 470,000-570,000 yuan also gave enough sincerity; And then there is the tank 700 Hi4-T of the Great Wall, the 3 that is scarce in the worldThe 0T V6+9HAT large-displacement hybrid architecture makes it out of the limelight; The highly anticipated Ford Flame has also been officially unveiled, and the new car not only follows the styling design of the overseas version, but also launches two professionally modified versions of the original factory, which also comes with an upgraded off-road kit, which also gives sincerity.
There are more choices, and everyone's tastes seem to have changed. Many people are also asking which of these new off-road vehicles have "three locks", or which off-road vehicles on the market now have "three locks".
For this problem, Kung Fu Auto has also done some homework and will share it with you.
(1) Was it the king of off-road bombing, exclusive to luxury cars?
The "three locks" that off-road veterans talk about actually refer to the front axle differential lock, rear axle differential lock and ** differential lock of off-road vehicles. In the past, there was a saying that whoever has the "three locks" has the king of off-road.
Of course, this configuration was also exclusive to top-of-the-line off-road vehicles in the past, and only a few cars such as Mercedes-Benz Big G, Jeep Rubicon, and Land Rover Defender were equipped with it. Even top-of-the-line off-road vehicles such as the Overlord and Land Patrol were not equipped with "three locks" in the past. The reason for this situation is actually to start with the principle of "three locks".
If you want to understand the "three locks", you must first know what they lock, which is actually a car differential. Normally, the distance traveled by the left and right wheels of our vehicles when turning is actually different, which is a natural difference, because the radius of the two vehicles "drawing circles" is different. The purpose of the differential is to help the wheels on both sides to create a speed difference so that the vehicle can turn normally. It can be said that without a differential, the vehicle cannot drive normally.
But when it comes to off-road escapes, the differential is deadly. If one wheel is suspended or stuck in the ground, it will start to idle desperately, and then all the power will be dissipated through the differential to the fast-spinning wheel. The wheels that have not yet sunk into it, but the power has not been allocated, and it is useless to step on the accelerator. This is where the differential lock comes into play, locking the differential and keeping both wheels at the same speed, so that as long as one wheel is on the ground, you can fight to get out of danger.
The so-called front axle differential lock is the differential that locks the two wheels of the front axle, the rear axle differential lock is the differential that locks the two wheels of the rear axle, and the differential lock is to ensure the power distribution of 50:50 between the front and rear.
Of course, the role of the differential lock is limited to this, which is to run some extreme sections, such as mud, uphill, cross-axle, etc. Other times, if the speed is over 5kmh, or if you need to corner, it's useless. Because the application scenario is too narrow, and it is self-important, occupies space, and the technical threshold is not small, it has always been a relatively niche technology.
However, there are also unconvinced manufacturers, among which the greatest contribution to the popularization of the "three locks" is undoubtedly the Great Wall.
(2) Flying into the homes of ordinary people, domestic off-road vehicles are rising
In the eyes of many people, the Great Wall is the popularizer of urban SUVs. Of course, the Haval H6 was born, which directly led to the fire of domestic urban SUVs, and even changed the pattern of the entire automobile market.
In fact, the Great Wall has another identity, that is, a domestic off-road vehicle breaker.
In 2014, Great Wall launched the domestic off-road vehicle Haval H9 for the first time, which directly aimed at the head players of the off-road circle and brought new choices to off-road enthusiasts. Soon, the Great Wall off-road vehicles began to become popular and became the new favorite of the off-road circle. From the most basic non-load-bearing body, to the high-performance engine, gearbox, to the powerful four-wheel drive system, all have been conquered by Great Wall one by one.
In 2019, the 2020 Haval H9 was launched, equipped with an optional front-axle differential lock for the first time, making this new car the first domestic model to choose "three locks". This is also the first time that the "three locks" technology has been devolved to the 200,000 level, which immediately shocked the market.
Subsequently, the Great Wall made persistent efforts, and the emerging tank brands, as well as the high-end Great Wall gun series pickups, also began to be equipped with the "three locks" technology. Great Wall has also made a lot of innovations on this basis, such as the off-road mode of the Tank 300, which can display information such as altitude, road slope, steering angle, etc., which really makes off-road fun and technological.
BYD's Formula Leopard Leopard 5 is also equipped with "three locks", but looking up at the U8, it is only equipped with two differential locks at the front and rear. Because the Yangwang U8 uses a "four-engine platform", four motors drive the vehicle independently, and theoretically there is no need for a differential or a differential lock. However, in order to realize the concentrated output of the two coaxial motors on the same wheel, BYD is still equipped with front and rear differential locks, which can theoretically achieve greater torque on one side when getting out of trouble.
In addition, BAIC's BJ60 is also equipped with "three locks", and the BJ40 seems to be ready to be equipped with this configuration. The short-distance traveler, known as Chery's version of the "Raptor", is also equipped with "three locks". Changan's new extended-range pickup hunter is also equipped with the "three locks" configuration, which is a 100,000-level model, which shows that the "three locks" have been completely civilian.
Probably "infected" by this ethos, * Prado is also equipped with the "Three Locks", which is also the first "bow" of this classic sequence.
(3) Is it necessary to say that the "three locks" are necessary?
In the past, the biggest problem with the "three locks" model was that it was expensive. Because it is too niche, the cost has not been able to come down, and it is generally not a priced model of a large manufacturer, and it will not be matched. Now that this problem has been solved, we need to consider whether it is necessary to buy a model with "three locks".
The advantages of "three locks" are naturally very obvious, and its blessing of off-road ability is immediate. The "Three Locks" provide stronger off-road ability in extreme situations, such as when climbing rocky mountains, the "Three Locks" are far more effective than the electronic limited slip, which is a real locking ability. Once trapped, all four tires of the vehicle can get the same driving force, and even if only one tire hits the ground, it can drag the vehicle on.
But the question is where there are so many extreme roads now, and even if there are, how many people are willing to take cars to "build". Just like the Mercedes-Benz Big G, it is positioned as one of the most powerful all-terrain off-road vehicles in the world, but how many people really drive this car off-road? It is true that there is already a 200,000-level "three-lock" model, but since it is playing off-road at the 200,000 level, is it necessary to play so extremely?
Moreover, the "three locks" have a certain threshold for use, and they can neither turn nor drive at high speed in the case of locking, which is easy to cause problems. This configuration is not only high, but also has to give up part of the space and comfort, in fact, the cost performance is not so high.
(4) Kung Fu shooting
Push back a few years, and the cheaper "three-lock" model is almost only the Pajero. Of course, in addition to the strong off-road performance, the appearance design and configuration are almost average, and the main thing is a "pure".
In recent years, with the strong rise of Great Wall in the off-road field, BAIC has adhered to its own off-road style, as well as BYD and Chery's disruption, and the choice of off-road vehicles has also increased. Including the new Prado, it is also "painful" to increase the allocation, because the domestic car is too rolly.
But we should also see that the "three locks" are actually not so magical. Even if you don't talk about **, this is a mixed technology. If it was really easy to use, and it would have been popular without ***, wouldn't it?