In the traditional era of fuel-powered cars, the mid-to-large luxury car market for the C-Class can be said to be exceptionally stable. Looking at sales figures from any period, the BMW 5 Series, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, and Audi A6L firmly occupy the top of the list, with the rest of the luxury brands being classified as “second-tier luxury” and sometimes needing to complete tasks by trading price for market share. However, in the new energy era, this stable camp also shows signs of being “loosened”. Many ambitious Chinese brands are launching attacks on this market, and with increasing intensity. As a new energy luxury brand backed by Dongfeng, Lantu has launched the Zheguang for this market. At the end of last year, its PHEV plug-in hybrid model was officially launched, with 3 models priced between 252,800 and 358,800 yuan (49880$). Whether it is pure electric or PHEV, the official statement is that Zheguang aims to challenge the traditional mid-to-large luxury car market. In addition to higher configuration and better comfort, after “German taste” has “marinated” consumers for so many years, Zheguang PHEV relies more on a stronger power system and better chassis quality to seek breakthroughs. Therefore, this experience will focus on the dynamic experience to see how powerful it really is. Brief review of the static part
The positioning of the Lantu for the Chasing Light PHEV is the “new executive electric flagship”. Like the pure electric model, it adopts the family-style design of the Kunpeng spreading wings on the front face. However, because the engine needs intake, the Chasing Light PHEV has redesigned the grille and adopted the classic “big mouth” shape. In terms of details, the interior of the grille is decorated with small Lantu logos, showing good delicacy and a sense of luxury. The wing-shaped LED light strip + centrally illuminated logo continue to be equipped. The bottom grille presents a classic three-segment structure, extending to both sides of the front of the car, adding a sporty temperament to the executive style.
The side of the Chasing Light PHEV is more administrative, but the slight sloping design also makes its overall shape very elegant and slender. Whether it’s the window line or the use of chrome strips, the side of the car is very concise, and the hidden door handles further enhance the luxury of the side. In terms of body size, the length, width, and height of the Chasing Light PHEV are 5088/1970/1505mm, with a wheelbase of 3000mm.
The rear of the car features rich lines and a diffuser-style kit at the bottom to enhance the sportiness. Unlike pure electric models, it does not have the exaggerated automatic lifting wing, but rather a redesigned tail light group with a central vertical light strip added to the tailgate for a touch of technology.
The interior design of the PHEV maintains a consistent look with the pure electric version, aiming for a balance of luxury and technology. The extra-long triple screens integrate the instrument panel, central control screen, and passenger entertainment screen seamlessly. The choice of materials is also exquisite, with the cabin mostly using DINAMICA faux suede fabric and soft-touch surfaces. In addition, it is equipped with ambient breathing lights that support seamless color adjustment and adjustable brightness, creating a superb sense of interior grade.
The three screens of the triple screen are of the same size and are built with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 chip as the processing core. Under the centralized SOA electronic and electrical architecture, the car’s advanced functions and car networking are equipped, so there is no need to worry about the functions. In terms of human-machine interaction, it also has many highlights, supporting voice recognition, gesture recognition, face recognition, and voiceprint recognition.
The PHEV seats are covered with high-quality fabric and equipped with ventilation, massage, and heating functions. The front and rear seats also have leg support, electric backrest adjustment, and one-touch recline mode.
Unlike the typical “56E”, it also has a control screen in the rear center armrest position, which can control the air conditioning, seats, sunshades, and other functions. This configuration is only available in the “78S”.
In terms of power, the Chasing Light PHEV is equipped with a plug-in hybrid power system consisting of front and rear dual motors + 1.5T hybrid special engine. This is a power system with both the engine and electric motor capable of independent output in series and parallel. In terms of data, the total power of the system is 390kW, and the total torque is 810N·m.
In terms of endurance, the Chasing Light PHEV is equipped with a 43kW·h ternary lithium battery, which is a relatively large capacity even for an extended-range model. With its assistance, the Chasing Light PHEV’s CLTC pure electric endurance can reach 262km, and the comprehensive endurance of CLTC with full oil and electricity is 1260km.
The PHEV, born from the ESSA original intelligent electric architecture, has a front double wishbone and rear multi-link independent suspension. The key is its predictive magic carpet chassis, with a suspension system composed of air suspension + CDC that is actively adjustable for softness and hardness. The system will also use the front ADAS system components to scan the road surface data in front of the vehicle, and then analyze the data before handing it over to the chassis system for targeted preparation, thus obtaining better driving comfort. The intelligent electric four-wheel drive technology brought by the front and rear dual motors also enhances its overall driving experience, and all of this is enough to match its powerful power.
The speed of the car depends on the tires. Our test drive car is equipped with two-color five-spoke aluminum wheels and Michelin PS EV series tires with a specification of 245/45 R20. These tires are specially designed for new energy vehicles, with strong grip performance, energy saving, and quietness as the main features. Next, we will experience the car on regular roads and the dynamic square, truly driving it on the road. Dynamic square project experience The organizer chose the experience site at the test track in Chuansha, Pudong, Shanghai, and set up a small test drive area with stakes, barrels, and speed bumps, including a small Kana track, slalom, and bumpy road. However, due to heavy rain the day before, the road was still very slippery, so we could not push the car’s performance to the limit on such a road. Slalom experience
In the snake-like winding around the stakes, these sharp turns with different angles mainly test the turning characteristics and power output of the vehicle. The most amazing thing in this project is the “magic carpet”, its “magical” character is fully displayed here. With its blessing, the whole experience of winding around the stakes almost feels like there is no obvious tilt, even at the limit of the outer bend. It gives the feeling that the car is in a floating state throughout the entire journey, passing through the stakes without any difficulty, giving a great feeling and confidence.
In the snake-like slalom, we should strive to give a fast-slow-fast speed cycle around the stakes. During this process, the entire power output of the Chasing Light PHEV is proportional and very smooth. The power you need is always available, without the situation of needing to accelerate out of a turn but the car’s power cannot be accurately delivered. And in weak mode for energy recovery, its power also does not stick, and the recovery is very smooth. Experience at the Jin Kana Track Jin Kana is a small track course, although the speed is not fast, it still tests the quality of the car’s chassis and steering system. Its steering is no problem on the road, but for a sports car, it seems to have a heavy electronic steering assist system and its size is a bit too big on the track. But fortunately, it does not have many laps, so when facing continuous curves, if you can find the right direction and align the front of the car with where you want to go, it can generally respond quickly.
Its ground clearance is not low, but the natural advantage of electric vehicles makes its center of gravity lower. Faced with slippery roads, the extreme G value still causes the tires to slide laterally to a certain extent. However, at this time, it will show the characteristics of a rear-wheel drive vehicle, allowing the rear of the car to slide like a drift. However, the system will still intervene with extreme precision to determine its limits and “save you” when it is on the verge of serious side slip.
So, driving it around the Jinjia Raceway is fast and smooth, but subjectively it doesn’t offer much sporty fun. The system’s adjustments to the entire body are quite conservative. Once you pick up speed, its logic tends to lean towards maximum effort to ensure your safety. In terms of its positioning, the sense of sportiness is actually secondary. Road experience Compared to the track, how it performs on the road is what users are more concerned about. And here, it didn’t disappoint me.
The power of the PHEV system is huge, equivalent to a high-power tuned 3.0T engine. You don’t need to worry about absolute power. Thanks to the series-parallel hybrid technology built on the pure electric platform, the system can support pure electric, series, engine direct drive, parallel, idle power generation, energy recovery and other modes. In addition, there is no need to worry about fuel economy. The official fuel consumption is 5.4L/100km, lower than the average pure electric small car. The system also provides economic, comfortable, high-energy, snow, and personalized driving modes to adapt to different scenarios.
This hybrid architecture actually does not focus on extreme power output compared to pure electric, but its 0-100 acceleration time is also solidly achieved in 5.9 seconds. When you need this power, the system can exert all its power to help you, and it also has the ability to press you into the seat with acceleration. In this state, excellent NVH does not excessively transmit the roar of the engine in the car, and the change in sound during acceleration is very small.
You don’t have to worry about the connection of the power system. The intelligent SOC strategy will autonomously allocate oil and electric energy intelligently. It can switch between different operating conditions through millisecond-level response energy conversion system, ensuring excellent energy storage and utilization. When used normally, you don’t have to worry about it.
Its chassis filtering characteristics are not straightforward, and “neutral” is the most appropriate description. It is difficult to describe it thoroughly as soft or hard. The tuning style gives it a clear road feel, and the suspension filtering and support capabilities are very satisfactory. Filtering these different short-term vibrations, sitting in the front row, you can also distinguish what shape of road surface the tire just rolled over.
With the addition of the air suspension and CDC, the suspension of the PHEV model has gained more confidence when facing speed bumps, providing longer absorption time on uneven roads. The comfort is absolutely full, with no looseness when passing at high speed, and stable standing at the first time. After the launch of the pure electric model, the launch of the PHEV model has become a popular expectation, and the Ranture has not disappointed. The PHEV model of the Ranture not only inherits all the advantages of the pure electric model, but also maintains a high level of power. With a pure electric range of 262km and a comprehensive range of 1260km, it is very attractive for users with both urban commuting and long-distance needs. In addition to the limited edition, its regular main models are priced at 25-28 million yuan, which is its killer feature.