When it comes to the development of the MPV market in China, Rui Feng has made a significant contribution. 20 years ago, Buick GL8 firmly occupied the government MPV market share, while Odyssey had a considerable influence in the high-end household MPV market. At that time, the prices of joint venture brand MPVs were high. It was in this context that Rui Feng proposed to provide practical and affordable MPV products for the general public and small business owners. Therefore, in 2002, the first Rui Feng MPV rolled off the production line. With this original intention, Rui Feng took less than two years to leap from obscurity to the top three in the market.
With the support of new energy technology, plug-in hybrid MPV products have continuously reduced fuel consumption. Acceleration is no longer like an old ox pulling a big car, and the acceleration per 100 kilometers has also entered within 10 seconds. Such products can meet the needs of more scenarios and are becoming more suitable for household use. The MPV market has become more lively, and during the test drive in Hainan, the common sight on the road is no longer the GL8, but the Tengshi, Lantu, and SAIC Datong MPVs. It can be seen that domestic MPVs are gradually replacing joint venture brands, and many good products have appeared, such as the Tengshi D9, Lantu Dreamer, and the recently popular Xiaopeng X9 that has sparked public opinion among netizens.
All cars are good, but the biggest problem is the price, all of them are over 300,000 yuan (41760$), and the high-end version of the Xiaopeng X9 even exceeds 400,000 yuan (55670$). In a period of economic downturn, when everyone’s wallets are tight, the market needs a practical and affordable MPV product.
So, is there a practical and affordable MPV product on the market? With this expectation, the author participated in the “New National Tide Intelligent Electric Hybrid MPV” Rui Feng RF8 Hainan test drive event, and fully experienced the Jianghuai Rui Feng RF8 intelligent listening version of the PHEV flagship.
The Rui Feng RF8 Smart Edition includes four models: fuel and PHEV plug-in hybrid. The flagship PHEV is priced at 239,900 yuan (33390$), while the premium PHEV is priced at 219,900 yuan (30610$); the flagship fuel model is priced at 189,900 yuan (26430$), and the premium fuel model is priced at 169,900 yuan (23650$), with deliveries starting on February 1st. Compared to the new energy MPVs that easily cost 300,000 to 400,000 yuan (55670$), the Rui Feng RF8’s price seems very sincere. The Hongmeng Edition is equipped with a 15.6-inch Huawei Smart Screen and a high-performance vehicle chip, with the new Hongmeng 4.0 system. The pre-sale prices are 209,900 yuan (29220$) for the flagship fuel model and 259,900 yuan (36170$) for the PHEV flagship model, with deliveries starting in April 2024.
Now let’s take a look at the appearance of the Ruifeng RF8, the highlights are concentrated in the front face style, including Lingkong, Longlin, and Qingyun. This time, I saw Lingkong and Longlin, which indeed have a taste of new national trend design.
It also comes in five body colors: rosewood brown, quantum silver, crystal white, oriental blue, and sunshine gold, as well as four interior color options: ebony brown, sea moon white, warm coffee moon white, and smoke amber black, to meet the personalized needs of different consumers.
When it comes to personalization, the Ruifeng RF8 offers 7 optional configurations, including grille, tires, comfort package, L2 driving assistance, L2+ driving assistance, and 6/7 seats.
The second row is equipped with electric leg rests, and the third row has a maximum legroom of 1010mm, with seat cushions measuring 517mm long. Whether in the second or third row, the floor is made flat, allowing rear passengers to sit more naturally and comfortably.
The Ruifeng RF8 experienced in Hainan is not the Hongmeng version, but it is equipped with the Zhiling car system, with a dual 12.3-inch high-definition intelligent connected screen, equipped with a new iFLYTEK intelligent voice system and iFLYTEK Xinghuo cognitive model, with more accurate voice control and stronger language understanding ability, it can answer even unexpected questions, not just simple weather inquiries or time checks.
In addition to meeting the communication habits of the Chinese people, there is also a thoughtful detail. As an MPV, long-distance travel is common, and the Rui Feng deliberately provides the option of video playback for the screen of the co-pilot during the journey, solving the problem of the co-pilot passenger being idle during the journey.
It’s a bit of a shame that, due to being a closed custom system, there is no software market, it seems that third-party software cannot be downloaded.
When it comes to vehicle control, you can use the central control screen to touch and operate the electric tailgate, windows, and sliding doors, or use the iFLYTEK voice system to do it with just a few words.
The Rui Feng RF8 long-endurance version uses lithium iron phosphate batteries, with a pure electric endurance of 150km under CLTC conditions and a comprehensive endurance of over 1150km. The battery only takes 20 minutes to charge from 30% to 80%, and supports 3.3KW external power output. In the front of the second row, it provides a direct current 220V output and a maximum 150W five-hole socket.
The Jianghuai Ruifeng RF8 has two power modes: first, the 2.0TGDI+8AT, which can output a maximum power of 186kW and a maximum torque of 400N·m. The other is today’s protagonist, also the focus of everyone’s attention, the plug-in hybrid system, 1.5TDGI DHE+3DHT, with a maximum comprehensive power of 310kW, a maximum comprehensive torque of 745N·m, and a zero to one hundred kilometer per hour acceleration of 7.3s. The thermal efficiency of the 1.5TDGI DHE engine is 44.26%. This hybrid system can achieve three-engine mode, range-extender mode, pure electric mode, and series mode. The parameters of the entire power system in this class belong to the first echelon.
Thanks to such power parameters, in terms of driving, power reserves are not only abundant, but can even be described as strong. The 1.5TDGI DHE+3DHT combination allows the voluminous Rui Feng RF8 to accelerate without any inferiority to a sedan. Step on the accelerator, the response is very quick, with a slight sense of push back, and the efficiency of overtaking is very high, it is simply a “flexible little chubby”.
In the braking and steering section, it has multiple adjustable modes. Kinetic energy recovery has two gears: larger and standard.
Here, the emphasis is on the brakes. The overall feel of the brakes on the Rui Feng RF8 is on the harder side, requiring more force to get a response. Although there are two settings for brake adjustment: standard and comfort, the difference between the two is not significant. In the first half of braking, from high speed to low speed, a significant amount of force is required. The difference may be felt when transitioning from low speed to a complete stop, where the comfort setting may feel slightly less hard. This is important for first-time Rui Feng RF8 drivers to pay attention to, as previous driving habits of lightly and gently pressing the brakes may lead to issues.
In terms of energy consumption, we departed from Haikou and stopped in Qionghai on the way. The data below shows that we traveled a total of 134.5km, taking over 2 hours, with a top speed of over 90 km/h and an average speed of 59 km/h. Fuel consumption was 2.7L/100km and electricity consumption was 14.6kW.h/100km. It is clear that the energy consumption performance of the Ruifeng RF8 is completely superior to that of similar fuel vehicles, which is satisfying. After test driving, the author feels that the Ruifeng RF8 is a high-value MPV. Its affordable price is due to some sacrifices made in terms of luxury features, but it still has many essential MPV features such as spacious third-row seating, a large sunroof, second-row electric leg rests, and electric sliding doors. Additionally, it has a “flexible big guy” acceleration of 7.3s per 100km, and most importantly, it is very reasonably priced at just over 200,000 RMB, making it extremely cost-effective.