Toyota, the well-deserved boss in the automotive circle in 2021. According to public information, Toyota Motor Group's total global sales in 2021 will be 10.49 million units, making it the only car company in the world to sell tens of millions of units, and has surpassed the Volkswagen Group for two consecutive years to sit firmly in the top spot in the global automotive industry. In the Chinese market, North and South Toyota sold more than 1.6 million units, ranking second in the sales list.
Toyota's sales responses gave the industry activists a heavy blow, and it is clear that in this era, it is still more important to tell stories to build a good car. The result of everything is a combination of factors superimposed, so we borrowed the GAC Toyota TNGA Driving Fun Experience Camp to have a comprehensive and in-depth experience of GAC Toyota's products, for consumers, what is the core charm of the TNGA model that shakes our pockets?
Side of the TNGA
The systematizing capabilities of a giant car company
In the consumer market, many people will positively understand the TNGA architecture as a platform and compare it to Volkswagen's MQB platform. In fact, the full name of TNGA is Toyota New Global Architecture, which literally translates to Toyota New Global Architecture. Originating in 2013 and unveiled in 2015 with a new generation of Prius models, the architecture was actually developed in the darkest hours of Toyota, and during the development of the TNGA architecture, Toyota suffered a year-on-year decline in profit margins.
At that stage, Akio Toyoda said in an interview, "I hate being beaten," so what he led Toyota to do was not to sit still, but to use innovation to meet the new era of cars with twists and turns. Since 2013, Toyota has invested more than $9 billion in research and development for many years, culminating in the TNGA architecture as we know it today.
From the back of the TNGA architecture, this is a complex architecture that goes beyond the model platform, covering the company structure, management system, research and development, production, and even the supplier system. From Toyota's point of view, the principle of the back of the TNGA is actually very complicated, and as consumers we know one thing, that is, its core is "highly generalized".
Perhaps when it comes to high generalization, everyone will think of modularity, but it is not. For example, we are familiar with the Volkswagen MQB platform and the BMW UKL platform. In addition to the modular combination, there are many things that cannot be changed, such as the MQB cannot change the distance from the front axle to the cockpit, and the UKL platform can only produce front-drive vehicles. Or models produced on the same platform must maintain the suspension structure of the front McPherson rear double wishbones.
(Volkswagen MQB)
The TNGA architecture is highly inclusive, taking the product line of GAC Toyota, from Weisa to Senna. From the A-Class model to the full-size MPV, from the former Leiling to the four-wheel drive Highlander, they were all born on the TNGA architecture. The core element of high versatility lies in the more refined parts of the general use, not just the common module.
Models on the TNGA architecture can achieve 80% of the generality of parts, for example, in traditional cars, A parts can only be adapted to B models, while TNGA architecture models, A parts can be equipped with B, C, D and other models. This part may be the engine foot, or the connection between the seat and the cockpit floor, so the concept is not the same as the platform concept.
(Toyota TNGA)
So what we see from the side of the TNGA architecture shows a strong systemic capability. As a global car company, Toyota had more than 100 body forms and more than 800 power combinations in the global layout before the introduction of the TNGA architecture. The complex categories of vehicles are a strong obstacle to the production and localization of research and development for different regions. After being highly versatile, Toyota has truly made it simple.
Eventually, we return to the consumer's point of view, and the biggest benefit that TNGA brings to us is the significant upgrade of the product power due to the high degree of generalization.
Cheap and big bowl of HuaDan Leiling
In the 2021 GAC Toyota sales list, Leiling ranked first with sales of 220,000 units. So what is the point where this car impresses consumers? The most intuitive way is, of course, to list the book data.
GAC Toyota Ralink has launched two generations of models in the Chinese market, and the first model launched in 2014 is not the TNGA architecture, and the subsequent TNGA architecture models have been greatly upgraded in terms of handling, safety performance and intelligent configuration.
The handling is the most intuitive change to feel, the original Raeling model in the chassis is the front McPherson rear torque beam suspension structure, while the new generation of Ralink is equipped with the front McPherson rear E type multi-link suspension, this suspension structure is the same as the B-class car Camry, so in a way, the benefit of the generalization of the TNGA architecture is to reduce costs, while being able to decentralize better technology within the group system to more affordable models. At the same time, the new Leiling has further shifted the center of gravity down, and the control has been further improved.
We can look at the three Japanese mainstream A-class sedans in the current market, in the chassis structure of Nissan Xuanyi is still using the structure of the front McPherson rear torque beam, while the chassis structure of GAC Toyota Ralink is similar to the positioning of the more youthful and sporty Dongfeng Honda Civic. Many people will think that if you compare these three cars together, the Civic is the most sporty and stylized product, but after driving the Leiling, I have some new views.
"Who would throw up in a car?"
During the test drive, we drove the car onto the mountain road of the Baili Gallery in Beijing's Yanqing District. To tell the truth, Lei Ling's manipulation gave me a bright feeling. It cannot be denied that the power performance of the 1.8-liter dual engine version of the Leiling we are driving is still remarkable, with the assistance of the motor, it can obviously feel a more powerful low torque output when cornering, with the CVT gearbox can continue to maintain the characteristics of high speed, the acceleration performance of the Leiling 0-60km/h is 4.38s, so its performance on the mountain road is not "meat".
Straights are not really fast, and if everyone only accelerates faster than straight lines, the story of AE86 and Kei Tsuchiya will no longer exist. The most impressive thing about the new generation of Ralink is its stability in the corners, just the right body size so that you can not detect the dynamics of the rear of the car in the corner, as if driving a hatchback.
The flexible body posture can give you great confidence to hold the bend to carry out the form, the limit of the vehicle is very high and even in the second half of the corner can be recklessly pressed on the accelerator, at this time you will only feel that the vehicle is still pressed dead in the lane line, there is no feeling of pushing the head.
There was also a small episode in this test drive, after I drove the Thunderbolt down from the mountain, the little brother sitting in my co-driver was thrown up by me... Obviously, I didn't control this Ralink with the driving method of driving a family car, and in the process of constantly testing its limits, Ralink brought me a kind of pleasure that should not exist in its class.
However, I still have to say sorry to my little brother, but this is all AE86 (Leiling) fault.
In addition to driving, in terms of safety configuration, the new generation of Ralink has 7 more standard items in active and passive safety configuration than non-TNGA architecture Ralink (comparison of models with the same guide price). And users can also get a good L2 level assisted driving system on high-end models.
In this era, intelligent assisted driving has become a function that civilian family cars are within easy reach, but he still has a premium, in this regard, the mainstream three Japanese car companies are still very conscientious, and products like FAW-Volkswagen Sagittarius, auxiliary driving functions and high-end models are bundled at the same time also need to be selected separately.
Although everyone calls themselves L2, consumers still need to polish their eyes, such as Xuanyi's assisted driving system does not have lane keeping function, and there is a gap in experience with products with full L2 level automatic driving functions.
Therefore, under the TNGA architecture, entry-level models such as Leiling have also achieved "no price increase", and cost performance is always the primary consideration of users in this consumption range.
Cutting-edge performance
Veranda PHEV Performance Edition
In this test drive, the two cars we tested showed two different styles of Toyota, And Leiling is the most rational side of Toyota, which will fully pack the product force through the TNGA architecture and Toyota's ace strategy to deal with the A-class car market. The high-performance version of the Veranda PHEV is a sensual Toyota, before which I have never closely associated high performance with Toyota, in my opinion Toyota's label has always been "practical", but in the face of an increasingly stylized consumer environment, Toyota's breaking of the circle is also reasonable.
The biggest highlight of the Velanda High Performance Edition is that it is equipped with a hybrid system consisting of a 2.5L Atkinson cycle engine and an electric motor, and is divided into low/high power versions according to the number of drive motors, of which the 2.5L engine has a maximum power of 132 kW and a peak torque of 224 N·m, the two-wheel drive version of the motor power is 134 kW, the peak torque is 270 N·m, and the four-wheel drive version of the motor power is 174 kW, the peak torque is 391 N·m, and the whole series matches the E-CVT stepless gearbox.
The 4WD version of 100 km/h has entered the 5-second club, and the car also features an E-FOUR system that enables 100:0-20:80 front and rear wheel power distribution via drive motors placed on the rear axle.
Currently, in Toyota's product lineup, the 2.5-liter Atkinson cycle engine heat used in all hybrid models under the TNGA architecture has a thermal efficiency of 41%, which is among the best in production vehicles.
Therefore, low fuel consumption has always been the housekeeping skill of Toyota hybrid models, and this plug-in hybrid form of Willanda is no exception. The fuel consumption of 100 kilometers is as low as 1.1L, and the total endurance is as high as 1152km. Of course, another advantage of plug-in hybrids is that it can be externally charged and fully electric driving, with a pure electric range of 95 km. Therefore, the performance version of Veranda really achieves high efficiency and high performance.
When it comes to plug-in hybrid, it is not difficult to think of a strong competitor in the domestic market - BYD Tang DM. BYD's DM plug-in hybrid technology is very different from Toyota's plug-in hybrid technology. DM prefers to use the advantage of the motor to increase the performance of the vehicle, while Toyota's plug-in hybrid is on top of the core competitiveness of ensuring low fuel consumption, and then use the motor to supplement the performance.
The core difference between the two is fuel consumption, consumers are voting with their feet, in the user range positioned by Willanda and BYD Tang, there are few users who are "performance-oriented" greater than "pragmatism", and "home" is always the core use scenario of this part of consumers.
According to official data, when using a 220V 16A charging pile, it can be fully charged in about 5 hours, and in the case of a 220V 8A charging pile, it can be fully charged in about 9.5 hours.
Also during the mountain road test drive, the high-performance version of the Veranda model impressed me most with its strong low torque output, and with the blessing of the two motors, I performed the oil out of the bend in each corner extremely smoothly. And the power connection is very smooth, can achieve the ability to step on the go.
Subject to the SUV body form, the chassis tuning of the vehicle is not as aggressive as Leiling's, and there will still be a slight roll in the mountain curves, but the comfort on the paved road is still the most attractive part of Veranda. Of course, comfort should be the core competitiveness of an urban SUV, with it on the mountain road for fierce driving users is a minority, on the basis of satisfying the family, to the young "Daddy" group more performance stimulation and driving pleasure will be the high-performance version of Veranda in the market the most core competitiveness.
epilogue
With the blessing of the TNGA architecture, Toyota has gone through its darkest hour. In the past five years, we have been emphasizing the impact of the new four modernizations on the future of the automotive industry, and have been constantly emphasizing the importance of innovation. But after a deep understanding of Toyota's TNGA architecture and its products, I found that our past understanding of innovation was still somewhat limited.
Perhaps electrification and intelligence can carry out a major reshuffle of the automotive industry, but what will promote this reshuffle? I think the ability to systematize should be one of the key factors that are indispensable, just like the 30 pure electric models in Toyota's strategy of 2030 released at the end of 2021, no new sense of power has made such a bold statement, because systematization is their ability to reach. The TNGA architecture can be a booster for Toyota's globalization strategy, and presumably it will also have the ability to push them into the next era of the automotive industry.