Surpassing BBA, and even daring to benchmark executive-level ultra-luxury models such as Maybach and Bentley. With the endorsement of Huawei technology, the Xiangjie S9 is not a high tone. Recently, Yu Chengdong also pulled Weibo CEO Wang Gaofei to feel a handful of Xiangjie S9. Through the experience of various industry leaders, we can endorse the top comfort of the S9. But no matter how you look at comfort, it is not like the performance of the product, which can be perceived by actual parameters. So in addition to the endorsement of the big guy, how can Xiangjie S9 say that its comfort can already be called a traditional ultra-luxury brand?
The body size is unconventional, because you want to learn Rolls-Royce?
The executive-level luxury and comfort created by the Xiangjie S9 may be exposed to its body contours. More specifically, as a pure electric vehicle, the axle-to-length ratio of Xiangjie S9 has not reached the level of 0.6. The advantages of a long wheelbase and a higher axle-to-length ratio in terms of creating interior space and improving vehicle stability are self-evident. So in the era of fuel vehicles, these are one of the core data pursued by many vehicle designs. After electrification, pure electric vehicles have brought dimensionality reduction effects in wheelbase design. Is the Xiangjie S9 driving backwards? The answer may be that the Xiangjie S9 is learning from the benchmark Rolls-Royce of similar models.
Although Rolls-Royce is the epitome of an executive-class ultra-luxury sedan, its classic design language often has universal value. For example, the ratio of wheels to body height is about 1:2, which is one of Rolls-Royce's signature design languages. In today's ordinary civilian vehicle design, this concept is also more implemented. So at the moment, the 18-inch wheels are not big, and the new energy bodies of Chinese brands have begun to appear more than 20-inch options, including the Xiangjie S9. These are all tire designs that take care of the larger and larger bodies, and as for the improved grip, I'm afraid it's the bonus that comes with it. Therefore, in fuel vehicles that are extremely sensitive to energy consumption, the so-called high and narrow tires have begun to appear, that is, the tire width is only 215 or even 205, but the wheel size reaches 18 inches.
Returning to the body, similar to the Rolls-Royce Phantom, the rear suspension position of the Xiangjie S9 is not pushed back very extremely. This seems to be contrary to the design philosophy of the car with short front and rear overhangs. However, if the range is limited to comfort, then the length of the rear overhang can be appropriately maintained to a certain extent, which can effectively absorb and cushion the impact from the road surface, thereby improving the stability and comfort of the rear cockpit of the vehicle. And make the trunk space not affected by the cabin space of the vehicle. Whether it is in practicality or styling beauty, it seems more stable. Of course, there is also a threshold for this part of the design. The blind pursuit of a long rear overhang will also lead to the vibration filter not being absorbed quickly and effectively, which will reduce the comfort performance.
Of course, in the new energy body, the difficulty of using air suspension and CDC variable damping shock absorbers has also been greatly reduced. The wide range of adjustable hardware has also widened the range of this threshold. As long as the algorithm of the active suspension is properly applied, the gain in the comfort part of the rear cockpit can still be maximized if the rear suspension position is appropriately increased. The active suspension algorithm is a key technology accumulated by many domestic car companies and related suppliers, including Huawei. Therefore, under the premise of considering more for the comfort of rear passengers, the body profile of the Xiangjie S9 actually has a certain focus on taking care of it. As a result, in terms of data, it is not so in line with the current trend of new energy vehicles.
The price of learning, head space and appearance can only choose one of the two?
But anyone would think, the industry's top Rolls-Royce, can you learn if you want to? Specific to the Xiangjie S9, what is the price of learning Rolls-Royce body design? The answer is actually on the C-pillar of the S9. As mentioned repeatedly, in terms of design, the new car is aimed at creating a more comfortable rear seat. But in terms of silhouette, the Xiangjie S9 still adopts a design that is somewhere between a hatchback and a traditional sedan. Supposedly, the positioning of the vehicle will be more dignified and stable, such as the Rolls-Royce Phantom. And the final choice of Xiangjie S9 is probably for the choice of headspace in the back row.
This is actually a design disadvantage of BEVs, that is, when the chassis is tiled with a battery pack, the height space of the cabin is naturally cut off. There are two simpler ways, the first is to dig a groove out of the legroom position, as Audi and Porsche do. From an ergonomic point of view, the seat can be lowered moderately, thus freeing up a certain amount of headroom. Another way is to continue to increase the size of the body in equal proportions, that is, to make a miracle. As long as the body is large enough to meet the positioning needs, then it doesn't matter if the design language is capricious.
The first option will affect the vehicle's platform-based manufacturing base, thereby destroying the marginal effect and manufacturing efficiency. Therefore, even Audi and Porsche only adopt this solution for some high value-added models. As for the latter, continuing to increase the body size will undoubtedly push up the cost. Strictly speaking, the Rolls-Royce Phantom is not exactly the latter. Therefore, for example, in the field of new energy, the C-pillar profile of the BMW i7 can be relatively stable, but the BMW i5 must be much smoother. Of course, there are differences in the positioning of the models, but the size also determines the redundancy differences in the design of the two.
Returning to the S9, it explains why the car must choose a smooth and stable C-pillar style. Because only in this way can we have a height space that matches the large cabin plan. Even, the choice of Xiangjie S9 may affect the loading capacity of the trunk. However, the latter has basically no major impact on the market positioning of its executive-level luxury cars. It's just that in terms of design aesthetics, it is indeed a step away from the "craft" level of the Rolls-Royce Phantom.
As for the Rolls-Royce Phantom, that's the model of both and again. Excluding the design, as a fuel vehicle, its axle-to-length ratio can basically hover around 0.62. This achievement is not even achieved by most pure electric vehicles. In terms of design, it has created many milestone elements. Of course, these are all endorsed by a body length of almost 6 meters for their wayward design language. In addition, the price range of the Xiangjie S9 is only a fraction of its price, which is obviously one of the reasons why it cannot reproduce the classics. However, on the premise of learning to absorb some of the essence, back to around 500,000 yuan, in the price range of traditional BBA medium and large cars, the competitiveness of Xiangjie S9 in executive luxury can also be seen.