It is undeniable that among China's independent brands, the FAW Besturn brand has always played the role of "escort", and even when it comes to FAW's own brands, people often subconsciously ignore Besturn, and only talk about FAW Hongqi. In fact, today, the FAW Besturn in front of us is more worthy of attention than ever before. The reason is very simple, at the moment, FAW Besturn finally put down its posture and lowered the price of B-class cars to the 70,000-level price segment in one fell swoop, so that ordinary consumers can buy B-class cars only with the price of A-class cars.
This car is the Besturn B70, a total of 13 models on sale, of which the 2024 Longteng version is the main sales model, equipped with a 1.5T FAW self-developed engine, with a maximum output of 124kW and a peak torque of 258N·m, matched with a self-developed 7DCT gearbox, the whole set of power parameters is consistent with the 1.5T version of Hongqi H5, and the WLTC comprehensive fuel consumption is 6.8L/100km.
What is the level of this powertrain? We don't go to the Accord and Passat, just compared with South Korea's Hyundai Motor, which started later in the automobile industry, the new Hyundai Sonata also has a 1.5T power version, with a power configuration of a 1.5T turbocharged engine matched with a Pavotai 8AT gearbox, with a maximum power of 125kW, a peak torque of 253N·m, and a WLTC comprehensive fuel consumption of 6.25L/100km.
Through comparison, you can see at a glance that the current FAW 1.5T powertrain is slightly inferior in fuel economy, and the power performance has caught up with the mainstream performance of overseas joint venture brands. Considering that the price of the Besturn B70 is at least half cheaper than that of the opponent, this comparison result is actually unequal, which also shows the intensity of the involution of the independent brand.
According to the previous test drive experience, the 1.5T model of the Besturn B70 has a good power reserve when driving, whether it is a low-speed start or high-speed re-acceleration, the power can be on call, and it is enough for daily household use. Although there are occasional slight bumps in the low-speed conditions of short-distance commuting in the city, it does not affect the comfort of the family.
The suspension adopts the common front MacPherson rear multi-link combination, the tuning style is tough, the steering feel is light and flexible, the setting of speed gain is moderate, and novices can quickly master it for the first time. In addition, it is a pity that when the speed is increased by more than 70km/h, the tire noise and wind noise in the cockpit are more obvious, which is not in line with the sound insulation performance of its B-class sedan.
Besturn B70 is positioned as a medium-sized car, with a length, width and height corresponding to 4855x1840x1455mm and a wheelbase of 2800mm, which is the mainstream performance in the same class. Thanks to the wide body size, the aura of this car is not inferior to that of the joint venture A-class sedan products in the same price range. To go into detail, the appearance of the Besturn B70 has many highlights to attract young consumers, such as the multi-spoke grille with chrome element treatment, the lines are layered and full, and the sharp LED headlight group design makes the aura more full. Attentive friends will also find in its body that the posture of the whole car is low in the front and high in the rear, the shoulder line at the tail is clearly contoured, with the 19-inch multi-spoke wheel design that is standard in the whole series, and the design features have many similarities with the previous tenth-generation Accord, which has attracted high market attention.
However, it is worth noting that the Besturn B70 retains the elements that the Chinese like in the design of the tail, and the through-type LED taillights run through the rear of the car, and the embedded design makes it look less abrupt, and the recognition is improved after being lit up at night, which is in line with the mainstream aesthetics of contemporary young people. The rear envelope adopts a double-sided double-outlet exhaust layout, with a regular shape, which is in line with the design style of the B-class sedan to pursue stability and generosity.
In terms of interior, entering the interior of the Besturn B70, you can see a large area of soft material covering, comfortable feel, the center console is mainly multi-layer distributed design, the dual screen is located in front of the main driver's field of vision, the UI design on the screen is simple and fresh, and the readability is good. The car machine has a built-in MediaTek MT8666 chip to ensure that the daily car-machine interaction function is no problem, and it is difficult to meet the redundant fluency and playability requirements.
Although the double-spoke steering wheel has a very chic shape and the function buttons on both sides also have a good sense of refinement, after the steering wheel is adjusted to the right angle, it will occasionally block the driver's observation of instrument information. The center console retains the design of the physical buttons of the air conditioner, which is convenient for daily driving operation, which should be praised, and the paddle-style electronic shift mechanism enhances the technological atmosphere of the interior, but it may be a little uncomfortable to use it for the first time.
The rear space is the highlight of the Besturn B70, and the wheelbase of 2.8 meters makes it far beyond the rear space performance of mainstream A-class cars. The seats are equipped with imitation leather materials and electric adjustment and heating functions as standard, which is relatively rare in the price range of about 70,000 yuan. The padding of the seats is soft, and the wings of the main driver's seat are wide and comfortable, providing good support for the body. After adjusting the seat to a comfortable sitting position, the longitudinal legroom in the second row at this time has about 2 fists and 4 fingers, and the space performance exceeds expectations, which can meet the comfort needs of the vast majority of family users. The only thing that's not too powerful is that the second-row seats don't support backrest angle adjustment, and the center floor is raised.
epilogue
If you look at the product standards of the previous joint venture A-class cars, the product performance of the Besturn B70 is indeed more worthy of applause, but if it is based on the perspective of household economy, there are now no shortage of new energy opponents such as BYD Qin L, Galaxy L6, and Changan Qiyuan A05 at the same price. But then again, like the Besturn B70, the entry is given to the front seat heating, 4G car networking, panoramic sunroof, 19-inch wheels, B-class space car, this time node, it doesn't seem to be much.