Two pure-electric SUVs go head-to-head. Visiting Li Auto and LeDao dealerships offline, the car owners' thoughts are quite surprising.
The LeDao L90 and the Li Auto i8 have initiated a new round of competition in the three - row pure - electric SUV market. Both new cars have just opened for pre - orders not long ago and are confirmed to be officially launched at the end of July. The official has not yet disclosed the specific order numbers of the new cars, but self - media with inside information has revealed that the order performance is quite good.
Among them, the Li Auto i8 is Li Auto's first pure - electric SUV, and the LeDao L90 is NIO's flagship model to boost sales.
For a long time in the past, "family use" and "pure - electric" could be said to be completely unrelated. Ultimately, it was because the charging system was not comprehensive. Although the cost of pure - electric power was low enough, family users always worried about inconvenient situations such as having to queue for charging.
The confidence behind the launch of the Li Auto i8 and the LeDao L90 lies in the rapid improvement of the charging systems of car manufacturers. Especially consumers in first - and second - tier cities have gradually felt the convenience and low cost brought by pure - electric vehicles, which is why these two three - row pure - electric SUVs can catch the market trend.
To explore the attitudes of the target users towards these two pure - electric SUVs, Electric Vehicle Review visited the nearest Li Auto and LeDao stores and had an up - close experience of these two highly anticipated new cars about to be launched.
Is the power consumption of the Li Auto i8 being criticized by users?
Both pure - electric SUVs have been released. Electric Vehicle Review briefly shares its feelings.
You can find the shadows of the Li Auto L series and the Li Auto MEGA in the design of the Li Auto i8. The overall design is indeed within Electric Vehicle Review's expectations, but it is a complete "freak" in the pure - electric SUV market.
The rear of the car is quite similar to the design of traditional MPVs. It seems quite appropriate to describe the Li Auto i8 as a "crossover vehicle".
Image source: Shot by Electric Vehicle Review
The interior still has the familiar Li Auto style. The steering wheel with a dashboard and the dual - screen setup are present. Regarding the audio system in front of the steering wheel, the salesperson had something to say: "This audio system can only play navigation information, thus avoiding conflicts with entertainment sounds."
Previously, Electric Vehicle Review thought that the ambient light strip of this audio system would be combined with assisted - driving information. But after chatting with the salesperson, it realized it was overthinking. It's just an ordinary ambient light strip.
There is no problem with the comfort and wrapping of the seats. Even for the third - row seats, I (with a height of 170cm) don't feel cramped when sitting in them. However, psychologically, there is a slight imbalance. The zero - gravity seat is only applied to the right seat in the second row. If the left seat in the second row supported the optional zero - gravity seat, it might attract users with higher requirements for travel quality.
Electric Vehicle Review raised this question to the salesperson. He said that the zero - gravity seat needs to be linked with the front - row seat to exert its maximum effect. When driving, the driver's seat is fixed, and to ensure the space for the third - row seats, the left zero - gravity seat is not equipped. When the vehicle is stationary, a family of three can lie in the car and watch movies by reclining the front - row seats to form a flat space.
Image source: Shot by Electric Vehicle Review
The Li Auto i8 is not yet available for test drives. Only the vehicle's various power parameters have been exposed. The CLTC pure - electric range data of 670km and 720km is quite competitive in the mid - to large - sized pure - electric SUV market. However, an old man at the scene looking at the car said that the power consumption of 14.6 kWh per 100 kilometers seems a bit high. His fuel SUV only consumes about 13 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers.
Comparing power consumption with fuel consumption is indeed an easier way to establish a basic concept of energy consumption. However, the cost difference between gasoline and electricity is significant. Here, Electric Vehicle Review shares an experience: the energy released by 1 liter of gasoline is about 8.8 kWh. Calculated at an efficiency of 40%, that is 8.8 kWh × 40% = 3.52 kWh. The cost of 13 liters of fuel is approximately equivalent to the power consumption of 45.76 kWh per 100 kilometers.
It is quite reasonable that the energy consumption of the Li Auto i8 is relatively low. One reason is the low - drag advantage brought by its bullet - shaped design, with a drag coefficient lower than many sedans. The other is that components such as the front double wishbones and steering knuckles are made of aluminum alloy, resulting in a relatively low unsprung mass.
As for the driving experience, Electric Vehicle Review will have to wait until the official test - drive event to get the test car and then conduct a test - drive. However, based on the configuration and materials of the Li Auto i8, as well as the consistent brand image of the Li Auto L series, Electric Vehicle Review believes that the dynamic performance of the Li Auto i8 will definitely be comfortable, and there may even be surprises in terms of power performance output.
The anti - pinch function of the LeDao L90 is not recommended
The LeDao L90 is placed in the most prominent position in the store. The salesperson said that the exhibition car is the top - of - the - line version, equipped with all the highlighted configurations announced at the press conference.
Image source: Shot by Electric Vehicle Review
The front trunk is one of the selling points of the LeDao L90. What impressed Electric Vehicle Review deeply is that Li Bin experienced the anti - pinch function of the LeDao L90's front trunk at the new - car press conference. Therefore, Electric Vehicle Review decided to "take a risk".
Taking advantage of the moment when the salesperson wasn't paying attention, Electric Vehicle Review quickly placed its hand on the edge of the front trunk and pressed the one - key close button. After the hand was pinched, it was quickly released. However, it must be admitted that there was still a slight pain at the moment of being pinched, but it was still within the tolerable range of Electric Vehicle Review.
The salesperson next door saw Electric Vehicle Review's reckless act and came out to stop it: "We are very confident in the anti - pinch function of the front trunk. If you want to see the anti - pinch function, it's better for our staff to demonstrate it."
Image source: Shot by Electric Vehicle Review
A rather considerate detail is that when opening the front or rear trunk, the air suspension will work and automatically lower the vehicle height. In this way, even children won't find it difficult to place items.
Next is the experience of the interior space. As a full - size SUV, the space of the LeDao L90 is naturally excellent. Electric Vehicle Review didn't feel cramped when sitting in the third row. In terms of configuration, there are cup holders and phone storage compartments beside the second - row seats. The third - row seats also have electric adjustment and charging ports. The refrigerator has multiple modes to choose from. The clarity and smoothness of the central control screen and the ceiling screen are at the mainstream level in the industry. Electric Vehicle Review really didn't find any flaws in the riding experience.
Different from the Li Auto i8, the third - row space of the LeDao L90 is larger, but there is no small table on the left side of the second row.
Image source: Shot by Electric Vehicle Review
Finally, Electric Vehicle Review test - drove the LeDao L90. According to the salesperson, currently, the test car in the store is only the rear - wheel - drive version. The four - wheel - drive version will be available for test - drive later. However, even the rear - wheel - drive version of the LeDao L90 can easily reach a speed of 90 km/h. Moreover, although the LeDao L90 is positioned as a large SUV, it is quite flexible to control, without the feeling of driving a large vehicle at all.
It's worthy of praise that the braking feel of the LeDao L90 is excellent. When stepping on the brake, there won't be a "nodding phenomenon". Such performance is really rare among large SUVs. Only in congested roads with frequent stops and starts, the LeDao L90 will still have a "nodding phenomenon", but fortunately, the nodding amplitude is not very obvious.
What's more surprising is the chassis quality and quietness. When passing over speed bumps and single - side manhole covers, the chassis can filter out the vibrations very cleanly, similar to the chassis quality of German - made SUVs. According to the salesperson, the LeDao L90 uses double - layer glass and tires with sound - insulating cotton, which makes the interior quietness excellent.
Image source: Shot by Electric Vehicle Review
Electric Vehicle Review discussed the estimated price of the LeDao L90 with the salesperson. The salesperson said "Because of the four - wheel - drive system, judging from the current pre - sale price, the top - of - the - line version will probably cost around 330,000 yuan, which is definitely cheaper than the one next door (the Li Auto i8)."
To be honest, at this price, you can choose the NIO ES6. But after comparison, the LeDao L90 has achieved perfection in aspects that family users care about, such as space and comfort. Even though it is not equipped with NIO's "full - fledged intelligent driving" with lidar, the LeDao L90 has enough sensors and a mature algorithm, and can handle scenarios such as high - speed and urban navigation assistance and intelligent parking, which is indeed sufficient for family travel.
LeDao L90 owners value cost - effectiveness, while Li Auto i8 owners are willing to pay for the experience
Electric Vehicle Review stayed in the two stores for a while and found that the target customers of both cars are men aged between 30 and 50.
However, even so, Electric Vehicle Review noticed that there are still some differences among the consumers who came to the store to see the two new cars: Users who come to see the Li Auto i8 usually come as a family, while users who come to see the LeDao L90 are mainly single fathers.
The reason may lie in the design.
Although the Li Auto i8 is positioned as a pure - electric SUV, its body shape is completely different from traditional SUVs. The rear shape even gives the feeling of a pure - electric MPV. Even the salesperson doesn't mind Electric Vehicle Review regarding this car as a pure - electric MPV. The bold design easily makes children eager to have a try.
Image source: Shot by Electric Vehicle Review
Looking at the LeDao L90, its overall performance meets the needs of family travel well, but its design doesn't have an obvious difference from traditional large SUVs. Even with innovative designs such as the front trunk, at least visually, it still doesn't break away from the design framework of traditional SUVs. This can explain why the users who come to see the car are basically the "breadwinners" with purchasing power.
Incidentally, when Electric Vehicle Review shared this observation with the editor "Tea Supervisor", he said that the LeDao L90 is the first pure - electric car that his girlfriend asked him to place a small deposit on, but he was the only one during the whole car - viewing process.
Regarding the evaluation of the LeDao L90 and the Li Auto i8, Tea Supervisor said that the space of both cars is good, but there may be some deviations in the official promotion: Both Tea Supervisor and Electric Vehicle Review found that in general, adults would give the more comfortable second - row seats to children and sit in the smaller third - row seats themselves. Therefore, when promoting the third - row space, car manufacturers should focus more on the perspective of adults.
Image source: Shot by Electric Vehicle Review
Electric Vehicle Review asked an old man at the scene why he was interested in the LeDao L90. He said "There are two things about this pure - electric SUV that attract me. One is that it is very comfortable to sit in. Even for someone of my height (estimated to be 180cm), it is comfortable enough, not to mention the elders and children."
Secondly, there is a NIO battery - swapping station near his home, so charging is no longer a concern for him. The main reason that finally attracted him is the price. He can buy a