man forty

What attracts a forty-year-old man? Successful career, stable life, and mature temperament should be the most commonly used words. If it is to be evaluated by a woman, one should also be added - masculine. But there is one word that should never be associated with it: "showing old age," because a forty-year-old man should still be energetic and charismatic.

Cars and people have many similarities. For example, the Passat looks like a forty-year-old man. It has been in the Chinese market for five years and has achieved excellent performance. It can be said to have a successful career; its design is coordinated and atmospheric, and it can be said to be stable; and excellent engineering design, sophisticated manufacturing technology and reliable mechanical performance are all The excellent quality of gathering popularity can be said to be mature in temperament; as for masculinity, the above points are superimposed, plus it has a large "belly" volume of the carriage, how can it not make the ladies feel more moved and willing to entrust their net worth to it.

Cars get old

However, unlike people, cars need to withstand the constant test of people's appreciation orientation and changes in consumption trends.

In the five years from 2000 to 2005, the Guangben Accord became the seventh generation of simultaneous global sales, the Shanghai GM Buick Century evolved into the Regal, Dongfeng Nissan had the Teana, Beijing Hyundai launched the Yuxiang , FAW-Toyota's Reiz is about to go on sale... Finally, in front of many new generations, the Passat of forty years (as early as 1996, the German Volkswagen started the design of the B5), although he has a successful career, has shown an old face, plus The Shanghai-made Passat did not follow the European version in time to carry out the facelift facelift for mid-life extension, which made its appeal even more lost. Although it used to be the best in its class, despite its epoch-making streamlined shape, despite its laser-welded craftsmanship.

As the predecessors said, people who eat delicacies from mountains and seas every day will have a boring day, not to mention the same car for five years, aesthetic fatigue is only a matter of time.

So, Shanghai Volkswagen has to do something for the Passat.

When we received the test drive invitation from Shanghai Volkswagen, we were really relieved. Because the Passat is finally getting a new one. However, when we saw the real car, it was quite a surprise, because the new car was not the sixth-generation Passat that we thought had been released in Europe before, but the fifth-generation semi-model-Passat, which was improved based on the current domestic Passat B5. lead. Its chassis, mechanics and powertrain remain largely unchanged.

It is said that the Lingyu is a fifth-generation and half-passat, and most of the reason is that the shape of the new car is almost a new design. According to Mr. Cai Qian, the Chinese chief designer of Lingyu's styling design, except for the rounded roof arc design that is the same as that of the B5, there is almost no place in the appearance design of the Lingyu that is the same as that of the B5, and the molds for its body panels are almost They are all re-molded, and there is basically no common part with the old model. Therefore, such a large-scale change in shape cannot be just called facelift, not to mention that the interior design of the Lingyu has also been greatly changed compared with the B5, adding many new functional designs.

Remodeling without replacement

The new generation of Volkswagen family faces is indeed very beautiful, eye-catching and handsome. However, when I stared at the front of the car and understood this new face, I thought of another question: why did Shanghai Volkswagen neither let the Passat follow the European version of the B5 for a facelift minor facelift, nor did it follow the latest Passat B6. And choose to spend two or three years, develop a mechanical part unchanged, and the appearance is only the leader of this one?

I still remember that when Shanghai Volkswagen introduced Polo, it was the first to create the concept of "global synchronization", which was highly praised by domestic consumers. Since then, various manufacturers have rushed to carry this banner. Accord, Teana, Royal Xiang, Ruizhi, etc. are all like this, but now it's Passat's turn, but it has become the replacement of the old with the new, which is really confusing. Perhaps the senior management of Shanghai Volkswagen believes that since the Passat is "forty", it is not appropriate to make too radical changes?

A more reasonable idea should be that instead of endless "global synchronization" introduction, it is better to take this opportunity to train our own R&D team and prepare for future independent innovation.

Compared with the image of the old Passat, the styling appeal of the Lingyu is indeed a series of growth, which is very consistent with the current consumers' demand for vehicle shapes that are distinctive, refined and dynamic. Among them, the "U"-shaped grille grille established by Mr. Murat Guenak, the current design director of Volkswagen Group, has contributed a lot. It is full of heroic spirit in this B5 body and the latest B6, and it is indeed a master-level work. You can travel between different time and space.

In addition to the subversive changes in the front face, the biggest change of Lingyu is the integration of the small corner window of the B5 at the C-pillar position into the rear door, which greatly increases the width of the tailgate, and the rear seat passengers can enter and exit the rear seat very calmly. Its convenience is unmatched among domestic cars. If there is an award for the most convenient rear-seat administrative car in China, Lingyu will definitely do my part. The tail of the Lingyu is also significantly different from that of the B5. Not only is it somewhat like the new Audi A6, but it also matches the youthful and simplified overall image.

Speaking of this, I still have a guess: I carefully observed the side profile of the leader, and I feel that it is very similar to the side of the Skoda Superb, such as the front and rear wheel arches that are thrown out. I don’t know if the leader is a reference. Some design elements of this brother who shares the chassis with the domestic Passat.

The year of no confusion is the most sober

In the face of younger and more handsome styling changes, the interior design of Lingyu is completely uncompromising, and it will even make you feel the care that only a forty-year-old man has. Considerate.

Sitting in the cabin, what impresses me most is the design of many small details, including the full Chinese logo on the center console buttons, the glove box with refrigeration function and the central storage compartment, cup holder, sundries compartment, rear The air-conditioning vents are complete, and there is even an umbrella storage compartment on the rear door panel. In addition, on the top version of Lingyu 2.8V6, Volkswagen is equipped with GPS satellite navigation system for the first time, which is another very gratifying change. Just because the test drive was carried out in Shanghai Volkswagen's test field on the same day, there is no chance to try out the specific operation convenience and accuracy of this system, which will be discussed in detail in the future.

Lingyu can improve so many details of the carriage that are related to the convenience of the car. In addition to praising the Chinese developers who are responsible for the design, it is even more gratifying to see that Volkswagen's attitude towards developing products for the Chinese market has changed. --From the stubbornness that used to be unwilling to change even a single screw, it has changed to a large-scale self-improvement based on market feedback and the strengths and weaknesses of competitors.

Old and strong

The hard suspension of the Passat B5 should impress everyone who has driven and sat on it. However, now Chinese consumers have I don't like this very hard suspension performance, but I like the fact that the driver can clearly experience the communication with the vehicle and enjoy a very comfortable ride. This is the result of a survey of domestic consumers that he told us when we interviewed an engineer at Toyota.

Shanghai Volkswagen also seems to be aware of this problem, so during the development of the Lingyu, they specially re-matched the shock absorber. That's the rest of the reason why I call the leader a "five and a half" Passat. Because although no changes have been made to the power system, chassis and suspension structure, the ride quality of the leader has been significantly improved through the replacement of the shock absorbers. In addition, Lingyu has strengthened the B-pillar beam, C-pillar and bottom beam respectively, and the torsional rigidity of its body is 5% higher than that of the old Passat, about 800Nm/degree. This is also one of the reasons for the improved driving comfort of the driver.

On the test track with an investment of 1.2 billion yuan by Shanghai Volkswagen, I drove the lead driver on various roads. The overall handling feeling and dynamic performance were still very Passat, and the vehicle and the driver maintained a relatively balanced Communication, steering, body dynamics will not be very direct and will not be overly isolated. The only significant change I can feel is that when the car is driving over short-wave vibration roads such as speed bumps, the suspension still handles the vibration very quickly, but it is less stiff and more rigid during the retraction and release of the shock absorber. It's a little softer and feels a little more upscale than when the old Passat handled the same vibration.

As the pioneer of a new generation of mid-size sedans in the domestic market, Passat has experienced more storms than anyone else, and should have a deeper understanding of "not confused" than others. It should have a clear understanding of what areas it needs to improve and improve. "Forty Not Confused" still has the courage to make bold changes, but not many people can do it.