There is a big difference between Tianyi PHEV and fuel version when visiting Shenlong Chengdu factory.

Three years ago, I test-drive Citroen Tianyi, a compact SUV, which has the charm of a typical French car-full of romantic sports sense. Tianyi's "French Romance" is to integrate fashionable design into luxurious interior. Citroen's polishing of Tianyi chassis is both comfortable and sporty, and the measure is just right. This "French sense of movement" is like a dish in Michelin restaurant, full of color, flavor and taste. However, there must be regrets: it would be better to join the four-wheel drive if the power can be strengthened. Tianyi is an SUV—— after all-"sports" cannot be separated from "power", and "multi-function" needs to challenge more complicated road conditions. In addition, although the torsion beam rear suspension shows the chassis skill of PSA, Citroen's multi-link rear suspension has won the "brand legend". Three years later, Citroen introduced Tianyi PHEV, which filled all these regrets. A compact SUV with a 100-kilometer acceleration of 7 seconds adopts four-wheel independent suspension and is a three-engine four-wheel drive system. Most importantly, this is a plug-in hybrid vehicle that can get a green license plate. Will it be winner's "complete whole"? We went to the factory of Shenlong in Chengdu to find out.

Did PHEV dry Kun in Tianyi? Very different from the fuel version.

Except for the black rim and the "hybrid" on the car body? The "PLUG-IN" logo is almost the same as the fuel version in appearance. However, as soon as PHEV has Gan Kun in it. The most important "three big pieces" of a car, Tianyi PHEV all adopts the most advanced "black technology". The first is plug-in hybrid technology. In fact, as early as 2008, Citroen released the world's first diesel hybrid technology WRC racing car based on C4 (domestic hatchback Sega), so Citroen's research on hybrid technology began very early and was applied to the research and development of racing cars. As for Tianyi PHEV, Citroen has come up with an industry-leading architecture of P0+P2+P4 this time. P2 position is equipped with permanent magnet synchronous motor as the front motor, with maximum power of 8 1kW and maximum torque of 320Nm. Integrated in ATN8 gearbox of Aisin, it is combined into an 8-speed electric automatic gearbox. In order to realize four-wheel drive, Tianyi PHEV also added a permanent magnet synchronous motor at the P4 position of the rear axle, with the maximum power of 83kW and the maximum torque of 166Nm.

The special feature of Tianyi PHEV is that in this hybrid architecture, the BSG motor is specially arranged at P0 position. In fact, most plug-in and hybrid electric vehicles use the front motor to start the engine, but if the power battery is insufficient, if the motor is needed to drive the vehicle and start the engine at the same time, it will bring risks to the vehicle operation. The BSG engine can not only start the engine independently, but also charge the 12V battery. In addition, the BSG motor can increase the engine speed before ignition, so the driving stability of the vehicle will be better.

In the engine part, although it is also a 1.6T engine familiar to PSA and BMW, Citroen re-adjusted this 1.6T engine for Tianyi PHEV. Because the middle and low speed working conditions of the original fuel version engine can now be completed by the motor, 1.6T on Tianyi PHEV is replaced by a larger turbine. The maximum power reaches 147kW, and the maximum torque is 300Nm, which is basically the relatively high adjustment data of this 1.6T on PSA civil vehicles. In this way, the dynamic performance of Tianyi PHEV will be better in the middle and high speed range. The "three machines" cooperate with each other, and the comprehensive maximum power reaches 22 1kW, and the comprehensive maximum torque is 520Nm. The official acceleration of 100 kilometers is 7 seconds. According to the manufacturer's technicians, they measured the acceleration of Tianyi PHEV within 7 seconds.

The biggest advantage of plug-in and hybrid cars is that they combine the advantages of pure trams and fuel vehicles. The battery capacity of Tianyi PHEV is 13kWh, and the battery life of pure electric drive is 58km, which can radiate the distance radius of most urban commuter vehicles. Moreover, the pure electric drive of Tianyi PHEV mainly relies on the motor on the rear axle to drive the rear wheel. The maximum speed of pure electric drive can reach 130km/h/h, including the four-wheel drive mode, and the intervention of rear drive, engine and front motor can be carried out according to the road conditions, which can cope with more complicated road conditions. Savor it carefully, which means "sports". Of course, to say "sports", winner is much more than that. When the driving mode is switched to the sport mode, the high-power 1.6T engine will burst into full power at medium and high speed. Combining the agility of middle and low speed motors with the continuous explosive ability of middle and high speed engines, this hybrid system provides a powerful power reserve for Tianyi PHEV. Of course, in most cases, we can adjust Tianyi PHEV to hybrid mode, so that the system can intelligently control the working state of the front and rear motors and engines, which is more suitable for various car scenes.

Are you using a multi-link Tianyi PHEV? What's the difference between driving and driving?

Due to the arrangement of the three-engine four-wheel drive system, the suspension structure of the rear axle of Tianyi PHEV has also been changed accordingly. Because the motor needs to be placed in P4 position, the original fuel version of the torsion beam rear suspension is no longer competent. Therefore, the rear suspension of Tianyi PHEV adopts the same multi-link independent suspension as C6. This multi-link structure is currently used by PSA at the same level, because its design is more ingenious and its structure is more complicated than other competitors at the same level. For example, the unique 45-degree inclined shock absorber is not only beneficial to arrange the motor and the transmission shaft in a narrow space, but also the upper connection point of the shock absorber is connected with the subframe, which is more conducive to buffering the vibration of the car body. In addition, this multi-link suspension uses more elastic bushings, including the connection between the subframe and the car body. In this way, more vibration will be filtered out by the flexible part first, and the vibration transmitted to the car will be reduced accordingly, which is more textured.

The most concerned point of the test drive that day was the chassis of Tianyi PHEV. After adopting four-wheel independent suspension, Tianyi PHEV does have two obvious improvements. First of all, in terms of driving comfort, the chassis filters the subdivided road surface very fully, especially when riding in the back row, the continuous small vibration brought by the original subdivided road surface is easily buffered by this set of multi-link flexible connectors. Only in the face of greater vibration will we feel that shock absorbers and springs are helping to eliminate the discomfort caused by road vibration. In addition to the finely bumpy road surface, we also experienced the unilateral bridge in the proving ground of Shenlong Factory that day, and simulated the continuous section of the lower shoulder. Tianyi PHEV is indeed much better than the fuel version of Tianyi in filtering the vibration caused by this high fall. Although the torsion beam suspension of Tianyi fuel version has PHC variable damping shock absorber, it is still suitable for road surface, but there are some uneven road conditions. If you need to face continuous bumpy roads or worse road conditions, the chassis of Tianyi PHEV will really improve in comfort.

One more thing, Tianyi PHEV not only pursues comfort, but also improves driving stability. In the test section of the site, a ramp loop is also designed, and the road surface is not completely flat, accompanied by continuous bumpy road conditions. This kind of road requires high-speed turning, so the grip of four wheels will be very important. This "grip" is not just through the tires. Although tianyi PHEV is equipped with Michelin's "universal tire" as the primary position? 3ST, but this time, the more test is the geometric characteristics of the suspension. At this time, the "innate" tire grip advantage of multi-link suspension is stronger than that of torsion beam. Because the multi-link suspension can make the tire more vertical to the ground through the action of multi-links, the greater the ground contact, the stronger the grip of the natural tire. Therefore, under the guidance of the test drive coach, I am confident and bold to push the speed of Tianyi PHEV above 70 km/h, and although Tianyi PHEV has a strong filtering ability to subdivide road vibration, the adjustment of the front axle still retains a lot of road feeling. This is the charm of "French sense of movement". While emphasizing comfort, it also does not forget to bring drivers the "pleasure" of communication between people and vehicles. This is the genius of Citroen's adjustment.

Belonging to PHEV's "futuristic sense"

Having said so many things on the mechanical level, however, French cars can never escape the design sense on the emotional level. The design of French cars is always very advanced, especially the design of Citroen. When Tianyi was first launched three years ago, it seemed that many people were "pointing fingers" at its design. It is true that the design of Citroen is a bit too individual now, but the front face design with split headlights like Tianyi PHEV is becoming a popular trend. Since last year, many models advertised as "futuristic" have been using split headlights. Perhaps, the design of Citroen is just beyond the aesthetic feeling of some people now. There is also the interior of Tianyi PHEV, with square lines, but it highlights the sense of fashion through details, giving people a feeling of being in a French high-end luggage store. Many elements are similar to French luxury design.

As a new energy vehicle, Tianyi PHEV also needs to keep pace with the times in terms of intelligence. So Citroen upgraded the Zhixing APP. The system can support remote control, identity customization function interface, vehicle peripheral service and so on. , and can realize one-button car search, door lock control, air conditioning control and other remote operations. At the same time, car owners can also make vehicle maintenance appointments and emergency rescue calls through Zhixing APP. In terms of intelligent assisted driving, Tianyi PHEV is equipped with ADAS? 2.0 Driver assistance system, with mainstream functions such as adaptive cruise, automatic emergency braking, lane keeping, blind spot monitoring and fatigue driving reminder. For urban expressways and expressway driving, having an auxiliary system will make driving easier.

Peng You said

Having said so much before, it seems that it is all the advantages of Tianyi PHEV? In fact, it is difficult for me to understand the shortcomings of this car for most of the short time. However, for the Tianyi fuel version and the opponent's plug-in SUV, Tianyi PHEV is indeed a "complete body". However, many Citroen models now have the status quo of "applauding and not calling for seats". Aside from the design level, brand level and price level (the official price announced by Chengdu Auto Show), Tianyi PHEV has brought advanced driving quality and travel experience whether it is a three-engine four-wheel drive system or a PSA housekeeper's four-wheel suspension chassis adjustment. It is indeed the first echelon of plug-in SUV at the same level.

However, from the perspective of the whole China automobile market, at present, plug-in type and hybrid type are not the priority tasks in the car series. Therefore, when Tianyi Fuel Edition has gradually become a "niche car", it is unrealistic to expect Tianyi PHEV to turn the tide. But for Citroen, the strategic goal of 100% electric version should be achieved in the next five years. Therefore, Tianyi PHEV is more like Citroen's "transformation work". Perhaps, when the new energy is getting closer and closer to everyone, a brand with a unique temperament like Citroen will be more precious in a convergent environment.

This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.