Bitauto Original What is it like to be a British model? Is it an exquisite caviar on the table? Is it a handmade custom suit? Or the back view of Aston Martin accelerating at full speed in the movie "007"? For the British, these may be just bits and pieces of life, and the long flow of water naturally becomes rivers and lakes - the same is true for culture, so we don't have to deliberately put shackles on ourselves and just return to the essence of life. The purpose of my trip to Hangzhou this time is to explore what British requirements are for "taxi", which is today's protagonist - the century-old car brand LEVC TX5.

LEVC was born in 1908. In its early days, it focused on building British-style high-end business travel cars. It was acquired by Geely in 2013. Its classic models include the FX series and TX series, which have a "classic car" image, and the LEVC brand is also deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Became a cultural icon of the British nation.

The front face of the TX5 adopts a large rectangular grille structure, and the brand logo is above the hood. The entire front face has no redundant line design, which is simple and elegant. In London, the round lights and the grille are The shape can be recognized as a taxi at a glance, and the same design can be seen on many taxis. The British call it "Black Cab".

The side profile of TX5 is very different from the traditional MPV shape. Visually, it looks more like a light passenger car. In addition, TX5 also incorporates some designs to improve the user experience, such as the design of high side windows to obtain a wider vision. The range improves safety at the same time, and the door handles are also enlarged and widened, highlighting a sense of dignity.

The entire TX5 series uses 225/55 R18 tires, and the actual model uses the Comfort series from Giti, focusing on quietness and comfort.

The design of TX5 highly retains the design tone of British taxis, but it is rare to see such high-end travel tools with British style in China.

The central control screen is also rich in functions, including intelligent voice system, Amap, Kuwo music, 4G network and some third-party apps.

TX5 uses a high-strength transparent partition between the front row and the second row. It can withstand a high-speed impact of 13kg objects at 5m/s, and can provide good sound insulation and protect passenger privacy; at the same time, it emphasizes epidemic prevention and At this time of safe socialization, it can also effectively reduce air pollutioncirculation to ensure the safety of drivers and passengers in epidemic prevention.

TX5 adopts a 1+3+3 seat layout. The second row of seats and the third row of seats are in the form of "opposite seats". Under normal conditions, only three seats are provided in the rear row to maximize the safety of rear passengers. of comfort and dignity.

Although the TX5's second-row seats are not used too frequently in daily life, they can be rotated 90° to the outside of the car and then rotated to the inside of the car when passengers are seated. This is very important for the elderly or passengers with inconvenient legs and feet. From this point of view, TX5 fully considers a variety of car usage scenarios.

The TX5 also adopts a double-door design that is rare among MPVs. The rear door opening angle can reach 90°, but unfortunately no electric doors are provided. The result is that when the door opening angle is too large, passengers need to get up and switch from their seats. Door.

There is also Braille underneath the air-conditioning control area. This detail consideration makes people feel very warm.

The conventional trunk space of the TX5 is not large. It can only accommodate a 24-inch suitcase by visual inspection. The passenger area is mostly responsible for storage capacity.

In terms of power, the TX5 has two powertrains, the pure electric version and the extended-range powertrain. The test drive model uses the extended-range powertrain. The engine is a 1.5T three-cylinder with a maximum power of 120kW and a peak torque of 325N·m. The engine is equipped with a 26kWh ternary lithium battery. In pure electric mode, the TX5's range can reach 120km, and the comprehensive range when fully fueled and fully charged is 550km.

The TX5's brake pedal still has a certain amount of slack, and the braking force will come on suddenly at a node. Of course, according to the engineer, this approach is to suppress the vehicle's nodding to the greatest extent, thereby improving comfort.

The chassis structure of the TX5 is front MacPherson + rear multi-link. At the beginning of the design, in order to help the driver better realize the vehicle U-turn, its turning radius was also set at about 5.7 meters.

In general, the TX5 is not a particularly pleasant MPV in terms of driving, or I prefer to call it an MPV suitable for riding. As an MPV used for traveling, business trips, etc. It is the car that plays the main scene. After this actual experience, I am still more willing to ride in it, but the driving is left to the driver.

Editor’s comment: After this actual experience, I think the core product strength of TX5 is still focused on business travel or high-end travel.Traveling in such a scene, especially the 1+3+3 seat layout maximizes the advantage of rear space and perfectly meets the needs of business travel; secondly, TX5 also has a traditional 2+2+3 7-seat layout. Compared with this The first test drive version will be more attractive to home users. In addition, it also has two power systems, pure electric version and extended range. So from this point of view, TX5 obviously wants to enter the commercial and home markets. For There are more choices for users. It is worth mentioning that 330 TX5 units will be put into operation in Hangzhou at the end of August. In the future, Top Hat Travel will also cooperate with travel operators such as AutoNavi to expand "access points". So overall, TX5’s current priority is to solve the current scarcity in the high-end travel market and provide differentiated services.