Fang Cheng Bao Tai 7 pure electric version? This name feels both familiar and strange, as if someone borrowed the nameplate from the neighboring Tank and stitched it together.
But no matter what it's called, the data for this car is right here, and it's genuinely worth discussing.
Let's pull out the most outrageous figures first: dual-motor all-wheel-drive version, total power 515 kilowatts, top speed 240 kilometers per hour.
Everyone might as well picture this scene. A boxy SUV that looks like a brick speeding up to 240 on the highway.
This is fighting against the laws of physics. How loud would the wind noise have to be? How high would the power consumption have to go?
Anyone with common sense knows that a boxy shape like this is naturally the mortal enemy of aerodynamic drag, yet the manufacturer actually gave it a top speed capable of 240. I really can't make sense of this move.
Looking back at what this car looks like. The front face seals off the intake grille and adopts a narrow-strip design.
The split-type headlights and two-tone bumper retain a bit of ruggedness, keeping this car from looking like a chubby overweight guy.
The side lines are quite crisp and squared off, matching everyone's stereotype of a hardcore off-roader.
In terms of body dimensions, length 4999 millimeters, width 1995 millimeters, height 1865 millimeters, wheelbase 2920 millimeters.
This thing is indeed not small. Nearly five meters of car length and close to two meters of width make it an absolute attention-grabber parked by the roadside.
With a 2920-millimeter wheelbase, I'm not worried about rear-seat space—crossing your legs should be no problem. But what I'm worried about is this car's agility. Driving such a big guy in the city, parking and reversing could really drive a person crazy.
On top of that, it also carries an externally mounted little backpack, which adds another chunk to the vehicle length. If the radar reacts a bit slowly when reversing, that little backpack might just end up kissing the back wall.
Speaking of this little backpack, I have to throw my hands up. Gasoline cars carry a spare tire for the convenience of changing a tire, but what practical meaning does a pure electric car have carrying this thing, apart from increasing wind resistance and vehicle weight? Is it purely for showing off, or for negligible storage space?
The configuration list says lidar is standard, and it will also get the Shenzhiyan B assisted driving system. That at least makes sense.
Domestic cars are indeed fiercely competitive in intelligent driving right now, with highway navigation and urban navigation both included.
For a car of this size, having smart assisted driving can indeed save a lot of worry. At least on long trips, your ankles won't have to suffer.
I mentioned the power earlier, but I have to ramble on for a couple more sentences.
Rear-wheel-drive version 300 kilowatts, all-wheel-drive version 515 kilowatts. This power reserve is indeed excessive. The lithium iron phosphate battery pack is also standard practice, with relatively good safety and cost control.
But pure electric hardcore off-roaders have always had an unavoidable hurdle, and that is range anxiety. When you're blasting in a straight line in the city, these 515 kilowatts are indeed exhilarating—at a traffic light start, you could startle the performance car next to you.
But once you want to go wild in the wilderness, to remote places with no charging piles, the battery drains faster than a stock market crash. At that point, with all that brute strength and stranded halfway with no help in sight, that feeling is not pleasant.
The Fang Cheng Bao Tai 7 gives me the impression of a contradictory combination. It has the skin of a hardcore off-roader, yet stuffs in the heart of a supercar, and also carries the burden of being pure electric.
The manufacturer wants to pile all the good things onto one car: rugged styling, savage acceleration, and intelligent driving. The result may be that it seems to be trying too hard in every area.
For ordinary consumers like us, it's fine to just watch the excitement. If you're really going to spend your money, you need to ask yourself: do you really need a boxy vehicle that can do 240? Are you really mentally prepared to line up for charging at highway service areas?
It's a good car, and the specs are impeccable, but this positioning always feels a bit awkward no matter how you think about it.
But then again, today's car market is just this surreal. The more unreasonable something is, sometimes the more buyers it attracts.
