Test drive Geely FY 11
The Chinese company calls the new coupe-like crossover Geely FY 11 premium and is going to bring it to Russia. But this will not happen until 2020 - this model is not yet sold even in China. The estimated starting price tag is 150 yuan, or approximately $ 19. But in Russia, you will have to add delivery, customs duties, recycling fees and certification costs - there will be no localization of production in Belarus.
The engine will be offered one: a two-liter T5 (228 HP and 350 Nm), which was completely developed by Volvo. Geely says the Swedes are not happy with such statements, but there is nowhere to go. It is paired with an eight-speed Aisin automatic transmission - like the Mini and front-wheel drive BMWs. The FY 11 is the first Geely car built on Volvo's CMA platform. On it, for example, the compact crossover XC40 is based.
It was possible to test the novelty in China at a new testing ground in the city of Ningbo, and before that - also to argue about the design and love of the Chinese for copying with the head of the Geely design studio in Shanghai, Guy Burgoyne. The thing is that the appearance of the novelty is very much reminiscent of the BMW X6.
Another Chinese brand, Haval, will soon start selling a similar F7x in Russia, and even earlier, Renault Arkana, localized at the Moscow plant, should also enter the market, which is expected to become the most successful player in the C-class. When asked why, with all the efforts of Chinese brands in general, and Geely in particular, such coincidences occur, Guy Burgoyne, whom we know from his work at Volvo, assiduously assures that when companies create models in one segment, there is not much room for maneuver. The proportions of the machine may vary only slightly.
“All companies are in the same race for what customers love, and we are all walking the same path,” explained the designer. - If you want to make a coupe-crossover, then the initial parameters will be approximately the same: engineers cannot change the laws of nature. Take the coupes that Mercedes and BMW made: the differences are very small, the question is just a few centimeters. And everyone who makes a coupe-SUV comes to the same thing: people don't want cars to be too long, they don't want them to look too heavy. It turns out that the proportions are more or less similar. And then we can only use design techniques to make the car strong, muscular, but not heavy. Legal regulations, including safety requirements, impose their own restrictions. "
The limitations for the imagination of designers are still in doubt, but it is difficult to argue with the fact that the model looks fresh. Balanced proportions, wide wheel arches, bright, but at the same time quite restrained chrome elements - Geely FY 11 does not look like Chinese at all. And yet it is difficult to get rid of the thought that we have already seen all this somewhere.
The test offered a top-end version with all-wheel drive, a leather interior with red stitching and a large touchscreen deployed to the driver. The rectangular shape of the monitor was chosen taking into account the needs of the domestic market. Many Chinese people like to watch movies or videos in traffic jams, and in this format it is more convenient to do it, Geely explained. The coatings and trims in the cabin are of high quality: the leather is soft, there are many convenient compartments in the center tunnel, including an electric cup holder. The ceiling is finished in Alcantara, the steering wheel is height adjustable, the electric seats are comfortable. There is a wireless charger that works with iPhone and Android, the speaker system is from Bose.
An interesting design feature is a thin line of illumination in all doors. You can probably choose its color, but since all the settings were available only in Chinese, it was not easy to find a common language with the FY 11. There are a minimum of physical buttons in the car: all basic functions can be controlled via the touchscreen. There are only a few buttons to the left of the steering wheel - one of them allows you to take photos of what is happening in front of the car. On the right side of the tunnel there is a button for turning on a video camera with a 360-degree view and a button for activating the automatic parking system.
Modes of movement can be selected using the washer: "comfort", "eco", "sport", "snow" and "heavy snow". In the top version, they offer many assistants: adaptive cruise control, which monitors the cars in front, slowing down and picking up speed, the car also knows how to follow the markings and steer if the driver is distracted. There is an emergency braking system, as well as assistants that warn of danger in blind spots and about exceeding the speed limit. Provided for Geely FY 11 and voice control: while it is difficult to predict how the assistant will cope with the Russian speech, but the Chinese understands and executes the simplest commands.
While the instructor was showing the track, I managed to sit in the back in the company of two more colleagues. The middle passenger was not very comfortable, in addition, he had to help to fasten the seat belt. If the average passenger is short, then the three of them in the back will be still tolerable. But most importantly, the Chinese in their tests have finally begun to allow driving. On the track, we managed to accelerate the car to 130 km / h - the long straight lines were still closed. Overclocking was easy with the FY11, but there are questions about the soundproofing of the arches and the floor.
In addition, the engine itself runs loudly and growls even at medium speed, which only impairs perception. Coupled with emergency braking, it sometimes seemed that we were driving with open windows. The steering wheel settings are not sporty and sharp, and at city speeds the steering wheel lacked information content. The FY11 would like to add more sportiness in the settings - while it seems that inside and out it is noticeably better than on the go.
In listing the competitors, the Chinese, as always, are pretentious. Geely said that in the global and Russian markets with the launch of this model, they want to squeeze not only the Volkswagen Tiguan, but also the Japanese: Mazda CX-5 and Toyota RAV-4. The Chinese also hinted that buyers considering the BMW X6 might be interested in their proposal.
