AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)02/23 Report--

When it comes to the "magic car" in the domestic MPV market, it must be Wuling Hongguang, but in January this year, Wuling Hongguang fell off the altar and was steadily won by the GL8 of the middle and high-end MPV model, which deserves a new generation of "magic car".

It is this GL8, which was exposed at the end of last year that the mid-term changes have not yet been put on the market, and the declaration information of the four-seater version was released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The new car is based on the previous GL8 Avenir concept car and will be the top luxury version of the Buick GL8 in the future.

From the declaration information, the Buick GL8 Avenir four-seater version of the biggest highlight is the use of four-seat design, the declaration map only publishes the appearance of the body and vehicle information, so it is impossible to see the specific interior layout. According to the official map of the GL8 Avenir concept model released earlier, it uses a completely different interior style from the current model, which looks much more luxurious.

The interior central control adopts a connected screen design, and two suspended central control LCD screens are connected together to return the visual center of gravity of the entire carriage to the driver's position. In addition to the center console, the concept model also adds a diamond-shaped design, while the seats are covered with diamond-shaped leather, while adding two-color collocation, the overall look more advanced.

The design of the second row is like the experience of the back row of the first-class cabin of the plane, the generous seat design and grain pattern all reveal a strong sense of luxury. It is almost comparable to the recently released Lexus LM. However, as the picture is a concept model of GL8 Avenir, it is not known how big the gap is between the actual interior design and the official map.

It is worth noting that the declared information shows that the body size of the four-seater version is slightly larger than that of the current Avenir model, with its length, width and height respectively 5219/1878/1799mm and wheelbase 3088mm. Even the four-seater version is bigger than Elfa.

The appearance is slightly different from the early release of the GL8 Avenir concept model and the medium-term modification, only in the details. The overall design appearance adopts the mid-term modified GL8 design, in addition to the front middle net and the lower intake grille for different designs, the car body is designed with metal chromium plating strips on both sides, and the vehicle model is added to show the identity. The shape of the hub has also been completely designed.

Although, GL8 in the 2018 Baoyan second batch of models in the crash test results chilling, as a heavyweight in the domestic market in the middle and high-end MPV model, unexpectedly won the "failed" rating.

According to the SAIC Buick GL8 28T comfort model tested by China Baoyan, in the 2017 small-angle collision test, the GL8 showed serious deformation of the A-pillar and tear resulting in hitting the dummy on the head. In addition, the steering wheel was excessively displaced in the collision, resulting in the front airbag not playing its due role, and the side head airbag did not deploy normally, so the driver's survival probability was very low and got a poor rating (P).

Compared with the American version of the Odyssey and Mazda 5 equivalent class MPV models, there is no such serious A-pillar deformation as GL8. As a result, it has been complained by many netizens, even because it is a special model in China.

However, the results of the China Insurance Research Institute did not have much impact on GL8 in the domestic market, and won the first place in the domestic high-end MPV market for many years in a row, even though the Buick brand remained strong under the continuous decline of the domestic market.

According to data, SAIC GM Buick sales totaled 837300 vehicles in 2019, a year-on-year decline of nearly 19 per cent and a severe decline, but GL8 sales reached 148121 vehicles, an increase of 2.6 per cent year-on-year.

In January this year, the domestic market was generally affected by the Spring Festival and the novel coronavirus epidemic, and sales fell sharply, so that Wuling Hongguang, which topped the list every year, also saw its sales decline to less than Buick GL8. Among them, Wuling Hongguang sold 11600 vehicles in January, while Buick GL8 was 14200.

2020 is still not an optimistic market for all car companies, but there are also more and more car companies beginning to seize the domestic middle and high-end MPV market, including the completed introduction of Guangzhou Auto Toyota Sena, SAIC Volkswagen Viloran (majestic), and the high-end market is the entry of Lexus LM. Perhaps the domestic lukewarm MPV market is being paid more and more attention by car companies.

Welcome to subscribe to the WeChat public account "Automotive Industry Focus" to get the first-hand insider information on the automotive industry and talk about things in the automotive circle. Welcome to break the news! WeChat ID autoWechat