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Guangzhou Auto Toyota's three-cylinder model has made the latest progress! On December 1, Guangzhou Auto Toyota announced that its compact car Leiling will launch three new 1.5L power models, and a new Leiling dual-engine leading version will be added, and four models will be put on sale at the same time.

From the announced car series, due to the launch of 1.5L power models, the number of 1.2T power models has been reduced from the previous five to three, while the hybrid version of the new dual-engine leading version.

The biggest change in this new car is the addition of a 1.5L three-cylinder naturally aspirated engine. According to the declaration information, the 1.5L naturally aspirated engine code-named M15C has a maximum power 89kw and a transmission matching analog 10-speed CVT gearbox. Judging from the power output of this car, it is still slightly better than the current 1.2T four-cylinder turbocharging.

According to the previous declaration chart, there is no obvious difference between the new Leiling and the current models on sale, it is still a black medium grid design, the style of the front face has increased compared with that of the previous generation, the front fenders are raised on both sides, and the headlights become barbs. In terms of size, the length, width and height of the new car are 4640 mm, 1780 mm and 1435 (1455), respectively, and the wheelbase is 2700mm.

The new Leiling will not change much in the interior, still maintain the overall design of the current model, and offer three different versions of 8-inch, 9-inch and 12.1-inch according to the configuration.

For the Leiling 1.2T replacement 1.5L situation, in fact, it is not surprising. As early as March 2019, the people's Government of Nansha District, Guangzhou City, announced the project information of Toyota M15C series engines. In July 2020, GAC Toyota officially put into production the M15C engine. The new engine will gradually replace the 1.2T four-cylinder turbocharger used by Leiling. In addition to Lei Ling, including Carola, Wechi, Zhi Hyun and other Toyota models may gradually replace the powertrain.

For Toyota's practice of launching a three-cylinder engine, many netizens think that they either have absolute confidence in the product or are dying. After all, the acceptance of the three-cylinder engine in the domestic market is not high. Although only one cylinder is missing, the characteristics such as jitter, poor operation and high noise have gradually become insurmountable for consumers to buy cars. Even if the power output is better than the four-cylinder engine, but the consumer psychology is still very resistant.

In the domestic market, including Ford, Buick, Chevrolet and other brand models are equipped with low-displacement three-cylinder engine, but sales are not optimistic. The Fox, for example, was once Ford's most famous car, and since it was equipped with a 1.5L three-cylinder engine, the current market sales have remained at about 3000, less than a fraction of Xuan Yi. In addition, Buick's Yinglang also chose to carry three-cylinder engines at its peak, and then sales fell sharply until it returned to four-cylinder engines this year.

In the three-cylinder engine market, including Buick, Ford and other brands have stumbled, indicating that this is a difficult and unpromising approach. However, Toyota is optimistic about the three-cylinder engine and put it into production, taking the lead in the two best-selling models. From the feedback from netizens, it is very difficult to predict the specific performance of the follow-up market of Leiling / Carola.

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