[Autobot] Where did the "Honda flavor" go? Test drive crown road 370turbo

Crown Road, the Honda car with the least Honda flavor. Is it big? Meat? Frustrated? Master, come and try it yourself today!

text / "Autobot" Michael

Guandao is a "heterogeneous" for Guangqi Honda and even the entire Honda car series.

As the only product of Guangqi Honda that uses luxury as its main marketing concept, Crown Road is also the car with the highest average price of the brand's product line. Since its launch, the market has performed well. After the facelift in 2020, Crown Road ushered in a new product cycle. The huge size and five-seater design make this Honda's current top SUV in China a change from Honda's usual way of "squeezing large space from small size" , There is really a "broader" capital.

Recalling the launch of the new crown road, the bright and blind projection cloud conference is really impressive. However, it is a pity that, as a veteran Honda fan, the master did not have the opportunity to experience the 2021 Crown Road 370turbo real car until the beginning of this year because of a coincidence, or the fate has not yet arrived. For this car, in fact, many riders are very interested in it, and there are many online reviews, and they have everything to say.

Now that you can finally start it yourself, the master will naturally pay special attention to the issues that everyone is generally concerned about: how exactly do the 2.0t engines and 9AT match? In the seven-seater era, where is the competitiveness of the Big Five? Guandao is a Honda car, where has its Honda flavor gone?

Don't worry, we will start right away.

Let’s start with the appearance.

The model that the master test-drive is GAC Honda Guandao 370turbo 9AT extreme four-wheel drive two-color version (cool black + Venetian blue), which is the top version. Since it is a mid-term facelift, the new Honda Crown Road, which is a model of the year, has not changed much in terms of appearance, and the more obvious changes are mainly concentrated on the front face.

The new crown channel has updated the old honeycomb grille into a strip that is closer to Haoying, which visually strengthens some sense of hierarchy and weakens a little sense of movement. The bumper part above the front lip uses a through-type chrome plated part.It also looks more stable than the semi-X front lip with a little off-road flavor of the previous generation.

Crown Road’s iconic hood side air intake panel has been retained, still a combination of chrome and black lacquer, but there are some minor adjustments in the details, the chrome part is reduced compared to the previous generation.

Crown Road 2.0t (370turbo) models are equipped with all-LED headlights as standard. Guangqi Honda named it the Eagle Wing All-LED Light Set, which is also equipped with streamer turn lights. This configuration is not available in the low-end models of 1.5t (240turbo), and it can be regarded as you get what you pay for.

From the side of the car, the new crown track has not changed much. It is still the muscular macho style with a little slid back and raised front and rear wheel eyebrows. The two-color version of the body is unique to the new model, and at the same time the newly launched Venice blue car color, if you see this country beige (blue and black) crown road on the street, then it must be a new model.

Another more conspicuous appearance change is the use of new wheels. The new fifteen pairs of two-color cutting wheels are said to have a certain contribution to silence. In terms of tires, the new crown road uses Michelin Haoyue primacy SUV tires of 245/55 R19 specifications, which are relatively comfortable and quiet in a thousand yuan tires, and they are kind.

The changes in the rear of the car are relatively small. The two-side four-out chrome-plated exhaust pipe basically plays a decorative role. Actually this 2.0t engine is designed as a two-side double-out.

All in all, there are not many adjustments in the appearance details of the new crown road. Some focus on improving the sense of stability, and some further strengthen the dynamic feeling. The negative and negative are positive. There is nothing to say too much-the crown is still That crown, at a glance, still looks a little muscular sports style.

Entering the car, Crown Road's proud sense of luxury began to appear.

The overall design style of the new crown road has not changed from the previous generation.It just adds the use of metallic decorative strips in some details. The all-black interior version of the master test drive, the black slush molding, dark walnut and metal materials still give a sense of stability-this also has a slight change in the sporty appearance of the crown road.

Dark walnut veneer is basically concentrated on the front side of the passenger and the door part. The materials and craftsmanship are superior, and the heavy feeling of the door also gives the illusion of a German car.

Unlike the 1.5t (240turbo) version, the 2.0t (370turbo) models are all equipped with special-shaped button-type shifting units characteristic of Honda. Guangqi Honda's push-button shift is called SBW, and it was also first equipped by Guandao, and was later equipped on the high-end, hybrid and new energy models of Guangqi Honda. This button-type electronic shift system is relatively easy to use after proficiency. Each gear has a different touch and operation method. For example, the reverse gear adopts a back-pull button stroke to avoid accidental touch.

Like many mainstream luxury models, Crown Road is also equipped with a mobile phone wireless charging function, but its location is rather mysterious-it is set in the hollow space below the central shift button. This position is relatively safe when driving, and the mobile phone is not easy to slide, but it is also easy to miss calls or important information due to the problem of blocked view. Of course, from a safety point of view, there is nothing wrong with not looking at your mobile phone while driving.

The high version of the crown adopts heated full leather seats, and provides seat ventilation and 12-way driver seat adjustment with seat memory in the front row. This seat can provide good support and wrapping for occupants of different heights and body types.

In the central control area, the crown road uses an 8-inch LCD screen that is standard on the entire vehicle series with the traditional button-type air-conditioning control area. What's more interesting is that this display has a multi-angle adjustable function, which can be adjusted to match the ambient light and the driver's height.

Although the width reached 1.94 meters (1942mm),But as a traditional art of space magic book, Honda still carried out a lot of sophisticated space design on the crown road. The central armrest box can be operated in two stages of sliding and butterfly opening on a wide foundation.

After the armrest box cover is moved back, two cup grooves are exposed. These two cup grooves have a depth adjustment function, which can adapt to cups and beverage bottles of different lengths. The multifunctional storage slot at the rear is "deep and not bottomless". In order to place fine and broken items for easy access, the crown road has prepared a movable shallow box in the storage slot position.

Back to the driving area, Guangqi Honda chose a more dynamic three-spoke steering wheel for Crown Road, which integrates multiple functions including multimedia, HUD, and instrument panel LCD display, which looks densely packed. But it's fairly simple and easy to use. Compared with the old model, the steering wheel of the new crown road adds some metal elements, and the visual effect is richer. But for masters who are obsessed with four-frame steering wheels, a three-frame wheel for a car as big as Crown Road seems too sporty.

After talking about the hands, let's talk about the feet. The combination of the accelerator and brake pedals of the new Crown Road echoes the interior style very well. The combination of polished metal parts and black anti-slip glue has obviously undergone a certain design. As you can see in the picture, although the master stepped all the way, it still maintained a certain luster.

Crown Road uses the traditional dual mechanical watch and dual LCD screen in the dashboard design. At the same time, the background color of the dashboard light will change according to the driving mode.

There is no need to say more about the rear space of the crown road. In addition to large or large, a flat floor or even a floor is enough for sleeping. In terms of configuration, the rear b-pillar air-conditioning outlets are all standard equipment, and the rear central air-conditioning control, charging, and boss buttons are all available.

High-end models are also equipped with a multi-function control area on the rear center armrest and a small LCD screen. The function of the rear control area is relatively complete. It can basically control the main functions of the entire car audio system, and it can also freely open or close the panoramic sunroof sunshade.

The most characteristic configuration of Crown Road is the electric rear sunshade, which is very rare in the same class of cars. Electric sun shade may be just a luxurious configuration full of novelty and ritual for adult passengers, but for children, especially babies, the sun shade that can be controlled by the main driver has more practical application significance.

The new crown road rear seats still do not have the angle adjustment function, but overall comfort is still acceptable, after all, the rear space is too large. In the face of the absolute advantage of space, the shorter cushion length and non-adjustable seat back will really be ignored.

If the appearance of Crown Road's fastback emphasizes the sense of power and sportiness, then the interior and configuration show all Honda's luxury skills. From the craftsmanship to the materials, the crown road has a very "thick" feeling from the beginning of pulling the door. The relatively old-fashioned interior design and the use of leather wood grain materials make the interior of the crown road car and the exterior of the car very different. The atmosphere of business and administration permeates the interior of the car, which is very attractive for older users (such as large Master himself).

Sports appearance and executive interior, passion or stability? Which side does this 2.0t big guy run more favorably?

The Honda Earth Dream K20C3 2.0L direct injection VTEC turbocharged engine used on the new crown road 370turbo is actually our old friend. It is the famous K20C1 magic machine from Civic TYPE-R. There are also many dismantling reports and evaluation articles on the Internet, and interested riders can consult them on their own.

The quality of the engine is okay, so why do people always think that the crown is the starting point? Then we can only find the reason from that set of ZF 9AT gearbox.

During the actual test drive, the master specially tried a variety of driving modes, and paid special attention to the performance of Crown Road 2.0t engine and 9AT gearbox. Congested roads in the city, including the start phase of traffic lights, the crown road does not have enough explosive power during the static/low-speed driving phase.In the eco and comfort driving modes, the throttle sensitivity is low, and the acceleration response of the crown road vehicle is relatively slow, and a certain shift frustration can be felt in the speed range of 50-70km/h. Even if it switches to sport mode, the static start acceleration performance of Crown Road is relatively slow, which has a certain gap compared with the German competitors.

However, once the speed reaches 80km/h or more, the crown road in sport mode feels like waking up, and the strength of K20C3 is finally shown. The masters used the comfort and sport modes to drive back and forth on the same road section respectively, and the crown road showed a completely different temperament.

In the forward comfort mode, the acceleration of the vehicle is more than linear, and the burst is insufficient. The overall feeling is "not Honda", and there is even a little hypnosis after turning on the full set of assisted driving systems. At the return stage, the master switched to the sport mode, and Guan Dao’s performance on high speed was like seeing the big big wolf of Little Sheep as soon as he opened his eyes. The source of power is endless, far exceeding the master’s expectations-the long-lost pushback feeling is back again Up.

After actual driving, the master came to a conclusion. If you want to experience the passion that the crown road can bring in terms of power, please drive on the express road. The K20C3+9AT at high speed and high gear can let you find the familiar "Honda flavor". Relatively speaking, the overall power adjustment of Crown Road in low and medium speed conditions is relatively comfortable. The maximum output power of 200 kW requires the engine speed to be increased to 6500 rpm, and the critical point of the torque of 370 N·m also requires 2250 rpm. the above.

In terms of chassis suspension, the new crown track still uses the traditional front McPherson rear multi-link independent suspension, but it is obviously softer in the tuning direction. Honda has demonstrated its ability to adjust comfort to the chassis on the crown road, creating a rare heavy driving quality. Honda’s traditional “hard” and “bumps” no longer exist on the crown, and replaced by an extremely smooth vibration filtering effect. What’s more rare is that such a soft shock absorber also controls the aftershock caused by large potholes. acceptable. All in all, if you open the crown, don't pursue feedback on the road, and it's over if you are comfortable.

Since it is mentioned that the "hard" and "bumps" have disappeared, is the "noisy" of the third Honda still gone?

If Guandao's space advantage is not enough to attract discerning customers, then in terms of noise control, it can completely break the wrist with any luxury brand of the same level-you can't even believe that this is a Honda car .

The master has also tried driving the RDX of Honda's luxury brand Acura many times, both of which are large and medium-sized SUVs. The mute effect of the crown road is not only not lost to the seniors, but even out of blue. With solid sound insulation materials, multi-layer glue-injected soundproof glass used throughout the car, coupled with a quieter tire selection and active noise reduction technology, Guandao has wiped out Honda’s ancestral interior noise. Although Honda's other new products have been improving in terms of noise control, compared with Guandao, it still seems to be an era behind.

There are many Honda cars that the master has driven. In most cases, especially when driving at high speeds, music is played to a certain extent to shield the noise, but on the crown road, the master can even hear classical music clearly. Every part. If the loss of "hard" and "bump" makes Guandao lose part of the Honda flavor, then we hope to lose the "noisy" as far as possible.

Finally, talk about the fuel consumption performance of Crown Road and the car.

The master used different driving modes during the test drive of 140.7km in total, and the driving style gradually inclined from steady to intense. The mileage distribution between the two was close to 50%, and the road conditions were about 1/5. Urban expressway (average speed 50km/h), 3/5 high-speed (average speed 100km/h), 1/5 urban conventional roads (40km/h), and finally showed a fuel consumption of 9.7L per 100 kilometers. For a 2.0t engine, this result is still acceptable. If there are more congested roads, the fuel consumption of 10-11L should be the performance of normal city road conditions.

Since the high-end version of the crown road does not have carplay, the master chose the AutoNavi voice navigation system that comes with the car and machine.There is nothing wrong with this set of navigation from voice response to route planning. You can put your phone on the wireless charging dock and connect it to Bluetooth to play music. In terms of LCD screen touch response and operation logic, Honda's Honda CONNECT 2.0 system has also reached the mainstream level, but encountered some troubles during online music playback. It may be a problem with the system module permissions of the test drive, which failed to experience successfully.

To summarize.

There is a certain truth in saying that Crown Road is the most "Honda-flavored" Honda car. Honda has used all its skills in making luxury cars on the crown road, creating an SUV that is neither "bumpy" nor "hard" nor "noisy". Abandoning Honda’s consistent “primitive driving feel” and without the “luxurious sporty feel” created by Acura, Guandao can be said to be a niche among the niche in the Honda product sequence. But looking at the market performance since the advent of Crown Road, we can see that the big five-seater SUV pursuing ultimate luxury and comfort still remains attractive to Honda fans, and there are still considerable customers who vote for Crown Road with real money.

If Acura uses "sports" as a weapon in the luxury car camp to strive for its own position, then Guandao's strategy is to use invincible space and comfortable luxury attributes to launch a staggered competition in the seven-seater SUV market.

For the master, Crown Road is a car that can significantly improve the quality of daily transportation. The day before the test drive, the Crown Road was driven from the handover point back to the station for more than ten kilometers. The master even forgot I am driving a new car that I drove for the first time. Driving on the crown road on Beijing’s Fourth Ring Road, I feel that I am not fighting with the congestion as usual, but I am immersed in the traffic flow and drifting forward naturally and gently...

This leisure and calmness can be said to have no one. Other Honda cars can bring me-it even reminds the master of the feeling of driving a certain Lexus many years ago. (Text / "Autobot" Michael, part of the picture source network) [Copyright Statement] This article is an exclusive original manuscript of "Autobot", and the copyright belongs to "Autobot".

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