They drive themselves: on a Russian hybrid through the villages of Zaonezhye
The Voyah Passion EVR sedan in an unusual Gzhel livery was shown at Innoprom in Yekaterinburg. The assembly of the new product began not so long ago in Lipetsk, and the first copies were delivered to dealers. The Izvestia correspondent drove this car along the roads of Karelia, appreciated its comfort and dynamics.
Voyah Passion: Now it's a hybrid
Until recently, the Voyah Passion was presented exclusively in an electric version with an impressive price tag, so it has not gained popularity. Neither the innovative semi-solid battery, nor the sporty nature, nor the rich equipment have corrected the situation. Voyah hybrids eventually turned out to be much more in demand in Russia than electric cars, so launching Passion in a hybrid version is quite a logical step, especially since after the cessation of deliveries of European, Japanese and South Korean brands, the niche of large premium sedans has not been properly mastered by Chinese brands, which focused mainly on crossovers.
Dimensions of Voyah Passion EVR — 5088×1970×1505 mm, wheelbase — 3000 mm
With a length of just over 5 m, Passion can be classified as a business segment car, but the width and legroom of the rear passengers are just like in the executive class. The sloping roof line and the short tail of the trunk are the so—called fastback, that is, a sedan with a sloping stern. Unlike the Porsche Panamera and Audi A7 Sportback, this is a sedan, meaning it has a luggage compartment lid.
The two electric Passion motors combined to produce 510 hp and 730 Nm, accelerating the car from a standstill to a hundred in 3.8–4.2 seconds — the dynamics depended on the capacity and type of battery. The hybrid's characteristics are more modest — 394 hp and 590 Nm, the claimed acceleration to 100 km/ h is 5.9 s. It has a slightly lower top speed of 200 km/h versus 205-210 km/h. But the gasoline turbo engine that appeared under the hood made it possible to increase the range to 1000 km on the WLTP cycle, while the maximum that the electric Passion was capable of was 608 km.
The Passion EVR is a sequential hybrid, meaning the internal combustion engine is not connected to the wheels, but charges the traction battery.
A 43 kWh battery provides 200 km of mileage on pure electric power using the same WLTP cycle, meaning you can drive short distances without wasting gasoline and replenishing the charge from the mains. So, in order to charge the battery from 20 to 80%, it will take 29 minutes. It takes 8 hours to fill the battery from the AC mains.
Voyah Passion: price and competitors
In fact, of the models officially presented in Russia, Hongqi H9 and Exlantix ES can be considered direct competitors of Passion. The first one loses to Passion in dynamics and equipment — only a 2-liter engine, there is no air suspension and all-wheel drive. The second one is noticeably more expensive, and it has less headroom over the heads of the rear passengers.
The interior can be brown-gray or black-gray. Eco-leather upholstery is already available as standard
The Voyah Passion EVR is already being assembled in Lipetsk, and in winter the assembly will be small-scale. This gives the sedan the right to be included in the lists of models recommended for government procurement and taxi work. In addition, Russian-made hybrids, as well as electric vehicles, are subject to state support in the amount of 925 thousand rubles. Taking into account the subsidy, the price tag for a single package is 4.7 million rubles.
Voyah Passion: how it differs
The car in the Gzhel coloring is still Chinese-made, as indicated by the glowing fin on the trunk lid. This is a distinctive feature of hybrids, whereas the electric version is equipped with a retractable spoiler. On Russian cars, they decided to abandon the fin, and for practical reasons: for some reason it does not combine with the external lid opening button. This option was considered more important, but in the meantime, the lid can be lifted with a key or using an inconvenient touch button in the cabin.
The hybrid Passion is noticeably different from the electric one: an openwork radiator grille, shiny with tiny logos, and wheels with thin spokes instead of aerodynamic wheels. The hybrid has noticeably fewer body colors — black for government agencies, white for taxis, and for the rest, "black amethyst" — probably it can be called "eggplant".
The number of interior colors has been reduced to two — black with gray and brown-gray, gray and blue are no longer offered. Inside, the Passion EVR has hardly changed: a faceted steering wheel, a "wall" of three displays and another separate display at the bottom, a "crystal" washer for selecting driving modes. The seats are finished with a combination of artificial leather and suede, the latter is pleasant to the touch. The power window control unit is no longer touch-sensitive, which often triggered an accidental touch, but physical. I would also like to change the trunk opening, emergency and driving modes buttons.
So far, the car is offered in three colors. In addition to white, black and "black amethyst" are available
In general, the control of almost all functions is focused on the displays. The lower one is responsible for climate control, and you need to contact it, even when you want to change the direction of air flow. The function of the central and right passenger screens is infotainment, the latter is full of many Chinese widgets and applications, there are even video games and karaoke.
Voyah Passion: What's in the back row
Landing in the second row through a wide opening is convenient, but you need to be careful: the door does not cover the door sill from dirt. The spectacular coupe-like silhouette usually means that the headroom above the rear passengers will be small. Passion is an exception to this rule: the roof does not press down due to the low seat on the sofa and the huge transparent glass panel. The sofa is designed for three people in width, but the wide folding armrest divides it into two personal armchairs. The display on the armrest allows you to individually adjust each chair, turn on heating, massage and ventilation. You can change the temperature, but the hybrid does not have separate zones for rear passengers, whereas the electric Passion has a four-zone "climate".
The seat on the right is equipped with a pull-out footrest, the front seat can be pushed forward by pressing a button and reclining, with the backrest tilted as far as possible and the back of the head resting on the "aviation" headrest. Passengers of average height will be very comfortable here.
The Passion trunk is small, with a declared volume of 410 liters. The backs do not fold, and only a small hatch is provided to accommodate the long meters.
The standard ground clearance is 130 mm, it can be increased to 164 mm.
At the wheel, you want to sit as low as possible, in a sporty way, and put the faceted steering wheel in the lower position, but then its rim covers the upper part of the dashboard.
Voyah Passion: How is he going
The steering device here is sharp and short, which somewhat conflicts with the soft and smooth settings of the car.
A special camera tracks the road surface and changes the settings of the shock absorbers. The system is called Magic Carpet — "Magic carpet". This is not to say that Passion hovers over the road, but it rides gently and copes well with road bumps. In sport mode, the ground clearance decreases, the suspension becomes stiffer, reducing the swing and rolls.
Acceleration in Sport mode is the most intense, powerful pick-up to 100 km/ h, then the pressure gradually weakens and stops at 201 km/h.
However, even in sports mode, the car still reacts to pressing the accelerator with a pause. It seems that the hybrid Passion was deliberately made less harsh — still, it can carry passengers, whereas the electric car seemed intended to demonstrate technology. Interestingly, the battery, which has dropped below 20%, does not affect the dynamics — Passion accelerates as if nothing had happened.
The hybrid accelerates from zero to a hundred in 5.9 seconds. The maximum speed is limited at 200 km/h.
The operation of the internal combustion engine is clearly audible from the outside, but in the cabin its voice is not distinguishable even during acceleration, when, judging by the tachometer readings, its RPM soars to 3,400 rpm. The sedan accelerates very quietly and only at high speed does it get a little noisy in the back row.
Voyah Passion: What's with the power reserve
Passion has the lowest declared fuel consumption in the Voyah range — 6.3 liters per 100 km. The real one is clearly higher, since you want to drive this car, not save money. As a result, after "shooting out" along the highway, the flight computer shows 10 liters per "hundred", and the power reserve is reduced by almost half against the stated value. Passion actively uses a gasoline engine for recharging, starting it even in purely electric mode if the speed exceeds 120 km/h. However, charging the battery on the go is not as efficient as with the Free crossover, and recovery, even in the most powerful mode, is still mild. Getting carried away with charging the battery, I emptied the gas tank. The engine stalled, but the sedan continued to drive electric as if nothing had happened, and there was still a reserve of more than a hundred kilometers in the battery.
The claimed total power reserve is 1000 km, and the Passion electric car is capable of driving 200 kilometers. The average consumption is 6.3 liters of 95 gasoline per 100 km, the fuel tank volume is 51 liters.
The standard ground clearance of the sedan is 130 mm, and it can be increased on a country road: the stated maximum is 164 mm, but in reality it is about a centimeter more. Ground clearance can only be increased at low speed. In the highest possible position of the Passion body, the bumps are shaky, as the suspension moves are selected.
Voyah Passion: What's missing
In general, Passion is quite adapted to Russian conditions. The only thing that surprised me was the behavior of adaptive cruise control. It cannot make sharp turns on its own, and if the car crosses a solid marking, the electronics slows it down sharply and sends it to the side of the road.
Passion offers a rare combination of spaciousness, equipment and dynamics now, and for these qualities it can well be considered a premium, although it lacks, for example, door closers and seat upholstery in natural leather to fully match the car. The price tag for hybrids does not look threatening, although the company is already considering a more affordable four-wheel drive version of the Passion.
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