The concept of driving control in a mid-size SUV is not a recent fire in the auto market, whether it is the BMW X5 in the fuel era, or the NIO ES8 and Tesla Model X in the pure electric era, these "big guys" can be related to the control, and they all have a certain status in the segment. The IM LS7 is the first mid-size SUV of the IM brand, and it has been shaped to challenge the image of the BMW X5 and the NIO ES6 before it was launched, so its strength is naturally expected. But in the end is the strength more than fame or fame more than strength, still need us to explore in depth.
The LS7 is currently divided into two versions: rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive. In order to explore its comprehensive strength more comprehensively, we will choose its four-wheel drive version, namely the IM LS7 2023 100kWh 4WD version, and start a detailed interpretation.
IM LS7 exterior design is avant-garde enough
In terms of design, the IM LS7 uses the same design language as the L7, and the style is almost identical to the concept car, which looks edgy enough. The front is a fully enclosed design common to pure electric models, while the headlights are a highly iconic L-shape, equipped with DLP/ISC intelligent lighting system, which gives more human-vehicle interaction and enhances entertainment.
Thanks to the body dimensions of 5049x2002x1773mm and the wheelbase of 3060mm, plus the slender enough body lines with frameless doors and hidden door handles, the entire side of the Smart LS7 has a good body curve and looks slender. It is worth mentioning that its wheel shape is also relatively unique, the design of the wind and fire wheel, coupled with the red calipers is still quite sporty.
The rear end is fuller, with details of slender, sharp through LED taillights, and it's worth mentioning that, like the L7, its taillights are also integrated with the rear wing, so it also looks unique. The roof is a skeleton design spoiler that can improve vehicle airflow, and the surround below is a concave and convex curve treatment that echoes the front of the car, creating a good overall stance.
To be honest, the exterior design of the LS7 is still relatively standard, and its interior, too, looks relatively unique. Sitting inside the car, one of the highlights of the IM LS7 is its wide field of vision, its front dome glass extends all the way to the top of the driver's head, with a maximum vertical viewing angle of 106°, which has a clear advantage over the front view of ordinary models. It is worth mentioning that, in consideration of sunlight exposure, this dome canopy of the IM LS7 also incorporates gradient acoustic and thermal insulation film in the upper part, so its sun screen effect is no less than that of ordinary models.
As a mid-size SUV, is there enough space in the car?
At the same time, in order to keep the steering wheel, dashboard and other items from affecting the driver's view, the IM LS7 also designed them as half-spoke and liftable modes respectively. This is a big help to improve the sense of technology inside the car, and of course, in order to cater to more drivers' habits, the round steering wheel it is also provided.
The IM LS7 is a large five-seat SUV, but the passenger seat and the second row of seats are different. Among them, the passenger seat and the right side of the rear row of seats using a power slide, in the zero gravity seat mode, the front passenger can be fully folded and pushed to the front of the passenger. At this time, the right rear seat can realize 121 ° zero gravity ride mode and 155 ° lying flat mode, which is also considered a relatively unique existence in the same class of vehicles.
As for the riding space, for example, when a 170cm-tall experienced person adjusts the sitting posture and rides in the main driver's position, thanks to the existence of the front dome glass, the experienced person can still have more than 2 fists of head space left. Keep the driver's seat unmoving to the second row, at this time, head space can still be left 1 fist 4 fingers, leg space is also more than 2 fist, the overall space is quite spacious. In terms of cargo, the official standard volume of the trunk also reached 733L, the storage capacity is quite substantial.
The control performance of LS7 is not bad
After looking at the performance of the above part of the IM LS7, let's focus on its performance and handling. The four-wheel drive version of this article is equipped with two electric motors front and rear, the front motor has a maximum power of 175kW and a maximum torque of 250N-m, while the rear motor has a maximum power of 250kW and a maximum torque of 475N-m. With these two motors paired with each other, the total power of the IM LS7 motor reaches 425kW and 578 horsepower, while the total torque reaches 725N-m. The parameters are quite impressive.
In terms of acceleration performance, the official 0-100km/h acceleration time of the IM LS7 is 4.5 seconds, while the best performance of the same class is 4.1 seconds for the NIO ES8 and 3.9 seconds for the Xpeng G9, which is not as good as the two of them, but the IM LS7 still belongs to the first echelon of players in this field.
As a sibling of the L7, the LS7 is born from the same i0 origin high-end pure electric architecture as it is. While having excellent acceleration performance, the LS7 is equipped with a front double-wishbone and rear multi-link four-wheel suspension structure that focuses on handling, as well as air suspension from Continental, electronic control technology from Bilstein, and chassis tuning completed by WAE Williams Forward Engineering, which was well received on the L7.
Among them is its air suspension with electromagnetic dynamic damping adjustment system, which lowers the chassis to the lowest level when you open the door to enter the vehicle or at the moment when you need a low center of gravity to enhance handling, and automatically raises the chassis when you need passability, with the whole process being adaptively adjustable to better cater to the driver's needs. In addition to the details, the IM LS7 is also equipped with front four-piston fixed brake calipers, an integrated One-box braking system, and special tires for electric vehicles that focus on performance. With a lot of strong hardware, I think the handling performance of the LS7 will not be too bad.
As for the range, the SUV is equipped with a ternary Li-ion battery from SAIC with a capacity of 100kWh, which comes standard with a charging pile and supports external discharge. When fully charged, this battery can provide the LS7 with a pure electric range of 625 km NEDC, which is in line with mainstream performance.
End-of-article summary.
In terms of design and hardware alone, the IM LS7 can come to the first echelon in the mid-size SUV segment. The half-spoke steering wheel, the front dome glass, the liftable joint screen, and the tuning work of the WAE Williams forward-looking engineering team are all extremely gimmicky when taken alone. Therefore, in my opinion, the reputation of the IM LS7 can still correspond to its strength, after all, such bright hardware is not really seen in the same class.
