Big, impressive, "Chinese!?"
Quite a few people were surprised (photo: Kenan Cohen)
Price:
NIS 300,000 (test), NIS 270,000 (base)
Score:
8.5/10
We liked: quality, equipment, space, comfort, performance, electric range, price
We didn't like: human engineering, fuel consumption at the end of the battery The
thought is always " But what if I don't have a place to charge it?", but this time I'm standing at the gas station with the new WEY plug-in and it was precisely with the electric charging that there was no problem - it was the fuel filler opening for the gasoline that refused to open.
A few calls to the technical department, a short investigation and a hypothesis that turned out to be correct solved the mystery - after disassembling the door of the fuse house, a wayward connector was found that did not connect after installing the coder.
A technical sense and a childish fondness for disassembling and assembling things turned out to be very useful - the matter is settled, and we fuel up and set off.
But this digging into the guts of the electrical system was also another opportunity - to peek at the COFFEE 01 under the plastic and be impressed by the quality of the assembly in a place we don't usually look in its direction - and I realize that maybe we should start doing that.
Because I'm not sure that with all the European, Japanese and Korean manufacturers, business is as sweet as it is here.
The multi-curved body is a package of all kinds of designs in one look (photo: Keinan Cohen)
At some point the token fell to them, the moment when the Asian manufacturers said that being the cheap alternative was no longer enough and it was time to become something else.
And from that moment until they stood at the forefront of the automotive industry in every aspect.
For the Japanese it took just under 20 years, for the Koreans less than 15 years, but if the WEY COFFEE 01 tells us anything about the Chinese, we're looking at a much shorter period of time, really short now.
how much now
The Chinese market share in Europe which was 2% in 2020 is now at 11% and with the food comes the appetite and the Chinese, I don't need to tell you - eat everything...
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This logo is not familiar yet, is it going to change? (Photo: Keinan Cohen)
Design:
The COFFEE 01 strictly fulfills all the instructions in the "How to design a luxury crossover" file.
The chrome-dotted grill, the headlights with LED units, playing with reflections with the curvature in the lower third of the chassis and the pull-out handles in the upper part to the tail with the sculpted bumper.
It has a bit of Audi, a bit of Jaguar, a pinch of Lincoln.
Bottom line, even in the flood of Chinese who are excited about the Israeli market that has stopped being excited - he provoked looks and questions, "Is this Chinese?!"
was the common response of most people.
I think that's a compliment.
The quality of materials and the amount of accessories are outstanding.
On the left: the monitoring camera for the driver (photo: Keinan Cohen)
Passenger cabin:
in the high level of finish and very, very well equipped that came to the test (the entry version is only very, very well equipped), the first thing that comes out is a long "wow" in front of the amounts of leather (unreal for the environmentally conscious), the finish, the quality of the materials and the attention to detail in the look and feel that conveys the passenger compartment.
There is a real effort here not to fall into the realm of gimmicks, it doesn't always work.
The prints on the plastic in the center console?
Trying and unnecessary.
The space is excellent and the outward visibility is very good.
The seats that look great are also very comfortable, adjustable to all winds, with massage, ventilation and heating.
And in general, the range of accessories here would not put the high-end versions of luxury brands to shame, and the sheet is short on detail, including a system that knows how to drive the car independently from the parking space in reverse (yes, just like there is in BMW), a choice whether to tilt only one or two mirrors when driving in reverse, An overhead view, a camera that shows the distance to the obstacle with an accurate figure of a few centimeters and more.
Excellent space in the back without compromising on the quality of the materials (Photo: Keinan Cohen)
What's more, as far as human engineering is concerned, (also) this manufacturer is still in trouble.
They haven't overcome the tendency of the Chinese to have a whole bunch of menus that require too much fiddling with the screen.
Operating the climate control from the separate screen (unreadable in direct sunlight) with the swipe of two fingers up for temperature, right and left for intensity - smartness for its own sake.
The messages and inscriptions on the dashboard are tiny and appear in the right corner as a penalty, the safety systems are on overdrive, identifying pillars and cyclists as pedestrians, a truck as two cars or parked cars as those in motion, violent lane departure corrections at the level of the most aggressive driving instructor EVER.
Even the assistant who alerts me that I'm not focused using the face monitoring camera manages to bring up the section, how will I be focused on the road if every action requires 2-3 clicks on the screen?
Fortunately all of these are solvable at the software update level, in the meantime I put a cap on the face monitoring camera and the rest can at least be disabled from one of the screens, I just have to remember where it is.
In practice, the trunk is more useful than it looks on paper (Photo: Keinan Cohen)
Rear seat and trunk:
the rear seat has a living environment that does not fall short of the level of the front one, the Alcantara, the diamond stitching, the door trim, the seats are also heated, there are charging ports, air conditioning, lighting and all this in the space that comes from the wheelbase of 2.9 meters to the excellent headroom.
The use of larger-than-usual batteries in a plug-in car and the noteworthy insistence on equipping the COFFEE 01 with a multi-link rear suspension take a toll on the trunk.
On paper it has 371 liters, it's not big in general, it's really not impressive in a vehicle of its size.
And yet, opening (electrically) the trunk reveals that there is a spacious loading area here, by rolling the cover you actually get a very good and useful volume here.
There is lighting, hanging hooks, compartments on the sides and a 12V outlet, by the way, even here the fabric has a thick, high-quality feel - learn from Lexus...
Lots of safety systems, but overactivity interferes with the user experience (Photo: Keinan Cohen)
Accessories:
We have already gone over some of the comfort and luxury accessories, and it is really a very, very long list that also does not describe some of the more extended functions that are hidden in the various menus in the car.
But it is worth dwelling a moment on the aspect of the vehicle's safety equipment.
The COFFEE 01 comes to the competition with all the reasons in the world to look at the obesity and basket of the automobile industry in the eyes and even a little higher - 5 stars in the new and strict European crash test and together with it very high marks in the subsections of protection with adults, children, pedestrians and the advanced safety systems.
We have criticism for the overly active nature of these systems, but they work and work well when needed.
Comfort that manages to be good even on a 21" rim is too unnecessary (Photo: Keinan Cohen)
Performance:
As a plug-in vehicle with a gasoline engine and two electric motors, the COFFEE 01 offers roughly three drive options - electric-rear, electric-dual or a hybrid of a gasoline engine and electricity - also a dual front.
This combination of a 2.0-liter gasoline engine and the two electric motors makes a combined 476 horses and 86.4 kg. When you put your foot down on the pedal, even with 2.4 tons of curb weight, this COFFEE flies like after a double shot of espresso. It reaches 100 in 5 seconds, but that's nonsense, what's no less impressive are the intermediate accelerations that allow you to flash detours with ease. Even in the all-electric mode, it offers a performance envelope that is definitely compatible with daily use and you can even say daily use plus without feelings of inferiority in everyday traffic. I want to say , its use as a pure electric does not harm the level of performance or require compromises in moderate driving conditions.
The gearbox, a 9-speed dual clutch works well in responding to the response, the gear shifting is smooth in general and due to the current electric boost at low speed it also skips over the weak point of these boxes - unrefined gear shifting at slow speed.
The performance is excellent, but the noise of the gasoline engine under excessive load (Photo: Keinan Cohen)
Fuel consumption:
unlike other cars with this technology, in WEY they went all in on the plug-in - the 36.7 battery is about three times that of plug-in cars and the declared range - 146 km electric before the introduction of the gasoline engine - accordingly. In actual use that simulates an executive trip With highways and slow traffic we reached 120 electric km, which is also definitely more than enough for the average normal use.
Slow charging from an empty state to 100% takes about 4 hours, from an empty state to 80% in a fast position - a little less than an hour.
And in the end, fuel consumption is the very tricky part of plug-in cars, if you drive up to 100-120 km during the day and connect to the outlet at night - you will need a constant reminder on the side where the refueling hole is and a brush to remove the cobwebs. In the test we conducted, we drove it for two Matovitz, the first that simulates joint use of gasoline-electricity for several hundred kilometers as well as more aggressive use until the end of the battery and a little beyond. In the first scenario, the consumption stood at 18.6 km per liter - a figure that the Prius and Hyundai Ioniq proudly deliver.
In the second, not surprisingly, the business deteriorated to 7.5 km per liter. That's how it is when a small engine carries a lot of a car without help.
More equipment and power from luxury brands for less money?
What's going on here? (Photo: Kenan Cohen)
Comfort and behavior:
in regards to comfort, WEY managed to find a very successful intermediate formula in the balance between supporting 2.4 tons and providing good driving comfort.
The calibration itself is on the soft side of the scale, but really doesn't degenerate into the realms of limp sway and unpleasant roll angles.
As long as he drives in the guise of good taste, he demonstrates absolutely civilized road manners.
When he is kicked in the ribs and slapped with turns he shows a remarkable tolerance for such hooligan behavior.
A fairly extreme combination of conditions is required to undermine its grip, mainly because all the weight pinning it down is connected to a double drive that knows where and how much torque to lower to keep it balanced.
By the way, the noise insulation in most driving conditions is very good, but under load the sound of the gasoline engine is not deafened enough and penetrates the passenger compartment.
There are no dynamic capabilities here that should be of concern at the
moment
Manufacturers like BMW or Alfa Romeo, the steering wheel, brakes and general communication are not at their level.
Nor is it certain that this is his or the customers' direction either, but if your instinct is to lower expectations in light of his origin - rethink your route.
In most respects, it will not blink against old premium brands (Photo: Keinan Cohen)
The bottom line:
Our local memory of the parent company Great Wall is not positive, under the wings of the Eastern company the van and its mini car were brought here - it was gloriously bad.
But a lot of Won Ton has flown since then and this manufacturer has split its operations into the popular ORA (imported by Kalmobile) and the prestigious WEY (imported by Semalt).
And the first local encounter with the luxury division is a clear example of how far they have come in their journey so far.
The COFFEE 01 is a product that, if not for the prejudices of all of us, could and should stand against the BMW X3, Volvo XC60, Mercedes GLC and others in terms of finish, equipment, comfort and they are the ones that will blink first.
It surpasses them in most of the objective measures in terms of dimensions, power, electrical capabilities, 5-year warranty, and all this at the price of a Hyundai Santa Fe, which means that in the price gap between it and the old premium brands, you can get another second car that is not bad at all.
Even inside the house of a female officer, asking 100 thousand shekels more for a Jeep Grand Cherokee suddenly sounds completely disturbed.
It still requires polishing and sanding in nuances that veteran manufacturers easily whistle, but if this is the first shell they fire directly at the car industry's fat and trash - I would seek shelter in their place.
Just one thing for the WEY people, for God's sake, it's a little hard to take you seriously with those names.
Soon from WEY the super mini TEA car and also an economical caffeine-free version... (Photo: Keinan Cohen)
On the technical side: WEY COFFEE 01
Engine, drive: gasoline-electric, rechargeable, dual
Power/torque:
86.4/476
Gearbox:
automatic, dual clutch 9 gears
Dimensions:
Length (m):
4.9
Width (m):
2
Height (m):
1.7
Wheelbase (m):
2.9
Trunk (liters):
371
Performance:
0-100 acceleration (seconds):
5
Maximum speed (km/h):
235
Fuel consumption (combined test):
about 15 km per liter
Safety :
European crash test score: 5
Active safety:
automatic braking, adaptive cruise control, vehicle detection in "dead space", cross traffic alert, traffic sign detection, child in the back seat reminder, independent reverse maneuver
Air pollution:
1 out of 15
Warranty:
5 years or 160 thousand km
Competitors:
as product: Lexus NX, Volvo XC60, Mercedes GLC. Price: Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sorento Plug-in
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Plug in
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Chinese car