Toyota Crown is about to be discontinued in China, and the Asian Dragon is in time for a replacement, so this time the Avalon, which has been sold in the United States for many years, will be introduced into the country, and will be produced by FAW Toyota to take over the position of the Crown. In fact, Asian dragons have also been imported and sold before, mainly the second generation from 1999 to 2004, codenamed XX20.
The introduction of this Asian dragon in China is the 5th generation, the code name is XX50, the domestic version is AXXH50, in 2018 has been listed in the United States, after a period of market reflection, the performance is very good, in the United States "Consumer Reports" has won an unprecedented 98 points, not only the first place in the same class, even if put in all models, it is also the model with the highest score.
The size of the Asian dragon is divided into the Large Car in the United States, but compared to the Camry, the Asian dragon also uses the GA-K platform, but it is 10 cm longer and the width is increased by 1 cm.
In terms of appearance, some people may not like the huge grille of the Asian Dragon, but the previous generation of the Asian Dragon has actually used this design element, and after the use of TNGA architecture, Toyota's sedan models are going in this direction, so the appearance can only be said to be a matter of opinion.
After the launch of the THS-2 strong hybrid system based on the A25A-FXS, Toyota began to gradually popularize this system on its own models, including Camry, Rav4 and Lexus ES300h, which has become synonymous with Toyota's golden powertrain, and the Asian Dragon has also continued this set of powertrains.
Judging from the official guide price, it is also obvious that Toyota wants to focus on hybrid models, because in addition to the minimum configuration of 208,800 will use A25A-FKS with 8AT, the gasoline version of the last configuration is already 244,800, and from the perspective of price and optional configuration, the gasoline version is far inferior to the hybrid version.
Although the same hybrid system is used, there is a clear difference between the Asian Dragon and the Camry in terms of power tuning, both of which are very smooth in terms of power output, but the throttle adjustment of the Asian Dragon is biased towards the front half, and most of the power can be output without stepping on the deep throttle, and the power output of the throttle in the second half is not obvious. From the perspective of curb weight, the Asian Dragon is indeed heavier than the Camry, but adjusting the throttle logic does not significantly improve the driving experience, and may simply make differentiated adjustments. Under the economic model, this phenomenon will change, and the front-end output will be moderated.
Fuel consumption is the biggest advantage of the THS2 hybrid system, the fuel consumption data tested by the American "Consumer Reports" is 32mpg (about 7.3 liters per 100 kilometers) in the urban area, 52mpg (about 4.6 liters) at high speed, and 42mpg (about 5.6 liters) in comprehensive fuel consumption, and according to the domestic Asian dragon after actual measurements, the comprehensive fuel consumption of 100 kilometers is generally between 5 liters and 5.5 liters, and it is generally difficult to exceed 6 liters.
In terms of brake feel, it is necessary to combine kinetic energy recovery and mechanical braking. Toyota only has a kinetic energy recovery function on the brake pedal, while a case like the Accord has kinetic energy recovery in both the accelerator and brake. In terms of user experience, the hybrid Accord has more room for adjustment, and both aspects are very good, and from the perspective of fuel economy, the kinetic energy recovery at the throttle end is weaker, and it can coast for a longer distance after resuming the fuel, which can make full use of kinetic energy.
The Asian Dragon also has kinetic energy recovery when coasting, but the force cannot be adjusted, which is not a problem for most users, because it also feels smooth to drive during the coasting, and Toyota may not feel the need to add this function. The shortcomings of the Asian dragon in braking mainly lie in braking, its brakes are divided into kinetic energy recovery in the front section and mechanical braking in the rear section, the difference is not obvious for consumers who drive gently, but if you are usually used to using a relatively large braking stroke, in the process of kinetic energy recovery and mechanical braking switching, you will feel that the braking force output is not linear.
Handling is Toyota's selling point after using the TNGA platform, and in the American "Consumer Reports", the editorial team unanimously recognized the performance of the Asian Dragon on the track, with flexible steering, good body roll suppression, very strong grip, very tolerant limits in corners, and predictable dynamics. Among the medium and large cars in its class, the Asian Dragon can be said to be the model with the best handling.
In terms of noise suppression, the Asian dragon is not very good, it is very quiet when the low-speed motor is driven, but when the engine is involved, the noise and jitter suppression is not very good, and the vibration will be transmitted into the cabin through the steering wheel and pedals. Another source of noise is wind noise, with a slight whistle near the A-pillar at high speeds.
The interior of the Asian Dragon has been outstanding, such as the materials and workmanship, the stitching on the door panel is a bit of ES taste, the texture is very good, and there is also a lot of leather covering above the dashboard, although it is not as luxurious as ES, but the overall performance is relatively stable.
The layout of the center console is more distinctive, although after the release of TNGA, Toyota's models have been gradually structured, but they still do not use the same set of central control layout, Camry, ES, Asian Dragon use a completely different design language. The center console still retains the touch screen and physical buttons, and the air conditioning panel also uses physical buttons, and there are not too many slots in the function, but the style of the buttons does not match the design style of the center console.
The Asian dragon has a slight advantage over the Camry in terms of riding space, but in fact, the difference is not too obvious, the lateral space and longitudinal space are abundant, its problems mainly appear in the seat, because the seat itself is slightly high, and then the hip point is high, resulting in a straight sitting posture, the head space will be compressed partially, and passengers with a height of more than 1.8 meters will have to take a more soothing sitting posture when sitting in the back row.
In terms of reliability, Asia Dragon has always been sold in the U.S. market, and has excellent reliability in the reliability survey of Consumer Reports in the United States, and the old car for more than ten years has also maintained a very good condition. The Asian Dragon is produced by FAW Toyota in China, and in addition to some slight assembly tolerances, the reliability expectation is also relatively optimistic.
After the release of the TNGA architecture, Toyota's new models have achieved very good results in the tests of major crash mechanisms, and there is no obvious difference between the domestic crash results and those abroad. The Asian Dragon has received the highest safety rating TSP in the IIHS, while the Asian Dragon series sold in China comes standard with 10 airbags, pre-collision safety system and lane keeping system, which is the top safety level in its class.