Today, ecotourism includes not only hiking trips to modern glamping sites. It requires eco-friendly transport vehicles as well. Today, the talk is about an Evolute i-SPACE hybrid crossover that can be called one of the latest one in the environmental agenda. And a test drive made by an EcoTourism EXPERT’ correspondent shows that it is environment-friendly and differs from its gasoline and all-electric counterparts like the well-known Tesla.
As you name the boat…
An Evolute i-SPACE crossover is the cheapest hybrid in Russia today. It will be explained below what it is, as well as its impact on the environment and the use in a tourism sector. In the meantime, it should be said that initially, it was a DFSK Fengon S508 EVR SUV. As you remember, Chinese manufacturers did not pay attention to the number of figures and abbreviations in the name of a car. However, the situation has begun to change for the better now.
Evolute i-SPACE is Dongfeng, a brand that is rather familiar to Russian car enthusiasts today. And these cars are assembled at the factory in Kaluga, and using not only the parts and components made abroad. At least, the plans are to install a larger capacity Russian-made traction battery.
Exterior is nothing out of way
Despite the fact that the coating of the car from a fleet of cars provided for test drives to journalists and bloggers has the ‘star motifs’ are clearly seen, the design of Evolute i-SPACE cars is nothing out of way.
And they do not look like any other more famous car brands. In fact, this is very good - Chinese cars gradually start having their own design. And consumers no longer compare them to BMW, Porsche or Toyota cars, in fact, they compare them with other Chinese cars.
Evolute i-SPACE is a classic mid-size 4.76-meter-long crossover. By the way, it is 4 centimeters longer than Chery Tiggo 8 Pro that definitely cannot be called a small car.
Evolute i-SPACE cars are 1.71 meters high (one centimeter higher than an 8 Pro car), and they have the same width.
Its ground clearance is 18 centimeters. Evolute i-SPACE is a front-wheel drive car, so it is worth mentioning that one should not go too far along the eco-tourism path using this car.
The realm of eco-leather
Beige eco-leather is the predominant color scheme in the Evolute i-SPACE interior. It is worth mentioning that the prefix ‘eco’ is quite appropriate as this is really an ‘eco-friendly leather’, since significantly fewer natural resources are used to produce such material than for the production of genuine leather. And no animals suffer, which is important.
The wooden parts in the car interior are also plastic and look very much like real wood. So, the car’s interior has the tendency to save natural resources, which is good.
It is also good that there is enough space in the cabin for a 172-centimeter-tall person. In the lowest position of the seat, equipped with electrical adjustments, there is a space of about 30 centimeters above the head, as well as in its highest position. Evolute i-SPACE cars have no adjustable lumbar seating system, which is not a serious disadvantage.
Let’s sit for a moment before the trip - for luck
The second row of seats is convenient because the seats can be moved not only back and forth, but the seat back tilt can be adjusted as well.
In addition, the manufacturer says that Evolute i-SPACE is a seven-seater. Frankly speaking, the desire of automakers to put a third row of seats in a car that is less than five meters long is just a marketing ploy. Moreover, the third row of seats greatly reduces the volume of the luggage compartment and passengers cannot sit comfortably.
With the third-row seats folded down, the volume of the luggage compartment is only 187 liters. Of course, this is enough for several bags with purchases from the supermarket, but who goes to the supermarket in a group of seven people?
A battery is under the trunk floor (not a traction three-component battery with a capacity of slightly more than 17 kWh). But there is no spare wheel in Evolute i-SPACE, there is a can of aerosol sealant instead of a spare wheel, which can help a driver get to the nearest tire shop in case of a wheel puncture.
If the third-row seats can be folded down to make a flat floor, the room increases and is equal to 934 liters.
The second-row seats can be folded down to make a very comfortable sleeping place in the car, and the room is 2,125 liters.
A ‘throb-hearted’ car with an electric engine instead of a car ‘heart’
It is interesting that there is nothing special to look at under hood - all the technological parts are completely covered with a plastic casing with a single technological hole used to fill in an anti-freeze liquid.
There is a 1.5-liter engine under the plastic casing and an electric motor working in conjunction with a front axle. And this is where environment friendliness begins because an Evolute i-SPACE car is a distributed hybrid. This means that the internal combustion engine is not connected to the wheels, it is actually just a gasoline generator for charging the traction battery.
That is a dream of all the Tesla car owners, isn’t it?
The car engine consumes about 5.5 liters per hundred kilometers to charge the traction battery, which is a record low quantity for a car weighing almost two tons, allowing a drive range of up to 1,150 kilometers. And the traction battery, in turn, powers a 177-horsepower three-phase synchronous electric motor with liquid cooling, which has a very serious torque of 300 Nm.
Cars can move using electricity only, turning off the gasoline engine and becoming an absolutely environmentally friendly vehicle. However, one can travel just 80 to 90 kilometers in this case.
But there is also an environmental aspect in this because an Evolute i-SPACE car cabin is soundproof both when using an electric motor and when the internal combustion engine for charging is used. And this means that a tourist trip can be, of course, comfortable.
Is an Evolute i-Space car spacious
The Evolute i-Space hybrid car turned out to be a very balanced car the manufacturer can be proud of. This car can be purchased by those who are going to make long trips and care about the environment.
The closest hybrids of this type officially sold in Russia (Voyah Free, Aito M5 and M7) cost at least 2 mn rubles more.
Evolute i-SPACE cars are equipped with a huge number of electronic driver’s ‘assistants’, it has even a built-in video recorder. And additionally, it has a surround camera system (360о), a rear cross-traffic alert system, a lane change assistant, a reverse collision warning system, and other devices.
Indeed, the car does not have an adjustable lumbar seating system and a full winter package of options (no heated steering wheel and windshield). The Evolute i-SPACE option does not have a spare wheel.
But there is really a lot of space inside Evolute i-SPACE cars, so the car name is fully justified. And the revolutionary solution of the power plant, in which the gasoline engine is needed only to charge the electric motor, suggests that Chinese automakers thought about ensuring better sales and the environment when designing this car. They also thought about developing tourism, since the drive range has increased to 1,150 kilometers.
And this is a right solution.
