The all new Changan UNI-V has just made its global debut. It is the first sedan under Changan’s UNI range of vehicles after the UNI-T crossover and UNI-K SUV. According to Changan, the UNI-V is devoted to create a new experience with users for a better life in the future. And as far as the first looks are concerned, the UNI-V is mind-blowingly impressive.
Just like the previous two UNI vehicles, the UNI-V sedan boasts an imposing stance and a fascinating design theme. The fascia bears strong geometric design elements carved on the grille accompanied by sharp & slim headlights and angular DRLs give the vehicle a very aggressive appearance.
The UNI-V adopts a ‘short overhang and long axle’ design, with a front overhang of 905 mm and an axle length ratio of 0.59, creating the sporty feel of a luxury sports sedan with a shorter front overhang and a larger axle length ratio. In addition, the said design also improves the overall handling of the UNI-V. According to Changan, the larger axle-length ratio, and the greater front and rear wheel span, contributes to better pitch resistance, agility and high-speed stability when driving.
The side profile features well-defined creases, a visually long hood, and a sloping roof-line rendering the fastback styling. With an aspect ratio of 0.78 and wheel height/car height being 0.47, the UNI-V’s wheel height is almost half of the car’s height, which is comparable to that of a modern day luxury sports sedan. In addition, Changan says the lowered height of the car results in lower wind resistance, making it more stable in acceleration, braking and turning. Retractable door handles are also present as with most contemporary Chinese vehicles of this category.
At the back there are full-width connected tail lamps and a well-sculpted rear bumper, dual chunkier chromed exhaust tips & low mounted centralized third brake light. UNI-V also has an electrically retractable rear spoiler, which will remain hidden when not activated. This is automatically raised and lowered according to the speed, or can also be manually controlled via buttons. It provides 25kg of extreme downforce when open and reduces the wind resistance coefficient by 0.007, resulting in increasing body stability and enhanced fuel consumption.
The interior of UNI-V sedan is as impressive as its exterior with a classic blend of blues & greys and a wonderful use of orange. As Changan says, UNI-V takes the diversified scenario needs of users as its starting point and uses human factors engineering methods to dig deeper into the needs of young groups in terms of cockpit interaction and ambience creation. The design boasts hidden air vents, integrated steering wheel buttons, integrated center buttons and other fusion designs everywhere, creating a sense of simplicity and sophistication, while enhancing safety and reducing unnecessary visual distractions for the driver. The UNI-V uses asymmetrical design and bright colors in areas such as the center console, seats, center armrest and door panels to add excitement and vitality.
The UNI-V adopts a 3+1 quadruple screen layout design, which appears to be two screens staggered on the surface, but internally they are connected as one. The hovering instrument panel is placed above the steering wheel, allowing the driver to read high-frequency interactive information such as speed and navigation from the instrument panel with a 10° eye movement when looking at the road ahead. In addition, the new A-pillar design reduces the obstacle angle to a class-leading 2.88°, allowing users to have a wider field of vision.
Furthermore, the UNI-V boasts a smart cockpit that has infrared cameras placed above the steering wheel and in the interior rear-view mirror respectively, allowing users to automatically log into the car’s ecological app via their FACE ID super account and switch to exclusive vehicle settings, automatically swiping their face when they get into the car and setting up their exclusive settings in one step. Plus it continues the UNI family’s pioneering AI active service, which always has insight into users’ needs and actively provides them with exclusive greetings in the car, sight lighting, fatigue driving reminders, answering calls to lower the multimedia volume, etc. Users can also switch music and navigate home through gesture recognition, etc. In addition, through the button or voice control, users can take photos and record videos in the car, so that they can easily keep the beautiful moments captured. In the future, UNI-V users can upgrade and iterate the car’s functions and performance online via OTA updates.
The UNI-V also features newly designed seats with minimalist line divisions to create a sense of technology. Thanks to a higher cabin space and flexible layout, the UNI-V’s front seating position has been lowered by 39mm and features a new ergonomic seat profile for a better fit and a much balanced pressure release for more comfortable long-distance driving. Other key things include a double-D multi-function steering with paddle shifters, battleship gear lever, drive mode selector and game cockpit. UNI-V users will be able to turn their mobile phones into gamepads via wifi connection, as the car is equipped with a large number of games with a hundred different ways to play at the user’s choice.
Riding on new lightweight Modular Platform Architecture, also called as Ark Architecture, has helped Changan to create a highly rigid and lightweight body for the UNI-V. The vehicle’s center of mass is lowered by 30 mm, the engine crankshaft center is moved down by 12 mm, giving the design team a wider scope for creativity. The UNI-V uses topology optimization technology to identify the optimal force transmission paths for the body, strengthening key structures while significantly reducing redundant masses, increasing the lower body by 25 kg and reducing the upper body by 31 Kg. Prior to launch, the Changan UNI-V has already won the “2021 China Top 10 Bodywork” award.
Exterior dimensions are quoted to be 4,680mm in length, 1,838mm in width and 1,430mm in height with a wheelbase of 2,750mm. This makes UNI-V even longer, wider and taller than the newly launched 11th generation Honda Civic sedan. Changan hasn’t release engine details yet but its likely to have a 2.0T engine and PHEV powertrain option.