With just 10 days until Xiaomi's car launch, the buzz is unstoppable.
Overnight:
Some are thrilled, others worried.
Xiaomi's President, Lu Weibing, might be the most anxious person right now.
Because it was him driving the not-yet-launched Xiaomi SU7 to the Qualcomm Snapdragon release event that sparked the heated debate about the car's rear space. Aware of the mishap, Lu urgently released a video clarifying the size of the back space, even drawing Xiaomi's CEO, Lei Jun, to clarify personally: "The Xiaomi SU7 is a C-class vehicle with ample second-row space, so no worries."
All this only heightened the anticipation for Xiaomi's car launch in 10 days.
Lu Weibing Drives the SU7 to the Launch Event
Yesterday, Qualcomm held its Snapdragon new product launch, introducing the next-gen Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 processor.
Xiaomi's President Lu Weibing was there to announce that the Xiaomi CIVI 4 Pro would be the first to feature this new processor, giving a sneak peek ahead of its own launch.
Little did anyone know, he'd also give the Xiaomi SU7 some pre-launch buzz by arriving in the new car.
Xiaomi's SU7 made quite a splash as soon as it hit the scene, drawing attention from all corners. Media outlets immediately switched to follow mode, because let's face it, only Xiaomi big shots can casually drive this car in and out.
And the drama didn't end there. After the press conference, Lu Weibing, accompanied by Xiaomi CIVI product manager Hu Xinxin, grabbed even more spotlight as they hopped into the driver's seat and headed back. Lu Weibing, however, ended up sitting in the back seat.
But eagle-eyed netizens were quick to notice something off: Lu Weibing, sitting in the back of the Xiaomi SU7, looked rather uncomfortable.
Netizens' attention quickly shifted from "this car looks cool" to "the rear space of this car is too small." Some netizens even started searching everywhere to find out how tall Lu Weibing is, trying to speculate the size of the rear space of Xiaomi SU7 based on this.
This prompted Lu Weibing to release a clarification overnight. He went online after ten in the evening and posted a video to prove that the space in Xiaomi SU7 is indeed spacious.
Lu Weibing explained the image as follows: When he got into the car, the front seat was pulled all the way back, so it looked a bit cramped. However, if the passenger seat is in its default position, there is enough space for an adult to sit comfortably in the front row.
Sitting in the back seat is fine:
Hu Xinxin, who was responsible for driving at the time, also confirmed on Weibo that the front seats were indeed adjusted all the way back for shooting purposes.
Lei Jun has also been alerted and personally went online to refute the rumors, stating that the SU7 is a C-class sedan. He mentioned that the legroom in the second row is even more spacious than that of the Model S and the standard BMW 5 Series. So, there's no need for concern about insufficient space in the rear seats.
It looks like the cabin space of the Xiaomi SU7, especially the rear seating area, needs to be emphasized during the launch event.
Is the rear space of the Xiaomi SU7 spacious enough?
To gauge the interior space of a vehicle, the most direct and crucial parameter to consider is its wheelbase, which is the distance between the front and rear wheels.
Moreover, based on the wheelbase, cars can be categorized into A, B, C, and D segments, with A segment having the shortest wheelbase and D segment the longest, which corresponds to larger interior space.
Although there are various opinions online regarding the exact wheelbase for each segment, according to data provided by Volkswagen, the segments are categorized as follows:
No matter the standard, the Xiaomi SU7 reaches a wheelbase of 3 meters, solidly placing it in the mid-to-large size vehicle category. That's why it's constantly highlighted in promotions as a C-class car.
Lei Jun himself has emphasized multiple times that the Xiaomi SU7 boasts a spacious interior. The rear knee room is 105mm, referring to the distance from the back of the front seats to the rear seats, commonly known as the legroom in the back.
However, when it comes to the Model S and BMW 5 Series that Lei Jun compared, the legroom is 59mm and 55mm respectively.
Despite these numbers, owners of both cars have stated they find the space ample.
For instance, with the 5 Series, once the driver's seat is adjusted for comfort, an adult standing 1.7 meters tall sitting in the back has about a fist and four fingers' worth of legroom left.
With the front seats unchanged, there's still about two fists of legroom for an adult who's 1.78 meters tall sitting in the back seat of a Model S.
According to Lei Jun's remarks, the back seats of Xiaomi SU7 are longer than theirs, presumably to prove that the internal space of Xiaomi SU7 is indeed sufficient.
So when Lu Weibing's clarification video came out, some netizens immediately expressed their understanding, believing that it was evident that Mr. Lu adjusted the seat to the maximum when he got into the car, naturally making it cramped for the back row. But for a car with a three-meter wheelbase, how much smaller can the back row really get?
Some netizens are like, "The Xiaomi SU7 is already in the C-class sedan league, so how come there's still chatter about its interior space?"
Certainly, some netizens remain unconvinced, feeling that even though in the clarification video, Mr. Lu's head was nearly touching the roof of the car, the attempt to prove that the internal space of the SU7 is sufficient lacks persuasiveness.
Some netizens are even more critical, suggesting that before the clarification, they thought the Xiaomi SU7 was just a backseat accessory. However, now that there's clarification, it turns out both the front and back seats are mere accessories.
Some folks online suggest going for an electric SUV instead of a sedan, since you're guaranteed to get more space.
This is about sales numbers, so the official team had to take it seriously, going as far as to release an emergency video explanation in the middle of the night. It's just uncertain if this will affect the sales of the Xiaomi SU7.
But it's precisely during this discussion that clearer real-life photos of the Xiaomi SU7's cabin were leaked.
Xiaomi SU7 Cabin Real-life Leak Photo
Here we have the highly praised semi-hidden door handles:
This is the frunk (front trunk):
This is the trunk, looks like it can fit three 20-inch carry-on suitcases.
This is the front row space:
Here's the rear seating area:
Here's the steering wheel:
This is the Nakashima and Cup Holder:
This refers to the central control touchscreen and physical buttons for adjusting the air conditioning.
This is an integrated rearview mirror:
Here's the full exterior view of the car, featuring yellow brake calipers:
Assessment of Leaked Images:
It's unclear how these real-life images got leaked, but judging by the timestamp on the rear screen pad, it seems like these static experience shots were taken in the past couple of days.
To some extent, these images also help address the cabin space concerns regarding the Xiaomi SU7.
However, just as one wave settles, another rises. Earlier this morning, Xiaomi SU7 was anonymously mentioned in a notification issued by relevant authorities.
One More Thing:
Through their public platform "Highway Sound," Tianjin Expressway Administration announced that the company has recently resolved an incident involving temporary license plate vehicles evading highway tolls.
Tianjin Expressway has reported uncovering an incident involving "long trips reported as short" toll evasion by 14 unlicensed vehicles. These vehicles collectively dodged tolls 54 times, amounting to a total of 4408.96 CNY.
Additionally, the published highway snapshots closely resemble the Xiaomi SU7. (Though, it could also possibly be the Porsche Taycan [jokingly]).
Source: High Speed Sound
However, Tianjin Expressway has already reached out to the responsible personnel of the relevant automaker. The representative of the automaker expressed apologies and has fully paid the outstanding toll fees.
Just now, Xiaomi officially confirmed that the model involved is the Xiaomi SU7 and has responded to the incident.
Xiaomi Inc. stated that discrepancies arose between the distance calculated by the high-speed toll system and the actual mileage of their test vehicles due to closed-loop testing on highways. The company has since settled the toll fees and emphasized no further violations occurred. Additionally, they pointed out several inaccuracies in the content released by Tianjin Highways.
Now, the announcement from Tianjin Express has been taken down.
Man, the Xiaomi SU7 hasn't even hit the market yet, and the hype around it is something other car makers can only dream of.
The only thing left hanging is the price.
After the last buzz with "Lightning for 'Lei', military for 'Jun', Xiaomi making cars is destined," there's a new fun speculation about the price—
The launch date hints at the price range, March 28th, Gregorian calendar, February 19th, Lunar calendar...
Could it be 219,000 to 328,000???
