GREAT WALL

WEY Coffee 01: the Chinese manufacturer's big bet for rivals like the BMW X5

The Great Wall landed in Europe, initially in Germany, but it will continue to spread its tentacles across the different European countries with a new model that will put very traditional models on the Old Continent in serious trouble. WEY Coffee 01 is one of the Chinese manufacturer's big bets, but it will have to deal with important rivals.

With a harmonious design, the new WEY Coffee 01 has thin LED headlights protecting a large hexagon-shaped grille and full of chrome inserts next to the vertical air intakes at the ends of the bumper. The same shape of the front light clusters is found in the taillights, giving the center back an elegant style. A quality that is also reflected in the packaging of its dimensions, with no less than 4.87 meters long, the size of a BMW X5.

Inside, the WEY Coffee 01 offers a more luxurious feel, with Infinity's signature sound system, quilted leather on the door panels and seats, and digital technology as the standard: a large digital screen for instrumentation and another 14-inch for the multimedia system, as well as a third housed in the elevated transmission tunnel and center console cast in one piece.

The equipment is top-notch, with a powerful 360º camera whose operation is integrated into the navigation system, showing peripheral images at intersections and roundabouts. The Coffee 01 went on sale in Germany with two levels of equipment, as complete as they are advanced and technological, with the following summary of each of them:

- Premium: autonomous driving functions; blind spot alert and lane change assist with turn signal; smart parking assistant with 360° camera; front seats with electric adjustment; driver monitoring system; 21-inch alloy wheels; 12-speaker Infinity sound system and active noise control; infotainment system with triple screen integration;

- Luxury (in addition to the previous one): Panoramic sunroof; upholstered benches in Alcantara; 8-way electrically adjustable driver's seat with memory; climate-controlled front and heated rear seats; biometric identification; fully automatic integrated parking assistant; Head-up Display with augmented reality function; multicolor ambient light with pace and split control; automatic air quality control system

But where the Coffee 01 will really stand out from the most direct competition is in its propulsion system, as it combines a 2.0 liter gasoline engine with 150 hp and two electric motors - the front one with 120 kW and the rear one with 135 kW - which deliver a total maximum power of 475 hp and a maximum torque of 847 Nm. A combination that allows you to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 5 seconds, despite its weight of no less than 2.3 tons.

Plenty of power combined with a 39.67 kWh lithium-ion battery, the highest usable net capacity in its class and in the European market. The system transfers power to the ground through all-wheel drive and a 9-speed automatic transmission, in addition to having up to 8 driving modes.

One point in favor of this new plug-in hybrid is that it also has a towing capacity of up to two tonnes. Great Wall has already opened the reservation book for the new WEY Coffee 01, which is scheduled to start deliveries in the first months of 2023.

Autonews