9621 Agnes Crossing, Lake Suzanneview, New Mexico Island 84604-9295.
The Chinese automotive industry has occupied almost every nook and cranny of the Russian market. Including bonus. This is where the Hongqi H9 ‘lives’ – a large sedan
Strictly speaking, the Hongqi H9, with its 3060mm wheelbase and 5137mm body length, should be positioned somewhere between the E-class and S-class Mercs. Although closer to “esque”. In any case, the car has all the attributes of a representative car, with the main character sitting in the rear cabin in an individual seat with massage, ventilation and other comfortable ‘bells and whistles’.
Note that the car clearly conveys not a German, but a British image to the world. The “snout” of the Hongqi H9 is most unequivocally reminiscent of the design of the British Rolls-Royce, a brand that is one step above the premium “Germans”. This is not surprising, as the exterior of the ‘nine’ was painted by Rolls-Royce native Giles Taylor, and the exterior ‘reference’ to the royal marque was a great success. That’s why other drivers approached me in parking lots with enviable regularity with the standard question: “Well, how do you like the Chinese Rolls-Royce?”
Still, appearance is important. The Hongqi H9 is certainly good. The large five-meter-long “Layba” makes exactly the impression it should: expensive, stylish, respectable. And at the same time much more accessible than my classmates. The price tag “from 7.5 million rubles” for the H9 looks much more optimistic than “from 20 million.” Mercedes S-class… Note to the oligarch!
Even a quick look at the interior of the Hongqi H9 convinces us that it is quite consistent with its appearance. Everything is in leather, large color monitors for the instrument panel, multimedia and control panel between the rear seats… Stylish and high quality – like in the best homes, as they say. Only they did not cover the ceiling with leather, but limited it to fabric. Minor stroke. But for someone who is used to riding in the back seat of a premium “German”, it will definitely “cut”.
Usually, for the designers of a ‘membership’, the interests of the future director are a secondary concern. Therefore, when I first got behind the wheel of the Hongqi H9, I had no special illusions in this regard. But my ideas were immediately destroyed. First, the chair. It features optimal ergonomics for everyday driving: intelligent but safe body support, no hints of a flat ‘bench’, a sporty ‘bucket’ or the like.
Electric adjustments allow you to select the ideal driving position for virtually any person. Meanwhile, a more or less tall person in some even very expensive “Chinese” sometimes cannot achieve this in principle.
While driving it turned out that the car is quite a pleasure to drive: it steers well and is almost adequate in the corners in a European way. Of course taking the dimensions into account.
And thankfully you don’t feel like you’re steering it with a computer joystick in the form of a steering wheel, as is typical of many modern Chinese models.
A two-liter turbocharged engine with 245 hp, combined with a ‘robot’ with 7 gears, is certainly not small for the H9. With the tandem you can be the first to leave a traffic light and accelerate quickly to overtake on the highway. The drive is classic rear. Although it wouldn’t be a bad idea for the brand’s engineers to think about something like a Firmmatic with all-wheel drive. In any case, I mainly dreamed of four-wheel drive. Because I had to sit behind the wheel of this Hongqi all week while record snowfall hit Moscow.
The rear-wheel drive and impressive dimensions of the H9 created some not very pleasant situations – when a difficult car carried me into knee-deep, snow-covered courtyards in residential areas of the city. The only thing that saved me was a shovel, which I had to carry with me all the time in the heavy trunk of a sedan. Only with his help it was possible to clear a parking space for a car in the evening and dig a path for it in the morning from a snowbank carefully created at night by snow-clearing equipment.
Be that as it may, the “winter adventures” driving the Hongqi H9 ended without incident. Even the retractable door handles never froze after washing, and the windshield, without electric heating, defrosted quite quickly.
However, I note that the Hongqi H9 also had some shortcomings. While driving a typical car from China, I personally wouldn’t even pay attention to it, I’m already used to it. But for a sedan that aspires to play in the premium class, it’s clearly bad manners.
First of all about the effect of the suspension. Her driving skills will please a hired driver. However, the way the sedan transmits the smallest vibrations, from the smallest bumps in the road, to the body can really disappoint the owner. The rear suspension clearly needs improvement: it must be made comfortable for passengers to overcome major irregularities in the road – potholes, tram rails and speed bumps. In that sense, Hongqi is still clearly far away from Mercedes. And there is room for improvement in the field of sound insulation of wheel arches. Yes, in Hongqi H9 they sound much quieter than in more budget “Chinese” models. But you still can’t compare it to the peace and quiet in the German ‘premium’ cabin.
This presumably reflects the demands of the sedan’s original audience: Chinese businessmen and major party and government officials of the People’s Republic of China. Maybe they are happy with everything after all. Therefore, no one will seriously “shake up” the design of the car for the sake of the “whims” of the meager Russian market. So we’ll have to live with what we have in the form of the Hongqi H9. It’s a good thing we have this brand at all!
Strictly speaking, the Hongqi H9, with its 3060mm wheelbase and 5137mm body length, should be positioned somewhere between the E-class and S-class Mercs. Although closer to “esque”. In any case, the car has all the attributes of a representative car, with the main character sitting in the rear cabin in an individual seat with massage, ventilation and other comfortable ‘bells and whistles’.
Note that the car clearly conveys not a German, but a British image to the world. The “snout” of the Hongqi H9 is most unequivocally reminiscent of the design of the British Rolls-Royce, a brand that is one step above the premium “Germans”. This is not surprising, as the exterior of the ‘nine’ was painted by Rolls-Royce native Giles Taylor, and the exterior ‘reference’ to the royal marque was a great success. That’s why other drivers approached me in parking lots with enviable regularity with the standard question: “Well, how do you like the Chinese Rolls-Royce?”
Still, appearance is important. The Hongqi H9 is certainly good. The large five-meter-long “Layba” makes exactly the impression it should: expensive, stylish, respectable. And at the same time much more accessible than my classmates. The price tag “from 7.5 million rubles” for the H9 looks much more optimistic than “from 20 million.” Mercedes S-class… Note to the oligarch!
Even a quick look at the interior of the Hongqi H9 convinces us that it is quite consistent with its appearance. Everything is in leather, large color monitors for the instrument panel, multimedia and control panel between the rear seats… Stylish and high quality – like in the best homes, as they say. Only they did not cover the ceiling with leather, but limited it to fabric. The stroke is small. But for someone who is used to riding in the back seat of a premium “German”, it will definitely “cut”.
Usually, for the designers of a ‘membership’, the interests of the future director are a secondary concern. Therefore, when I first got behind the wheel of the Hongqi H9, I had no special illusions in this regard. But my ideas were immediately destroyed. First, the chair. It features optimal ergonomics for everyday driving: intelligent but safe body support, no hints of a flat ‘bench’, a sporty ‘bucket’ or the like.
Electric adjustments allow you to select the ideal driving position for virtually any person. Meanwhile, a more or less tall person in some even very expensive “Chinese” sometimes cannot achieve this in principle.
While driving it turned out that the car is quite a pleasure to drive: it steers well and is almost adequate in the corners in a European way. Of course taking the dimensions into account.
And thankfully you don’t feel like you’re steering it with a computer joystick in the form of a steering wheel, as is typical of many modern Chinese models.
A two-liter turbocharged engine with 245 hp, combined with a ‘robot’ with 7 gears, is certainly not small for the H9. With the tandem you can be the first to leave a traffic light and accelerate quickly to overtake on the highway. The drive is classic rear. Although it wouldn’t be a bad idea for the brand’s engineers to think about something like a Firmmatic with all-wheel drive. In any case, I mainly dreamed of four-wheel drive. Because I had to sit behind the wheel of this Hongqi all week while record snowfall hit Moscow.
The rear-wheel drive and impressive dimensions of the H9 created some not very pleasant situations – when a difficult car carried me into knee-deep, snow-covered courtyards in residential areas of the city. The only thing that saved me was a shovel, which I had to carry with me all the time in the heavy trunk of a sedan. Only with his help it was possible to clear a parking space for a car in the evening and dig a path for it in the morning from a snowbank carefully created at night by snow-clearing equipment.
Be that as it may, the “winter adventures” driving the Hongqi H9 ended without incident. Even the retractable door handles never froze after washing, and the windshield, without electric heating, defrosted quite quickly.
However, I note that the Hongqi H9 also had some shortcomings. While driving a typical car from China, I personally wouldn’t even pay attention to it, I’m already used to it. But for a sedan that aspires to play in the premium class, it’s clearly bad manners.
First of all about the effect of the suspension. Her driving skills will please a hired driver. However, the way the sedan transmits the smallest vibrations, from the smallest bumps in the road, to the body can really disappoint the owner. The rear suspension clearly needs improvement: it must be made comfortable for passengers to overcome major irregularities in the road – potholes, tram rails and speed bumps. In that sense, Hongqi is still clearly far away from Mercedes. And there is room for improvement in the field of sound insulation of wheel arches. Yes, in Hongqi H9 they sound much quieter than in more budget “Chinese” models. But you still can’t compare it to the peace and quiet in the German ‘premium’ cabin.
This presumably reflects the demands of the sedan’s original audience: Chinese businessmen and major party and government officials of the People’s Republic of China. Maybe they are happy with everything after all. Therefore, no one will seriously “shake up” the design of the car for the sake of the “whims” of the meager Russian market. So we’ll have to live with what we have in the form of the Hongqi H9. It’s a good thing we have this brand at all!
Source: Avto Vzglyad
Donald Salinas is an experienced automobile journalist and writer for Div Bracket. He brings his readers the latest news and developments from the world of automobiles, offering a unique and knowledgeable perspective on the latest trends and innovations in the automotive industry.
