Every winter, snowfall, temperature drops, and icing lead to slippery roads, causing a sharp increase in driving safety hazards. Therefore, this time we simulated common slippery road conditions and dangerous scenarios encountered during winter driving in a -39°C ice and snow environment. Through testing, we verified the handling stability and driving safety of the new-generation SU7, thereby providing better safety assurance for users' winter driving. Below, we will introduce the difficulties of each test item and the performance of the new-generation SU7 one by one:
Icy roads: When a vehicle drives on icy and snowy roads, tire grip drops significantly, which makes it easier to slip during acceleration and more prone to tire lock-up during kinetic energy recovery and braking, causing the vehicle to lose control; the new-generation SU7 can start smoothly on a thin ice layer, accelerate to 60km/h without fishtailing.
Emergency evasion: When driving in winter, due to slippery roads, the probability of encountering road obstacles such as snowdrifts and broken-down vehicles increases. In such cases, steering to change lanes and avoid obstacles is required. However, due to the slippery road surface and drastic shifts in the vehicle's center of gravity, it is easier to lose control or fishtail during continuous lane changes, causing danger; the new-generation SU7 can respond quickly and maintain a controllable trajectory on icy and snowy roads, successfully completing obstacle avoidance and smoothly returning to the lane.
Mixed ice/snow/asphalt roads: After winter snowfall, some roads may have mixed conditions of asphalt, snow accumulation, and ice due to low traffic volume and incomplete snow clearing. Since the friction between the three road conditions and the tires varies, the vehicle is prone to fishtailing due to uneven force on both sides, and the steering wheel may experience a "pulling" phenomenon even when driving at a constant speed; the new-generation SU7 maintains a stable straight-line driving trajectory during acceleration, braking, and constant-speed passage, effectively suppressing fishtailing and deviation.
Continuous turning & flying over bumps: When encountering large-curvature continuous curves with snow accumulation on expressway ramps or suburban roads, the vehicle may fishtail due to a large steering angle and low tire grip; when driving at high speeds and suddenly encountering large undulating slopes, such as the junction of highways and bridges, the vehicle is prone to brief airborne moments. When the vehicle lands after being airborne, it may lose control or fishtail due to insufficient suspension support and untimely wheel torque adjustment; the new-generation SU7 demonstrates robust continuous cornering ability in icy and snowy spiral curves, with precise, stable, and controllable driving direction. Furthermore, it lands safely and close to the ground after flying over bumps, quickly recovering its body posture and maintaining smooth driving.
75km/h braking to a stop: When driving on icy and snowy roads and suddenly encountering a road interruption ahead, the vehicle needs to be braked to a stop in the shortest possible distance. However, due to reduced tire grip on icy and snowy roads, the braking distance becomes longer; and because the vehicle's center of gravity shifts forward abruptly during full braking, the rear wheel grip weakens, making it prone to fishtailing and losing control; the new-generation SU7 demonstrates stable and reliable braking capability, ultimately achieving a smooth stop.
The new-generation SU7 can successfully navigate the aforementioned slippery road conditions and dangerous scenarios thanks to the deep synergy of chassis software and hardware:
Software aspects:
Standard Bosch distributed traction control system dTCS with millisecond-level response. By embedding the control algorithm into the Vehicle Control Unit (VCU), the control cycle can be shortened to 2ms, with a response speed more than 10 times faster than that of fuel vehicles, better suppressing wheel slip.
Standard Bosch ESP 10.0 system, whose included Electronic Stability Control (ESC) can intervene instantly when it senses a tendency of understeer or oversteer, correcting the driving trajectory through precise braking of single or multiple wheels. Its matched VDC 2.0 Vehicle Dynamics Control system is also upgraded to a "feedforward control" + "feedback control" that "predicts trends and makes precise fine-tuning in advance," predicting vehicle dynamics in advance for more timely control.
The standard Traction Control (TC/dTCS) and Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC 2.0) systems can keenly identify the slip tendency of low-adhesion wheels and immediately limit torque, balancing the forces on both sides of the wheels to counteract the torque causing rotation at the source.
Integration of Regenerative Torque Control Logic (RTCL) and electro-hydraulic cooperative braking system: RTCL can intelligently judge the road adhesion limit and dynamically adjust the recovery intensity to avoid instability of the drive wheels caused by excessive regenerative braking force; when greater deceleration is needed, the electro-hydraulic system collaborates seamlessly to achieve smooth, efficient, and safe full braking.
At the same time, the dual-motor all-wheel-drive torque control eAWD of the new-generation SU7 Max can adjust the torque distribution of the front and rear motors in real-time and dynamically, providing excellent handling stability and traceability for the vehicle when cornering.
Hardware aspects:
The closed dual-chamber air springs + CDC® continuously variable damping shock absorbers equipped on the new-generation SU7 Pro and Max versions efficiently absorb impact forces, enabling the wheels to quickly return to their optimal ground-hugging state.
The new-generation SU7 comes standard with front four-piston fixed calipers across the entire series, providing superior braking performance.
We would like to kindly remind everyone that this test was completed by professional drivers in a specific venue. Please do not imitate it on your own1.