In recent years, the explosive popularity of new energy vehicles has prompted consumers to rethink their choice between pure electric vehicles and fuel vehicles. New energy models have attracted many users to purchase them due to their inherent advantages in intelligent technology and user experience. However, traditional fuel vehicles are not willing to fall behind either; they are also actively upgrading and iterating. If you want to buy a B-segment car, previously Camry and Passat were unavoidable choices. But now, new energy rides like the all-new Leapmotor C01 have also become popular choices. So when comparing these three cars, what are their respective advantages and shortcomings? As follows, let us start the comparison. Don't miss it if you are planning to buy a car.
Exterior comparison: Looks are still the first factor attracting users' choices
Nowadays, people increasingly like to pay for a sense of design. For example, the recently popular Xiaomi SU7, with its appearance similar to a Porsche, has won the affection of many female consumers. So a good-looking ride, like a person, is so-called "eye-catching" and can bring good emotional value.
As a classic B-segment sedan, the Volkswagen Passat has been loved by consumers since its launch. However, now that young people have become the main consumer group, Passat's classic business atmosphere is no longer popular. For this reason, Passat has also intentionally moved closer to a younger direction in its exterior design. The newly designed front face adopts a more aggressive and avant-garde design language, using a parametric arrangement of dotted styling elements, and the entire front face conveys a fashionable and dynamic atmosphere.
Overall, the all-new Leapmotor C01 is more technological in design and fits the aesthetics of today's young people. Camry leans more toward family users, has no fixed target group, and has a broader audience. Passat's design intentionally moves closer to youthful design, getting rid of its heavy business atmosphere.
Interior comparison: Large screens + technological feel are still the mainstream
Open the door of the all-new Leapmotor C01, and you will find screens everywhere you look, with the flavor of a new force coming right at you. However, these screens in the C01 are not simply piled up; their layout has been carefully designed. For example, the central control screen protrudes outward, while the instrument panel on both sides and the front passenger entertainment screen are placed farther away, reducing visual confusion and allowing passengers in different seats to be more "focused" on the screen in front of them.
The interior design of the Camry, like its exterior, adopts a more traditional and moderate design, ensuring it will not go wrong while also being acceptable to consumers of different age groups. Its central control uses a 12.3-inch 2K central control screen, enhancing the technological atmosphere. Below the central control are touch buttons, which light up when the vehicle starts and blend in with the trim panel after the engine is turned off, providing a more minimalist style. As for the rest, it is all conventional design, with no highlights, but also no obvious flaws.
The interior of the Passat still follows Volkswagen's usual design style, relatively mature and steady. It is equipped with a 9.2-inch central control screen, and a three-dimensional high-gloss black decorative panel runs through the entire instrument panel. It adopts a dot-matrix starry sky decorative panel, adding some fashionable elements while remaining calm and grand. The all-new three-spoke steering wheel, paired with high-gloss black touch buttons, is highly practical and easy to operate while driving, carrying utilitarianism through to the end.
Intelligent technology comparison: the primary competitiveness of future vehicles
Today's new forces in carmaking are all vigorously promoting their intelligence. What intelligence brings to vehicles is not only an improvement in technological feel, but also an upgrade in practicality and convenience. A smarter car can better understand the user's meaning, thereby making it more convenient for users to use the car. This is its most essential purpose.
As a member of the new forces, Leapmotor C01 naturally cannot compromise on intelligence. The all-new C01 has the Leapmotor OS intelligent cockpit equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295 digital chip, featuring a 10.25-inch LCD instrument panel, a 14.6-inch 2.5K central control screen, and a 10.25-inch entertainment passenger screen. The three screens can operate without interfering with one another and can also achieve three-screen linkage. In addition to the driver being able to more conveniently observe the vehicle's navigation and vehicle status, front-row and rear-row passengers can also obtain a rich entertainment experience through the front passenger large screen. In terms of functionality, it supports internet of vehicles, intelligent voice interaction, and OTA upgrades, and its smoothness of operation is excellent, with no problem meeting daily use needs.
The all-new C01 is also equipped with the latest generation of iFlytek voice recognition system. The driver can easily control various vehicle functions such as navigation, music playback, and phone calls through intelligent voice interaction. Moreover, the system supports continuous dialogue and can even understand multiple dialects. This not only improves driving convenience but also greatly reduces the risk of distracted driving. For example, when driving and needing to navigate to a destination, you only need to say "Hello Xiaoling" to activate the voice function, say where you want to go, and the navigation can automatically choose a route based on traffic conditions, supporting full-process voice control to switch destinations at any time. The car also provides gesture interaction functions, allowing more convenient control of the screen. For example, in any interface on the screen, swiping up and down with three fingers can adjust the air conditioning temperature, and to quickly return to the home page, you only need to swipe down with two fingers. These convenience advantages are something most fuel vehicles cannot achieve.
In terms of intelligent assisted driving, the all-new Leapmotor C01 comes standard across the lineup with L2-level intelligent driving. At a price of less than 150,000, it can achieve full-speed adaptive cruise, satellite navigation, traffic information display, lane centering保持 assistance, road traffic sign recognition, rear cross-traffic alert, blind spot assist, automatic parking, and other functions.
By comparison, Camry also has some intelligent configurations. The all-new Camry offers central control screens in two sizes, 10.25 inches and 12.3 inches, and is equipped with the 8155 cockpit chip in higher trim models. It also features an AR-style HUD head-up display, which is sufficient for daily use, but these configurations can only be experienced in higher trim models. Fortunately, the Camry supports Apple CarPlay, Baidu CarLife, and Huawei HiCar across the lineup, improving convenience of use.
Camry is also equipped with an L2-level intelligent assisted driving system, but its functions are not as rich as those of the all-new Leapmotor C01, only common assistance functions such as ACC adaptive cruise, panoramic影像, automatic parking, and hill-start assist. In addition, the lower trim version has no front and rear parking radar or reversing camera, with only 1 camera and radar, let alone assisted driving functions. By comparison, Camry is relatively conservative in cockpit configuration and lacks intelligent configurations of the same level. Moreover, its lower trim models do not have reversing radar or reversing camera, which affects convenience of use.
As a mid-size car, the Volkswagen Passat performs commendably in many aspects. However, its level of intelligence is not high. Although Passat also has some intelligent functions, such as keyless entry, wireless charging, ACC adaptive cruise, active braking, blind spot assist, Carplay/Carlife, and so on, its overall performance appears relatively plain compared with the intelligent models launched by today's new carmaking forces. At the same time, its L2-level assisted driving is not standard. Passat will soon receive an update, and its level of intelligence may improve to some extent.
Economy comparison: saving fuel and saving money is the real principle
In terms of power, the all-new Leapmotor C01 offers two model choices: a pure electric version and an extended-range version. The extended-range model is equipped with a 95-horsepower 1.5-liter four-cylinder range extender engine and a 272-horsepower rear single motor, with no range anxiety. Because it is driven by an electric motor, its power is stronger than that of an ordinary 2.0T engine. By comparison, the maximum horsepower of Camry's 2.0L power is 173 horsepower, and the maximum horsepower of the 2.0T Passat is 220 horsepower.
Data shows that the WLTC combined fuel consumption of the all-new Leapmotor C01 is only 0.26L/100km, and the fuel consumption under depleted battery conditions is 4.9L/100km; the WLTC combined fuel consumption of the 2.0L Camry is 5.81L/100km, while the WLTC combined fuel consumption of the 2.0T Passat is 6.94L/100km. It can be seen that for daily use, the all-new Leapmotor C01's super extended-range system is more fuel-efficient. At the same time, the Leapmotor C01 and Camry only need 92-octane gasoline, while the Passat requires 95-octane gasoline. Obviously, the Leapmotor C01 has more advantages in later-stage vehicle use costs.
To calculate specifically, the all-new Leapmotor C01 super extended-range is equipped with a battery pack with a maximum capacity of 43.7kWh, and its CLTC pure electric range reaches 316 kilometers, which can meet a week of short-distance commuting to and from work, greatly reducing energy costs. Taking 10,000 kilometers a year as an example, compared with a fuel vehicle with fuel consumption of 8L/100km, assuming 92-octane gasoline is used and the current oil price level is set at 8 yuan/L, then the cost per 100 kilometers for the fuel vehicle is 64 yuan, and the annual fuel cost is 6,400 yuan.
Most of the time, owners of the Leapmotor C01 super extended-range do not need to use fuel for driving, and can basically remain using electricity 90% or even more of the time. That is, 9,000 kilometers out of the year are driven on electricity. According to the Leapmotor C01's electricity consumption of about 14 kWh per 100 kilometers, and calculating at 1 yuan per kWh, the cost per kilometer is 0.14 yuan. For the fuel portion, calculated according to fuel consumption under depleted battery conditions of 4.9L/100km, the Leapmotor C01 averages 0.39 yuan per kilometer. Over one year of driving, the Leapmotor C01's electricity/fuel cost is about 1,650 yuan. Compared with a fuel vehicle, it saves more than 4,000 yuan a year.
In addition to its advantages in fuel economy, the all-new Leapmotor C01 also has good cost-effectiveness. As an extended-range power model, the all-new Leapmotor C01 has a starting price of 145,800 yuan, which is relatively affordable and more attractive than the Camry's starting price of 171,800 yuan and the Passat's starting price of 181,900 yuan.
Summary:
Through comparison, it is not difficult to find that whether it is the all-new Leapmotor C01, which focuses on intelligent technology experience, or the Camry, which balances economy and family experience, or the Passat, which leans more toward familial style, they all have their own areas of expertise. However, from the perspective of current vehicle use experience and market trends, the all-new Leapmotor C01 is more easily accepted by young consumers due to its intelligence and technological feel. For traditional models such as Camry and Passat, their advantage lies in brand influence. Comparing the old and new forces, which one do you prefer?
