The regular Tank 500 has been on sale in Russia since 2023 and has already achieved great marketing success, appearing as one of the official vehicles in the previous Victory Parade. The hybrid version of the Tank 500 Urban appeared recently and, according to the company, was made specifically for Russia.
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The vehicle is equipped with an economically operating two-liter gasoline turbo engine E20NA. loop Miller. Here the internal combustion engine is complemented by a 54-horsepower electric booster integrated as a “sandwich” into the nine-speed automatic transmission. With a similar principle for years work Toyota hybrids like the Prius liftback.
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Apparently electrification gave the same rather mediocre 299 force-total energy-to-weight ratio as the regular Tank 500, but one should not rush to conclusions.
The torque of the electric motor is 268 Newtons, which when combined with the internal combustion engine already turns into an impressive 616 Nm.
against 500 traction units for the regular “five hundred” with a three-liter “six”. And for the heavy ones (weighing more than two tons) Torque is very important in cars.
The difference between the hybrid and normal Tank 500 is noticeable even in the external appearance. The electric car has its own, more original radiator “shield” and beautiful massive wheels with an intricate pattern. The rear of the Urban is clearly identifiable: Since the space for the spare wheel is taken by the battery, the spare tire had to be hung on the tailgate in classic SUV style.
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The rear camera has also been moved to the spare wheel, and the license plate has been moved completely to the left side and virtually covered by the spare wheel casing, which will probably prevent some traffic police cameras from reading the number. Of course, the trunk itself is different. According to passport specifications, volume when third row seats are removed almost 100 liters.
The seat backs of the third row can be easily reclined thanks to electric drives.
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If you fold them, it creates a very flat floor and the size of the boot is quite good – about 800 liters. If you convert the second row, the Tank can already carry one and a half cubic meters of cargo.
expensive and rich
The interior of the Urban version is almost no different from the standard “five hundred”. True, the equipment of the hybrid – at least in the driver’s area of \u200b\u200bthe cabin – corresponds to the top-end configuration of the Tank 500: even the ceiling and pillars are covered with Alcantara, and the seats are made of expensive and high-quality leather. The driver has a multitude of assistants at his disposal, including adaptive cruise control, lane crossing sensors, emergency braking and warning of obstacles in areas hidden from view.
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The entire off-road arsenal is available, and its control is not built into the multimedia menu, but is displayed via physical buttons in the central tunnel. In addition to the series, locking front and rear cross-axle differentials are also available. The mechanisms themselves are from reliable Western companies: the locks are from Eaton, and the transfer case was supplied by BorgWarner.
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There is a separate button for “tank turn”, due to which when the electronic brake calipers block the inner rear wheel, the car begins to turn on its heel, like a compass. This makes turning in tight spaces much easier.
For a premium car whose owner will most likely not go beyond the curb, off-road cruise control already seems excessive, but so be it, as they say.
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You can choose from three color options for the interior: black, light and terracotta. The chairs have large and prominent back support; Anyone of any size, even a very fat one, can find a comfortable seat. Despite the fact that all clearances are equal and the assembly does not raise any questions, there are still some “crickets” in the cabin when driving on rough roads.
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In terms of comfort and presentation of the interior, the “500th” Urban is in no way inferior to the Toyota Land Cruiser 300. The interior is very spacious, everything looks expensive, the car is comfortable both in the front and in the back, the climate system maintains a comfortable temperature. The front seats are heated and ventilated. By the way, the steering wheel and windshield have electric heating.
As for the third row, this is, of course, a compromise option – sitting there would not even occur to anyone except children. And even then for a short time. But competitors’ similar seats are no better; these are only needed for a short trip.
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In the new Urban version, the multimedia system menu now includes information tabs about the hybrid transmission. Here you can disable or enable battery thermoregulation, which is necessary for additional heating at winter temperatures. The remaining electric range is also reflected here. There are graphs of energy consumption over various distances such as 10, 50 or 100 kilometers.
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Particularly careful and attentive drivers will be able to benefit from this data and understand in which part of the road they use electrical energy more (read: save), and where they use only the gasoline engine more.
The virtual dashboard has new functions in the “trip computer” menu: there is an indicator of the battery charge level and which energy source the car uses – gasoline or at the same time.
How does it ride?
The prefix Urban implies that this Tank is for the city. And indeed, despite its size, this 2.5-tonne mastodon feels comfortable in traffic: The seating position is high, so you can see far into the distance, and thanks to the 360-degree cameras, it’s easy to park and get around in tight spaces. place.
Although it takes some time to get used to the brake pedal movement, the vehicle does not shake when the gas is pressed. The “automatic” feels like it thinks a little before acceleration, although according to passport data the hybrid transfers the standard of acceleration to “hundreds” much better – 7.9 seconds versus 9.6 seconds for the regular Tank 500.
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On the highway, the large SUV handles quite confidently, but it still needs to learn a few lessons to catch up with the Japanese Kruzak in terms of driving smoothness. It doesn’t feel small irregularities at all and rides over speed bump-sized asphalt potholes and swells as if they didn’t even exist. The “five hundredth” also does all this well, but there is something to work on.
Although perhaps the form factor of the wheels plays a big role in a Chinese car, if you play with the tire profile and wheel size, the feel of the car on poor surfaces will come even closer to the trendsetter from Toyota.
The nominal 616 Nm of torque from the tandem of gasoline engine and electric motor translates into very powerful acceleration, as the electric motor instantly obtains all thrust and the internal combustion engine picks up and develops acceleration. The driver of the Hybrid Tank 500 will never regret his choice when overtaking cars on rural roads. Unless he’s doing something dangerous, of course.
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When the electric motor is not in motion, it acts as a generator to renew the battery’s energy. You can switch to forced electric mode, or during dynamic acceleration the electric motor itself will start turning the wheels.
The battery itself cannot be charged from a wall outlet and is quite compact by hybrid standards – only 1.76 kWh.
For comparison, the hybrid version of the Chery Tiggo 8 Pro SUV has a battery capacity of 19 kWh, but Chery has a sequential, not sequential, battery capacity. parallel Hybrid, as in the tank example.
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An obvious advantage of the hybrid scheme is moderate fuel consumption: if the standard “five hundred” car, even according to the passport, consumes 16 liters of gasoline per 100 km in the combined driving cycle, then the “urban” Tank fits into 10 non-certified liters (officially – 8.8 liter).
On the suburban highway the Tank easily reaches high speed; its route is not affected by ruts or crosswinds from incoming trucks. Even with poor asphalt under the wheels, the car moves steadily without requiring parasitic steering.
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With all the advantages of the hybrid system (dynamic acceleration and fuel economy), the Tank 500 Urban is even cheaper than a similar car with a V6 gasoline engine in the maximum Premium configuration (5.85 million rubles versus 6.2 million rubles). Although it does not surpass the Toyota Land Cruiser 300 in many respects, it is also framed, has a warranty and is available in the official service.
What are you thinking?
Source: Gazeta
Anika Rood is an author at “Social Bites”. She is an automobile enthusiast who writes about the latest developments and news in the automobile industry. With a deep understanding of the latest technologies and a passion for writing, Anika provides insightful and engaging articles that keep her readers informed and up-to-date on the latest happenings in the world of automobiles.