Bitauto Original At the 2019 Shanghai Auto Show, I saw the Lexus LM for the first time. It was one of the few cars in the Chinese market that fully reflected the nobility of the four-seat model. At that time, I was thinking, how great it would be if there was a car that could provide a top-notch four-seater experience in the price range of 500,000-900,000 yuan, which is unmatched in the MPV market. Three years later, the Buick Century arrived.
Before the birth of Buick Century, Buick GL8 had been dominating the Chinese MPV market for nearly two decades. The follow-up GL8 Aivia introduced a high-end and luxurious MPV experience into a price range acceptable to everyone. But Buick is not satisfied. It wants to continue to invade the gathering places of top business people and wealthy people. Buick Century is such a car that carries heavy tasks. Today we are going to talk to you about this car from the most difficult aspect, the design.
A dramatic change in appearance
Since its birth, Buick has produced many classic designs: straight waterfall grille, sculptural body aesthetics, etc. The development of digital technology, the popularity of modern aesthetics, and changes in the spirit of the times have all made Buick Realize it’s time to demand change. So you may feel a little uncomfortable when you first see the Buick Century. But this set of PURE Design pure design concepts will lead Buick’s design in the next era.
Okay, let’s start with the product and talk about some more practical design.
First of all, Buick Century is positioned as a medium-to-large MPV. Its body size reaches 5230mm×1980mm×1867mm. In addition, it is currently the most expensive model of Buick, so the word aura is particularly important to it. How does Buick understand the aura of its flagship MPV? I think the two most important design elements of the front face are the light cluster and the grille.
In this Century car, Buick abandoned the straight waterfall air intake grille that it has insisted on for many years, used a new complex texture shape, and used parametric design to create this design called the rhythmic corrugated air intake grille.
There are many craftsmanship details inside the grille. The high-gloss chrome decoration enhances the luxurious atmosphere. Although the lines of the wing-shaped light trace interactive LED headlights on both sides are simple, the internal technology is not simple.
The rows of LED light sets combined with the wing-style daytime running lights convey a fierce momentum. This set of lights has eight lighting modes and two light languages. It is eye-catching whether it is lit or not. For MPV models, a simple and straightforward headlight design is enough. The development of LED technology has also minimized the lighting restrictions on the shape of the lamp set.
In addition to the grille and light group, another design focus of the front face is the lines. A simple concave or convex interior can convey different feelings to us. The upper part of the Buick Century grille uses a design called "cornices", and there seems to be something on the lines.It inherits the flying wing design elements of the previous GL8 and LaCrosse, but the simple changes are more refined and integrate better with the front face.
As an MPV, the side profile is actually more difficult to stand out, but Buick Century does a good job in this area. The highlight on the side of the Century is the two-tone upper and lower body color scheme. Although it is not the first time, whether it is Maybach or Bentley, it means that the two-tone body = flagship status. Of course, this set of color-blocked paint is also exclusive to the top-of-the-line four-seat private version of the Buick Century.
The second is the line under the roof and window sill. The interlacing of upward sliding and falling adds a lot of agility to the side. The official name of this set of body color is "Guanshan Feixue", which is the color combination of Guanshan green and Feixue silver. The name comes from Wen Zhengming's "Guanshan Snow Map", which has Chinese connotations.
The lines on the side are inspired by Chinese landscape elements. The silver part has the steepness of a mountain, the roof line has the elegance of clouds, and the door panel profile has the softness of water.
It is worth noting that the A-pillar inclination angle of the Buick Century will be larger than that of other MPVs. This design can not only reduce wind resistance when driving, but also improve the efficiency of the A-pillar in energy transmission and improve safety.
Buick Century comes standard with 19-inch wheels. Although it is more common to install 20-inch or even 21-inch wheels on SUV models, they are not too small in MPVs because small wheels are more comfortable for this type of model. Better. Multi-spoke shapes are also common on luxury models.
The rear of the Buick Century does not break away from the square frame of the MPV. The rear of the car does not offer many tricks for the MPV. Fortunately, the taillight group of the Century is complex enough and eye-catching enough. This set of taillights has 730 LED light sources, and the casing is made of highly transparent scattering material. When lit, it displays a light curtain, and the effect is very good with the flowing light language.
There are Aivia logos on the tail and sides. Currently, Buick Century only has three configuration models, one with six seats and two with four seats, both bearing the name of Aivia.
The design of vehicle appearance has always been a long-term focus in the design process. In addition to conveying beauty, it also needs to have a lot of engineering performance, which is related to a series of important indicators such as fuel consumption, safety, and space. I think the exterior finish and high-end feel of the Buick Century are great. At first glance, it seems that there are not many design elements, but this set of PURE Design pure design concepts itself emphasizes simplifying the complex, highlighting the essence, and pursuing high efficiency, intelligence, and authenticity. of harmony and unity.
The interior is gorgeous and can withstand scrutiny
It is easy but difficult to make the interior feel high-end. What is easy to make is that as long as you are willing to buy it, then what about NAPPA leather, natural wood grain veneer, starry sky roof, all-electricAdjustments and various technological configurations are easy to pile up; the difficulty lies in the fact that the interior design must ultimately be implemented into the experience. Where does experience come from? I think it’s about doing a good job overall while taking into account the details.
Let’s talk about the overall situation first. The front row of Buick Century adopts Buick’s latest cockpit design. The integrated 30-inch 6K LCD screen is matched with Buick’s latest generation VCS interactive system. Both the UI interface and the display effect are top-notch.
The retention of physical buttons on the center console also comes from Buick’s years of experience in the MPV market: large screen + voice system + some physical buttons. This is currently the best solution that takes into account the technological sense and practicality of the cockpit. There is nothing to say about the feel of the steering wheel. The delicate leather feels excellent, but the multi-function buttons on both sides require more consideration when you first get started.
There is nothing much to say about the front row, let’s focus on the back row. The real-shot four-seater private version introduces a luxurious smart curtain wall system, with a 32-inch liftable screen that isolates the front and rear rows. We have seen this on the Lexus LM, and now you can have this for less than 700,000 yuan. Enjoy the private space.
As mentioned at the beginning of this section, there is nothing to say about the Buick Century stack, Bose audio, 13L car refrigerator, Fine Nappa semi-aniline premium perforated leather, suede starry sky roof, 18-way fully electric adjustable seats, 5 large Functions such as zoned seat heating and 18-point zoned seat massage are available. Even the adjustment screen on the rear armrest is assigned a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155 chip.
Now that the materials are in place, where are the details of the Buick Century interior? Let me talk about my experience. First of all, the inconspicuous wood grain veneer on the door panel is made of high-quality natural white cork wood imported from Europe that is more than a hundred years old. It uses different processes such as string cutting, rotary cutting, and radial cutting. Each veneer has a unique, delicate and natural texture. Effect.
Secondly, the neck pillows and footrests of the rear seats also use graphene heating technology, which provides a unique experience in winter.
The damping feel of the table board and storage box is very good, and the surfaces are also covered with flocking material. You don’t have to worry about scratches when you put your valuable bags in them. Oh, by the way, the carpet in the back row is also a wool blanket imported from Australia.
In addition, the vanity mirror has a ring-shaped LED light strip. The important thing is that its back is also covered with the same suede as the C-pillar, and its opening and closing damping is equally advanced.
As for the various seat modes, seat functions, and 160-degree seat reclining angle, I think they are what a model of this price range should have, but Buick’s experience accumulated in the MPV market over the years has indeed helped them in Buick actually noticed many consumers on this carDetails that are easy to overlook, but actually affect the sense of luxury.
Although the design of the interior and the design of the exterior are both designs, their directions are different - the exterior emphasizes concept, while the interior emphasizes practicality. From these two points, the Buick Century has reached a very high level.
Although this article is about exploring the design aesthetics of the Buick Century, after I explain the design, I will briefly explain its power and chassis to friends who don’t know much about this car.
In terms of power, Buick Century is equipped with a mild hybrid system composed of a 2.0T engine and a 48V motor. The 2.0T engine has a maximum power of 174kW and a peak torque of 350N·m. The engine is matched with a 9-speed automatic manual transmission. This power combination is used in many models of SAIC-GM. The accelerator pedal design of the Buick Century is relatively linear. Since the vehicle has a large curb weight, it does not give people a strong feeling of power. It is definitely suitable for daily use. Enough.
We have previously done a detailed dynamic test drive of the Buick Century's four-seater private version. Interested partners can check out the review article "LM is not good enough" written by my colleague Mr. Zhou. Test drive the Buick Century four-seater private version version".
Full text summary: Before I first came into contact with the Buick Century, I drove the GL8 many times and also experienced the GL8 Avia version, so I didn't have much interest in this car before coming here. However, subsequent contacts and conversations with designers really helped me understand more about this car, and I can’t wait to share my understanding with you.
In 2022, the changes in the MPV market are visible to the naked eye. On the one hand, the tide of intelligence and new energy in the automobile industry is sweeping across; on the other hand, the needs of high-end people have also undergone subtle changes. It is obvious that Buick launched this car It's not a sudden "rushing a duck to the market", but a carefully considered "technical surprise for four seats". I personally also look forward to what kind of pattern changes the MPV market will usher in after this car, and whether it can lead Buick to hit the market. Where is Alpha’s pure land? We'll see.
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