Skywell will conquer the Russian market with the ET5 crossover

The new crossover has an optimistic slogan, which can be seen in the media system menu: Skywell: All is Well! What does it mean "everything will be fine!". Will it? Nevertheless, the Chinese electric car occupies a niche abandoned by European, Japanese and American manufacturers. Literally. In Moscow, where the Mini showroom was recently located, Skywell has now been presented.

The confused origin of the company

Its head - Huang Hongsheng (Stephen Wong) began with the production of televisions, consumer electronics in 1988. And today, Skyworth is in second place in China in terms of the volume of manufactured equipment. Gradually, the company expanded its activities: directions for real estate, telecommunications, etc. appeared. It was not without scams and Hongsheng served 3 years in prison. And when he was released, he decided to go into the auto industry.

Leapfrog with names

The former prisoner organized the company Skywell Auto. Its activity began with the purchase of a company that produces buses. They are still in the product line. As well as light commercial vehicles. In 2019, a division of Jiangsu Tianmei Automobile was organized, dealing exclusively with the production of passenger cars. At first, cars entered the domestic market under the Skywell brand, but then the Chinese didn’t like something, and they rebranded: they renamed the brand Skyworth.


Further more. In Germany, the car is known as Elaris, and in America - Imperium. The reason is that the Chinese did not open their representative offices in importing countries, but simply entered into agreements with distributors.


The latter put what they think are the most attractive brands. In the Russian Federation, they preferred the first name - Skywell.

Technical features

The company introduces the ET5 electric car to the Russian market. In terms of dimensions, the crossover is comparable to such cars as Tiggo 8, Mitsubishi Outlander. The length of the novelty is 4,698 m, the wheelbase is 2,8 m. Nothing really is known about the platform - it is stated that it was developed on the basis of the “best analogues”. Chassis: front - MacPherson strut, rear suspension - standard, multi-link.


The car is offered with front-wheel drive: full is not yet available even in China. The car is equipped with one electric motor that produces 204 "horses" with a torque of 320 N * m. Underfloor battery from Chinese manufacturer Farasis Energy has a capacity of 72 kWh. A full charge is enough for 520 km. But this is according to the NEDC cycle, which is considered obsolete. In reality, the mileage will not exceed 400 km. The electric car accelerates to “weave” in 7,9 seconds, the maximum speed is limited to 150 km/h.

Battery

To replenish battery power, European Type2/CCS2 connectors are used. Charging with alternating current requires a power of 22 kW (time - 6 hours), constant - 150 kW (up to 100% of the battery will be charged in 30 minutes). When using a conventional 220 V outlet, a full battery recovery will take 12 hours. The battery itself weighs 442 kg, which ensures a low center of gravity and high stability of the car when cornering.

Optics and brakes

It is impossible not to note the head lighting: there are some interesting features here. Of course, there are LEDs. There is automatic switching from near to far and vice versa. But the main thing is the presence of laser segments. Previously, this was observed only in some models of Audi and BMW.


Headlights with this option “hit” at a distance of up to 600 m, which is impossible for traditional optics, no matter what lamps you put there. If we talk about the brakes, they are very sharp. The machine reacts instantly when you touch the pedal with your foot. But over time you can get used to it.

Salon

It is immediately clear that “not a single animal was harmed” during the interior decoration. Plastic, stylized as wood, looks presentable. The size of the multimedia display is 12,8”. The system has almost all the secondary functions of the car, even climate control. All this is not very convenient: for example, your windows are fogged up and you need to turn on the airflow. To do this, you will have to be distracted from the road and climb through the menu, looking for the desired function. It's good that at least the glass heating is turned on with the usual buttons.


Another "trick" of multimedia is its own Easy Connection OS, i.e. neither Android nor Apple CarPlay are supported. To display the smartphone screen, you will need to use a data cable. Of the pluses, one can note the presence of sockets for 220 V, as well as cute “cherries on the cake”: for example, if you turn on the “Picnic” mode, the headlights will blink to the beat of the music. And when the “Healthy Sleep” option is activated, the sound of a waterfall or the chirping of cicadas will flow from the speakers.


Chairs are soft, comfortable, but the adjustment range is small. The same can be said about the steering wheel: its 2-centimeter reach setting looks strange for a car of this class. But there is an interesting plus! The backrest leans back completely, and a stand appears at the legs. The seat turns into a kind of deck chair: while the battery at the station is charging, you can take a nap.


Behind the space: the legs are free. The back is divided in the ratio 60:40. It folds, but it turns out to be a slope. To get rid of it, you have to lift the pillow. The luggage compartment is closed with a curtain, its volume is 467 liters.

Security

And here everything is sad. Skywell ET5 managed to get only one star out of five according to the C-NCAP method, or 39,9% according to the rating. When checking for safety in relation to pedestrians, the car showed good results - 61,5%. When tested for frontal collisions with 100% overlap, the electric car earned 13,3 points out of 24 possible. With 50% - 16,1. The protection of passengers and children is rated at 2 units out of 3. In a rear impact, the probability of neck injury is 3,7 points out of 7.


With a side collision, things are more complicated: zero out of sixteen: the pillars are literally pressed into the passenger compartment, which is fraught with injuries to passengers and (or) the driver. The proactive security system is also far from up to par: Electronics often simply did not react to obstacles that appeared along the way. Here the crossover received a rating of 30,3%.

Warranty

She is ambiguous. For a private car owner - 150 thousand kilometers or 5 years of operation. The battery has a separate warranty - 200 thousand km or 8 years. When using a car commercially (for example, a taxi), it will be 120 thousand km or two years. The battery is guaranteed for 5 years. For the suspension, their conditions are 60 thousand km, one year. Electric motor - 150 thousand km and 8 years, lighting - 120 thousand km, 3 years.

What conclusions

There is no need to rush to talk about the bright future of the Skywell ET5 crossover in the Russian Federation. Yes, electric vehicles are the only niche in the market where sales are growing. However, their number is still at the level of several dozen pieces of equipment. Another major downside is the cost. Only a wealthy person can become the owner of this electric car. A car in the basic version of Comfort is valued at 4 million rubles, in the highest version - 48 million rubles. In this case, the car must have its own place with the owner. The best option is a garage with an outlet. Well, or parking, where there is a charging station.

The car is clearly not suitable for long-distance travel: the infrastructure for replenishing battery energy in Russia is in its infancy, except for the capital and metropolitan areas. The purpose of the Skywell ET5 is to travel around the city or to the country.