The Xingyue L is Geely’s smartest SUV yet

Geely has been one of the more hi-tech brands out of China to make their way to the Philippines with models sporting mild hybrid capabilities and sophisticated user equipment. Their latest model, launched at Auto Shanghai 2021, is set to take it to the next level with Over-The-Air (OTA) updates, 5G Internet connection, an intelligent digital cabin, and even the ability to park by itself.

Called the Geely Xingyue L, this SUV shares the same Compact Modular Architecture (CMA) as the Volvo XC40 and boasts of innovative "safety, health, intelligence, performance and energy savings."

"In the pursuit of technological advancement, the SUV Liberator KX11 (now known as the Xingyue L) is a luxury gift for users in the Geely Auto 4.0 Era," said Geely Auto Group CEO, Gan Jiayue.

Part of what makes the Xingyue L special is the fact that it uses the most advanced automotive chip in the market, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8155. This chip supports Bluetooth 5; the latest wireless internet protocols; GPS; GLONASS; Beidou; Galileo; QZSS; and SBAS. This processor also drives the IMAX one-meter screen across the center console, the 25.6-inch AR-HUD heads-up display, and its 12.3-inch intelligent instrument screen. This gives the SUV’s cockpit the largest screen-to-body ratio in its segment.

With its OTA online upgrade technology, the vehicle is online all the time and one of the benefits of being consistently ‘connected’ is ability to use the 5G-AVP 1km unmanned parking technology. With a car cloud end and 5G technology, this vehicle will be able to find a parking space autonomously.

The reason behind Geely’s technological strength is its more than $100 billion R&D investment in the last ten years, including the $4.8 billion it put in last year. Part of these funds have gone to its life guardian safety and health laboratory that has laid out a “three-dimensional travel ecology of the future integration of heaven and earth” in order to be able to build a "super intelligent mobile terminal." Major strides have also been made in its new energy technology, vehicle networking, intelligent driving, shared mobility, in-vehicle chips, low-orbit satellites and even flying cars.

Its body is based on the “Accelerating through Space and Time” aesthetic which comes from the Expanding Cosmos design philosophy. The result is a melding of both eastern and western styling, and an even mix of humanity and technology as well.

Exterior features include three-segmented matrix front headlamps consisting of 126 individually controllable LEDs that allow brightness and even lighting effects to be customized, and dot-matrix tail lamps with 176 LEDs that are connected by a strip of lights.

 “In 2019, we unveiled a preface of what’s to come, a new design language and a slingshot from our Expanding Cosmos philosophy. In 2020, with the new design language and the passion for realizing an idea into reality, we conceived a super premium and refined SUV concept. Today, this super premium concept has become the Xingyue L,” said Guy Burgoyne, Vice President of Geely Design Shanghai.

The cabin offers dual-toned hues that combine polished cyberpunk black with a classical bronze verdigris green patina. There is custom suede as well and woven into the seats are Chinese elements like classical knots to show the vehicle’s heritage.

Audio comes from a 10-speaker BOSE sound system that uses engine harmonic noise reduction technology and double layered soundproofing to create a serene interior environment. Interior lighting has been enhanced with a customizable 72-color atmospheric lighting scheme that changes according to the driving mode.

Under the hood of the Xingyue L is a 2.0L four-cylinder turbocharged engine co-developed with Volvo. The hi-spec trim puts out 235 HP and 380 Nm of torque while the detuned version has 215 HP and 325 Nm of torque.

Transmission options are either a Geely-made seven-speed wet dual clutch or Aisin’s eight-speed automatic transmission.

It uses BorgWarner’s sixth-generation four-wheel drive system with a 50:50 front/rear torque distribution for improved off-road performance. Five driving modes will be available; ECO, NORM, SPORT, SNOW, and OFFROAD.

The Geely Xingyue L is set to hit dealerships in China in the next few weeks and will go to other major markets in the coming months.