At the segment of small SUV, Geely Binyue(缤越)’s has gained a very high attention in China market, the monthly average sales volume is more than 10,000 units for a long time, it can be seen that Chinese consumers are more appreciative of this new model. Geely Binyue was first launched in October 2018 in China, as a all-new small SUV built on Geely BMA architecture platform, the price range of Geely Binyue is 78,800-118,800 yuan (in China market), this price is quite attractive.
Pros: Appearance & interior design is outstanding, comfortable front seats, excellent power performance, good value for money.
Cons: Cargo space is narrow, gearbox response is relative slow, suspension is stiff.
Geely Binyue appearance: Handsome and sportiness
Geely Binyue is mainly designed for young consumers, the dynamic exterior design is one of its main selling points. Unlike the other Geely’s small SUV, Binyue is more fashionable. The body size is 4340/1800/1609mm and wheelbase of 2600mm, It is relatively large in small SUV segment, it also features a floating roof, the rear end of Binyue sporty version is very exaggerated, especially the spoiler and the bilateral four exhaust.
Geely Binyue interior: Excellent interior design / high grade / lacking rear row air outlet
Ambient light on central console panel
Ambient light on door panel
We have also a video to show the effect of ambient light:
The interior style of Geely Binyue is relative simple, it does not copy the design from the other Geely vehicles, this simple feeling is very appealing to young people. The center console is made of soft material, decorated with metal brushed plaque, ambient light is also available on the central console and door panel to make it very good atmosphere at night, the color of the ambient light is available in three options: red, blue and yellow, which can be set via the central control screen.
The most eye-catching on center console is the floating 10.25-inch touch screen as well as the full LCD instrument panel, make it really look very scientific. The configuration is definitely one of the strengths. For example, the car comes standard with a four-way adjustable leather multi-function steering wheel, keyless entry and push-button starter.
switch button is on the right TRIP button to check out the driving info
The full LCD instrument panel has powerful function, but the operation is not so convenient, because function buttons of both central control screen and the instrument panel are deployed on the right of the steering wheel. It need to push up switch button every time before your operate the instrument, it’s inconvenient especially when you are driving, you will often get distracted by the switch button. If you only want to check the driving information, you can use the TRIP button at the top of the left lever directly, which is convenient.
There are driving mode selection, 360 panoramic image, electronic parking and AutoHold buttons behind the gear-lever
The infotainment system does not support CarPlay, but the system has built-in functions such as online music player and navigation. It has no problems for daily use and has certain scalability.
Cons: Central armrest is not so comfortable, All models are not equipped with rear air outlet.
Power and Engine
Pros: Excellent power performance / acceleration is good.
Cons:suspension is stiff / gearbox is dragging in low speed / shifting response speed is relative slow.
Geely Binyue is powered by 1.0-Liter and 1.5-Liter 3-cylinder turbocharged engine, the 1.0T is matched with 6-speed manual transmission with max. power of 100kW(134hp) and max. torque of 205N.m, while the 1.5T engine is matched with 7-speed dual clutch gearbox, it generates max. power of 130kW(174hp) and max. torque of 255N.m. Open the engine cover you can see that the engine compartment is neat and orderly, which gives a very good impression. Moreover, the automatic transmission models also use electronic gears. The chassis is nothing special, the rear suspension is a torsion beam.
For the three-cylinder engine, vibration is always a topic that cannot be avoided. There is a small video to check out the vibration situation of this three-cylinder engine , let’s take a look:
It can be seen from the video that the vibration of the engine compartment is relative rough, but the vibration is not easily to be passed into the cabin during idling, which is quite good. There are certain sound waves in the bilateral four exhaust, but it doesn’t sound very good.
Slight vibration will be passed into cabin while vehicle starts moving and climbing under high load conditions, anyway vibration is difficult to detect when revs exceeds 2000 rpm. We have tested many three-cylinder engines from various brands in China. In comparison, the vibration of Geely Binyue’s L3 1.5T engine is basically at medium level, although it does not affect daily use, there is still room for optimization.
Driving Experience & Chassis
In fact, the overall driving experience of Geely Binyue is quite good, it has a strong affinity, the throttle, brakes and steering are easy to handle, everything is the standard family car settings. At the starting, the body dynamics can be unified with the pace at the foot, without the feeling of dragging.
Geely Binyue has three driving modes: economy, comfort and sports. The steering feedback and the character of power will change according to the driving mode. In the economy and comfort mode, the steering is light and the power output is smooth to create a comfortable driving feeling; in the sport mode, the steering will be aggravated, but the steering wheel play is still there.
The 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox is also of great concern to consumers. The up/downshift speed of the gearbox is not so fast, the gearbox can be downshifted by two gears when step on the throttle deeply, however, because the shifting speed is slightly slow, the connection between engine and gearbox is somewhat delayed. At low speeds, the shifting of the transmission will occasionally fall, but it can be acceptable.
The high trim level models have steering wheel shift paddles, the feeling of the paddles is good, but the shift command speed is a bit slow.
The chassis of Geely Binyue has good comfort, and the suspension can filter out the bumps on the road. Anyway suspension of Geely Binyue is somewhat stiff, the fine vibration on the road surface is not so thoroughly filtered. When driving on the mountain road at a high speed, it did not have enough confidence for the driver.
The sound insulation performance is well controlled. During normal driving, the engine noise is not obvious, but the sound of the engine is not very good at high speeds, some engine noises will be passed into cabin when the car is accelerating.
