Interpretation丨What are the three major technical differences between Great Wall Motors Hi4, Hi4-T and Hi4-Z?

The red-butt tank 500 that was used to wash pots in the desert was unveiled at the 2024 Guangzhou Auto Show. Although the official did not provide too much technical interpretation, the chassis architecture of the three major technologies of Hi4, Hi4-T and Hi4-Z were simultaneously displayed at the booth. With the popularity of new energy off-road, are you also curious about the differences between these three technologies? What are the advantages of the tank 500 Hi4-Z?

【Hi4】

On March 10, 2023, at the "Great Wall Motors Intelligent New Energy Conference", Great Wall Motors officially released the new intelligent four-wheel drive hybrid technology Hi4.

Hi4 technology is the evolution of Great Wall Motors' DHT hybrid system. Conventional plug-in hybrid four-wheel drive often requires front and rear drive motors and charging motors to achieve electric four-wheel drive, but Hi4 technology innovatively replaces the P1 and P3 motors in the front axle with P2 motors, which can both charge the battery and drive, plus the P4 motor on the rear axle, thus realizing a dual-motor four-wheel drive structure and greatly controlling costs, thus achieving the "two-wheel drive price, four-wheel drive experience".

At present, Hi4 technology is mainly used in Haval and Wei brand models.

【Hi4-T】

Hi4-T is a non-decoupled electromechanical four-wheel drive system with oil-based strategy to ensure stable engine output, retaining all the advantages of traditional off-road. It is equipped with a longitudinal engine, P2 motor, 9HAT transmission, drive shaft, and beam, which has stronger ability to escape from difficulties under some extreme working conditions.

The battery is placed under the trunk to ensure a certain degree of safety.

The shortcomings of Hi4-T are also obvious, that is, it is only equipped with a P2 motor, whose main function is to enhance the engine torque. Its other functions are not outstanding, and its power retention ability is relatively poor.

Hi4-T is currently mainly used in the Tank series, including Tank 400Hi4-T, 500Hi4-T, and Tank 700Hi4-T, providing engines with 2.0T and 3.0T displacements. Their common highlight is that they are tough enough.

【Hi4-Z】

Hi4-Z is Great Wall's full-series masterpiece. Hi4-Z will be equipped with 2.0T and 3.0T engines and P2+P4 motors to enhance the functionality of the motors. Therefore, compared with Hi4-T, Hi4-Z has stronger power, an acceleration of 4s per 100 kilometers, and a stronger power retention capability.

In addition, it also adopts 3-speed DHT+ stepless speed change and adds planetary gears, which can divert power at low speeds. The P2 motor can drive and charge at the same time.

The battery is located at the middle bottom of the vehicle, and the battery capacity has been upgraded to 59.09kWh. The pure electric range of the Tank Hi4-Z under WLTC conditions will exceed 200km, which is also a significant improvement.

In addition, although Hi4-Z is adapted to a non-load-bearing body, it uses decoupled four-wheel drive, has no central drive shaft & differential, but uses electronic control to distribute torque between the front and rear axles, and both the left and right wheels are equipped with electronically controlled mechanical differential locks. Therefore, Great Wall Motors classifies Hi4-Z as a pan-off-road vehicle, which is between urban SUVs and traditional hard-core off-road vehicles, and can meet certain off-road needs while taking into account daily urban use.

For reference, Hi4 is suitable for urban SUVs, while Hi4-T technology is for strong off-road.

In addition, according to the plan, Great Wall Motors will also launch a super off-road vehicle. Previously, Mr. Wei stated in an interview that Great Wall is developing a V8 engine, which may create a super off-road vehicle for Great Wall Motors.

Building hardcore off-road SUVs is Great Wall Motors' strength, but with the trend of new energy and the evolution of user needs, more and more players have appeared in the new energy off-road track, and Great Wall Motors has to make changes. From Hi4, to Hi4-T, and then to Hi4-Z, do you think the evolution of Great Wall's electric four-wheel drive is promising?