That day in the old town of Qingdao, I drove the Zhiji LS9 that my friend just mentioned to pick up my children from school. There are private cars on both sides of that road, and the corner is very narrow. Usually when I drive my ordinary medium-sized SUV, I have to turn around several times, and the cars behind me all honk. But that day, when I walked over, the rearview mirror automatically folded up, and the body was as light as a small steel cannon. Several parents nearby were stunned for a moment and asked me what kind of car I was driving. At that moment, I was really surprised that a five-meter-two-meter-large car could turn around easily on such an old street.
This is not because the driving skills have improved, but because the Zhiji LS9 is using its own way to rewrite our old impression of "big cars are difficult to drive". When it comes to large-size SUVs in the past, what comes to everyone's mind are words such as gas mileage, difficulty in parking, and difficulty in turning around. However, this car uses a complete set of "hardware + algorithm" combination to make the huge body no longer a burden.
SAIC has stuffed the LS9 with a real suspension. The front double wishbone and rear multi-link are made of aviation-grade aluminum alloy materials. The emphasis is not only on lightweighting, but also on making the cha
That day in the old town of Qingdao, I drove the Zhiji LS9 that my friend just mentioned to pick up my children from school. There are private cars on both sides of that road, and the corner is very narrow. Usually when I drive my ordinary medium-sized SUV, I have to turn around several times, and the cars behind me all honk. But that day, when I walked over, the rearview mirror automatically folded up, and the body was as light as a small steel cannon. Several parents nearby were stunned for a moment and asked me what kind of car I was driving. At that moment, I was really surprised that a five-meter-two-meter-large car could turn around easily on such an old street.
This is not because the driving skills have improved, but because the Zhiji LS9 is using its own way to rewrite our old impression of "big cars are difficult to drive". When it comes to large-size SUVs in the past, what comes to everyone's mind are words such as gas mileage, difficulty in parking, and difficulty in turning around. However, this car uses a complete set of "hardware + algorithm" combination to make the huge body no longer a burden.
SAIC has stuffed the LS9 with a real suspension. The front double wishbone and rear multi-link are made of aviation-grade aluminum alloy materials. The emphasis is not only on lightweighting, but also on making the chassis' response more delicate. Many people hear the word "air suspension" and think it's just for softness. In fact, the dual-chamber closed air suspension plus CDC variable damping system equipped on the LS9 is really powerful in "knowing how to use it." When driving on a stone road, the body does not shake and the tires stick to the ground; when driving on the highway, it can stabilize its posture, making the whole car as light as stepping on an air cushion but not drifting.
Some people may not believe how complicated this suspension can be. Simply put, the CDC control system can adjust the damping strength hundreds of times per second. As soon as the speed bump comes, the air spring contracts in advance to absorb the impact under the feet. Last week I took a trip on the Qingyin Expressway and passed through the road construction area in Weifang. There were gravel and potholes all the way. The Zhiji LS9 was so stable that my daughter could draw in the back seat without spilling a drop of water.
If suspension is the body, then Skink Digital Chassis 3.0 is the soul. This system is coordinated by a VMC global control module, which is like a "super cerebellum" and dispatches the three major systems of steering, braking, and suspension at the same time. Many luxury cars also have independent control systems, but they do not communicate with each other and the response is always slow. VMC is different. It can judge the vehicle attitude at the millisecond level and adjust the suspension damping and braking ratio at each corner in advance.
For example, the "nodding when braking" phenomenon that is most common in home scenes is almost invisible on the LS9. The system coordinates the suspension hardness in advance to keep the car body level. Children can immerse themselves in drawing in the back row without losing a stroke. Also on the slippery uphill ground in Qingdao in winter, when the tires slip, VMC does not wait for the slip to occur before rescuing the situation, but can allocate torque in advance to keep the car stable on the established track.
The cleverness of this underlying logic not only makes driving easier, but also makes driving more secure. In the past, when driving a big car, I was always worried and would sweat when encountering narrow corners. LS9 feels big but not bulky, stable but not dull.
The most "drama" thing about this car has to be the rear-wheel steering. It can achieve a maximum two-way swing of 24 degrees, which is almost the top level in its class. When the main driver turns the direction, the rear wheels rotate in the opposite direction, which is equivalent to helping you "turn your legs short". The place that used to take two to turn around can now be crossed with one. When taking it out of the garage, the turning radius is smaller than some mid-size SUVs. That day, when my neighbors saw me entering the garage and parking the car, they all murmured whether the car had any "special features."
In fact, the reason is not complicated: the rear wheel kick angle is higher, the turning center moves forward, the virtual wheelbase is shorter, and the body is naturally flexible. For vehicles over five meters long, this is life-saving technology. Interestingly, when changing lanes at high speed, the rear wheels will "rotate in the same direction", which is equivalent to lengthening the wheelbase, making the vehicle as stable as a high-speed rail.
This technology is not new, but it is not easy to adjust to this natural rhythm. Mercedes-Benz S and BMW X7 also have rear-wheel steering, but the "lightness" in urban areas is either too much or too lagging, and sometimes even creates an illusion of direction when reversing. Zhiji's adjustment is relatively smart, matching the electronic control logic with the driver's movements in extremely fine detail. Every turn of the steering wheel has immediate corresponding body feedback.
Parking used to be a nightmare for big car owners. The pillars, narrow parking spaces, and height-limiting poles of the underground garage are enough to make you sweat. The LS9's AI parking system adds an active path planning function, which not only knows how to park, but also analyzes the space by itself. It can judge the distance of obstacles on the rear side and automatically fold the rearview mirror, taking into account every centimeter. Once I tried to park in a parking space with a pillar next to it, and the system adjusted itself into the corner. Even my wife exclaimed beside me, saying that the car seemed to have a pair of invisible hands.
The upgrade of assisted driving goes beyond parking. Zhiji's layout in the field of intelligent driving is actually to make people "less effortful". When driving long distances, the intervention logic of lane keeping and adaptive cruise is particularly smooth. Other cars always have that abrupt feeling of "stealing for direction", but the logic of LS9 is more like someone gently holding the steering wheel. High-speed merging, the system's response time is short, and the speed-up or deceleration curve will not shake.
Speaking of which, in fact, what I admire most about this car is not the technical stuff, but the "understanding" temperament. It does not ask you to conquer it, but silently takes over those tedious operations. For a family driver, that smoothness and ease are the real luxury when taking to the road every day.
As a Qingdao native, I have loved cars since I was a child, and I also love playing around with them. In the past, I always envied the quality of those big German guys, but now I can’t help but feel proud when I look at the hardware and underlying algorithms of my country’s brands that are so sophisticated. SAIC's move is not simply to create a "big toy", but to tell us: Big does not mean stupid, smart can also be stable.
If we look at the data from a data perspective, the chassis research and development of high-end SUVs from Chinese brands can now benchmark internationally. From the aluminum alloy suspension to the intelligent control system, the entire matching of a car requires a long period of experimentation. Only the chassis system of the Zhiji LS9 is said to have gone through millions of kilometers of testing, covering almost all extreme environments on plateaus, frozen soil, and deserts. These accumulations allow the car to move freely on complex roads.
The technology may seem cold, but the feeling is real. Qingdao, a city intertwined with mountains and seas, is not testing horsepower, but flexibility. The coast has high humidity, many ramps, and tight parking spaces. A large car that can help you "save worry" in all aspects can be considered a true family flagship. New species such as the Zhiji LS9 have found a new balance between practicality and luxury.
Just like the U-turn at the intersection after school that day, behind the seemingly ordinary direction is the wisdom of thousands of engineers. Some people say that the bigger the car, the clumsier it becomes. But when technology redefines "easy to drive," we discover that a flagship SUV can be like an old friend, with both weight and warmth.
For family drivers, this "light sense of security" may be the most precious thing. The calmness with which you hold the steering wheel after finishing work, picking up your family, and walking through traffic every day is what technology should be like.
