The first pure electric SUV of Ideal has been officially revealed recently. This spy photo that has gone viral on the Internet comes from the disclosure of Ben Baum, the senior design director of Ideal. Interestingly, there is a clear car behind the Ideal M8.Ideal MEGAThe rear part. Is this the official move? Are they trying to find faults with everyone? However, the Ideal M8, as an SUV, obviously continues the design language of the Ideal MEGA, as an MPV. But from this spy photo alone, we can see that the two models still have obvious differences in design. And what impact will this difference have on the product characteristics of the new car?

Not quite like MEGA, especially at the beginning and end

I believe everyone still remembers the bullet-shaped shape of Ideal MEGA. However, the front cabin of Ideal M8 obviously does not have a completely smooth downward trend with the A-pillar, but there is a pause and extension at the connection point of the A-pillar. This raised front cabin style is a typical SUV design. Also because the A-pillar is more straight, the triangular window part of Ideal M8 is obviously much smaller than that of Ideal MEGA. Looking down, the front wheels of Ideal M8 are pushed forward than Ideal MEGA, and are completely within the front cabin, while the front wheels of Ideal MEGA are basically below the small triangular windows.

Looking backward from the front part, the roof contours of the two cars are exactly the same, both reaching the highest point at the B-pillar position (the two pillars of the front triangular window are counted as the overall A-pillar), and then extending backward with a slightly downward arc. The core difference is mainly at the very end, where the Ideal M8 extends a larger spoiler. As for the B and C pillars, whether it is a hidden design, or an almost vertical angle, as well as the "cutting" ratio of the first and second rows of space, they are highly similar. The only obvious difference on the side is that the waistline of the Ideal M8 presents a certain upward posture. As an MPV, the Ideal MEGA is completely straight.

The trend of the waistline directly affects the rear part of the Ideal M8. As it rises all the way and finally falls to the D-pillar position, the lighting area of ​​the rear window of the Ideal M8 will be greatly affected. The Ideal M8 is likely to still be a three-row seat space positioning. Therefore, the tail angle of the new car in the rear window part is sharper, and it is tilted upward at a large angle to maximize the lighting area of ​​the third row of passengers. Even with this idea of ​​squeezing space backward, we can find that the thickness of the D-pillar of the Ideal M8 is basically similar to that of the Ideal MEGA. Extending down, both cars have left ample space in the rear axle part. However, for the Ideal M8, which must be smaller in body size, the position of the rear wheels will also be more forward. It can be seen clearly in the spy photos that the front side of the rear wheel arch of the new car is basically aligned with the extension line of the C-pillar. The edge of the rear wheel arch of the Ideal MEGA is still a little space away from the extension line of the C-pillar.

(Ideal MEGA)

In general, Ideal M8 continues the sci-fi design and smooth lines of Ideal MEGA. However, in the front cabin, waistline and rear part, Ideal M8 has obvious changes that are more SUV-style. So what effects will they bring?

With enhanced four-wheel drive performance, is the third row comfortable enough for only two people?

First of all, the performance of the Ideal M8, or more specifically, its four-wheel drive performance has the potential to be stronger. The bulge in the front cabin of the new car and the operation of pushing the front suspension forward can actually free up more layout space for the front motor. This is very clear when we open the front cabin of the Ideal MEGA. The layout position of its front motor is basically behind the A-pillar. And for such a huge body, the front double wishbone suspension is a necessity. After weighing the two, it is inevitable to choose to weaken the power of the front motor. Of course, this is not a core contradiction for MPVs. But returning to the Ideal M8, which is positioned as an SUV, the double wishbone front suspension is staggered from the position of the electric motor, while giving more space in height. This can not only balance the power output of the front and rear motors, but also free up more redundancy for chassis tuning.

However, this will bring another impact, that is, when the front suspension is further forward, the freed-up space is not for the front cockpit. We can see this very clearly from the position of the rearview mirrors. The rearview mirrors of the two cars are at the rear connection of the small triangular window. Inferring from this, the sitting postures in the cockpits of the two cars are similar. At this time, the rearview mirrors and front wheels of Ideal MEGA are basically on both sides of the front door axis. In contrast, the front wheels of Ideal M8 are farther away. In other words, the wheelbase that is pulled out is given more to the front cabin.

As we mentioned earlier, the B and C pillars of the Ideal M8 are highly similar to those of the Ideal MEGA, at least in terms of the split ratio. In other words, under the compression of the front cabin and the size of the vehicle, the Ideal M8 must be smaller than the Ideal MEGA, which has a body length of more than 5.3 meters. It is obvious that the space in front and back of the Ideal M8 will be squeezed. But this also brings up a question, why doesn't the Ideal M8 move the rear suspension further back to expand the wheelbase?

In fact, in terms of the wheelbase ratio, the Ideal MEGA with a wheelbase of 3.3 meters has a performance of about 0.617. This value is very close to the so-called golden section point, and it is definitely an excellent level in the field of pure electric vehicles. Therefore, the Ideal M8 only needs to maintain this wheelbase ratio. From the previous introduction, it is very likely that the new car will achieve this. As for continuing to lengthen the wheelbase, it is not technically impossible, but the effect will be limited.

On the one hand, the bigger the wheelbase, the better. Although in car design, the pursuit of a larger wheelbase has always been the goal. But after electric vehicles have released their wheelbase potential, the wheelbase needs to be limited. Take the rear axle as an example. A suspension that is too far back will first weaken the flexibility of the vehicle. Considering the pure electric identity, its impact on the front and rear weight distribution will also increase. Continuing to extend, a rear suspension that is too far back will also weaken the stretching effect on the entire vehicle, reducing the control limit and comfort.

On the other hand, we still need to emphasize the three-row seat identity of Ideal M8. Since it is a three-row seat, the design needs to avoid the dilemma of the passengers in the last row sitting directly above the suspension. This is easy to understand. The space in the third row is already easily limited. If you sit directly above the suspension, I will not be able to face the front and rear stretching and squeezing unloading actions of the longitudinal impact. The passengers' buttocks will also be directly impacted. Specifically, the third row of seats of Ideal MEGA is actually in the part in front of the rear wheel. But the Ideal M8, which has a shorter body length and occupies more space in the front cabin, cannot "copy homework". So let's go back to the problem of the long rear suspension, although the visual effect is that the rear ends of the two cars are more similar. But only discussing the layout of the third row, in fact, the Ideal M8 puts the center of gravity of the seat in the part behind the rear wheel.

(Ideal MEGA)

The impact is, of course, that when the three rows of seats are fully loaded, the standard loading capacity of the vehicle trunk is easily limited. The standard volume of Ideal MEGA is 500L, which is comparable to the standard storage capacity of an SUV, and it is obviously impossible to copy it to Ideal M8. In addition, in order to ensure the comfort of the rear axle, the space for the chassis layout battery will also be limited to a certain extent. Of course, the size of the Ideal M8 itself is not small, but considering that the Ideal MEGA only carries a 102.7kWh battery pack, the Ideal M8 may only be less than or equal to this specification. Secondly, as mentioned earlier, the four-wheel drive capability of the Ideal M8 has the potential to be strengthened. In the context of possible performance improvement, the endurance of the new car will also be affected. Combined with the Ideal MEGA's range of 575 kilometers (WLTC working conditions), the endurance performance of the Ideal M8 is likely to hover at the level of more than 500 kilometers. Considering that Ideal has the ability to charge 5C fast, the endurance of a single energy replenishment is indeed not a core contradiction.

Finally, since the rear suspension is likely to continue the standard five-link structure, this suspension form will occupy the wheel arches on both sides very obviously. Considering that the third row of seats will be arranged in the back of the Ideal M8, the third row legroom will be occupied more by the suspension. Overall, it is difficult for the Ideal M8 to continue the seven-seat design of the Ideal MEGA, and the new car is more likely to be a six-seat design.