After a week of riding the Torres Hybrid..3 minor weaknesses
May 01, 2025
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The test drive was as long as a week. The T7 trim is equipped with a deep control package 2, a smart power tailgate, a 20-inch wheel, and a 3D around view monitoring system, which costs 39.45 million won. The biggest difference is that it is equipped with 20-inch wheels, which is expected to vary from official fuel efficiency to ride comfort.
On my first two-hour test drive, the Torres Hybrid gave me more satisfaction than I expected. Tested Torres for a week to see if there were any additional pros and cons. The exterior design based on the thick line has been years, but it gives a neat and stable feeling without being boring.
As the exterior design evaluation was good, the hybrid vehicle did not differentiate its design from the existing gasoline model. A small difference is that the rear side hybrid lettering and the wheel design that influences the side impression have been changed. The 20-inch wheel is gorgeous with diamond cutting techniques.The forward feeling stands out in the form of a pinwheel on the 5 spoke. It feels dynamic compared to the wheels of a gasoline car.
The interior also maintained most of the gasoline model interior. It is equipped with a wide display that connects two 12.3-inch monitors that the latest vehicles enjoy, and unlike competing vehicles, it has drastically deleted the physical button.
The steering wheel design has been slightly changed. It is a D-cut style that is mainly applied to sporty vehicles. However, the thickness of the rim is thin, so you can feel that it is a comfort-oriented design rather than dynamic in actual operation. What is unusual is that perforated leather is usually applied to improve grip, but normal leather is applied to the part where the hand is gripped, and perforated leather is applied to the top where the hand is not well touched.
Unlike the gasoline model, the Torres Hybrid has improved BYD's 1.5 gasoline turbo engine to fit the hybrid. It has a maximum power of 150 horsepower and a maximum torque of 22.5 kgf.m. The biggest feature of the Torres hybrid is that it has the largest capacity battery among competing hybrid models.
It boasts the best-in-class capacity with a 1.83 kWh battery. In addition, the serial-parallel two-motor method is applied to drive one motor and the other one is in charge of power generation along with the engine.
The motor power is also the best. Kia Sportage 47.7Kw and Renault Grand Corleos 100Kw compared to Torres Hybrid 130Kw.It was equipped with a powerful motor of 177 horsepower when converted.
The torque is also 30.6kgf.m, showing the power that motor driving alone is not enough. Through this, he started a city test drive by recalling promotional materials that electric vehicle mode is possible up to 94% of the city's driving standards.
Driving in various road environments such as downtown, highways, and national roads, it is only driven by motors in low-speed sections, giving the impression of driving an electric car. The sensitive difference is that Axel is dull compared to electric vehicles. It may be more comfortable for those who mainly operated existing internal combustion engine vehicles.
It was difficult to find the shortcomings of the new hybrid power train in the downtown section, which is mainly driven by motors. The inconvenience I felt while driving for a week was elsewhere.
The first regret may be trivial, but the virtual engine sound is too loud when stopping. A hybrid or electric vehicle has little external noise while being driven by a motor, making it relatively difficult for pedestrians to recognize an approaching vehicle. Therefore, it introduces virtual sound and recognizes the vehicle by external pedestrians with a speaker mounted on the vehicle.
The Torres Hybrid has a louder sound than other vehicles. The sound itself may be uncomfortable for the driver to hear because it feels dour. It is welcome to raise virtual sound or make differentiated sound for the safety of pedestrians when driving at low speeds. However, it would be better to set the sound to turn off even when it stops. I look forward to an OTA update in the future
The second method is the gear operation. In fact, this part is not the only disadvantage of hybrid vehicles because gasoline vehicles are the same. The lever must be operated twice because it must be neutral when operating forward and backward. If this is not the case, press and hold the lever in the direction D or R to change the speed.
It's not going to be a big problem once you get used to it. It appears to be a setting for safety. However, BMW with toggle lever can travel between D range and R with one operation. This method is more intuitive, as well as much more convenient in practical use. It seems necessary to improve the fact that black hygrosy, which is vulnerable to fingerprint traces, is applied around the gear operation part.
The third regret is the dull sense of steering wheel. Due to the nature of the SUV, not many drivers expect dynamic, but the sense of turning the steering wheel is quite geared toward comfort. It is somewhat insufficient to feel the joy of driving on curved roads or cornering.
Of course, it fits well with the characteristics of the vehicle segment, so it is not enough to carry a family and drive stably. Since the level of satisfaction with the hybrid power train is high, I talked about other minor regrets.
The driving feeling of an electric vehicle is attractive because the motor driving section is longer than that of a competitive vehicle and the output of the motor itself is high. It is a vehicle that can provide satisfaction in many ways to those who avoid electric vehicles due to the inconvenience of charging.
The level of quietness is also high compared to the rating. Paying attention to sound insulation, wind sound is hardly heard when driving at high speed. In addition, the stability of high-speed driving is good. It may be a disadvantage that the steering wheel sense is not sensitive, but the driving sense, which becomes more stable and firm as the speed increases, makes long-distance travel enjoyable. It is mainly operated by a motor in the low-speed section, which can increase satisfaction during commuting time.
The strength I felt for sure during the test drive for a week is the seat position. Both the height of the seat and the size of the stand make it an ideal position to feel comfortable. Even after a long test drive, satisfaction was high due to low fatigue.
The test vehicle is a 20-inch wheel, so it is relatively slow in instantaneous acceleration compared to 18-inch wheels, but it is serious and has a relatively good sense of stability at high speed. However, in places where the road surface is irregular, you can feel a clear bounce of ride.
After a week of operation, I was very satisfied with the new hybrid power train. If it compensates for some minor problems and secures durability, it will be a vehicle that can be recommended to anyone in the same class. The hybrid power train currently applied to Torres will also be applied to Actian. It seems to help increase the sales volume of KGM.
One line review
Advantage: High-performance hybrid powertrain led by motors..He is also very quiet.
Disadvantage: Virtual sound is too loud when stopping..I hope the gear operation will be improved
Editor Song Moon-cheol mc.song@carguy.kr
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
