In the early autumn, I came to Yili, the "South of the Great Wall" in the beautiful Xinjiang,
There are 9 bends and 18 bends with continuous 180-degree bends.
There is the Yizhao Highway with the highest altitude of more than 3000 meters,
There are river beach roads, gravel roads, and even some places without roads.
Facing the many tests of the great beauty of Xinjiang,
Driving all the way, wonderful unlimited!
If you don't go to Xinjiang, you don't know how big China is. If you don't go to Yili, you don't know the beauty of Xinjiang. How beautiful is Yili? This time driving the Buick Angla GX, experience the south of the Great Wall, poetry and painting Yili. At the same time, it is also a big test for the performance of the vehicle. Traversing complex and varied terrain and road conditions, I have a rich first-hand experience of this high-end compact SUV.
I had a special self-driving trip in Yili, Xinjiang, the United States——
This trip
Transfer flight from Urumqi to Yining
Start the self-driving tour of the "2019 Buick SUV Strong Experience Camp"
Facing the first ray of dawn in the morning, our team set off with high spirits
Xinjiang is really a paradise for self-drivers. The magical natural landscape, grasslands, icebergs, forests, lakes, Gobi, deserts, etc., are all concentrated on this vast land. Mongolian yurts in twos and threes, leisurely sheep.
The climate here is suitable, with green grass, wild flowers blooming, and flocks of sheep everywhere. Driving on this land, stopping to take pictures at any time is a big shot.
Starting from Yining, go to Zhaosu County, along the Yizhao Highway, cross the Zhongtian Mountain, and rise from Yining at an altitude of 600 meters to 3000 meters.
The Yizhao Highway is a shortcut from Yining to Zhaosu, and it is also a section of the "Gongyue Road" of the ancient Silk Road. It is known as one of the most dangerous and scenic roads in Xinjiang. It climbed over the entire majestic Tianshan Mountains and crossed the snow-capped peaks at an altitude of 3,000 meters. It is a thrilling mountain road with countless 360° turns.
Led by the team leader, we increased the horsepower, experienced the feeling of galloping, and stepped on the floor oil one by one while maintaining a safe distance between cars. In fact, for us self-driving enthusiasts, we have high requirements for the practicality and safety of a car, and of course the appearance is also very important. Who doesn't want to take beautiful photos to show off their circle of friends when they go out on a trip? Haha, I found out that I did it this trip.
After driving for a period of time, I personally feel that the interior space of Angkola GX is very comfortable, and the support of the seats is also very good. Although it is a compact SUV, it does not feel narrow and oppressive at all when sitting in it. I still have to carry a lot of luggage during the trip, two big boxes and three small boxes are fully loaded into the car.
The beautiful scenery along the way is infinite, and the "Baishi Peak" passing by is very magnificent. In ancient times, after the snow melted, the soil on the surface of the mountain was lost together, leaving only white rocks that are extremely dazzling.
After passing the White Rock Peak, we still need to cross a higher Daban—Angelet Bing Daban. Even in summer, there is still snow on the mountain, and the mountains on both sides are steep. Our team can be said to be Drive on the mountain face.
Generally, when driving on a narrow and dangerous road section with continuous sharp bends, people will be very nervous. But Angkola GX has good body rigidity, strong overall feeling when cornering, coupled with the excellent toughness of the suspension system, the body will not tilt too much when cornering, this feeling is particularly good, involuntarily Full of confidence. This is too important for a female driver.
Through all kinds of driving on mountain roads, it is completely possible to achieve fuel-efficient and comfortable driving through a safe distance between vehicles and control of the accelerator. In order to increase the fun, our team also conducted a competition on who is the most fuel-efficient.
Coming down from the mountain, my overall feeling is that the power of this car is indeed sufficient, which changed my previous impression of the three-cylinder engine.
During driving, the interior of the car is quiet enough, and I took a short break halfway through, and I didn't feel any noise at all. I also observed it, and the vibration when starting up returned to calm in an instant, and there was no vibration or sound in the car. It seems that it has something to do with the firewall and sound insulation cotton in the engine compartment of this car.
Precipitous mountain roads and natural scenery, the convoy came to the legendary ancient city - Bagua City Tekes after the Yizhao Highway was completed. The city is famous for its Bagua layout. Bagua City is radially circular, and the street layout is like a magical maze, with roads interlinked and streets connected. The high-altitude aerial photography is so beautiful.
Bagua City has strong folk customs, rich history and culture, and of course food. It is recommended to find an authentic restaurant to eat lamb chop slices, lamb chop soup with noodles, it is very delicious. Skewers of lamb with red willow, the meat is really fat and thin, squeaking and oily, and the fragrance is tangy.
Leaving Tekes Bagua City, drive along the X766 line on the Kalajun Grassland Highway. The Kalajun tourist area is the area with the richest biodiversity and the highest aesthetic value in the "Xinjiang Tianshan" World Natural Heritage Site, and is known as "the most beautiful three-dimensional grassland in China".
In addition to the vast grasslands, there are also the Kuokesu Grand Canyon known as the "Oriental Colorado", the Crocodile Bay Scenic Area and beautiful lakes. Here you can fully appreciate the uncanny craftsmanship of nature.
Here, we have more time to experience the Angkola GX carefully, and the driving is full of fun. Lightly step on the accelerator, the vehicle can respond quickly, and you can press the AWD button in front of the gear lever to manually switch to the two-wheel drive mode, which is more fuel-efficient to drive.
Although it is autumn, the sunshine in Xinjiang is still warm. In addition to experiencing the fun of driving, you can also play rafting here. The water is fast and the scenery is beautiful.
Off-road test drive
It's the part I'm most looking forward to
Crossing canyons and mountains, nearly 50 kilometers of sandstone ridges
endless steep hills
This has always been an off-road paradise for professional SUV players
Driving on grasslands and sandy terrain, bumps and downhill off-road sections make people feel the passion of speed. Every operation requires extreme care. Side skidding, downhill, and climbing, the stability of this car gave me a lot of confidence.
The slopes here are all above 60 degrees plus sand and grass. When going uphill, the initial speed reaches the point where the slope rises steeply, and then step on the accelerator to the end! Because the slope is too steep, there must be some circuitous routes to prevent the wheels from being trapped by the sand and to play the direction back and forth. At the end of the experience, park your car on the top of the slope and take a beautiful photo. It's so photogenic.
In addition to self-driving on mountain roads, we also conducted a field test drive. On bumpy roads and wading roads, Angkola GX has shown its due outstanding performance.
In the pile-around test, it has a distance of 22 centimeters from the ground, and it does not show the problems of high center height and serious roll of other SUVs at all, and the lateral support of the suspension to the body is very good.
This self-driving experience in Xinjiang, Buick Ankara GX, can walk through gravel roads, dusty roads and continuous 180-degree bends in one go, which is really lovely. It is indeed rare for a compact SUV to have such excellent power, handling and off-road performance, and the overall cost performance is also very suitable.
