Li Auto Media Drive: Pampered, Spoiled and Electrified in August

I have been to countless media drives in my 25 years as a motoring journalist. I’ve driven all over the Philippines and even in other countries during these drives and eco runs, often switching places with other journalists in our convoy after a stint behind the wheel of one model, so we can all experience driving and riding the vehicle models included in the event. I’ve driven all kinds of vehicles from pickup trucks to ultra-luxury sedans during these events and one thing that I’ve never been asked is for me not to drive. Until now…

On a drizzling Thursday morning (August 21), my wife Shawie and I, along with several motoring media personalities, gathered at the Li Auto BGC showroom in Taguig City to start the first-ever Li Auto Philippines Media Drive. We learned that we will be driven from BGC to Cavite and then to Batangas to experience the comfort, innovation and safety technologies of the three Li Auto models – the L7 Pro 5-seat 2-row PHEV SUV, the L9 Ultra 7-seat 3-row PHEV SUV, and the Mega Ultra 6-seat 3-row all-electric luxury MPV.

Uh, wait… Did they say that we will be driven in these Li Auto EVs? As in chauffeured? Why?

From Their Target Customers’ Point of View

It turned out that Li Auto Philippines actually designed this particular media drive that way. Solomon Gao Fei, Li Auto Philippines’ Vice President of Operations, later told us that they wanted the participating journalists to experience the road trip from a passenger’s point of view. “The advanced technology of our three Li Auto models, as well as its price point, places our vehicles in the high-income segment, where owners and their family members are usually driven by their chauffeurs,” explained Solomon. “We would like you to write about the experience of being chauffeured in the Li L7 Pro, Li L9 Ultra, and Li Mega Ultra.”

Since there were several participating journalists and only three available test drive vehicles, we were grouped into batches where participants who weren’t assigned to be chauffeured in Li Auto models first rode in diesel-powered passenger vans that were hired specifically for the drive. From BGC to our first stop at Coffee Builders in Silang, Cavite, until our lunch stop at Mrs. Saldo’s Restaurant, also in Silang, Shawie and I rode happily in the van with our dear friends and fellow journalists Monch Henares and Arabelle Jimenez of Monchter Chronicles and Motourismo.

Like a Mega Star in the Li Mega Ultra

After a delicious five-course gastronomic delight at Mrs. Saldo’s Restaurant, Shawie and I, along with Andy Sevilla of Manila Standard/Market Monitor and Juan Paulo Papa of Zigwheels and Carmudi, were assigned to be chauffeured in the Li Mega Ultra all the way to Batangas. The drive was around two hours long but it was a luxurious treat not to be behind the wheel. The quiet operation of the all-electric Li Mega Ultra, its well-engineered NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) isolation system, the soft comfortable seats, great audio system, and cool automatic climate control system all worked in harmony to provide luxurious travel fit for a movie star, a captain of the industry, or even royalty. (Wait… Shawie is a Mega Star, isn’t she? Oops, wrong Shawie – she’s Shariffa not Sharon.- Ed.)

Because Andy and Juan Paulo were uh, … more rotund and heavyset than Shawie and me, we took the third row and gave them the second row dual large sofa seats, much to Shawie’s regret, especially when we learned that the front and second rows were equipped with ventilated seats and Spa-grade 16-point massage. Our third row feature heated seats like the front and second rows, which sort of compensated for the super-cold temperature settings of the auto A/C system. We wanted to watch a movie or listen to a concert to experience the Mega Ultra’s Li Platinum Audio System but the sheer luxury and tranquility of the drive (plus the filling and delicious lunch) lulled us to sleep.

Roller Coaster Ride into the Resort

We woke up when our convoy arrived at the entrance of the Nawa Wellness Resort in Calatagan, Batangas. Since the resort was built on a hilly terrain, the single-lane road going into the resort was like a roller coaster track, going up steep hills and going down equally steep inclines. The standard front and rear motor Smart 4WD of our Mega Ultra utilized its 536 horsepower (400 kW) and 542 Newton-meters of torque to make easy work of the hills while the Hill Descent Control (HDC), which is part of its long list of advanced driving assistance technologies, helped ensure our safety while navigating the steep slopes.

At Nawa Wellness Resort, we were again pampered with an ancient welcome ceremony, refreshing welcome drinks, great accommodations with a fantastic view, a sumptuous dinner, optional massages and a breathtaking environment. We even had our own “butlers” to carry our luggage, although we traveled light since this was just an overnight stay. Shawie opted to have her massage after dinner while I stayed in our room to learn more about the Li Mega Ultra, which is priced at around P5.99 Million. I just wished I had more time to ride in it and explore its other impressive features.

Rains, Memories and Camaraderie

Shawie and I were planning to walk around Nawa Wellness the next morning (August 22) but it was raining quite hard when we woke up. Our friends Monch and Arabelle also cancelled their plans to play pickle ball at the Nawa open court because of the rains. However, the sweet smell of rain dropping on the foliage around the resort reminded Shawie of her younger days when she was growing up in Jolo while it reminded me of my childhood dream to live in a house with a big garden. It’s so soothing to be out of the concrete jungle and into a more natural setting with trees, plants, flowers and grass all around.

We all checked out the resort at 12:00 noon and were ushered into our respective vehicles. Monch, Arabelle, Shawie and I were back in the diesel-powered backup van, which followed the convoy to Bag of Beans Café & Restaurant in Tagaytay City, where we were pampered (again) with another sumptuous lunch and camaraderie with Li Auto Philippines personnel led by the Public Relations and Brand Manager Patch Laubenia and Sales Officer Nilly delos Reyes. We were then ushered into our ride back to BGC, the Li L9 Ultra, along with Andy Sevilla and Justin Young of Visor.

The Pampered Drive Back   

Like the Mega Ultra, the P5.5 Million Li L9 Ultra has three rows. This time, Shawie and I took the 2nd row seats to experience the massager and relax during the drive back to the Li Auto showroom. Unlike the Mega, the L9 is an REEV (range extender electric vehicle), which means that it has a 1.5-liter turbocharged gasoline engine under the hood that acts like an onboard generator to charge the battery, thus eliminating the dreaded range anxiety. The L9 is also a PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle), which means that the battery can be fully charged using an external charger so its gas engine will not use fuel to generate the juice to charge the battery.

Like the Mega, the L9 features front and rear motor 4WD that provides a combined power of 443 hp (330 kW) and 620 Nm of torque to accelerate it from zero to 100 km/h in just 5.3 seconds and achieve an electronically controlled top speed of 180 km/h. Our L9 Ultra with 5 passengers on board tackled the hilly Tagaytay roads, CALAX (Cavite-Laguna Expressway), SLEX (South Luzon Expressway), and C5 Road back to the Li Auto BGC showroom with ease, confidence and power despite its 2,570-kilogram curb weight. We later found that our chauffeur programed the L9 suspension and power settings to “Sport” instead of “Comfort”, which lowered and stiffened the suspension a bit.

The Pampering Continues

When we arrived at the Li Auto BGC showroom, it was already early evening but the pampering continued to the point of already spoiling us. Car jockeys retrieved the personal vehicles of the participants from the nearby Uptown Mall parking lot, paid for the overnight parking fee, parked the vehicle right in front of the showroom where the staff carried the participants’ bags and placed these into their respective vehicles. Now, that’s first-class service all the way!

The Li Auto Media Drive truly demonstrated the brand’s marketing ethos. The L7, L9 and the Mega were designed to be like a “home away from home”, albeit a mobile home – comfortable, cozy and relaxed. The seats are not only comfortable and pampering but they can also be configured or adjusted to make staying in the vehicle over a long period of time – like when glamping (glamor camping) outdoors overnight with family or friends, or getting stuck in a gridlock for hours, or being chauffeured to far-away destinations (like we were) – utterly comfortable, spoiled and pampered. The Li L7, L9, and Mega were all designed to make us feel at home when we’re on the road, more so when we are being driven instead of driving.

To further extend our Li Auto experience – including trying out the “Queen Seat”, singing on the Karaoke, using the built-in cooler/warmer, or simply enjoying the sky view out of the large panoramic glass roof, Solomon graciously allowed us to drive the Li L9 Ultra home and use it to participate in the Eco Fun Run organized by the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (EVAP) the following day (August 23). But that’s another story…

Three days undergoing the Li Auto experience? Now, we’re not just pampered. We’ve been really spoiled, electrifyingly so! Thanks for the experience, Li Auto Philippines!

We’ll post our test drive review of the Li L9 Ultra in the “Driven” section soon. Watch out for it!