VinFast, Vietnam’s first volume automaker, has come
to the 2018 Paris Motor Show with two brand new models that are supposed to
capture the country’s natural beauty with their design.
The LUX A2.0 sedan and LUX SA2.0 SUV will be sold
worldwide as premium products, and will be manufactured at an all-new
state-of-the-art 335-hectare plant in Hai Phong, northern Vietnam. Deliveries
will commence locally in June of 2019.
Visually, both vehicles sport a chrome V emblem at
the center of their grille, plus a horizontal chrome stripe that merges with
the LED daytime running lights.
The sedan is defined by its long bonnet, stretched
out roofline, elongated C-pillar and overall balanced proportions. The SUV on
the other hand is more muscular, featuring flowing lines and a contrasting
matte black surround for the headlights, fog lights and air intakes. This, by
the way, is a seven-seater SUV, making it a really practical choice for
families.
Inside, we’re treated to a very clean and simple
looking dashboard design, with very few buttons and a large 10.4-inch
touchscreen display dominating the center console. The operating system (OS)
design is also said to be simple and elegant, as the homepage for example has
just three icons for top level access, plus a display showing the climate
control commands. Users can even swipe down for shortcuts the same way you would in an
Android or iOS smartphone.
Both the LUX A2.0 sedan and SA2.0 SUV will be
powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder petrol engine,
available with two outputs: 176 PS and 300 Nm and 231 PS and 350 Nm although the SUV will only be available with
the higher output. Mated to the engine is an eight-speed automatic transmission
and an optional four-wheel drive system as an upgrade over the standard
rear-wheel drive setup.
In a straight line, the LUX A2.0 sedan can
accelerate from zero to 100 km/h in 8.9 seconds with the 176 PS engine, and 7.1 seconds with the 231 PS unit. Meanwhile, the SUV
can hit the mark in 8.9 seconds with RWD and 9.1 seconds with AWD.
As for size, the sedan measures 4,973 mm in length, 1,900 mm in width, 1,464 mm in height and has a
2,968 mm-long wheelbase, whereas the SUV is 4,940 mm long, 1,960 mm wide, stands 1,773 mm tall and its wheelbase
measures 2,933 mm.