Testing the Vinfast VF 6: Vietnam's EV for Europe

DW (English)

Vietnam’s VinFast VF 6 — an electric SUV offering style, range, and ambition. Compact, confident, and surprisingly refined, it’s a bold debut from a newcomer with big global plans. REV puts it to the test.

Transcript

00:00When I talk to people and mention the name VinFast, most of the time I will hear, never

00:10heard of that.

00:11And that's no wonder the carmaker is mainly known in its home market, Vietnam.

00:16But like any good Asian manufacturer, they decided, that's not enough, we also want

00:20to go to Europe, and this is one of their models, the VF6, we'll take a look at it right

00:26now.

00:27Welcome to Rev.

00:28The VF6 is a compact, fully electric SUV in the B segment.

00:38The VF6 is available with two different drivetrains, 130 kilowatts, 177 horsepower or 150 kilowatts,

00:46204 horsepower.

00:54The car is also available with two different trimlines, but don't think you can get every

00:58trimline with every engine, because the entry-level trimline is always coupled with the small engine,

01:05and the bigger one is always coupled with the upper trim level.

01:16The smaller version accelerates from zero to 100 kilometers an hour in a little more than

01:2110 seconds and has a top speed of 150 kilometers an hour, which is not exactly good.

01:27The bigger version, however, accelerates in just under nine seconds from zero to 100 kilometers

01:33an hour, and the top speed is 175 kilometers an hour, which is absolutely okay in all other

01:39markets than Germany.

01:40Germany, because in Germany on the left lane with the 175 kilometers an hour, you will be

01:45a traffic disturbance.

01:53What's identical, though, is the battery.

01:57It's always the same, just a little under 60 kilowatt hours.

02:01For the small version, that means a range of around 410 kilometers.

02:06And for the big one, due to the additional power of the engine, that means around 379 kilometers.

02:21The general driving impression in the VF6 is absolutely okay.

02:26Depending on the road conditions, you will, of course, feel especially the short bumps and

02:31the potholes.

02:32But that is not a thing to complain about, as it's also usual with other cars in that segment.

02:43When it comes to the noisiness of the interior, the VF6 is absolutely decent.

02:49Even if you go at speeds above 120, 130 kilometers an hour, it does not get that loud, especially

02:57considering the segment it's located in.

03:00So it is definitely suited for longer distance trips, of course, if you then recharge it.

03:07Of course, like any car nowadays, as you can hear, the VF6 has a lot of driver assistance systems.

03:19And those tend to be a little too fast with their beeping and warning, so you will mostly have

03:30no choice then to deactivate those, which you, by the way, have to do in the touch screen.

03:37So it's not very practical.

03:40A button to do that, like many other manufacturers have, would have been a good solution.

03:44Unfortunately, the VF6 does not have that.

03:49VinFast has recently closed all its showrooms in Germany and now sells its cars through local distributors.

03:56The interior of the VF6 is absolutely okay.

04:05It looks very decent.

04:07I've seen worse in other cars from also European manufacturers.

04:12The build quality seems to be very nice.

04:14Of course, we have the plus version.

04:16So this is vegan leather, which also looks very nice.

04:20The base version will have more of a cloth finish to the seats and also to the doors, I guess.

04:27The steering wheel, however, is always covered in vegan leather.

04:38A 12.9-inch infotainment system is also standard.

04:43It looks very good.

04:44Depending on what you use, sometimes it takes just one second to operate what you really wanted to do.

04:52But once you've used that function, the next time you use it, it will be quicker.

05:03Down here, you have the buttons to put the car in drive, neutral, reverse or park.

05:08They look quite nice.

05:10What I miss, however, is buttons to adjust the temperature because that is not found in this car.

05:17Instead, you will have to do that with the touch screen.

05:20I'm not a friend of that.

05:27Down here, you have two cup holders, a little net where you can put small things

05:31and two USB sockets, but those are located under the armrest.

05:36And talking about the armrest.

05:41I mean, sometimes you just have things that do not work as intended.

05:47You also have this little holder here where you can put your smartphone.

05:51And as you can see, it is open, so there is no problem.

05:56Even if your smartphone is bigger, you will be able to put it in there.

06:01The space in the back is okay.

06:08As you can tell, there is not very much legroom left.

06:11The headroom, however, is very good,

06:13even with the panoramic glass roof.

06:15That, by the way, is only standard in the higher version.

06:19For the regular version, you won't have that.

06:23There is no possibility to close this roof.

06:28By standard, it's quite dark, so that's not a problem.

06:36As you can also tell, my legs are up quite high and not resting on the seat.

06:41That is, of course, not a problem that only WinFast has.

06:44It's clear, an electric car does have the battery in the floor,

06:48and that's why it is rather high.

06:51And that's the result.

06:53However, I have to tell you, sitting back here is okay.

06:57The seats are a little hard, so I would imagine for very long-distance trips,

07:03you will feel that in your lower back.

07:07I'm talking about the very lower back.

07:09The infotainment system is Android-based.

07:15Right now, it's Android 9, but in the near future,

07:19there will be an update to Android 11,

07:21and maybe then this will also make the whole system work a little smoother.

07:27Of course, you can also connect your smartphone wirelessly via Android Auto and Apple CarPlay,

07:33because those come as standard in every version of the car.

07:43The recuperation can also be adjusted, but only via the touch screen, which is a little sad.

07:51For example, buttons at the steering wheel to do that would have been good,

07:55and it does not feature one-pedal drive, so you will have to apply the brakes.

08:03When it comes to charging, the VF6 is not exactly better or worse

08:09than most of the other cars in that segment.

08:12It will take around half an hour to recharge the battery from 10 to 80 percent.

08:24The thing that is not really good is the rear visibility

08:28due to the way the car is built and the very wide sea pillars.

08:36The rear window is very small, so if you look in the rearview mirror,

08:40you won't see very much of the roads or of the obstacles that might be there while parking.

08:47But VINFAST is, of course, aware of that fact, and that's why there are cameras that will show you a view

08:53of your car while maneuvering, and that way you can easily park despite of the small window.

09:08Just as quite a lot of other Asian manufacturers tend to do it,

09:11VINFAST offers seven years or 160,000 kilometers of warranty on their car,

09:17and this is even increased to eight years for the battery.

09:21So if you get such a car, then you will have peace of mind for quite a long time.

09:26The entry-level price for the VF6 is just under 35,000 euros in Germany,

09:39which is very good considering all the things you have in that car.

09:43Of course, you won't have a panoramic glass roof and other things just as 19-inch alloy wheels.

09:50The only thing I would really miss with the entry-level version is the additional power

09:56and the head-up display because that one is also only standard with the bigger version.

10:02The bigger version, by the way, has an entry-level price of just under 39,000 euros

10:06and then will come almost fully equipped, which, by the way, also includes heated and

10:11ventilated front seats, and those are very nice both in winter and in summer.

10:17VINFAST is a relatively new brand. It was founded in 2017, and it was only five years later that they

10:30decided to come to Europe, which shows how well it worked in their home market, Vietnam. And

10:37considering what a good package the VF6 is, I think it has good chances of finding friends in Germany and

10:44also in Europe.

10:54Summing up my VF6 experience, I have to say the car is absolutely decent, it drives well enough,

11:01it has a good range, and the standard equipment is good as well. The quality is also quite nice,

11:08however, it has minor flaws, but considering the entry-level price, that's absolutely okay.

11:12The only thing you have to take into account, if you plan to buy such a car,

11:16is the uncertainty of the future of the brand in Europe. Because they recently closed all their

11:22showrooms, but on the other hand, they just made a deal with a workshop chain that is quite big in

11:28Germany, so you will find one very near your location. So, one does not really know how will it

11:35be in the future. Overall, the Vinfast VF6 is a high-quality compact SUV with solid standard equipment

11:44and comfortable ride. It does have some minor drawbacks. Occasionally slow infotainment,

11:52limited rear visibility, and no physical AC buttons, but its price makes these flaws easy to overlook.

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