Today, the US press embargo seems to have broken the VinFast VF8 City Edition, the EV startup’s first product for these shores. I say “showed up” because Jalopnik was not invited to drive the SUV here at home, which is completely given. Kevin Williams’s rather disturbing review of the VF8 for this site in December, which he traveled all the way to Vietnam to do.
Well, the VF8 is on our turf right now, and based on our colleagues’ impressions of the automotive vehicle scene, absolutely nothing has changed, although these are being shipped to the public. actually, live as we say and cost north of $50,000. This car still needs all the work.
Let’s start with Scott Evans for Motorcycle Trends, who set the tone very early on. “I have flown camouflaged prototypes much closer to production readiness than the VF8 in production,” Evans writes. He continued:
I may not like the sound of the turn signals, but I hope it works every time I use it. One of the VF8s at the launch event failed to do that. Similarly, many VF8s (including our test car, which had less than 1,300 miles on the odometer) have HVAC systems that will only blow cold air when set below 80 degrees, and only hot air when set above 80 degrees, but never warmed or cooled the air regardless of whether manual or automatic climate was selected. Another VF8 will reset the temperature to 80 degrees every time the car turns off and back on.
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Even the simple act of moving from a standstill in the VF8 — something every car must do at some point — is not a confidence-inspiring experience:
Put the VF8 in reverse to back out of a spot and the whole car shudders violently. The parking brake doesn’t release until you step on the accelerator, and once you do, there’s no hold function so you’d better keep “creep” mode engaged so it’s always sending power to the motors. Disable creep and the car will roll away in gear. I nearly rolled backwards into another car at an intersection like someone learning to drive stick.
The VF8 also made our good friend Steven Ewing getting sick, it’s an offense that we at Jalopnik have to bear. Steven is the most beautiful and deserves more than that. Either way, the fun ride and generally stubborn road manners have a lot to do with that, as he wrote for EV inside:
From a driving and handling standpoint, the VF8 needs big help. The suspension is crap and motion sickness is not even the biggest problem. Steering response is non-linear and inconsistent, and absolutely no feedback is transmitted through the wheels. That sucks, especially when you put the VF8 in Sport mode and the steering becomes uncontrollable. My car also pulls over to the right on flat surfaces, which is fun.
Mack Hogan and his stomach agree Road & Track:
The VinFast VF8 has the worst body control of any modern car I’ve driven. Over a 90-minute drive, the 5600 lb SUV relentlessly bobbed, swayed, and swayed, creating near-constant head-shaking motions. Sitting in the passenger seat, I got motion sickness for the first time in years. When I swapped seats with the driver, he also felt nauseous, even though he said he’d never been one to get motion sickness. However, despite the firmness you feel at impact, the VF8 is also sloppy and prone to excessive rollover in corners. It’s not clear if this is the result of poor tuning or fundamental issues with the car’s suspension geometry (control wings at the rear, “smart axles” at the front), but only ride quality alone is enough to exclude the VF8 from serious consideration.
Hogan specifically calls the steering system “unfeeling,” making the SUV “slim” when driven at normal speeds. Then there’s Emme Hall, whose VF8 laments that every aspect of its ADAS kit is dead or dying as soon as she sits in her tester. VinFast responded by giving her another one. Guess how that goes? As Hall explained to Autopian:
In the end, my second car had all of its ADAS features like the first car I used. The only way I was able to get the native navigation system working in my tester was to connect the system to my driving partner’s phone. I repeat, I have to give the car internet to use built in positioning system.
A representative of VinFast said that it will not happen to people who buy or rent cars, but I can participate any other means like a journalist and the navigation system works, so what?
Read enough of this, and you begin to recognize each other’s pain points. Poor interior materials with gaps on the dashboard fit the worst penalty frame you can think of from 20 years ago. The aforementioned driver assistance glitches and ringing bells don’t stop. The fact that even those supports do working, they do not impose any restrictions on the driver in keeping his hands on the steering wheel. It’s all pretty dire.
The positives? Some writers like the brake feel and recovery modes, most agree that the interior should be at least roomy despite the quality and color issues – including “Sunset Orange” and blue. “Deep Ocean” – is the highlight. Three points for VinFast!
But the real thing in common between all these accounts is that overnight, the VF8 dispels the notion that there are no more big cars for sale. Honestly, it’s hard to remember the last time a car was taken for granted; a car that every reviewer agrees is simply not ready. VinFast’s introduction page said the company aims to “lead the electric vehicle revolution”. Maybe it wasn’t prepared to lead — though it certainly left its mark on the state of play.
