Dongfeng Nammi: Stylish all-rounder

While crossovers remain the dominant body style for electric vehicles (EV) in the Philippines, a good deal of hatchbacks have also risen in prominence in recent years. 

Hatchbacks, after all, despite having rather a smaller presence on the road, are easy to handle, especially for people who have just begun to drive. The diminutive type of car is likewise a breeze to park, and they can cut through the tight thoroughfares of in-city roads with ease. 

Dongfeng Motor Philippines is thoroughly aware of the advantages of hatchbacks; and with that, it brought in the Nammi - a stylish EV subcompact hatch sized a smidge above the Nanobox.

Priced at P1.238 million, the Nammi is touted to be a relatively accessible EV hatchback that does not compromise safety and comfort. So, does the aforementioned hold true in real on-road driving? Also, how does the Nammi feel to drive? Zigwheels Philippines found the answer to the said questions when we borrowed the Dongfeng Nammi Box for a few days.

Exterior

The Dongfeng Nammi is definitely a looker. As we drove it around Metro Manila, it caught the attention of other drivers and pedestrians more than once. 

Granted, most people who are unfamiliar with a relatively new car model will look at it with curious intent, but the one or two utterances of “wow” or “cute” clearly refer to the Nammi’s distinctive design.

For starters, it wears a familiar hatchback outline that was enhanced with a pair of sharp-looking LED headlamp clusters, an LED daytime running lamp bar, and plenty of smooth curves all around. 

Up front, the all-electric car sports a closed-off front grille, while its rear comes with a roof-mounted spoiler and a black-colored rear bumper. Likewise interesting are its flush door handles, its frameless doors, and its almond-shaped LED taillights. Completing the appearance of the Dongfeng Nammi EV is a set of 17-inch wheels.

Here is a table summarizing the dimensions of the Dongfeng Nammi:

Length (in millimeters)	4,030
Width (in mm)	1,810
Height (in mm)	1,570
Wheelbase length (in mm)	2,660

Interior

Inside, the Dongfeng Nammi received a well-arranged cabin with ample room for up to five adult-sized occupants. 

With regard to the author’s wide five-foot, eleven-inch frame, the driver’s seat had ample room. Plus, the model comes with power-adjustable seats — making it easy to find one’s ideal position. Prepping the car for a drive and cooling it up during hot days is also made effortless and convenient thanks to its remote starting feature.

Likewise notable is the height of the center console elbow rest. It is positioned just right and is rather comfortable thanks to its soft leather covering. 

Speaking of which, most of the dashboard is likewise clad in quilted leather, which served to enhance the cabin’s overall appearance. The car’s seats and large sections of its interior door cards are wrapped in soft leather as well. 

The arrangement of its controls does have some quirks, but with enough practice, it will become second nature to most users. Its automatic climate control is also relatively easy to use despite being tied to the car’s 12-inch infotainment system. Plus, many will appreciate the easy-to-reach placement of its wireless charging pad, which can be found on the tip of the center elbow rest. 

Going back to its main display, it is fairly responsive and very legible. The sound quality of its six-piece speaker system is also good, but users will have to download a third-party app to use the infotainment system’s smartphone mirroring feature. 

Over to the rear is a roomy bench-type seat good for up to three. The Nammi’s interior, however, has a trick up its sleeve that makes it great for camping trips.

Specifically, it comes with “Lie Flat” front seats, which can be folded flat to form a contiguous soft-like platform together with the rear bench seat. The said surface can be utilized as a cushy sleeping space during outdoor sojourns. 

In addition, the Dongfeng-made EV comes with a vehicle-to-load function with up to 3.3 kilowatt external discharge capacity. The aforementioned may also become handy during camping trips for powering up a vast variety of gadgets and tools.

Other noteworthy amenities available inside the Dongfeng Nammi include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• Leather-wrapped steering wheel
• Frameless anti-glare rearview mirror
• 12-volt accessory outlet
• USB Type-A port
• Ambient lighting system
• Smart key with passive entry and start
• Five-inch digital gauge cluster
• Bluetooth

Safety

In contrast to many electric and internal combustion-powered hatchbacks sold in the local market, the Dongfeng Nammi comes with a great deal of safety gear. 

For its basic kit, it has dual front airbags, anti-lock braking, traction control, electronic stability control, hydraulic brake assist, hill-start assist, tire pressure monitoring, a 360-degree view camera, and ISOFIX child seat anchors. 

We didn’t get to test many of its standard safety features, but the tire-pressure monitoring is a must-have for fastidious car owners. Also, the video display of its 360-degree view camera worked well even at night. 

Reinforcing the said basic safety gear on the Nammi is a suite of advanced driver-assist systems (ADAS), which include: 

• Automatic emergency braking
• Traffic jam assist
• Intelligent high beam control
• Lane keep and centering assist
• Adaptive cruise control
• Forward collision warning
• Highway assist
• Automated park assist

With multiple ADAS features working together, the Dongfeng Nammi can provide plenty of ways to relieve driver fatigue. Mind you, it isn’t fully autonomous, but its systems work well, especially on highways with clear traffic signs and road markings. 

It's park assist, however, is totally automatic. Simply select on the central touchscreen the parking slot it detected, and it will slowly but surely reverse into the said slot. Be aware, though, that the said system will only work on parking slots with striping and markers. 

Powertrain

At maximum, the Dongfeng Nammi’s single motor and lithium iron phosphate battery setup can generate up to 93 horsepower and 160 Newton-meters (Nm) of torque. It also has Economy, Comfort, and Sport drive modes, a Type 2 (CCS2) charging port, a direct current (DC) fast charging capability, regenerative braking, and a range of 430 kilometers (km). 

In the city, the Dongfeng Nammi is a comfortable cruiser. Despite its simple torsion beam rear suspension, it can adequately handle speed bumps and road imperfections. The steering system of the car is also light and responsive. Plus, its regenerative braking is strong enough to stop the car when traveling at slow bumper-to-bumper speeds. 

On open roads, the Nammi can easily perform overtakes due to its instant torque and its very responsive accelerator. Cruising at 90 kilometers per hour is likewise doable without a fuss. At highway speeds, tire noise can be audible, though it isn’t too loud or annoying.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see its DC fast charging in action. However, topping it up with 9.38 kilowatt hours (kWh) took around two hours with a slow seven-kilowatt station. 

Here is a table summarizing the outputs and basic mechanical details of the Dongfeng Nammi: 

Motor setup	Single Permanent Magnetic Synchronous motor
Battery capacity	42.3 kWh
Range	430 km
Drivetrain	Front-wheel-drive
Horsepower	93
Torque	160 Nm
Front suspension	MacPherson strut
Rear suspension	Torsion beam
Brakes	Front and rear discs

Final thoughts

Overall, the Dongfeng Nammi is a good contender in the hatchback EV niche. It drives well on both in-city roads and highways, has a decent safety kit, and has a reasonable amount of creature comforts. As such, we can declare that it is a competent all-rounder and well worth its asking price of P1.238 million.

So, does it have any downsides? Well, one can expect the usual EV-related pain points with the Nammi. Examples include not having enough EV charging infrastructure around the country and the time it takes to fill it up if a DC charging station is not available. 

People who are attracted to what the Nammi is offering, however, should visit the nearest Dongfeng dealership for a test drive. Plus, the EV model currently comes with a P8,000 downpayment promo (subject to bank approval) at the following dealerships:

• Dongfeng Ortigas Avenue
• Dongfeng Marikina
• Dongfeng Marcos Highway
• Dongfeng Caloocan
• Dongfeng Alabang
• Dongfeng Bacoor
• Dongfeng Pampanga
• Dongfeng Tarlac
• Dongfeng Davao

Who knows, you might just fall in love with this stylish hatch.

Also read:

Dongfeng Motors PH plans to retail 2k units in 2025

Dongfeng Nissan unveils all-new N7 EV at Auto Guangzhou 2024

Diamond Auto, Top Offroad PH collabs to build adventure-ready EV

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