Home Forums Car Reviews Early Media Views and Reviews on VinFast Reply To: Early Media Views and Reviews on VinFast

  • Natalie Ly

    40 VF Points
    Member
    05/15/2023 at 22:19

    I posted this on Facebook but figure i should share here as well.


    It’s been more than 2 months since I picked up my VinFast VF8 City Edition Plus from Del Amo Showroom in Carson, California. I used to hate driving, but driving an electric vehicle like VF8 has been my favorite part of the day.

    I have been enjoying every moment of driving this car down the streets, so when not-so-nice articles coincidentally published on the same day VinFast announced their public listing I feel the need to speak up as a current VinFast VF8 driver.

    Some people might come at me for calling myself an owner, so I decided to use a neutral noun for people like me who have leased the 2023 VinFast VF8 City Edition; hence the term “drivers” instead of owners.

    Let’s dive into some statements about VF8:

    1) Quite a few journalists experienced carsick while driving VF8:

    **Well, it took me 37 years, 72 days, 9 hours, and 30 minutes, but it finally happened: I got carsick for the very first time. I’d been driving the VinFast VF8 for less than an hour when my inner ear sounded the alarm and politely (read: urgently) requested I stop to get some fresh air. On the shoulder of a scenic road in San Diego County, I paced around the VF8 wondering what the hell was going on. But I wasn’t the only one in a state of confusion and nausea. My passenger wasn’t feeling so hot, either. ([2023 VinFast VF8 City Edition First Drive Review: Yikes (insideevs.com)](https://insideevs.com/reviews/666877/2023-vinfast-vf8-city-first-drive/)

    ** The VinFast VF8 has the worst body control of any modern car I’ve ever driven. Over a 90-minute drive, the 5600-lb SUV never stopped bobbing, swaying, and bucking, producing near-constant head-tossing motions. Riding in the passenger seat, I became car sick for the first time in years. When I switched seats with the driver, he felt queasy, too, even though he says he’s never been the type to get car sick. ([2023 VinFast VF8 First Drive: Simply Unacceptable (roadandtrack.com)](https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a43875030/2023-vinfast-vf8-first-drive-unacceptable/)

    => My VF8 has almost 2,300 miles. I have sat in the driver seat, front passenger seat and even in the backseat with my kids and have never experienced motion sickness. Other VF8 drivers in California who have driven 1,000 to 5,000 miles haven’t felt carsick either.

    => To be fair, some people in the passenger seat did complain about this point but never in the driver’s seat.

    2) No warning while ADAS is active:

    ** The car never once warned me to put my hands back on the wheel, and covering the driver-facing camera behind the steering wheel did nothing. ([2023 VinFast VF8 First Drive: Return to Sender (motortrend.com)](https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2023-vinfast-vf8-electric-suv-first-drive-review/?fbclid=IwAR02zyeCYZ3x5fguUHqhWvtrV9xfhgHUT7SnQeOzJl9gRSu1DsOz3JjoQ6o)

    =>This point is not true at all. Every 15 seconds if hands are not on the steering wheel, it will beep and alert on both the 15.6” screen and the HUD.

    3) Annoying Speed limit warning:

    ** The speed limit warning system is equally obnoxious. Fully engaged, it beeps wildly every time you exceed the speed limit or your set variance by 1 mph. You can turn that off, but you can’t turn off the beeps that ring out every time the speed limit changes as you drive down the road. ([2023 VinFast VF8 First Drive: Return to Sender (motortrend.com)](https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2023-vinfast-vf8-electric-suv-first-drive-review/?fbclid=IwAR02zyeCYZ3x5fguUHqhWvtrV9xfhgHUT7SnQeOzJl9gRSu1DsOz3JjoQ6o)

    => This point is somewhat true. By default, it beeps at you for going 1mph over speed limit. However, you can adjust the offset to 10 mph max and turn off chimes in the settings. Please note that whenever it doesn’t detect a speed limit sign, it will beep at you if you go even at 10 mph.

    4) Cabin noise:

    ** Then there’s the interior noise […] The tire and road noise, though, would make an old Honda blush. [2023 VinFast VF8 First Drive: Return to Sender (motortrend.com)](https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2023-vinfast-vf8-electric-suv-first-drive-review/?fbclid=IwAR02zyeCYZ3x5fguUHqhWvtrV9xfhgHUT7SnQeOzJl9gRSu1DsOz3JjoQ6o)

    => I don’t find this car loud. Noise level is the same as my Subaru Forester.

    5) Bricked car:

    ** Yep, I tried two Vinfast V 8 City Edition cars and both bricked their driver-assist systems. Mind you, the cars were both still drivable, but with a big, fat Service Required icon. ([Review: Don’t buy the 2023 Vinfast VF 8 City Edition (greencarreports.com)](https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1139636_2023-vinfast-vf-8-city-edition-test-drive-review?fbclid=IwAR3wG_rgT4ZJh6oJcvPRryTdGu_iUWIWDdhnpD9K8n46a_IS0ie1G92L_fk)

    => It might be true that the “Service Required” is on, but the car isn’t “bricked”. False alarms are something that VF should work on. From drivers’ experiences, VF driver assist system is quite stable.

    6) No one-pedal driving:

    ** There is no one-pedal driving here, but there are two levels of brake regen. The strongest setting will slow the car down appreciably, leaving it to creep at 5 mph or so until the brake pedal is applied. ([Review: Don’t buy the 2023 Vinfast VF 8 City Edition (greencarreports.com)](https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1139636_2023-vinfast-vf-8-city-edition-test-drive-review?fbclid=IwAR3wG_rgT4ZJh6oJcvPRryTdGu_iUWIWDdhnpD9K8n46a_IS0ie1G92L_fk)

    => If you’re comparing the aggressiveness of high regenerative braking like Tesla then it would be a Yes, but to say “there is no one-pedal driving here” is not true. VF’s high regen with Creep mode off can be slowed down to a stop with proper planning. My husband and I were able to one-pedal drive with VF8 on city streets.

    7) Brake doesn’t release until step on accelerator:

    ** 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 backward into another car at an intersection like someone learning to drive stick. ([2023 VinFast VF8 First Drive: Return to Sender (motortrend.com)](https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2023-vinfast-vf8-electric-suv-first-drive-review/?fbclid=IwAR02zyeCYZ3x5fguUHqhWvtrV9xfhgHUT7SnQeOzJl9gRSu1DsOz3JjoQ6o)

    => Releasing brake by stepping on accelerator is 1 way, but we can also manually release the brake by pressing the emergency brake button below steering wheel.

    8)Drive mode Normal:

    ** Our car defaulted to Normal drive mode, High regenerative braking, and Creep mode on […] Barely touch the pedal, and the car leaps forward, but lay into it, and there’s a pause followed by a slow build of power. [2023 VinFast VF8 First Drive: Return to Sender (motortrend.com)](https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2023-vinfast-vf8-electric-suv-first-drive-review/?fbclid=IwAR02zyeCYZ3x5fguUHqhWvtrV9xfhgHUT7SnQeOzJl9gRSu1DsOz3JjoQ6o)

    => Your vehicle leaped forward because Creep mode was on. Turn off Creep mode then the car won’t move forward.

    9) Cheap materials:

    ** But then you get inside and things fall apart. Not literally, though I did almost break one of the seat adjustment toggles, and the center console lid on one of the display cars was halfway popped off. The entire door panel flexes when you pull the handle from inside, and the seats are as stiff as they are flat. ([2023 VinFast VF8 City Edition First Drive Review: Yikes (insideevs.com)](https://insideevs.com/reviews/666877/2023-vinfast-vf8-city-first-drive/)

    => This is totally unhinged. VF built and material are quite good and solid. No current VF8 driver complains about this.

    10) Bad steering:

    ** Steering, too, is the worst I’ve experienced on a production car. There is zero feel. Not zero feel in the hyperbolic way some people use to describe modern BMWs or boring CUVs, zero feel as in no relation between what I felt happening as I turned the wheel and what the wheels were actually doing. The turn in was relatively lazy and then somewhere in the ratio it gets sharper, but with no complementary change in force required. Mid-way through a corner, the nose would suddenly tuck in and upset the balance of the car, which was already listing over in unpredictable ways. Anything more than a dawdling pace felt sketchy. ([2023 VinFast VF8 First Drive: Simply Unacceptable (roadandtrack.com)](https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a43875030/2023-vinfast-vf8-first-drive-unacceptable/)

    => Have good control overall but the turning radius still cannot compete with my Subaru cars.

    11) EPA rated mileage:

    ** Multiple articles reported the EPA range 207 and 197 for Eco and Plus Trims.

    => Driving my Plus trim for more than 2 months, I’ve gotten 2.8 – 3 miles/kWh ~ roughly 229 – 246 miles per full charge.

    12) Unable to listen to radio if hasn’t put on seatbelt:

    ** Myriad other systems on the car did work, but in suboptimal ways. It starts the moment you get in and continues until you get out. Sit down in the driver’s seat, and the screens come on, but no functions work until you buckle your seat belt and put your foot on the brake. So no listening to the radio or turning on the fan without your seat belt on. ([2023 VinFast VF8 First Drive: Return to Sender (motortrend.com)](https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2023-vinfast-vf8-electric-suv-first-drive-review/?fbclid=IwAR02zyeCYZ3x5fguUHqhWvtrV9xfhgHUT7SnQeOzJl9gRSu1DsOz3JjoQ6o)

    => I’m not sure how to say this but our family is able to do plenty of things without seatbelt: karaoke, listen to radio, turn on fan etc.

    => Let’s just say there are certain things you can do once you are assigned as the primary driver profile on VF8. VinFast as primary driver profile still limits you from doing certain things.

    => With confidence, I can affirm you that the car with a VinFast driver profile doesn’t get to experience the full potential of the infotainment.

    13) Navigation has to be hotspot from a phone rather than the car’s wifi itself:

    ** The only way I can get the native navigation system to work in my tester is to hotspot the system off of my drive partner’s phone. I repeat, I have to give the car internet to use the built-in navigation system. ([2023 VinFast VF8 City Edition First Drive: Just Don’t – The Autopian](https://www.theautopian.com/2023-vinfast-v8-city-edition-review-it-breaks-do-not-buy/)

    => Primary profile has to be transferred into owner’s profile to properly activate a whole bunch of features including internet and navigation.

    14) Seat heaters and seat ventilation:

    ** The seat heaters get dangerously hot if left on too long, and the seat ventilation on our car was so weak it took several attempts to determine if it was working at all. On another car, they apparently worked great but were extremely loud, a poor trade-off. ([2023 VinFast VF8 First Drive: Return to Sender (motortrend.com)](https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2023-vinfast-vf8-electric-suv-first-drive-review/?fbclid=IwAR02zyeCYZ3x5fguUHqhWvtrV9xfhgHUT7SnQeOzJl9gRSu1DsOz3JjoQ6o)

    => I’m not sure what went wrong here. My seat heaters and seat ventilations work properly and not loud as described.

    15) 360 cam:

    ** Outward visibility is otherwise quite good, which matters because the 360-degree camera system is terrible. The resolution is akin to security camera footage from the ’90s, and the latency is as bad as online gaming in the same time period. ([2023 VinFast VF8 First Drive: Return to Sender (motortrend.com)](https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2023-vinfast-vf8-electric-suv-first-drive-review/?fbclid=IwAR02zyeCYZ3x5fguUHqhWvtrV9xfhgHUT7SnQeOzJl9gRSu1DsOz3JjoQ6o)

    => The 360 camera offers both surround view (big screen) and the top down view (small screen). In my experience, the top down view has been extremely useful to park in tight spots.

    Something to mention as someone who’s driven VF8 for more than 2 months:

    · VF8 is an eye-catcher and a conversation starter. I have shown off my car to any VinFast-curious.

    · VF8 does take a long time waking up from deep sleep. If not properly warmed up, yellow and red warnings will appear affecting the drive.

    · VF8 can be integrated with Alexa and Google Home. We have been able to command Alexa to open/ close garage door remotely, to turn on/ off lights in the house and etc.

    · Both VinFast’s AI and Alexa or Google Home are on at the same time. VinFast’s AI is on the top of the screen while Alexa or Google Home will show at the bottom of the screen. This means you can command either VinFast AI or Alexa/Google Home.

    · VinFast should transfer profile to new owner on delivery date, so new owners can fully experience all features.

    · VinFast customer service is very responsive to any request. They’ll provide loaners or reimburse car rentals while car is being serviced.

    All in all, there are areas for improvement for VinFast VF8. With future OTA updates, I believe this first gen VF8 and the full range VF8 will be greatly enhanced.