The feature you never knew you wanted: Chinese SUV includes karaoke system
Not even the Partridge Family can top this for family sing-a-long roadtrip hell.
Some features designed for international markets just don’t work here – and this karaoke system offered by a Chinese car company is one of them.
Chinese electric vehicle (EV) brand Weltmeister (German for 'World Champion') is offering buyers of its mid-size W6 SUV a complimentary three-month subscription to the Thunderstone Karaoke streaming service for in-car use.
Further, there’s an offer to purchase a specific microphone to use in the car for a discounted rate of 388 yuan ($AU84). That’s 2000 hours of sing-a-long music in your car. Two. Thousand. Hours.
The Weltmeister W6 offers a 160kW/225Nm electric motor with a claimed 520km range and a 3.3kW port for vehicle-to-load (or vehicle-to-grid) output, allowing the car's battery to power small electrical devices, or return energy to the grid.
As well as karaoke, the infotainment system offers a voice-activated virtual assistant, is able to synchronise information between the car and a user’s phone, as well as offering a user-programmable interface for added customisation.
To enjoy your road-trip renditions of My Way and Wonderwall is a 10-speaker 3D surround sound system, which when in karaoke mode will even use the car’s interior ambient lighting to boost the party atmosphere.
Like most domestic-market EVs from China, there is very little chance we’ll see the W6 and its mobile karaoke function in Australia. And with that, you’ll hear another sound: a collective sigh of relief from every Australian parent.