Li Auto's new MEGA is sticking to its guns despite the haters

Li Auto just dropped the new MEGA Home, and it’s clear they aren't interested in playing it safe just to avoid internet trolls. Two years ago, the original MEGA’s "high-speed rail" silhouette—a teardrop shape with a 0.215Cd drag coefficient—was mocked for not looking like a traditional luxury MPV. Instead of pivoting to a boring, upright grille design to appease the critics, the new model doubles down on that polarizing original logic.

The price tag is set at 50.98万元 (approx. $71,000 USD). Interestingly, this is exactly the same price as the new L9 Livis. While the L9 is positioned as a high-tech smart terminal, the MEGA is leaning entirely into the "mobile living room" concept.

Hardware upgrades and the "Elephant Welcome"

The most significant technical addition is rear-wheel steering. For a vehicle over 5.3 meters long, this is a massive deal. By combining steer-by-wire with rear-wheel steering, Li Auto has slashed the minimum turning radius from 6.2m down to 5.5m—making it maneuverable enough to compete with much smaller cars.

To handle the physics of a heavy MPV during emergency lane changes, they’ve introduced what they call the "800V Active Anti-roll Magic Carpet Chassis." This includes:

• Dual-chamber air springs
• Dual-valve CDC dampers
• An 800V active anti-roll bar with a 30ms response time

They even added a "party trick" called "Elephant Welcome." When you open the door, the chassis can tilt the car to one side in 1.5 seconds, lowering the threshold by 30mm to make entry easier for kids and the elderly. Simultaneously, the second-row seats rotate outward by 45 degrees.

A deep dive into the interior "Home" concept

The interior is where the "Home" branding actually manifests through high-end hardware:

• Seating: The first two rows now feature zero-gravity seats as standard. The second row has independent floating cushions with dedicated heating for headrests, lumbar, and leg rests. Even the third row has been upgraded with ventilation.
• Display & Compute: The cockpit features a 29-inch 6K OLED panoramic screen, while the rear gets a 21-inch 4K OLED mobile screen. Everything is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8797 chip.
• Thermal Comfort: They’ve added heating to 31 different locations, including door armrests and center consoles.
• Smart Tables: The first-row tables now feature automatic leveling, so the surface stays flat even if you recline the seat.

Specs and availability

If you are looking at the technical sheet, here is the breakdown for the MEGA Home:

• Battery/Range: 108kWh ternary lithium 5C battery; 710km CLTC range.
• Charging: Claims to add 500km of range in just 10 minutes.
• Driving Assist: Equipped with the Mach Dual-Embodied Intelligence kit, featuring two Mach M100 chips and four LiDAR sensors.
• Global Expansion: Li Auto is planning a right-hand drive (RHD) rollout for late 2026, targeting markets like Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Macau.

It’s a bold move. Most manufacturers, when faced with a design that gets ridiculed, opt for "evolutionary" changes that look like everything else on the road. Li Auto is betting that users value a distinct identity and specialized engineering over safe, conventional aesthetics. Whether the market agrees or not, the MEGA is definitely not another "me-too" product.