REVIEW | Zeekr 7X - Big on Toys, Speed and Space

How can this new SUV stand out in an increasingly crowded market?

China’s Zeekr may not be on UK shores quite yet, but a jaunt in its upcoming 7X SUV shows that it’ll be a rather fine way to get around for some. For others, it’ll be a curiosity. 

If you’re bored of reviews kicking off with potted histories of car companies you’ve never heard of, then I apologise because we have to play that song again today. Zeekr (not to be confused with similarly sounding Zika virus) is a Chinese brand, riding high on the huge wave of investment that the country has thrown at EV tech. It’s part of the Geely family of manufacturers, which means that even though it’s only been going since 2021 its backing is both huge and advanced. The 7X SUV is the firm’s latest car and even though its parent company is based in China, it spent most of its time being designed and developed in Europe. This is all well and good, but the car needs to be on par with what Europe has to offer for that to hold water. 

What do you get for your money?

Well, this is a five-seat SUV with two battery options and two drivetrain options. I played in the top-spec Privilege AWD which gets a 100kWh battery that feeds two motors that deliver 630hp and 524 lb-ft to all four wheels. On the WLTP cycle, it’ll go 337 miles on a charge, but its party piece is its performance. Accelerating from 0-62mph can be done in 3.8 seconds and putting your foot fully to the floor will take you up to 130mph. You can get the same battery hooked up to one fewer motor leaving you with a still punchy 416bhp RWD car and 382 miles of range, too. There’s a 75kWh battery, 298 mile range RWD option as well, but Zeekr doesn’t expect it to do the same kind of numbers. 

Design & Style

Designed in Sweden, the 7X is a looker. Ok, it’s got a touch of the modern SUV ‘egg’ look to its torso, but there are some neat details - the bandit mask over its headlamps give a whiff of Ferrari Daytona (or 12 Cilindri if you’re a modernist), its body curves in on itself neatly, and there’s a hell of a step over its rear haunch to make it look sporty and such. A car of its size is never going to make it to the Fourth Plinth, but the 7X will at least look good as it rolls down the high street. 

Interior

Inside isn’t unpleasant either, though it’s hardly what you could call ‘characterful.’ It’s more minimalist, I’d say. There are more storage holes than I could easily count, which means all your stuff, your neighbour’s stuff, and maybe even your nan’s stuff can easily fit in…somewhere within the 7X’s cabin. There are some neat touches, too, like cooled wireless chargers front and centre, a handful of actual buttons, and a 16-inch screen to sort nav/infotainment/everything else in the cabin. 

The actual buttons, before you celebrate, aren’t super useful. While the volume knob CHECK was handy, the ability to switch the A/C between circulation and bringing air into the cabin was not. Zeekr, that’s not the bit of the A/C normal people use. Make the temperature go up and down easily - not via the screen. 

While we’re on the screen…it’s very big, which will please techheads (as will its Snapdragon heart), but almost everything is run through it. You can play with a CG model of the car and open windows, doors, the boot, and other things, which is a neat touch (and something the Lotus Emeya and Eletre do, which isn’t a huge surprise given they’re also part of the Geely stable). Much like the Volvo EX30, you have to dig through menus to change the position of the wing mirrors. Yeah, it’s something you’re only likely to occasionally need to do, but it’s a huge pain in the arse should the moment arise.

If you want to play with drive modes - Sport, Comfort, Eco, Off-Road, Winter, Personal, Snow - you can press a button on the steering wheel to swap them but to fine tune them (steering weight, brakes, etc) you have to use the screen. The fact you can choose your own adventure is a good thing, digging through menus to tweak your drive while you should be concentrating on the road less so. When you’re on the move, there’s a decent HUD to keep an eye on for speed limit changes, nav directions, and other bits - it’s not the newest tech, but it’s handy. 

Needlessly Quick Performance

With a big battery and two motors on board, you can’t say the 7X is slow. It’s, if I’m being honest, needlessly quick. Zeekr’s desire to be a performance brand is undeniable, but, even with more than 2.5 tonnes to shift, I can’t think of any reason you’d ever need the full breadth of its performance on the regular. Apart from to show off, of course. In the real world, you’d probably be happier with slightly less grunt and a few more rear driven miles of range. 

On the AWD car, you can adjust the steering, brake regen, suspension height, damping stiffness, and ferocity of the powertrain as you go. The best way to play with it, really, is to keep everything set to standard and turn on one pedal driving. It rides just fine in standard mode, with the softest setting feeling a little too spongy, and the harshest a touch tooth rattling. The steering isn’t the most dynamic in the world, so don’t go in expecting to feel like some sort of race car hero. 

However you like your throttle response, power delivery is smooth as silk, and can be overwhelming if you want to show off. Brake regen can be a little grabby, but with careful modulation of the throttle, you can overcome it - be sure to check on passengers to see how they feel about the one pedal mode. I found it fine, but mileage may vary depending on who’s in the passenger seat. 

Zeekr says the top spec AWD car will manage 337 miles on a charge, and after a good slug of mixed driving in damp conditions with a slight bite in the air, it clipped 2.7 miles/kWh. Not too shabby, but a way off the 3.1 that was promised. 

In Conclusion…

The 7X (and Zeekr as a brand) isn’t heading to the UK until next year, which means things may change before it gets here. Pricing in Europe starts at €52,990 for the RWD small battery car. For some, the big toys, big speed, and big space will be enough to get a decent number of bums on seats. For others, despite the fact it’s a Geely car, seeing another unknown logo on another grey EV SUV may confuse, and send them to a brand they’re more familiar with. Zeekr has a job to do to stand out from the increasingly crowded market. Maybe putting useful buttons in sensible places might tip it over the edge?

words: Alex Goy
pictures: Zeekr