Zeekr 7X review: The best premium electric SUV you can’t buy (yet)

If the Zeekr 7X were on sale in the UK right now, it would lay claim to being one of the best premium, mid-size, all-electric SUVs you can buy – assuming the price is right. Sadly, we’re going to have to wait until 2026 before we can buy one, by which time this fast-moving market may well have moved on.

Regardless, the Zeekr 7X offers a feeling of quality that doesn’t exist in the Tesla Model Y and is missing from many other rivals. It does what it needs to do well, if not spectacularly. The look is smart but generic, while the drive needs a bit more work for UK roads. We expect the 7X will get a few tweaks before next year to give it a better balance between feeling slightly floaty over dips, crests and through corners, while having a firm-ish ride at lower speeds.

The interior has some clever storage touches, some neat tech features like powered doors that open and close automatically, a lovely 16in touchscreen and plenty of space.

The range for the big battery car we drove is good at 382 miles and 400kW fast charging is seriously impressive. Find the right charger and the 7X can go from 10 to 80 per cent in around 16 minutes.

Zeekr and the 7X are expected to come to the UK next year, but until then we grabbed the chance to get behind the wheel of a 7X in Zeekr’s hometown of Hangzhou in China. We drove it on Chinese urban roads and considered its performance in all the most important areas of any new SUV.

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Independent rating: 8/10

We drove the top-spec 100kWh Zeekr 7X, which claims an impressive range of 382 miles, almost matching the Tesla Model Y. However, it outpunches the Tesla when it comes to charging speeds of up to 400kW, meaning even that big battery can get a 10 to 80 per cent charge in just 16 minutes – if there’s a suitable fast charger to hand.

In addition to the 100kWh battery, Zeekr is likely to also offer a 75kWh battery with a range just shy of 298 miles. The 10 to 80 per cent charge time drops to 13 minutes for this version.

On our test drive in China we found the Zeekr had a slightly odd ride. The car is firm at low speeds, but the body control was a little slack, meaning you’re likely to find your head bobbing as you go around corners or over longer undulations – that’s a rare combination. Zeekr tells us that it will tweak the car’s suspension before the car goes on sale in the UK and we didn’t find it uncomfortable anyway.

The air suspension does make it easy to adjust the car’s height, which Zeekr claims gives the car some mild off-roading ability as well as tackling speed humps. There’s no doubting the 7X’s performance either – it’s mighty quick with a best 0-62mph time of 3.8 seconds.

The inside of the Zeekr 7X is beautifully made, spacious and clever. It’s also easy to get in and out. The front doors are powered so you just press a button on the door pillar to open them, get in and put your foot on the brake to both start the car and shut the door.

The rear doors open to nearly 90 degrees for easy access, so you pretty much just step in and sit down. There’s loads of space in the back too, with a lovely full-length panoramic sunroof and clever drawers under the rear seats.

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The front seats are comfortable with heating, ventilation and massaging functions. But it’s the tasteful blend of quality materials that give the 7X a real premium feel inside. Like the rest of the car, the interior has been designed in Europe in Zeekr’s design studio in Gothenburg, and it shows – the quality on display is a league above the rival Tesla Model Y.

There’s good storage space inside the car, a decent-sized frunk under the bonnet and a huge 539l boot with fold-down rear seats too.

As you’d expect from a Chinese car maker, the Zeekr 7X is packed with tech. There’s every conceivable safety system on board, plus driver assistance features that will all be updated over the air via the car’s 5G data connection.

The 16in touchscreen looks good and features the latest Snapdragon chip, so it works quickly and smoothly. There are a few hard keys beneath the display, but lots of the controls will still need to go through the screen, or via voice control – which worked well on our test drive in China.

There’s a digital display in front of the driver plus, on our car, the best head-up display we’ve ever used. It measures 36in diagonally, features speed and navigation information, and will even show you live video footage of your blind spots when you indicate to change lanes.

Our car had a Dolby Atmos audio system on board, which included speakers in the headrests. Those speakers are also used for some of the instructions coming from the infotainment system.

We’re unlikely to see Zeekr cars in the UK until early 2026 – discussions with potential dealers are ongoing – but prices are set to be competitive with the big-selling Tesla Model Y. Zeekr Europe lists three models on its website: a Core rear-wheel drive model with a 75kWh battery that we’d expect to cost around £45,000, a Long Range rear-wheel drive car with a 100kWh battery that we think would cost just over £50,000, and then the range-topping Privilege all-wheel drive car with the biggest battery that will likely get a price just over £55,000.

Zeekr already has a European base, which should help with the supply of parts and lead to lower insurance costs. And the impressive ranges that Zeekr claims puts the 7X on a par with the Tesla and ahead of some other rivals.

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How long does it take to charge?

The Zeekr 7X gets 800V technology with super-fast charging at up to 400kW. Zeekr says the small battery will get a 10 to 80 per cent charge in 13 minutes, with the 100kWh battery taking just three minutes longer.

How much does it cost - is it worth it?

When the Zeekr 7X eventually arrives in the UK, we’d expect it to be competitive against the Tesla Model Y – our guess would be a price range from around £45,000 to just over £55,000.

Does Zeekr replace batteries for free?

As with all EVs, Zeekr will guarantee the battery for eight years.

Our team of motoring experts have decades of experience driving, reviewing and reporting on the latest EV cars, and our verdicts are reached with every kind of driver in mind. We thoroughly test drive every car we recommend, so you can be sure our verdicts are honest, unbiased and authentic.

The Zeekr 7X is designed and engineered in Gothenburg and built in China for a Chinese brand, and it has the might of Geely behind it. It’s very impressive too, but finding a real point of difference in an increasingly crowded market is the biggest challenge facing this lesser known brand.