The Steering Column By Leow Ju-Len

The Zeekr X Flagship offers Ferrari performance for less-than-BMW money

BY NOW, it’s clear that the electric car market has two kinds of buyers: those who want something battery-powered from a brand they recognise, like BMW or Mercedes, and those willing to try something new. Having been around only since 2021, Zeekr is decidedly for the bold-and-new folk, rather than the tried-and-true crowd.

Its first car for Singapore, the five-door, five-seat X, jumps into the compact Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) market with its elbows out. It shares much of its hardware with cars from Smart, Volvo, and Polestar, all of which are part of Zhejiang Geely’s sprawling empire. It’s a move from an established playbook, given how BMW, Volkswagen Group and others have been building multiple cars off the same basic components for decades.

Here, the main ingredient is a 66 kilowatt-hour battery that powers two variants: a rear-wheel drive Standard model with 272 horsepower and the Flagship version that I tested, which has two motors, all-wheel drive, and a potent 428 hp.

It wraps that hardware up in sharp edges, quirky lights and a jumble of creases and lines, all of which make the Zeekr X as eye-catching as a shiny robot peacock. Inside, things feel distinctly Scandinavian—no surprise, since the X came out of the brand’s Gothenburg design studio.

Muted greys dominate, complemented by touches of metallic copper, and the ambient light bar looks like LEDs encased in ice. Even the door panels have perforations that show a backlit cityscape. It all comes together to create a calming and sophisticated environment, especially when you set the ambient lighting to the “breathe” setting, and have it pulsate soothingly.

You won’t find physical buttons inside, with everything controlled via the 14.6-inch screen. And I do mean everything; even aiming the air-convents requires touch screen input, which is an annoying complication.

The interface is so packed with menus and icons that it takes some getting used to, but there’s an underlying sense of fun with the Zeekr X. The most playfully goofy feature is an external speaker that lets it mew like a kitten or neigh like a horse, both with enough gusto to make it sound like the car is practising for a stint at the Victoria Concert Hall.

More useful is the pre-set message that lets pedestrians know that you’re giving way. On the other hand, it can broadcast your voice when you have something saucy to say to them.

A long wheelbase gives the Zeekr X plenty of room for rear passengers, though the small windows mean it doesn’t feel quite as airy back there as the Smart#1. It does have a clear roof that lets light flood into the cabin, but there’s no sunshade, which is a bit of a miss.

The 362-litre boot isn’t massive, but it’ll manage a grocery run just fine, and if you fold the rear seats you get 1,182 litres, which would do for some trips to Ikea. The Flagship model has an unusual bit of storage in the form of a fridge cold enough to keep ice cream frozen, that also switches to a food warmer for when you’re tasked with bringing dinner home.

And you’ll get it home fast, too. The dual-motor setup propels the Zeekr X from 0 to100 kmh in a neck-snapping 3.8 seconds. You used to have to buy a Ferrari for that kind of acceleration, but now you don’t even need BMW money to get it.

That said, the handling doesn’t quite match the straight-line performance. The suspension is on the soft side, and the rear tends to squirm under hard acceleration. It’s not like the car feels in danger of sliding off into the barriers, but it never seems as composed as you’d like for something so powerful.

It’s better to drive in a relaxed way and play to the Zeekr’s strengths. It’s whisper quiet, even for an electric car, with virtually no wind or tyre noise, which makes the 13-speaker Yamaha sound system all the more enjoyable.

For that reason, I’d recommend the single-motor Standard version. It’s likely just as smooth and comfy, and just as nice inside. It hits 100 kmh in 5.6 seconds, which is still speedy enough to give, say, a VW Golf GTI a run for its money.

It also goes a bit further on a full charge (440km, versus 420 km for the Flagship). Mind you, the car uses nickel cobalt manganese battery chemistry, so it’s best to avoid frequent full charges. Likewise, you shouldn’t run it down to zero, so most owners will probably be grabbing some juice for it twice a week.

That’s a new way of living with a car, and if you can countenance that, you might as well consider something as novel as the Zeekr X.

What it ultimately shows is that buyers who stick to legacy brands might be missing out on something. Sharp edges, quirky lights and a jumble of creases and lines make the Zeekr X as eye-catching as a shiny robot peacock.

Zeekr X Flagship

Motor power/Torque 428 hp/534 Nm
Battery type/Net capacity Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt / 66 kWh
Charging time/Type Less than 7 hours (11 kW AC), 28 minutes 10 to 80 per cent (150 kW DC, estimated)
Range 420 km
0-100 kmh 3.8 seconds
Top speed 180 kmh
Efficiency 17.8 kWh / 100 km
Agent Premium Automobiles BEV
Available Now

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Source: [The Business Times] © SPH Media Limited.