08/02/2026

theSunday Special XIV ON SUNDAY FEB 8, 2026

SUV silhouette. It exudes a certain calmness that prop erly reflects its European design influence and avoids the trap of busyness that most Chinese cars tend to fall into. Even from a distance, the 7X appears clean to a fault. It is not coincidence, plenty of effort went into crafting a spot less exterior, in terms of concealing tiny details. Designers went to the extent of hiding the weather strip for the windows behind the bodywork and concealing the rear wiper when not in use. Further accentuating that tidiness are frameless automatic doors (7X Performance) and even frameless side view mirrors. That a side, the designers did not obscure the 7X’s personality. A defining feature gazing upon it head on is the Stargate, a mammoth 93-inch-wide blade front panel housing 1,831 LEDs for cus tomisable light signatures. Additionally, fiery-orange Akebono brake calipers peek out from behind the 20-inch wheels hinting at its fun nature and blistering performance. FEELING THE PART Inside, the theme continues with a minimalist design that belies its feature packed, Napp full-grain wrapped cabin. The rear seats even have 10° of powered adjustment and the driver gets speakers in the headrest. Storage is plentiful, with a usable front door armrest box and storage trays beneath the rear seats that are all cleverly hidden. Under the hood is a generous 62 litre frunk. You will even find a tempera ture-controlled fridge between the front seats. Even with all the nifty storage spots, the cabin is roomy. Maximum rear legroom is 1,187mm with headroom max ing out at 1,021mm. You can tell convenience has been emphasised in the build. Little things like buttons in the cargo area to adjust the air suspension’s height for easier loading goes a long way. The infotainment is governed by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295 chip and controlled via a 16-inch 3.5K resolution touchscreen. Conveniently, there are piano key con sole buttons below it for primary func tions. It also serves as the display for the in-cabin monitoring system with cameras integrated into the B-pillars to keep an eye on rear occupants, especially chil dren. One of the challenges in attempting to reinvent the modern car is taking things a little too far in the misplaced name of innovation or for the sake of being more advanced. Yes, the car can be made much better but there is nothing you can improve about the wheel. Needing to access the touchscreen to adjust the angle of the air-conditioning vents has crossed a line. It is perfectly fine to use your hands and just realign the vents if the air flow is not directed at you. RUNNING THE RIGHT GEAR Being the flagship variant in the 7X range, the “Performance” bit is well and truly deserved. There are twin electric motors, one on each axle, making a combined 646PS and

710Nm of torque. That equates to a cen tury sprint time of 3.8 seconds. The battery is a 100kWh NCM (Nickel Cobalt Manganese) pack with a rated 543km of range (WLTP) and everything run on 800V architecture. DRIVING AS WELL AS IT LOOKS All those gold stars would be pointless if the 7X Performance did not drive well. Luckily it does. EVs have made ludicrous acceleration so commonplace that we have started taking it for granted. While it could very well embarrass supercars if you ever felt like Vin Diesel, the air suspension is something more drivers would probably appreciate. The air suspension plays a hefty part in phasing out all the undulations, feeling very steady and confident while doing so. Of course, breakneck acceleration in EVs is a double-edged sword. It is hard to escape the weight but the air suspension balances that in a manner that would make European cars take notice. Get a little spirited, as we did in some of the off-road paths during the drive, and the weight is noticeable. However, the 7X never feels like it would betray you and lose it. Physics though has limitations and you should never try to find it, though this SUV will comfortably skirt it and make you feel like a champ doing so. The ride is essentially a sports SUV that one would expect from something European. Call it a balanced blend of comfort and accessible performance that does not compromise the daily duties expected of a family car. We should add that the coil springs in the lower variants of the 7X did feel much more compliant on highways over the air suspension. CONCLUSION Zeekr has successfully created a car with its own personality. To a certain degree, they have improved on many aspects that make motoring the 7X much better. However, the curve for this table is exponential and as we get closer to the top, it becomes much easier to fault. Some would ignore the menial details or features and focus on the big picture but lest we forget, great things are done by a series of small things brought together. In that respect, the combination of perfecting many small things has culmi nated in a well put-together overall prod uct. Zeekr has taken the important bits from every corner of the world and put it together, Chinese technology and per formance with European design and refinement. Sounds like a world-beater? Maybe… but we still prefer adjusting the air-condi tioning vents manually. SPECIFICATIONS Zeekr 7X Performance Motor: Twin, one on each axle Battery: 100kWh NCM Power: 646PS and 710Nm Charging: 420kW DC / 22kW AC PRICE (AS TESTED): RM 226,800 We like: Performance, refined cabin. We don’t like: Air-conditioning vents adjusted via screen.

Wireless charging.

Water cup holder.

Centre armrest box.

Armrest storage box.