Avatr 07 review: One maddening feature aside, this is a beautiful proposition

WHAT price beauty? S$259,999, in the case of the Avatr 07, a five-seat electric sport utility vehicle (SUV) so sculptural and pleasing to the eye that, if you didn’t know better, you would think was Scandinavian.

The 07 is, in fact, very Chinese. Avatr is a collaboration between state-owned Changan Auto, battery giant CATL – which supplies roughly 40 per cent of the world’s electric vehicle (EV) batteries – and Huawei, China’s answer to Apple.

Their combined ambitions have produced a Category B SUV whose designers were obviously super fussy about making it look as unfussy as possible, for the 07 is as clean as a pebble. No busy grilles, no chrome trinkets – just smooth, taut surfaces that come together beautifully. 

The inside also looks like the work of Swedish men in black turtlenecks. Per the Chinese EV norm, the dashboard is dominated by a 15.6-inch touchscreen, but the driver display takes the form of a sweeping 34.1-inch display just below the windscreen.

Both screens are unnecessarily large, and both look great. The dashboard itself extends into the doors, and visually, the whole thing flows beautifully.

The perceived quality is high, too. Nappa leather, prized for its suppleness and durability, wraps the seats, but almost every surface you touch is covered in cowhide, too.

The ambient lighting shifts through 64 colours, while the plastics have a lovely light gold finish. In short, the 07 looks and feels very much like what premium European cars used to look and feel like. 

But it also shows that it’s possible to sacrifice too much on the altar of beauty. The steering wheel is a “squircle” (that is, a flat-bottomed, flat-topped circle) that looks magnificent, like something filched from a racing car, but the reason it had to be squished into that shape is so you can see the panoramic screen unobstructed.

It’s awkward to use, and the same applies to the air-conditioner vents, which are out of sight and slender. That looks posh because it makes for a lovely, clean dashboard. But then you have to aim them by touchscreen, which is maddening.

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To some extent, the same design-first tendency shows up at the back. The boot is a genuinely good size (500 litres, expandable to 1,325 litres), but what’s missing are the small, unglamorous things: hooks, nets, a luggage cover.

Avatr has clearly spent lavishly on every surface a showroom visitor will admire, and less on the bits you notice only when your grocery bags are sliding around on the way home.

The 90-litre frunk partially redeems things by providing a useful, proper compartment, and not the token gesture some rivals offer. But overall it’s clear that form runs Avatr, with function sitting on the opposition backbenches.

Comfort has a strong say as well. On the move, the 07 proffers refinement rather than engagement.

The single motor in the Max RWD version produces 343 horsepower, enough to biff the car to 100 kilometres an hour in 6.8 seconds, but the accelerator pedal is calibrated to deliver smoothness instead of snap. The steering and brakes feel muted and vague. 

There’s an 07 Ultra with dual motors and the acceleration of a two-door Porsche, as well as air suspension with active dampers, yet I can’t see it being a satisfying drive, either.

The emphasis here is on relaxation: the cabin is quiet even for an EV, the suspension absorbs lumps and bumps with relative composure, and the massage seats will tempt you to slow down just to extend the journey. To use shorthand from the combustion world, I’d say the 07 feels more Lexus or Mercedes than BMW.

The rear isn’t as cavernous as you’d expect, given the long wheelbase that EVs typically have, but it’s still spacious, and the reclining seats go some way towards making up the difference.

Underneath the flat floor, an 82.16 kilowatt-hour lithium iron phosphate battery (a chemistry that lets you charge to 100 per cent with less anxiety about long-term degradation) offers 488 km of range. Find a 420-kilowatt DC fast charger and you can add roughly 240 km in 10 minutes.

Those figures are competitive, but there’s an outstanding number and it’s the Avatr’s price. A similar amount of money would buy you something smaller, less powerful, less feature-packed and less plush inside from Germany.

The 07 is arguably prettier than its rivals from the usual luxury players, too, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so that point is moot.

What it can’t offer is the prestige of a German badge, and for some buyers, it will take time for Avatr’s blend of cabin quality, technology and value to disrupt what the ego needs from a premium name. Sometimes, beauty is in the eye of the beholden.

Avatr 07 Max RWD Motor power 343 hp Motor torque 365 Nm Battery type/Net capacity Lithium iron phosphate/82.16 kWh Charging time/Type 14.2 hours (6.6 kW AC), 10 minutes 30 to 80 per cent (420 kW DC) Range 488 km 0-100 kmh 6.8 seconds Top speed 200 kmh Efficiency 19.3 kWh/100 km Agent Premium Automobiles Price S$259,999 with COE Available Now