Zeekr 7X review: A taxing situation
The Zeekr 7X has Scandinavian design, a better-than-German interior and a uniquely Singaporean problem
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[SINGAPORE] The first time I drove a Zeekr 7X, it had a fold-down tray table in the back seat, the kind you’d find in a Rolls-Royce Phantom. The electrically reclining passenger-side rear seat felt like something for a prince. There was even a self-driving mode that let the Zeekr navigate traffic lights and junctions on its own, behaving more politely than most BMW drivers.
That was in China in 2025. The Performance AWD version I tried in Singapore doesn’t have the tray table, the fancy reclining seat or the autonomous driving wizardry.
Instead, it comes with a road tax bill that makes you wonder if you’ve accidentally bought a Rolls-Royce anyway: S$6,918 a year, enough to make the Land Transport Authority (LTA) staff send you a Christmas card every year. Electric cars are taxed on motor output here, and the range-topping 7X has a lot of it.
Even without the bells and whistles that come with Chinese versions of the car, the 7X Performance certainly has the numbers to back up Zeekr’s ambition to build cars plusher than Tesla’s and more high-tech than Mercedes-Benz’s.
Its two motors pack 646 horsepower (not long ago, the stuff of Ferraris). It hits 100 kmh in 3.9 seconds, which is the kind of thrill that used to require a 5.0-litre V8, except now it’s delivered silently and smoothly by a 100 kilowatt-hour battery good for 540 km.
As fast as the Zeekr is, the general driving experience is more serene than stimulating, even when the world passes by the windows in a blur. There’s little steering feel, and the air suspension prioritises plushness over engagement, which makes things supple and refined – but more like a day at the spa, rather than Spa-Francorchamps.
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The inevitable comparison: the Tesla Model Y has sharper handling and more feedback. The Zeekr is what you buy if you value cushiness over cornering.
That said, the serene undertone running through the 7X experience feels like a complement to its aesthetics’ Scandinavian overtones. Its design was overseen by Stefan Sielaff, the ex-Bentley styling chief who now runs Zeekr’s Gothenburg studio.
Inside and out, there’s a clean, minimalist elegance that feels far more Nordic spa than Chinese nouveau riche. The cabin is lined in soft Nappa leather and quality materials that make it look like the Germans have been pinching their pfennigs.
Meanwhile, the list of creature comforts is as long as Zeekr’s history is short. The Performance comes with self-operating doors (again, very Rolls-Royce), a heads-up display, massage seats, and passenger seat controls on the towkay side in the back that let you create more legroom for yourself.
Window shades foil the paparazzi, and an actual fridge or food warmer lets you transport treats at the proper temperature, whether champagne or laksa.
Then, there are the basics that somehow still elude Tesla: Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a proper instrument cluster, a sunshade for the glass roof, and something my wife wishes I had on my forehead – a volume knob for the sound system.
My only real gripe is that the air-conditioning feels a bit feeble for our climate. Actually, I do have another: Even if you opt for one of the single-motor RWD versions, you still have to pay S$361 a month for road tax, for which you can thank its brawny 422-horsepower motor.
The Model Y – or, for that matter, electric alternatives such as the BMW iX2, BYD Sealion 7, MG MGS6 EV and XPeng G6 – doesn’t oblige you to fill the LTA’s coffers so generously.
The people at Zeekr must be tearing their hair out over how making their cars more powerful has ended up making them less compelling here, rather than more.
But the rest of the 7X does feel a cut above the others named on this page, in terms of what you can see and touch. It feels, in short, like what you might consider when it’s time to upgrade from that Tesla.
It’s not as opulent as a Phantom, of course, but if it’s more powerful and expensive than similar-sized rivals, that is entirely intentional, and just how Zeekr rolls.
Zeekr 7X Performance AWD Motor power/Torque 646 hp/710 Nm Battery type/Net capacity Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt/100 kWh Charging time/Type 16 minutes 10 to 80 per cent (420 kW DC), 5.5 hours (22 kW AC) Range 543 km 0-100 kmh 3.9 seconds Top speed 210 kmh Efficiency 20 kWh/100 km Agent Premium Automobiles BEV Price S$288,999 with COE Available Now
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