2026 Zeekr 7X RWD review

The Zeekr 7X RWD enters the crowded electric SUV arena with its sights aimed squarely on the crown worn by the Tesla Model Y, even going so far as to cheekily undercut its current class-leading rival by a thousand dollars.

At $57,900 plus on-road costs, it presents a compelling case for those who want a luxo-leaning family hauler without the premium price tag.

While it lacks the brand recognition of its more established peers, it makes up for it with a generous list of inclusions, an expansive cabin and 800-volt EV architecture that promises class-leading charging speeds.

It is a tech-heavy package that still manages to feel made for humans, offering physical shortcut buttons for essential functions and a comprehensive tech and safety suite that is intuitive once mastered.

With 480km of range and the (currently theoretical) ability to charge from 10 to 80 per cent in just 13 minutes, the 7X is a formidable new entrant.

The Zeekr 7X is offered in three variants, starting with the RWD at $57,900 before on-road costs. The Long Range RWD steps up to $63,900 and the Performance AWD tops the range at $72,900, both before on-road costs.

This positioning is no doubt to undercut its main rival, the base Tesla Model Y RWD, at $58,900 plus on-road costs. Other competitors in the segment are the BYD Sealion 7 ($54,990 plus on-roads), Kia EV5 ($56,770 plus ORCs), and the XPeng G6 ($54,800 plus on-roads).

It is absolutely laden with inclusions for the price. Outside, a fairly sleek and Euro-influenced design is paired with 19-inch wheels wrapped in decent rubber, LED headlights, a panoramic sunroof, flush pop-out door handles and a power tailgate.

The cabin aligns with Zeekr’s 'premium' design brief, featuring soft-touch materials on the doors, centre console, and armrests, accented by chrome and multi-colour ambient lighting, and more leg room than a premium economy airplane seat.

Those leather-look seats are supportive and look the goods, with power-adjustable heated front seats and heated and power-reclining rear seats with good under-seat storage.

A large landscape-oriented 16-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto controls most of the car's functions, and it is flanked by a 13-inch instrument display behind a leather-wrapped, heated, squared-off steering wheel. Dual 50-watt wireless phone chargers, 10-speaker stereo, four-zone voice command system, tri-zone air, and a full suite of advanced safety systems complete an undeniably competitive package.

Plus, its 800-volt architecture and 75kWh battery lead the class for charging pace. As mentioned before, the ability to charge at up to 450kW is currently theoretical, due to a lack of available chargers in Australia. But early adopters may find their charging time significantly reduced in future, should current (boom-tish) EV-power popularity continue, and infrastructure expands to meet the demand.

The Zeekr range, along with thousands of new and used electric vehicles, is available now through Drive Marketplace.

To view the 7X first-hand, find your nearest Zeekr showroom here, or for full pricing and specifications for the Zeekr 7X range, click here.

On paper, the 7X is positioned to compete directly with mid-size electric SUV rivals; in fact, the footprint of the Zeekr and the Model Y are so close they could trade shoes.

This Zeekr is only a handful of millimetres bigger in width and height than its main rival. However, the second row (hardly a squeeze in the Tesla) is cavernous in the 7X.

The interior leans into a premium brief with plush finishes and soft-touch materials adorning the doors, centre console, and armrests. Chrome accents and multi-colour ambient lighting provide contrast, though the RWD grades stick to a synthetic leather-look trim. This material is soft and looks the goods, but particularly as the RWD only comes with a black interior, it tends to cook backsides if left out in the Aussie sun without the shade blind in place.

The front seats are supportive and offer 14-way electric adjustment for the driver and 10-way for the passenger. Crucially, Zeekr has included reasonable under-thigh support in the front, an area where many Chinese cars usually stumble, while the second row offsets its more modest bench seating by letting you stretch your legs out entirely.

The driver grips a leather-wrapped steering wheel with flat top and bottom edges, featuring clearly labelled buttons that allow for air temperature and fan speed control via the gauge cluster. While the instrument cluster itself takes time to learn, physical shortcut buttons below the screen are a welcome addition, even if most other functions are operated through the central touchscreen.

Storage includes deep under-armrest bins, space beneath the 'flying bridge' centre console, and cupholders that can be hidden under a sliding cover. The armrest bin also has a little bespoke storage shelf for the keyless key, which is a rather funky but frustratingly shaped diamond with buttons but no fob or keychain.

You need to buy a bespoke holder for the fob if you want to hang it up, or to avoid losing it in the depths of a bag. Either that or use your phone with the Zeekr app, or a keycard that swipes on the B-pillar.

In the second row, the floor is nearly flat and the cabin is wide enough for three adults on more than just a quick trip, though there is a catch: the USB-C chargers are located within the fold-out middle armrest. That may prove problematic if you have three-abreast seating and children with energy-sapping iPads.

The outer rear seats are electrically reclining and have heating (again in line with the Model Y), and air vents are centered in the pillars. The front passenger seat can be moved or tilted from the seat behind, plus a spy camera in the driver-side B-pillar captures warring siblings (or anyone abusing those front passenger seat controls) with the feed displayed as a standalone viewing window on the main touchscreen.

There are two ISOFIX points and three tether points for child seats, plus neat pull-out storage trays in the seat bases will hopefully keep kiddy stuff and cables out of sight.

Boot volume is also a strong suit, offering a good 539 litres with the seats up and expanding to 1978L when they’re folded. The boot has no raised lip to shuffle cartons or bags over, and the power tailgate opens high enough to make one nervous in underground carparks (and can be set lower permanently if said carparks are frequented).

There are a few more hooks and a 12V socket also in the boot, and the two-piece boot floor hides a little more compact storage but no spare. As is typical of the segment, a tyre repair kit is all you get.

Also, the RWD models receive a larger 62-litre front under-bonnet storage area compared to the top-shelf AWD, which has decent depth as well as width.

The in-dash 16-inch infotainment touchscreen serves as the central nervous system for almost every vehicle function. It’s high-resolution, fast-reacting, and thankfully is flanked by some quick-access piano-key buttons for fans, glove box and the ilk.

While the menu layers will require some dedicated time at first, the learning curve is typical of this sector and shouldn't take too long to master. The screen can also be bypassed entirely by using voice commands for almost every function.

For those who prefer their own digital ecosystems, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are both available, and microphones scattered around the cabin can pick up each individual request to Siri or Google via the four-way voice command system.

The 10-speaker stereo in the base car is beefy, if leaning a little towards treble, but offers good customisation for seating areas and equalisation.

There are two 50W wireless smartphone charging pads, which are ventilated to keep devices cooler as they charge and discharge.

To round out the digital experience, the connected Zeekr App not only controls car functions and checks vehicle status, but also has navigation including Evie network integration to find and direct you to the nearest fast charger.

The Zeekr 7X is yet to receive an ANCAP safety rating in Australia, but it has earned five stars out of five from sister organisation Euro NCAP in Europe.

The 7X was awarded category scores of 91 per cent for adult occupant protection, 90 per cent for child occupant protection, 78 per cent for vulnerable road user protection, and 83 per cent for safety assist technology.

Zeekr's active safety suite, put into practice, is good. The lane-centring on test was subtle – more a guiding hand than one that slaps. We also had the unhappy instance of testing the autonomous emergency braking after the car in front braked late for a wayward animal, and can report that it works very effectively.

'Sentry mode' is also standard, using the car's cameras to monitor surroundings and send any alerts such as lurking people, flash bangs or alarm sounds to the car owner via the Zeekr mobile app.

Uncertainty with a new brand and a burgeoning dealer network is remedied somewhat by a five-year warranty, two-year scheduled services and an eight-year battery warranty.

Standard service intervals are the leisurely 24 months or 40,000km, or you can clock in for optional 12-month/20,000km services.

If you decide to play the long game, it will cost you $1755 over four years. Should you opt for the more frequent servicing regime, the price climbs to $2085 for three years or $2385 if you stretch it out to five.

A year of comprehensive insurance coverage for a 7X RWD is estimated at $3322, based on a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.

The base model claims 480km of range (WLTP) versus 615km for the long-range RWD mid-spec and 543km for the dual-motor Performance AWD.

It also pips the Tesla's 466km range while offering reasonably comparable performance, and the 7X currently leads the class in fast charging.

The RWD's 75kWh battery claims recharge from 10–80 per cent in just 13 minutes with up to 450kW DC charging – shame we only have two stations capable of 400kW in all of Australia.

While 350kW chargers exist nationally, they are still rare, and most public chargers are limited to 150kW or less, and of course will often reduce further with multiple cars hooked up to charge.

On AC charging, up to 22kW is standard across the 7X range, which allows a full recharge in three-and-a-half hours if the full wattage is available, though again most private charging will hover around 7–11kW and need an overnight stay to charge back up.

On test we spent 13 minutes at a supercharger – ironically the claimed time to charge from 10–80 per cent on a 400-plus kW charger – and had 17.52kWh delivered, which was more than enough to bring it back up to half full after dipping into the 20 per cent band.

In total, a mix of roads and of EV driving (single pedal, low and high-regen braking) used 20.2kWh per 100 kilometres, which wasn't too far off the claimed consumption figure and on par, if a tad higher than average, for the segment.

On the road, the 7X RWD trades head-snapping EV theatrics for a more composed, steady stream of power. Its 310kW is more than enough for darting into the gaps in suburban traffic, yet it’s delivered without the belt-tightening abruptness that may have passengers complaining about their clavicles.

The base RWD skips the fancy air suspension of the AWD performance flagship in favour of a traditional coil-spring and damper setup, which is compliant and well mannered unless you want to push. The combination of a little speed, some corners and a bit of rough bitumen reveals a setup designed to stop any body roll brought on by its 2245kg (kerb) heft, and the trade-off is a firm and sometimes pitchy rear, particularly when unladen by passengers.

The rear's tendency to jiggle over bumps is not aided by the 19-inch rims and eco-focused Continental tyres, the latter trading a bit of comfort for low rolling resistance and fuel economy. If a really smooth ride over sketchy roads truly matters, and the budget can stretch, you may wish to test-drive the more expensive AWD variant that gets air suspension.

The 13-inch instrument cluster sits directly in your line of sight; its curved shape follows the steering wheel rim in a manner suspiciously reminiscent of a certain Porsche SUV. It’s a clean, clutter-free layout that keeps the essential data in focus and easily accessed provided you’ve spent a few minutes learning the wheel-mounted controls.

The steering is a bit light even when you toggle it into Sport for heavier feel, but it is accurate and centres well. And lo, it has actual buttons for regularly used features like volume, media and the 360 camera.

The cruise control is strangely mounted to the single stalk shared with the drive modes. The choice to break convention and not add this to the steering wheel buttons is a strange one. Operating it on the move takes some getting used to.

The brakes do well to wrangle the car's not-insubstantial mass. The pedal feels progressive and blends the regenerative and friction braking well. You can opt for one-pedal driving, though the 'Standard' mode is markedly easier to drive smoothly over the 'Strong' setting, and the brake still needs to be employed into full stops at traffic a good portion of the time.

Those aforementioned eco tyres are a 'Q' designation, meaning quiet, and offer both acceptable grip and low cabin noise intrusion. Wind noise is only evident in the higher highway speeds, and if the silence of electric motoring is too eerie for you, Zeekr offers a selection of synthetic engine soundscapes to choose from, though they are all a bit naff.

Vision is also excellent, with loads of natural light streaming in via the large glasshouse front, back and sides, and that huge panoramic roof. Any minor blind spots are filled with beeps and flashes from the multitude of warnings and sensors. The 7X isn't overly talkative and only nags when needed, and of course the lesser alerts and interjections can be silenced through the settings menu.

Choosing the Zeekr 7X RWD over its more established rivals ultimately comes down to whether you value a polished, more traditional sense of luxury over the segment's largely minimalist, tech-first approach.

While the Tesla Model Y remains the efficiency king and offers the safety net of a superior charging and support network, the Zeekr adds in some features that make it more human and may appeal to its core demographic. Little details may be enough to sway some: a proper transmission stalk, physical buttons (though there aren't all that many of them), rear-seat stretch-outs, or a power sunblind to prevent a burnt bottom or toasted scalp.

When stacked against the rest of the field, the 7X holds a distinct edge in passenger comfort and hardware. It certainly leaps ahead in leg room and its 800-volt architecture, which will future-proof the charging times if we continue to develop our local EV infrastructure.

If you can also look past the newness of Zeekr and the mild risk of a still-developing dealer and support network, the Zeekr 7X should be near the top of your test-drive list.

Samantha has been obsessed with cars and combustion engines for most of her life, and has spent the past 25 years deep in the automotive and motorsport industries. An automotive awards judge, rally driver and motorsport tragic, she spends weekdays writing about cars and weekends off-road, off-grid or running amok at the track.

Read more about Samantha Stevens