Introduction to the 2025 Zeekr 7X
Zeekr, one of massive Chinese group Geely's many automotive brands, is still an unknown quantity in most of Europe, but it is slowly making inroads in a few of its preferred markets (the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway) and has a planned expansion to further territories on the cards within the next 18-24 months.
To date, it has launched two models - the luxurious 001 shooting brake and the compact X SUV - and is now following them up with this pseudo-premium, five-seater SUV effort, known as the 7X.
Zeekr hasn't yet pencilled in any confirmed launch date for Ireland, so at this point all of its products are something of an enigma to us. However, in the interests of scoping out whether Zeekr should bring its vehicles to these shores, we've been to Portugal to assess the latest machine from this fledgling Chinese brand, to see if we should be campaigning for its introduction here sooner rather than later.
Pros & Cons of the 2025 Zeekr 7X AWD Privilege
Pros: Spacious, practical, high-quality cabin, smooth mid-speed ride, pace
Cons: Some ergonomic issues, ragged handling, low-speed discomfort
Exterior & Design of the 2025 Zeekr 7X
• Aerodynamic shape
• Lots of space between the wheels
• Not particularly striking
In the manner we too often report on with modern car designs these days, you couldn't accuse the Zeekr 7X of being particularly ugly... but, similarly, would you pick it out of a crowd of large SUVs? It's a fairly anodyne piece of work.
Indeed, about the main thing we remember of its appearance is that the light strip and sensor array combined in the nose of the 7X, which forms a black strip across its front end, makes it look like an enlarged Toyota bZ4X more than anything.
Other than that, it has a full-width light bar at the back, which is the industry's standard feature these days, and a roofline that in profile mimics that of a coupe-SUV, while still preserving the extra rear headroom of the regular body shape for a high-riding vehicle like this.
Features specific to the dual-motor model we're testing here are a set of 21-inch alloy wheels, when the other models ride on 19s, and orange-painted brake callipers peeping out from behind them.
The 7X AWD Privilege's dimensions are:
Length: 4,787mm
Width: 1,930mm
Height: 1,650mm
Wheelbase: 2,900mm
Those dimensions make the Zeekr 7X difficult to classify, in terms of rivals - and our job on that score is made harder by the fact the car isn't yet sold in Ireland so we don't know how much the company will ask for it, if and when it does arrive.
At nearly 4.8 metres long, however, it's on the large side compared to things such as the Volkswagen ID.4 (4,584mm) and related Skoda Enyaq (4,658mm), which are in the D-segment of electric SUVs which Zeekr mentioned in the presentation, and makes it more akin to the likes of the Audi Q6 e-tron (4,771mm) or the Mercedes EQC (4,774mm).
Yet, as we understand it, in markets where the Zeekr is on sale, it costs from around €54,000 in its most basic form, so that would clearly make it a rival to the Volkswagen Group cars we list above and their competitors, including machines such as the Peugeot E-3008, Opel Grandland Electric and Nissan Ariya.
In essence, the Zeekr straddles two marketplaces, as it's as affordable and well-equipped as you'd expect of a good D-segment electric SUV, but as powerful and luxurious as something more expensive from a prestige European manufacturer.
Interior, Practicality, Tech & Comfort of the 2025 Zeekr 7X AWD Privilege
• Great material quality
• Loads of practical storage areas
• Some more buttons wouldn't go amiss
The cabin of the Zeekr 7X is one of its strongest points, but it's not without its flaws either. Primarily, these relate to the interface and how some features are adjusted.
All of the door mirrors, the steering wheel and the head-up display, for instance, require the driver to tap the main central touchscreen a few times to get to the relevant settings menu for each feature, then use the slightly clunky buttons on the right-hand spoke of the steering wheel to adjust the item in question. A couple of other brands do things like this, so Zeekr isn't alone, but we don't approve.
There are also no physical climate controls or hand-adjustable air vents in the SUV either, these features again all controlled by the centre screen (yes, including how you want the air to flow through the cabin from the vent openings), and Zeekr has an odd habit of putting its window switches in the 'wrong' way around.
You pull them back to lower the windows and push them forward to raise them again; not a major issue if the switches were recessed, so you were pushing them down and pulling them up, but strangely counter-intuitive when they're raised bars instead.
But the material quality of everything you touch and look at in the 7X is genuinely superb - this is something we noted in both the Zeekr 001 and, to a slightly lesser degree, the less upmarket Zeekr X - while technophiles will love the 13-inch instrument cluster, a whopping 36.2-inch augmented-reality head-up display and the main 16-inch touchscreen.
This latter item is good, if not the quickest-reacting set-up we've ever encountered, although graphically it looks really swish. There's even a monster 21-speaker, 2,160-watt sound system in this range-topping model as well.
As a bonus, the practicality of the 7X is magnificent. Not just in terms of rear passenger space, of which there's an ample amount, or the cargo capacity of the main boot, standing at 539 litres (with another 42-litre 'frunk' under the Zeekr's bonnet and an unverified maximum boot space, rear seats down, of 1,978 litres), but in terms of the sheer numbers of cubbies sequestered away in the cabin.
There are lidded storage points in both the front doors' armrests, there's a huge double-hinged central stowage bin between the front seats, there are three drawers lined up underneath the rear bench... we could go on listing all the neat compartments in the Zeekr's interior, but we're not entirely sure we even found them all following an exhaustive search of the passenger compartment, so top marks to the Chinese firm on this score.
Performance of the 2025 Zeekr 7X AWD Privilege
• Astounding acceleration
• Comfortable to travel in
• Handling somewhat flawed
Zeekr has launched the 7X with three main models. The Core is a rear-wheel-drive (RWD) single-motor variant with a 75kWh lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery, and peak outputs of 422hp and 440Nm. It'll do 0-100km/h in six seconds precisely and has an official range of up to 480km on a charge.
There's then the Long Range model, which keeps the same single-motor arrangement but ups the battery to a 100kWh lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) item, which increases the range to 615km. Strangely, Zeekr reckons this extra 25kWh of power pack only adds 20kg to the kerb weight, so its acceleration and top speed stats are exactly the same as the Core's.
Finally, there's the model we're trying here, the AWD Privilege. It gains the former moniker because it has a second motor on the front axle for all-wheel drive, while 'Privilege' is Zeekr's top-rank spec in the other two product lines it has in Europe so far.
Power leaps up massively to 639hp, as does torque (710Nm), resulting in a 0-100km/h time slashed to 3.8 seconds and a theoretical driving range reduced to 543km as a result.
The AWD Privilege further benefits from bigger wheels (21s) with larger contact patches, as well as uprated brakes (hence the orange callipers) and more advanced suspension - where the two rear-wheel-drive 7X variants have passive dampers with coil springs, the dual-motor flagship has air springs with adaptive shock absorbers.
In truth, the dynamic showing the Zeekr 7X AWD put on at the launch was something of a mixed bag. Keep this SUV well within itself and the ride comfort at mid-speeds is comfortable enough, while the suppression of tyre and wind noise is admirable, even if you can hear the suspension muffling out lumps at times - and when it fails to, a big thump goes through the 7X's superstructure.
The issue is the handling. Zeekr promotes itself on its technological and luxury prowess primarily, but it also says it wants to offer a performance feel to customers - thus the existence of a 639hp variant. So, this should be a rewarding SUV to drive, even if owners don't tend to throw such machines about... but sadly, the 7X AWD feels like too much power in too primitive a chassis.
If pushed, the front of the car first of all scrubs wide of your intended line, then the torque shifts to the powerful rear motor and the Zeekr's tail steps wildly out of shape. Ordinarily, such rear-biased set-up would lead to us car enthusiasts giving a car a healthy thumbs up, but the 7X is too scruffy when it breaks traction - plus there's an awful lot of body movement, no matter which of the three modes you put the suspension in. Same goes for the steering, which is always too light and feel-free.
This wouldn't be such a problem if the Zeekr wasn't so astoundingly fast. We've driven 600hp-plus electric SUVs before, such as the BMW iX M70, and we know they can bend the laws of physics with the way they accelerate. Yet there's something almost cartoonish about the way the numbers on the 7X's digital display spool up in a blur on the instrument cluster from 100km/h upwards, and with its curiously soft suspension, the Zeekr can veer side to side in a straight line if you deploy full power.
The chassis still needs some dynamic fine-tuning, so installing 639hp and 710Nm in it seems, at this stage, like it isn't the best idea in the world.
Running Costs & Range of the 2025 Zeekr 7X AWD Privilege
• Big battery equals impressive range
• Dual-motor model less efficient
• Potential ten-year warranty available
This section is hard to clarify, given the car is not on sale in Ireland, but we can say that the company quotes a range of 543km for this AWD Privilege model at a consumption rate of 19.9kWh/100km.
We actually saw much more like 33kWh/100km, although we were driving the 7X harder than most owners ever would. Charging times are as short as 13 minutes for 10-80 per cent at its maximum rate, thanks to 800-volt architecture which has a colossal peak replenishment figure of 480kW DC, although at 360kW you'd need 16 minutes for the same recharge - and good luck finding many such chargers.
Zeekr's standard warranty, meanwhile, is five years and 100,000km, although that can be extended by the same period and distance for a fee - meaning a ten-year, 200,000km warranty might be an option.
Irish Pricing & Rivals of the 2025 Zeekr 7X AWD Privilege
• Not confirmed for Ireland yet
• Tech and equipment ought to be impressive
• Between mainstream and premium electric SUVs
We can't say much here, other than that even basic Zeekr 7X models (in the markets where they're sold) come with a healthy range of standard kit, including items like the full panoramic sunroof that are normally expensive options, even on premium SUVs like this.
In the three European countries where it is available, the price of the 7X starts from €54,000 and rises to around €60,000 for this dual-motor model, so that would be terrific value for such performance and range - if, and it's a big 'if', Zeekr maintains those numbers for right-hand-drive markets like ours.
The bigger problem is the timeframe; we'd reckon that there's no way the 7X will arrive here before the plan for the neighbouring UK has been set in stone, and as that's going to take around 18 months, minimum, then we're unlikely to see these Chinese vehicles here until well into 2027 or beyond.
Verdict - Should You Buy the 2025 Zeekr 7X AWD Privilege?
A bit of a moot question, as you can't yet buy the Zeekr 7X in this country, even if you wanted to. The crucial questions are therefore a) when will these models arrive in Ireland, and b) how much will they cost when they do?
Favourable responses to such queries will help the Zeekr's case, because there's plenty to like here: it's massive inside, the cabin quality is excellent, practicality levels are high, it rides competently when it has some pace under its tyres, it has healthy range and it's phenomenally quick.
However, the chassis needs further work prior to arrival here, while we wish there were some more sensible switchgear in the cabin to improve the interface. By no means perfect, there's enough merit in the Zeekr 7X as it is to reasonably wish that the company gives the green light for sales here as soon as it possibly can.
FAQs About the 2025 Zeekr 7X AWD Privilege
Why is it called 7X, when the company's other two cars are the 001 and the X?
We're not entirely sure. If it were a seven-seat SUV, that would make some sense of the alphanumeric, but it's a five-seater only. If the smaller Zeekr X had a number preceding it, like 3X, it might further have put the 7X into context, but as it is the company's naming strategy seems to be to pick random numbers and letters at will for each and every model.
Which is the long-range champion of the Zeekr 7X's range?
The rear-wheel-drive, single-motor Long Range is the one you want, as the clue is in the name. So equipped, this 100kWh-battery variant can go up to 615km on a single charge of its power pack.
Does this car share any technology with any other brands?
The Zeekr 7X sits on the Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) electric vehicle platform, which not only underpins the company's other two models in the form of the 001 and the X, but also machines as varied as the Polestar 4, the Smart #5, the Volvo EX30 and the Lotus Emeya, among more.
Want to know more about the Zeekr 7X?
Is there anything else you'd like to know about the Zeekr 7X? Or anything you feel we haven't covered here? Then just head over to our Ask Us Anything section and, well, ask us anything. It's a free service and we'll do our best to answer your questions.
