‘What is that?’
It was a question I heard a lot when I spent my time reviewing the Deepal S07. This is yet another one of the multitude of new Chinese car makers looking to carve out space for itself in Australia. But what makes this one special? Well, there are, for better or worse, things that make the S07 stand out for both good reasons and bad.
Let’s start on a positive note. Deepal is being distributed in Australia by Inhcape, which is probably a company you’ve never heard of, but it’s the operation by Subaru’s success over the past few decades – so they do have a clear idea of what Australian buyers want (although, to be fair, they also look after Peugeot and Citroen, but I’m trying to be nice here).
But what or who is Deepal? Well, it’s part of Changan Automobile, one of the many very large Chinese car makers that we’ve never heard of in Australia but sell millions of cars every year. It’s clearly a company with experience, because on paper at least, the S07 has some pretty obvious appeal. It has a 160kW/320Nm electric motor, a 79kWh battery that provides up to 475km of driving range and it costs $53,900 – which is strong for a mid-size SUV with this level of specification, let alone an all-electric one.
It was designed in Turin, Italy and while the silhouette is the increasingly common ‘electric blob’ that so many brands are getting to in the name of aerodynamic efficiency, Deepal’s designers did a nice job on the details. Not all of the ‘what is that?’ questions were because it is completely new, many were interested in what is a stylish and well-executed design. The details around the front end, headlights and wheel design give the S07 some unique visual appeal.
When you climb inside is when things start to go awry. This is one of those ‘minimalist’ electric vehicles, with everything bar the gear selection and indicators controlled via a central touchscreen (which cleverly angles itself to whichever seat is occupied (but defaults to prefer the driver if both front seats are in use). The only buttons are on the steering wheel, to adjust the volume and the cruise control speed, everything else is on the screen. This not only includes the air-conditioning but also the headlights, windscreen wipers, sunroof, etc.
This isn’t ideal from a safety perspective, as it often requires navigating multiple menus and scrolling around to find what you need. Which is particularly annoying when, say, the car’s windscreen is covered in rain and the automatic wipers don’t feel it’s wet enough, even though you can’t see clearly.
However, it moves to the next-level of annoying thanks to the so-called ‘Driver Monitoring System’ which has the kind of calm, level-headed approach you might have trying to land a plane for the first time having been awake for 48 hours and have only been drinking instant coffee. In other words, it goes off like it’s in a panic seemingly anytime you take your eyes off the direct straight ahead.
The S07 beeps like it’s in a full panic when you say, try to turn on the windscreen wipers, or scan the intersection to check on-coming traffic or adjust the temperature – you know, the kind of thing you’ll do in your car every single day. Now, in Deepal’s defence, they acknowledged this problem back in February and are rolling out updates, but if your S07 has been given the new software the only way to live with it is to turn off the driver monitoring system every time you start the car. And if you’re turning a safety system off, then what’s the point of having it?
The bigger problem is, even if you turn off that system and the speed limit warning and the lane keeping warning, the S07 will still beep at you for unspecified reasons. Even in today’s world of safety-stuffed cars, few have beeped at me with as much intensity and lack of reasoning more than the S07.
Which actually disappoints in more ways than one. Because it makes the driving experience borderline-unbearable in what is an otherwise nice car. Aside from the irritating beeps the S07 is actually quite good. The performance is more-than-adequate, it’s quiet, the ride is fine, the cabin itself is respectable in size and the design and finish is above-average for these new Chinese brands.
If, and it’s a big if, Deepal can solve the hyper-active beeps, then I’d be able to recommend the S07 as a viable for any SUV or EV buyer. But only once it learns to keep calm and let you drive in peace.
To answer the question posed at the start – it’s the Deepal S07, and it has potential but needs work to become a serious contender.
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