Deepal S07 First Drive 5 Minute Review.

Deepal is one of 12 new Chinese brands to appear (or in Smart’s case, reappear) this past 12 months. Despite repeated efforts for the established brands to convince buyers otherwise, Brands like Deepal (stupid name, great car) have come a-trompin. Deepal has replaced Citroen in the favours of Inchcape, the importer of Subaru and perhaps that’s for the best.

It is hard to know how to categorize Electric cars and SUVs.

What is a full-size car in ICE guise, will fit into a smaller vehicle if the engine bay and transmission tunnel don’t take up passenger space. Deepal S07 feels large and generous.

On their website, Deepal splashes “designed in Italy” or “Designed in Turin” with gay abandon, and I agree that the S07 looks more “cruising along the Amalfi” than “paddling up the Yangtze”.

The S07 is much bigger than it first looks, with a 2900mm wheelbase. It provides an enormous 445L/1385L boot, a 125L frunk, a fabulously capacious rear seat, and a pilot’s cabin akin to a cosy yacht (not a big one – think 1968 Riva Aquarama motor yacht like the one owned by Ferruccio Lamborghini). It could easily have been tacky and naff, but even the genuine simulated fake artificial wood armrest on the door is pretty tickety-boo.

There is no start button, so one hopes the bum sensor on the driver’s seat doesn’t pack it in (as it did in a friend’s cobbled together American-but- assembled- in- China Model 3). The model 3 is 3 years old, and also just had a battery replacement. So before you get on your high horse, don’t be banging on about Chinese quality.

The “sumptuous leather” is as genuine as the simulated wooden arm rests, but it comes together as a sophisticated façade masking some rather fancy tech.

This is the first car that paired to my phone’s CarPlay without first tethering to Bluetooth.

Above: This Week’s VIDEO Review –Nextbase Piqo 2k Dashcam Unboxing and review- Alan Zurvas

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ABOVE: 2024 Deepal S07

The 15.6” tablet tilts to face the driver in “Sunflower Mode” as the car welcomes you aboard. More importantly, what first looks to be the egregious omission of driver dials is assuaged by an enormous HUD. The Head Up Display can be set to have augmented reality, or a simplified display on the windscreen switches the augmented data the centre tablet.

The Sony sound system is monumentally deep, and buyers can opt for a VTL facility to power/charge a laptop (or a fridge if your home power goes out – eg: during a natural disaster).

It would be remiss not to mention the slightly bewildering infotainment system. It needs a rethink if searching for the radio function takes 15 minutes to locate. The system is a jumbled mix of charms and menus, vaguely modelled on Polestar 4’s Google system. It is poorly executed to the point of severe scalp excoriation.

The drive is flat-out lush.

S07 is not a Scud in Deepal clothing, nor is it a nostalgic pastiche of 50’s motoring. Instead, the 160kw RWD electric motor is supremely smooth and divinely silent. The ambience is regularly punctuated by frequent gongs, burps, and blips.

There is an unwelcome welcome message, but I immediately dispatched it, its services surplus to requirements.

The vents follow the new motorised trend (and is just something else to break). Although I’d be happier with a knob to twiddle, the auto mode swishes the vents up and down and back and forth. And lo, it was good.

A peppier AWD dual motor version would be great but at this price, RWD is oodles. 58k (ish) drive away is a fabulous price for an SUV this spacious and classy.

S07 is quiet, with double-paned front windows and tons of deadening.

The handling tends towards a luxe ride, in lieu of the hard-as-nails dampers that would be needed to get a hefty 2073 kg lassie around a corner without wafting about like a drunken sailor.

A beefier tome will follow, but suffice to say Deepal’s S07 is chock-full of tasty surprises. Once the infotainment system is mastered, things will become even sunnier.

Stay tuned for the video review in a few weeks.

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