Mat Watson reviews the Zeekr 8X: Chinese SUV offers Rolls Royce luxury for a fifth of the price
Car changing is a big deal
This is the Zeekr 8X, and it’s a super-posh hybrid SUV from China which is due to go on sale in the UK next year. Is it any good? Well Mat Watson has been driving it alongside a Rolls Royce Cullinan to find out.
Chinese cars are taking the UK by storm. Cars like the Jaecoo 7 and BYD Seal U have exploded in popularity because they offer loads of kit at a bargain price, but what if you’re after something really luxurious?
Well that’s where the Zeekr 8X comes in. It’s a new plug-in hybrid SUV from China with 1,400hp, loads of luxury features and an interior which is posh enough to give any European car a run for its money.
Prices start from just over £54,000 in China, but it’ll probably cost around £70,000 when it goes on sale in the UK next year. To find out if it’s any good, I’m going to pit it against a £250,000 used Rolls Royce Cullinan to see if the British car feels five times more expensive.
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Zeekr 8X vs used Rolls Royce Cullinan: interior and practicality
I was seriously impressed with the Zeekr 8X’s interior, because it feels more than posh enough to rival anything from Europe.
All the switchgear feels super-solid, and the stitching is all perfectly straight. Things like the glovebox lid and the cover for the cupholders are beautifully-damped, and I was also impressed by how quietly everything operates. The seats, sunblinds and electric windows all work in total silence.
In some ways, the Rolls Royce doesn’t feel as premium as the Zeekr. I noticed a few creaks and rattles on this five-year-old car, and the electric windows are also noticeably noisier. The materials do feel more posh than the Zeekr though, with softer leather and solid metal air vents.
The Rolls Royce is also slightly better insulated, as I learned by using a sound meter and a screaming man outside the car. The Cullinan blocked out a few more decibels.
But what about the rear seats? Cars like these are regularly used for chauffeuring after all. Well the Rolls Royce Cullinan is super-spacious for two people in the back, and it’s not bad for three people either. That said, the Zeekr is even more roomy.
You also get a bigger boot in the 8X, but that’s mostly because this Rolls Royce has a £32,000 option fitted in the back. That would be the “Viewing Suite”, which is a posh way of saying two leather chairs which pop out of the tailgate.
Zeekr 8X vs Rolls Royce Cullinan: engines and performance
Let’s start under the bonnet of the Rolls Royce. It has a 6.8-litre V12 engine with 571hp and 850Nm of torque. It’s a silky-smooth engine with plenty of grunt, but the Zeekr makes it look like a family hatchback.
It has a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine. That’s no match for a V12, right? Well it also has three electric motors which drive the wheels, and combined you have a whopping 1,400hp and 1,410Nm of torque.
The result is a bit of a drag race thrashing for the Rolls Royce, because the Zeekr 8X was almost three seconds faster down the quarter mile. Speed isn’t everything though, so what are these luxury cars like to drive day-to-day?
Zeekr 8X vs Rolls Royce Cullinan: driving and comfort
As you’d expect, the Rolls Royce Cullinan is super-relaxing to drive. The air suspension soaks up every bump and imperfection, and the cabin remains whisper-quiet at motorway speeds.
It’s not a car you can rush through the bends, because it does lean a little bit, but nothing about the way it wafts down the road encourages you to be a hooligan.
The Zeekr can’t quite match the Rolls Royce in terms of comfort, but for the price it gets pretty bloomin’ close. It has a slightly more sporty edge to it than the Cullinan, and I found it to be better through the bends.
It has some really clever tech to make tight manoeuvres a breeze. The Zeekr 8X can U-turn on the spot by turning the rear wheels in opposite directions, which is impressive to watch but I’m not sure the tyres will thank you for it. You also get blind spot cameras projected in the head-up display when you indicate, which I’ve never seen on another car before.
Zeekr 8X vs Rolls Royce Cullinan: Mat’s final verdict
So then, what’s my final verdict on the Zeekr 8X? Well, while it’s not quite as luxurious as the Rolls Royce Cullinan, it also doesn’t feel almost £200,000 cheaper. The performance and technology are seriously impressive, and it has quite a posh image as well.
I asked some passers-by to guess the price of each car. While they all correctly guessed that the Rolls was more expensive, they also estimated that the Zeekr cost well in excess of £100,000. In China, it costs half that.
And even if it costs closer to £70,000 in the UK, that’s still less than a BMW X7 or a Range Rover. I think the European luxury brands should be seriously worried.
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