New Changan Deepal S07: electric SUV to rival Tesla Model Y from £39,990
A new mid-size Chinese electric SUV will arrive on UK shores in September as the debut model for the Changan brand...
On sale September Price from £39,990
Following on from the success of M&S’s Colin the Caterpillar cake, it wasn’t long before other supermarkets caught on to the trend and started producing their own versions. In a way, the new Changan Deepal S07 is comparable to one of those spawned variants of caterpillar cake, arriving to take on the Colin of electric SUVs: the Tesla Model Y.
If you’ve never heard of Changan, we don’t blame you – the Chinese brand is relatively new to the UK car scene, but it has more than 60 years of automotive manufacturing experience under its belt in China. Its first offering in the UK will be the Changan Deepal S07 electric SUV, and it will rival not just the Model Y, but also the likes of the Kia EV6 and Skoda Enyaq.
The Deepal S07 will use a hefty 80kWh (total capacity) battery, but despite its large size, it’s only officially good for 295 miles of electric range – less than all versions of the Model Y, but slightly more than the 270 miles of the entry-level Enyaq, which is similarly priced. It’s worth noting, though, that the Skoda model has a much smaller 52kWh battery.
Charging speeds are also rather pedestrian compared with rivals, at just 92kW, meaning a 10-80% top-up will take 48 minutes. For reference, the Model Y can manage up to 250kW, and the Enyaq is also comparatively speedy, at 165kW.
Power comes from a rear-mounted electric motor delivering 215bhp, which makes the Deepal S07 slightly less punchy than an EV6, but its official 0-62mph time of 7.9sec outpaces the entry-level Enyaq by 0.2sec.
Inside, the Deepal S07 gets a minimalistic design, with a large 15.6in rotating central infotainment touchscreen, compatible with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay as standard. There’s a noticeable lack of physical buttons, apart from a couple on the flat-bottomed steering wheel.
Speaking of the steering wheel, that, alongside the front seats, is heated. The interior features vegan leather upholstery, and you also get some extra creature comforts including multi-colour ambient lighting, a panoramic glass sunroof and a 14-speaker sound system.
The Deepal S07 has already received a five-star safety rating from Euro NCAP, which can likely be attributed to the host of driving assist systems that come as standard, including driver fatigue monitoring, adaptive cruise control and front collision warning.
The Changan Deepal S07 will launch in September, with customer deliveries starting at the end of that month. Prices will start at £39,990, which means it undercuts both the Kia EV6 and Tesla Model Y, and you’d pay a similar price for an entry-level Skoda Enyaq.
Changan will open 20 sites across the UK to coincide with the launch of the Deepal S07 next month, with a further 30 dealers planned to be operational by the end of the year.
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