Skywell BE11 review

What do you get when you cross a bus manufacturer with an electronics firm? Well, this is it: the Skywell BE11 is the result of Skyworth (a consumer electronics company) and the Nanjing Golden Dragon Bus Company (a commercial vehicle manufacturer) coming together to develop a car for the first time. 

This could seem like an ambitious plan, but there may be enough know-how from both sides to give them the edge over the wealth of start-up car companies born in China over the recent years.

Much like Jaecoo and Omoda (two other Chinese automotive brands) Skywell is hoping to build its presence in the UK. It hopes to follow this electric family SUV with a battery powered small hatchback, an executive saloon and even a commercial van.

Anyway, that’s enough background info. What’s the Skywell BE11 like, and is it good enough to challenge established electric SUV rivals, such as the MG S6, Peugeot e-3008, Renault Scenic, Skoda Enyaq? Well, since its initial launch, the BE11 has already had its list price slashed to make it more competitive, so let's find out…

What’s new?
- December 2025: The BE11 comes with a lower list price and additional safety kit
- March 2025: Skywell delivers its first car in the UK
- February 2025: Skywell expands dealer network as BE11 SUV is launched

There are two versions of the Skywell BE11 to choose from: the Standard Range and the Long Range. We’ve tested the latter, with its 81kWh (estimated usable capacity) battery and official range of 304 miles. That’s competitive for the price, but, for slightly more money, the MG S6 and Renault Scenic can officially travel farther on a full charge (up to 329 miles and 381 miles respectively). Meanwhile, the Standard Range’s 68kWh battery and shorter official range of 248 miles is still a bit better than the entry-level 52kWh Volkswagen ID 4 (224 miles).

Whichever model you go for, the BE11 is powered by a 201bhp electric motor that drives the front wheels. Unlike many of the BE11’s rivals, there isn’t a four-wheel drive version. 

With a 0-62mph time of 9.6sec, the BE11 isn’t as quick as any S6 or Scenic, and while it can get you up to motorway speeds at a moderate rate, getting there isn’t particularly pleasant. 

Press the accelerator pedal and there’s a frustrating delay before the car casually builds up speed. That’s less of an issue when bimbling around town, but when you instinctively press that pedal harder for a burst of acceleration, you get a swell of power delivered in one big lump that causes the front tyres to spin – especially if the wheels aren’t pointing straight ahead.

The rest of the BE11’s control weights don’t help the driving experience, either. The grabby brakes, for example, make it difficult to stop smoothly and while you can dial up the strength of the regenerative braking system to help slow you down, it isn’t strong enough to bring the car to a halt. At least the braking effect builds up slowly and isn’t too jerky.

The vague, overly light steering is another area that disappoints. True, it makes low speed manoeuvres a doddle, but being unable to sense how much grip the front tyres have or how much they are turning doesn’t build any confidence when cornering. Combine this with plenty of body lean when cornering and you’ll be driving the BE11 at a sedate rate. 

Sadly, the BE11 doesn’t work that well as a comfortable cruiser, either. It bounces more than its rivals when dealing with speed bumps and the suspension thumps harshly through potholes. The ride also subtly fidgets away at all speeds.

Meanwhile, there’s noticeably more wind and road noise than rivals, as well as some motor whine at low speed.

In short, other electric SUVs are much better to drive than the BE11. The softer Renault Scenic is much more comfy, while the MG S6 has a good ride and handling balance.

“I like the fact that you can infinitely adjust the BE11's regenerative braking very specifically between 0% and 100%. Or at least, I like the idea of this; in reality, you don’t notice the difference between any small adjustments.” – George Hill, Used Car Writer

You sit high up in the Skywell BE11, and the front seats are supportive and come with six-way electric adjustment (including for lumbar) as standard.

With big windows, there’s good all-round visibility, plus, you have front and rear parking sensors as well as a 360-degree parking camera to help out.

Some drivers may wish the steering wheel could be positioned a bit lower but that shouldn’t cause many problems. There’s otherwise a good amount of reach for drivers to get comfortable. That said, the driver’s seat doesn’t slide back very far, so taller drivers may struggle.

All BE11’s come with a 12.8in infotainment touchscreen that looks sharp. Unfortunately, the software that it runs – called Caacoo OS – is clunky to use, which is particularly annoying because you have to rely on it for most things. For example, you have to swipe across the screen to bring up a sub-menu in order to adjust the sound-system volume. There are also several layers of sub-menus to wade through in order to find certain functions, which is highly distracting when driving.

There is the option for a larger 15.6in infotainment screen, although we’ve yet to try one with it.

The Skywell's built-in TurboDog9 sat-nav app is clunky to use and the graphics look dated. In theory, with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay as standard, you can connect your phone and run your own apps through the Skywell system. However, getting them running can be frustrating: it took us three attempts and two phones to connect to the system wirelessly.

To make matters worse, you have to exit Android Auto or Apple CarPlay to access most of the climate settings, which are also controlled via the touchscreen.

Most rivals offer more intuitive and responsive infotainment systems, especially the Google-based set-up in the Renault Scenic. You’ll find physical climate controls in that rival, too, as well as the MG S6. There are physical buttons for the heated screens, but even those activate quite slowly.

All BE11s have a 12.3in digital driver’s display behind the steering wheel. It shows plenty of information and the graphics are reasonably clear and crisp, but it’s quite simple in terms of its functionality. You can’t choose from a range of layouts, for example, and you can’t view a sat-nav map on there – something you can do in the Scenic.

At first glance, there’s a good mix of fake-wood trim, dark chrome-effect highlights and faux leather materials lining the interior but you soon realise they all feel really thin and cheap. Ultimately, the S6 is much plusher inside, while most rivals feel more solidly put together and have nicely damped buttons.

“At first glance, I was quite impressed by the interior of the BE11, but that quickly changed when I started touching areas and trying to operate the infotainment system.” – George Hill, Used Car Writer

The Skywell BE11 wins back some points when it comes to space and practicality. Given the BE11 is quite large for the class and a similar size to the MG S6, there’s plenty of space for four six footers inside.

Up front, you get plenty of storage areas dotted around, including a two-tier centre console (featuring a wireless charging pad for your phone on the lower level), two cupholders and large door bins.

In the back, meanwhile, there’s more than enough leg room to allow taller passengers to stretch out, plus the floor is completely flat and you'll find plenty of room for your feet under the front seats. You can even tilt the rear backrest forwards or backwards if you want to. Head room is also generous, despite the standard-fit panoramic roof.

The boot is a usefully square shape and all BE11s come with a powered tailgate. True, you get even more space in the S6 (493 litres) and Renault Scenic (545 litres), but the load area is a usefully square shape and there’s still a good amount of space for their luggage up to the parcel shelf. 

The BE11's rear backrest folds down in a 60/40 split, which is the same as what you get in the S6, but less versatile than the 40/20/40 configuration in the Renault Scenic. With it folded, the backrest is at least level with the boot floor to make it easy to slide items through, but you do have to flip up the seatbases first in order to do so.

There’s no front storage area under the bonnet for storing your charging cables – as there is with the MG S6 or Tesla Model Y – but there is space for the cables under the boot floor.

“I’m 6ft 2in, and I was impressed by the amount of space in the back of the Skywell BE11; I had no shortage of leg or head room.” – George Hill, Used Car Writer

The Skywell BE11’s list price has been slashed since its initial launch and it undercuts more affordable electric family SUVs, such as the MG S6, Renault Scenic and Skoda Enyaq. That said, it is expected to lose its value more quickly than its rivals. Insurance costs are predicted to be higher, too.

Skywell says the BE11 is a value-focused electric SUV, and the equipment list is designed to reflect that, with loads of luxuries included as standard. You get 19in alloy wheels, LED headlights, a panoramic roof, rear privacy glass, ambient interior lighting and part-leather seats.

Sadly, the BE11’s maximum charging speed of 80kW is poor by modern standards. To try to disguise this, Skywell quotes a 20-80% charge time (instead of the usual 10-80%), with this sort of top-up taking 36 minutes in the Standard Range and 45 minutes in the Long Range. The MG S6 takes 38 minutes for a 10-80% charge, while the Scenic takes 32 minutes.

The BE11 has not been submitted for Euro NCAP safety testing, which is a concern, and Skywell admits it wouldn’t expect it to achieve the five-star safety rating you’d get with many other new electric SUVs, including the MG S6, Nissan Ariya, Renault Scenic and Skoda Enyaq.

Since it underwent European-type approval before July 2024, the BE11 is not legally required to offer the active safety features many rivals do. That said, while earlier versions didn’t come with automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane-keeping assist or traffic-sign recognition, these have since been added.

The Skywell BE11 is too new to have featured in the latest What Car? Reliability Survey, so we can't tell you if it's likely to be dependable. It does come with an impressive seven years or 100,000 miles warranty, which is a match for Kia’s cover. For the battery, all cars get eight years or 155,000 miles of cover.

“I always advise looking closely at the quoted charging speed of an electric car. Most manufacturers quote 10-80% charging times, but some quote 20-70% or 30-80%, which can lead you to think they’re quicker to charge than they actually are.” – George Hill, Used Car Writer

Buy it if...

- Passenger space is your top priority at this price

Don't buy it if...

- You want a car that’s easy to drive

- You want a car that has a comfortable ride

- You want a car that inspires some confidence in its handling

For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter here