Lepas L6 2027 review: PHEV - International first drive

Chery one day hopes its fresh Lepas brand will evolve into a proper BMW or Mercedes-Benz rival.

Until then, when sales kick off from late this year, it hopes that buyers of cars like its mid-size Lepas L6 will appreciate its European-inspired looks, classier cabin and advanced tech and pay a small premium of around five per cent over the equivalent Omoda or Jaecoo model.

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Beneath the skin, the L6 is also on Chery's next-generation LEX platform and bags the Chinese car giant's EEA 5.1 electrics.

When the Toyota RAV4-sized SUV lands Down Under it will be available with either a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) or all-electric power.

Before the end of the year, the L6 will be joined by a small L4 SUV that shares powertrains with its bigger brother, while later on in 2027 the larger L8 PHEV SUV will also land.

Instead of sharing showroom space with Chery or Omoda Jaecoo, the Lepas brand will launch its own network of dealers.

The brand separation is because Chery believes Lepas will attract different customers to the rest of its brands.

Inside, the L6 looks like it shares hardware with the latest Jaecoo J5, sporting both the same 8.8-inch digital instrument panel and a 13.2-inch infotainment, although the latter is mounted portrait style, rather than landscape in the J5.

Below the screen is a slim strip of shortcut buttons that sit above a wireless charging pad and twin cupholders.

The steering wheel is also lifted from the Chery parts bin, but the dash architecture is new and features a strip of vents that stretch from pillar to pillar.

Premium materials like synthetic leather and a metallic-style dash finish attempt but ultimately fail to conjure up Audi levels of perceived quality but the L6 still feels a cut above other Chery models.

Our car also had heated and ventilated synthetic leather seats that are comfortable on a long drive, while even with four up there's plenty of space within, with a pair of rear air vents and dual USB ports for rear passengers.

Luggage space is also average for the class, although there's no wheel well beneath the boot floor.

We had a brief spin in the new EV, which features a single motor that drives the front wheels and produces 178kW and 275Nm of torque for decent getaway off the line.

The electric L6 also is a quiet and refined companion, although its 67kWh battery, 400-volt electrics and 450km WLTP range won't set new standards for range or charging speeds within its class.

More time was spent behind the wheel of the plug-in hybrid L6 that also impressed with its levels of refinement which meant it was almost impossible to detect when the small 1.5-litre petrol kicked in.

There's also brisk acceleration off the line and enough might to generate some unruly torque steer as the front tyres struggled, which is a shame.

Another gripe of the PHEV powertrain is an unwanted thump occasionally at speed when breathing on the throttle.

Featuring a sophisticated multi-link rear suspension, the L6 has no excuses to not match the best in the class.

To ensure it will be able to compete with its most talented rivals in the future Lepas will provide a special European suspension tune and, if the range of SUVs have a warm reception Down Under, buyers will also be treated to a local suspension tune.

In China on smooth well-surfaced roads it was difficult to properly assess the L6's ride and drive other than to note it felt like engineers had opted for soft springs and reactive dampers that could be unnerved by speed bumps and the odd pothole.

We think the steering could do with more tuning too, as it is overly light in Comfort mode and still pretty lifeless in Sport. When it comes to handling balance, unfortunately our driving route didn't include any proper country roads where we could explore the L6's handling balance. We'll have to wait until it lands on home turf.

With clearly marked lanes, the Lepas driver assist tech was unobtrusive – which is a compliment – and even the muted speed limit assist didn't annoy too much, although the system desperately needs a shortcut to turn it all off, as it's fiddly and requires navigating through multiple menus.

There's no word on what the Australian Lepas L6 line-up will look like but our car came with a heated front screen, panoramic sunroof (with a proper electric sunshade), an electric tailgate, dual-zone climate control, 50W wireless charger, synthetic leather six-way adjustable heated and ventilated electric seats, plus 360-degree surround view cameras all standard and a Sony sound system.

While Lepas models are offered with a five-year/150,000km warranty in markets like South Africa, we'd be amazed if the new Chery brand didn't at least match the eight-year/unlimited-kilometre vehicle warranty Jaecoo models come with.

It's been hotly tipped that when the Lepas L6 arrives in Australia it will command a five-10 per cent premium over the Jaecoo or Omoda models, which suggests a price point of at least $40,000 drive-away in Australia.