Zeekr 7X 2026 review: RWD long-term | Part 3

Three months with the 2026 Zeekr 7X RWD have come and gone at an alarming rate.

But I’ve immensely enjoyed my time with the fully electric mid-size SUV, which impresses on so many fronts.

Read More About Zeekr 7X

• Zeekr 7X 2026 review: RWD long-term | Part 1
• Zeekr 7X 2026 review: RWD long-term | Part 2
• China is about to ban this feature

In the first two instalments of this three-part long-term review, I covered a lot of the reasons why the 7X has been so successful since its Australian arrival last year.

In the first edition I detailed its keen pricing, high specification and strong powertrain and efficiency, while the second saw me deep-dive its fetching design and genuine practicality. You can check out both in the links above.

As promised, this third and final look at the 7X will be headlined by drive impressions and overall verdict.

So, how does the Chinese newcomer stack up behind the wheel? Let’s find out!

Strong European influence

From the moment I picked up the ‘keys’ to the 7X RWD I was struck by how it could easily be mistaken for a European car, and not just design wise.

Nearly every Chinese-branded car I’ve driven to date has been underwhelming to drive, but the 7X shows how far these marques have come in such a short period of time.

In some instances these carmakers have started to catch up with the rest of the world.

It no doubt helps that Zeekr can tap into the expertise of its Geely Group parent company, which also owns Sweden’s Volvo and England’s Lotus.

Point being, there is a legacy element that Zeekr can make the most of, and it certainly has with the 7X.

Yes, the 7X RWD on test here still delivers a relatively soft ride – which is a Chinese-brand signature as passenger comfort is front of mind – but it does so in a relatively controlled manner.

The RWD goes without the air springs and adaptive dampers of its Performance sibling, yet its balance will satisfy most, with small bumps dealt with aplomb.

It can become unsettled over larger imperfections, but it is more composed than its more expensive Polestar 4 cousin – and it is arguably half European!

Handling-wise, the 7X separates itself from the Chinese-brand pack with stronger body control when turning into a corner at low or high speed.

Being a high-riding SUV, though, physics cannot be denied, so there is some roll when tipping in the 7X, but the beauty of the RWD variant is its rear-wheel-drive dynamics.

Being pushed out of a corner rather than pulled is a nicer sensation, as is oversteer in general.

When it comes to the 7X’s electric power steering, it has three settings, with Comfort feeling too dead off-centre for my liking.

Standard strikes the best balance when it comes to feedback, while Sport is too heavy for regular low-speed use.

That said, the 7X still isn’t the most engaging model to drive in its segment, as that honour still belongs to the facelifted Tesla Model Y, which offers quicker steering and even stronger body control.

Straight-line performance is another 7X RWD strong suit, with its single, rear-mounted electric motor delivering a relative high 310kW of power and a more modest 440Nm of torque.

This enables a brisk 0-100km/h acceleration time of six seconds flat, which can be achieved when putting its Acceleration mode into Sport.

The Standard setting is better balanced with energy consumption, so that is my pick, but you also have a Comfort option that dials down the performance too much for my liking, although it may please your passengers the most.

There are two settings for the 7X’s regenerative braking, with Standard akin to engine braking in an internal-combustion model, while Sport has a noticeably higher level of deceleration, but it is still not strong enough in my books.

A one-pedal drive mode is a separate option for bringing the 7X to a complete stop without the use of its actual brake pedal, but I found myself regularly using my left foot because the regenerative braking was not slowing things down quickly enough – even with some serious thought put into it.

When it comes to noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) levels, the 7X benefits from being a fully electric vehicle with near-silent operation.

That said, some wind noise over the side mirrors can penetrate the cabin at highway speeds, but it can be drowned out by the RWD's excellent 10-speaker sound system.

Why can’t more safety features be this accommodating?

Advanced driver-assist safety systems rightly cop a lot of flack these days for being poorly tuned and obtrusive in many instances, but the 7X’s overall package is one of the better ones.

The driver attention alert springs into action when required, but I personally find it to be distracting in itself, although the good news is that when you turn it off it stays off.

It is a similar story with the intermittent but mostly inaccurate drowsiness alert.

With those two features turned off, the only intermittent challenge is the emergency lane keeping, which is occasionally overly cautious, providing steering-wheel resistance when you try and make what it deems to be an unsafe manoeuvre – but it can be physically overpowered.

The forward collision warning is also a little too sensitive for my liking, but it’s not necessarily wrong when it does spring into action, if you get what I mean.

As for the less exciting stuff, the 7X is a relative breeze to park, with a lot of the credit going to its clear, detailed surround-view camera, which has a handy steering-wheel shortcut button, which is seldom seen.

Driving range you can believe in

In my third and final month with the 7X RWD my average energy consumption was 15.6kWh/100km over 655km of driving, which was a fairly even combination of city and highway trips.

This compares to the 15.2kWh/100km and 15.9kWh/100km that I achieved in months one and two, respectively, all of which combine to 15.6kWh/100km over a total distance driven of 2383km.

Given the 7X RWD’s useable battery capacity of 71kWh, that equals a real-world driving range of 455km, which again is very close to its WLTP claim of 480km – that’s a big win.

Acquired: January 21, 2025

Distance travelled this month: 655km

Odometer: 5415km

Average energy consumption this month: 15.6kWh/100km