Toyota Prius vs Deepal E07

What's the difference?

What to say about the Toyota Prius in 2021? A car that was once a technology trailblazer seems now to have become properly retro, even while it’s still being built and sold.

The awkward-looking wedge, an eco-punk icon, not only brought Toyota’s hybrid synergy drive to the masses, it also debuted the brand’s excellent TNGA architecture and set the scene for the company's absurd hybrid success, which now sees the RAV4 version topping the sales charts.

So, after all these years (25 to be precise), is the Prius’s time finally over? Or does this quaint hybrid hero still have more to offer? I took a top-spec I-Tech for a week to find out.

Deepal is a recent arrival in Australia but its parent company Changan Automotive is one of China’s largest state-owned automotive manufacturers which was established in the 1950s.

Deepal Automobile Technology (to use its full name) is one of several brands under the Changan corporate umbrella targeting different market segments across passenger and commercial vehicle lines.

Deepal’s focus is on full-electric vehicles with an expanding Australian line-up comprising a compact SUV (S05), mid-sized SUV (S07) and a groundbreaking large SUV (E07) it calls the Multitruck.

We recently spent a week in the E07 to find out if it’s not only practical for family duties but also if its unique design offers genuine workhorse ability to validate its ‘truck’ credentials.