Zeekr 009 vs Fiat 500X

What's the difference?

The Zeekr 009 is difficult to fault. It's a luxurious, practical vehicle that's easy and enjoyable to drive. There's no SUV on the planet that can compete with its practicality, whether it's room for people and their cargo, or just getting in and out of the vehicle. The only thing I would change about the 009 in terms of family use are the captain's chairs in the second row; a bench seat here for three people would be more practical for a family. If, however, you are using the 009 as a chauffeur car then the captain's chairs would provide the comfort and luxury jet-setting executives would welcome.

The 500X is a fun-looking alternative to the various options available from everyone else and is - overall - better to drive than its Renegade twin. 

It packs a very good safety package which you can't ignore but does lose points on the warranty and servicing regime. But it's also built to take four adults in comfort, which not every car in the segment can boast.

You might think that there's only so much you can do to make a people mover good looking but Zeekr’s futuristic and alien-like take is inspired.

I love to sheer bluntness of the face. I love the chiseled looking bonnet, the LED running lights and the little show they put on every time you walk to or from the car. Even the side profile of the car sitting low and planted on its air suspension looks sleek and stylish. And I love the roulette-wheel-style alloys wheels.

I was impressed by the interior of the Lexus LM500h but the interior of the 009 exceeds even that with modern and youthful styling wrapped in beautiful soft leather upholstery. The second-row seats are just absolutely sumptuous and every single touch point throughout the cabin feels luxurious.

The 009 doesn't match the size of the gigantic entertainment screen in the second row of the LM500h but I found the drop down 17-inch 3K entertainment to have an even more modern look and feel.

Look, I like the 500X, but I know why people don't. It's clearly a 500X in the way a Mini Countryman is a Mini. It looks like a 500, but get closer and you see the difference. It's chubby like a $10 weekend market Bhudda statue and has great big googly eyes like Mr Magoo. I find this endearing, my wife does not. The looks aren't the only thing she doesn't like.

The cabin is a bit more restrained and I quite like the band of colour stretching across the dash. The 500X is meant to be a bit more grown up than the 500, so there's a proper dash, more sensible design choices but it still has the big buttons, perfect for the meaty fingers of people who won't be buying this car.

When it comes to practicality, no SUV on the planet can beat a people mover for space, storage and utility. The Zeekr 009 is beautifully luxurious with outstanding practicality.

Air suspension can lower the vehicle to an entry height that is just a small step into a cabin through the power sliding doors and while space in the second row is outstanding, entry to the third row is easy with the second-row seats folding forward at the touch of the button.

This third row by the way is the most spacious I have encountered with excellent leg and headroom.

Gigantic door pockets, a folding table between second-row seats, great storage under the floating centre console and in the centre console bin, cupholders in all three rows along with wireless charging pads and USB ports everywhere make this a practical and versatile cabin for families or executives.

Boot capacity with all seven seats in place is 574 litres and with the third row folded flat there's 2979 litres of volume.

A front boot can be found under the bonnet but will probably just fit the charging cable.

At just 4.25 metres, the 500X isn't big, but makes the most of what it's got. The boot impresses at 350 litres and with the seats down, I think you could reasonably expect to triple that figure, though Fiat doesn't have an official number that I can find. For added Italian feel, you can tip the passenger seat forward to get really long things in, like a Billy bookshelf flat pack from Ikea.

Rear seat passengers sit high and upright meaning leg and kneeroom are maximised and with that tall roof, you won't scrape your head. 

The doors each have a small bottle holder for a total of four and Fiat has got serious about cupholders - the 500X now has four.

I drove the Pop Star, which is the second of the now-two model "regular" range, the other being the, er, Pop. I drove a Special Edition in 2018 and it's not clear if it is Special as there's also an Amalfi Special edition. Anyway.

The $30,990 (plus on-road costs) Pop Star has 17-inch alloys, six-speaker Beats-branded stereo, dual-zone climate control, reversing camera, keyless entry and start, active cruise control, sat nav, auto headlights and wipers, leather shifter and steering wheel and a space-saver spare.

The Beats-branded stereo speakers are supplied with noise from FCA's UConnect on a 7.0-inch touchscreen. The same system is in a Maserati, don't you know. Offering Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, UConnect loses points by shrinking the Apple interface into a lurid red frame. Android Auto properly fills the screen, for some reason which is ironic given Apple owns the Beats brand.

The Zeekr 009 has two electric motors - one at the front and one at the rear - with a combined output of 450kW and 693Nm. That's Lamborghini Huracan stuff! Almost identical power, but this has more torque.

Not only does this provide all-wheel drive and fantastically controlled traction, but the way the power and torque is delivered is simply superb. This is a seven-seater rocket that will never leave the ground - hopefully.

The nature of electric motors - especially these ones - are the perfect fit for this vehicle, providing a serenely quiet, luxurious and effortlessly powerful experience.

Fiat's rather excellent 1.4-litre turbo MultiAir does duty under the stubby bonnet, making 103kW and 230Nm. Rather less excellent is the six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, which sends power through the front wheels only.

It's rated to tow a 1200kg braked trailer and 600kg unbraked.

The Zeekr 009 has a 116kWh battery which is enormous - almost the biggest you can get in Australia currently. This lithium-ion battery has a range of 582km (WLTP). There are petrol cars that can’t go that far on a tank.

The battery has an AC charging capacity of 11kW and DC charging capacity of 205kW, allowing you to charge from 10-80 per cent in 39 minutes.

Energy consumption is officially 19.5kWh/100km and we’ve been getting an average of 23.5kWh/100km.

That’s because this thing is so heavy at 2.9 tonnes.

Fiat rather optimistically suggest you'll get a combined cycle figure of 5.7L/100km but try as I might, I couldn't do better than 11.2L/100km. What's worse, it demands 98RON fuel, so it's not the cheapest car to run. This figure us consistent with past weeks in the 500X and no, I wasn't thrashing it.

The Zeekr 009 is one of the largest vehicles on the Australian market at almost three tonnes and 5.2 meters long but it's also one of the most comfortable, and one of the easiest and most enjoyable cars I've driven.

This is for three main reasons. The first is the air suspension which provides a beautifully comfortable and composed ride.

The next is those electric motors which provide so much grunt but in a very predictable way that's smooth, silent and instant, allowing you to move through traffic or drive confidently on a motorway.

Finally the visibility, steering and pedal feel all combined to provide an effortless piloting experience through narrow laneways, carparks or while parking.

Adding to the enjoyment of driving this people mover is a comfortable, plush interior that's so well insulated that you'll coast serenely through traffic.

As for handling, I have also driven the 009 on a race track at Sydney Motorsport Park. I pushed it through a couple of corners where even some sports have cars struggled to maintain their composure and this massive people move performed surprisingly well, staying planted through the corners.

I've also taken the 009 onto a skid pan and intentionally tried to slide the vehicle and even under these controlled conditions it showed no sign of roll or loss of control.

Having taken the 009 through probably the widest range of testing I've ever put a car through I'd say that it feels safe and secure in pretty much any real-world condition you will experience.

Again, I shouldn't like the 500X but I really don't mind it. It's flawed, which might be why.

The dual-clutch transmission is dumber than a box of loose cogs, lurching from start and looking the other way when you expect it to shift. We know the engine is a good one and I think part of the reason it's so thirsty is the confused way the transmission goes about its business. I'd love to drive a manual to see what it's like.

The 500X initially feels worse than its Jeep Renegade sibling-under-the-skin, which is quite an achievement. Part of that is to do with the ride, which is very choppy below 60km/h. The first 500X I drove wallowed about but this one is a bit tauter, which would be good if you weren't punished with this bounciness.

The seats themselves comfortable and the interior is a good place to hang out. It's reasonably quiet, too, which is at odds with the old-school silliness of its conduct. It feels like Labrador let out of after day kept inside.

And that's where the car I shouldn't like is a car I do like - I really like that it feels like you're on Roman cobblestones, the type that make your knees hurt when you walk on them for a day. The steering wheel is too fat and is at a weird angle, but you kind of square up to it and drive the car like your life depends on it. You have to take it by the scruff, correct the shifts with the paddles and show it who's boss.

Obviously, that's not for everyone. If you drive it really gently, it's a very different experience, but that means going slowly everywhere, which is no fun at all and not at all Italian.

Out of the box, you get seven airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, forward collision warning, high and low speed AEB, active cruise control, rollover stability, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, blind spot sensor and rear cross traffic alert. That's not bad for a $30,000 car full stop, let alone a Fiat.

There are two ISOFIX points and three top-tether anchors for baby seats. 

The 500X scored a five-star ANCAP rating in December 2016.

The 009 is covered by Zeekr’s five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty. The battery is covered by an eight-year/160,000km warranty.

Servicing is recommended every 40,000km or every two years, whichever comes first. There’s also five years/unlimited kilometres of roadside assistance and five years of connected services as standard.

Fiat offers a three-year/150,000km warranty, along with roadside assist for the same period. It's not great as more manufacturers shift to five years. 

Service intervals arrive once a year or 15,000km. There is no fixed or capped-price servicing program for the 500X.