Zeekr 001 (2023 - ) review

While the usual electric car benefits of cheap charging if you can plug in at home and Benefit In Kind incentives for those running one as a company car apply here we’ll have to wait and see where Zeekr pitches the 001 in terms of price. In markets like the Netherlands where it’s already sold it’s hardly cheap, costing more than a Hyundai Ioniq 6, BYD Seal or even Tesla Model 3. Indeed, Zeekr seems to have pitched the 001 squarely at the more expensive BMW i4, which is a pretty punchy move for a new brand with no existing profile in the market. It’s well equipped but that starting price may prove a stumbling block given what the more established rivals already offer.

A holding score for now on the basis Zeekr is an unknown quantity in Europe, let alone the UK. But the wider Geely group of which Zeekr is a part has shown impressive form with the other brands in its portfolio like Volvo and Smart, many of which share common parts with the 001. In markets where it is sold Zeekr also pairs a five-year warranty with the option to extend to 10 years of cover if you commit to servicing by official agents.

Like many of the new brands entering the market Zeekr includes an impressive suite of sensor, radar and camera driven safety and driver aids as standard, which is encouraging. But also concerning, given the way it’s been calibrated and the constant false alarms. One example of this is the driver awareness monitor, which uses a camera on the steering column to make sure your eyes are on the road. But at roundabouts or junctions turning the steering wheel obscures the camera’s view, unleashing manic bonging and flashing warnings about ‘distractive’ driving on the instrument cluster. The Zeekr X we also drove did the same, and we’d give that the benefit of the doubt given those cars were officially pre-production and the engineers said there was still work to do setting the systems up. But 001s like the one we drove are already on sale, and it’s worrying they made it through quality control without anyone within Zeekr raising it as an issue.

The 001 makes a strong first impression when you climb in, thanks to a real sense of quality in both the design, the materials your fingers touch and the few switches available to interact with. The driver and front passenger are cocooned within a sweeping and sportily configured front cabin while in the back the generous legroom makes it comfortable for four and acceptable for five thanks to more headroom than the swooping roofline would suggest. Finding a comfortable driving position is made more difficult than it needs to be by the fact you have to go a couple of levels into the touch-screen menus to select the powered steering column adjustment, which you then do via the touch-sensitive controls on the wheel. Same for the mirrors, all of which seems an unnecessary faff. But once settled the seats are comfy, heated as standard and offer massages at the touch of a button on the top trim level we tested. On the road like all electric cars the 001 is very smooth and quiet, though on the rough Swedish tarmac we were driving on there was a bit more tyre noise than we would have liked. Something you’ll curse if you regularly drive that concrete surfaced south-western section of the M25, or similarly poor surfaces elsewhere in the country. The top of the range Privilege model also includes variable height air suspension, which is a sophisticated feature at this price point and means the car can adjust the ride according to the driver mode or conditions. It’s generally comfortable, if perhaps a little wallowy at times. Regular models get a more conventional system which we didn’t get to try on this first go with the 001. Again, it’s worth pointing out Zeekr may well adapt the 001 to our roads before it goes on sale here, so we’ll reserve final judgement until that happens.

Again, we’ll have to wait and see what kit Zeekr includes on the 001 when it does eventually arrive in the UK but, assuming it follows a similar model to the markets where it’s already operating, expect lots more as standard than you’d get on the BMW i4 you might also be considering. Even the base model (all things relative) gets heated front seats with 12-way power adjustment, a Yamaha-branded stereo system and the high-tech combination of a massive head up display (which is to say speed, nav and other info projected on the windscreen) with a small digital instrument cluster and giant central touch-screen. The top model gets an additional, smaller screen between the seats for rear-seat passengers to adjust the upgraded three-zone climate control also included on that version. It’s all very impressive but the operating system lacks the polish of those in the likes of BMW, Mercedes, Audi and the built-in navigation has some rather old-fashioned looking graphics. It works well enough but you’ll probably end up using your apps in CarPlay or Android Auto instead, your phone an essential part of life with the Zeekr on the basis you can use it as your key and control a host of features remotely via an app. On that basis it’s a good job there’s a wireless charger included as standard, because you wouldn’t want to be stranded if your handset runs flat!

Like most of its rivals the Zeekr 001 comes with the option of a single-motor Long Range set-up or more powerful twin-motor model with power going to all four wheels. Which is probably a good thing, because there’s a lot of it! To put a number on it 544 horsepower is enough to keep pace with all the competitors in its class, and hurl you from zero to 62mph in less than four seconds. A figure that not too long ago was reserved for only the fastest supercars but in this electric age feels almost normal, not that your passengers will thank you if you try and demonstrate it every time the lights go green. As fast as it is we also found the 001 a little numb to drive, so once you’ve enjoyed the straight-line acceleration there seems little reward in pushing it hard and a BMW i4 or Tesla Model 3 is probably more fun at the wheel. Perhaps of more relevance for normal driving is the very generous range, with even these high-performance versions going over 350 miles by official stats while the Long Range will do nearly 400. You can knock a bit off for real-world driving but any 001 should be capable of 300 miles on a full battery, which should reduce your reliance on expensive public chargers to a minimum and help save a chunk on running costs.