#BrownCarGuy – News, Views & Reviews!
The Changan Deepal S05 arrives in Britain with 303 miles of claimed range, rear-wheel drive and enough technology to keep a small branch of Currys busy. Has this unfamiliar electric SUV earned a place on your shortlist?
The Kia EV2 is the smallest and cheapest electric car the Korean manufacturer sells in Britain. That usually means a worthy little urban runabout built to a price, with the interior ambience of a bare cupboard and unpainted bumpers. But the EV2 has other ideas. It arrives with the upright stance, bold lighting and visual confidence of something at least one size larger – and a couple of grades more expensive.
The new Aion V has landed in the UK, and I got an early first drive at SMMT Test Day at Millbrook, where some of the latest cars are laid out like an automotive buffet and you try not to come away with indigestion, or an existential crisis about how quickly the car industry is changing. This is Aion’s new electric family SUV, and while the badge may still be unfamiliar to most British buyers, the proposition is anything but vague: 317 miles of WLTP range, £36,450 OTR, around 204PS, lots of equipment, loads of space and one of the most interesting ownership packages currently being offered on any new car in Britain.
There’s a new EV player in town – and it goes by the name Xpeng. If you’ve never heard of them, don’t worry, you will. Xpeng is one of the latest Chinese electric vehicle brands to enter the UK market, and their first offering here is this: the G6, a mid-size coupe-SUV aimed squarely at buyers considering a Tesla Model Y, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6 and even the BYD Sealion 7.
The BYD Seal is an EV saloon from China’s biggest maker of new energy vehicles. And it’s rather good! Now, it’s joined by another Seal – except this one isn’t a saloon; it’s an SUV. What’s more, it’s not even an EV – it’s a plug-in hybrid! Should it feature on your next family car buying shortlist? Well, let’s find out.
This Kia EV9 is a behemoth with enough boot space (despite three rows of seats) to accommodate all the awards it’s been winning! But is it a worthy winner? This huge electric SUV, available in rear-wheel drive as well as all-wheel drive, seems to think it’s an MPV (people carrier) when it comes to the inside.
This is the new BYD Seal U DM-i Hybrid SUV, and I had an opportunity to take a close look at it while visiting BYD’s brand-new headquarters in Uxbridge, UK. BYD (Build Your Dreams) is not just making waves; they’re creating a tidal wave in the automotive industry, surpassing even Tesla in global electrified car sales. So is this U DM-i worth putting on your family-car shortlist?