Recently, the MPV market has been very lively, and the strongest pure electric MPV in the 500,000 level–Zeekr 009 has finally arrived. To be honest, I am really looking forward to domestic MPVs breaking through and making those Japanese luxury MPVs no longer so superior, allowing Chinese consumers to avoid being overcharged.
However, after watching the product launch, I have three doubts:
The first point is its appearance. Zeekr 009’s most controversial front face is not ugly per se, but I have to ask if the inspiration came from a stainless steel shredder. Maybe my aesthetics are not that high, but the avant-garde design is also a trend, with high recognition, and taking a different path is also another way to play. Driving on the road, the turning rate is definitely not low.
The second point is that the unique features of Zeekr 009 were not found during the press conference; the product positioning was not very clear, aiming to cover as many application scenarios as possible, but the product design was not in place. In addition, it aims to combine home travel and business receptions while also being full of driving passion. In the end, it can’t grasp anything. Especially with the way to access the third row, in actual business reception scenarios, would the boss wait under the car door for relevant personnel to enter the third row, then wait for the second row seats to return to their positions before getting in the car? It is said that this design is for the sake of face, but the scene of the boss waiting foolishly in front of the car door for the slide rail to return, with the wind blowing, is ridiculous.
The third point is the body torsional stiffness mentioned in the launch. In the field of electric vehicles, Zeekr’s data can only be considered average, with the body torsional rigidity of the Beiqi underling ARCFOXxia Alfa S reaching 60,000 N·m/deg, while Zeekr’s data is only mediocre.
In general, the product strength of Zeekr 009 is still good, but it is not able to completely subvert the MPV category as claimed.
To become an excellent pure electric MPV, Zeekr 009 still has a long way to go. For users who have requirements for these usage scenarios, I think it is better to wait a bit longer.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.