Brace yourself. I’ve just become a Zeekr owner. My new 7X Performance AWD in Forest Green is sitting in the garage, and to get it there I sold what I still think is the greatest station wagon ever made.

I was 50/50 on getting an EV right up until I made the call. Knowing a car stacks up on paper and handing over the keys to one you love are two very different feelings. And in this economy, finding something that slides under the EV FBT threshold was a smart financial move.

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If I’m being honest, a big part of why I held onto the wagon was ego. It’s a car that says something about you, and I liked what it said about me. My ego needed a check, and the Zeekr gave it one.

Then there are the numbers. 

The 7X Performance AWD makes 475kW and 710Nm and hits 100km/h in 3.8 seconds, with all of that delivered instantly every time you touch the throttle. It’s quicker than the car it replaced, at roughly half the price.

The Performance AWD is listed at $81,368 and is the most popular variant with buyers. Chasing Cars reckoned they wouldn’t have been surprised if the 7X cost $10,000 more, and I’d tend to agree.

People are buying them in serious numbers too. Zeekr delivered 1748 7Xs in August alone and 9172 since the start of the year, making it the 10th best-selling new vehicle in the country for the month. That’s a brand most Australians hadn’t heard of two years ago cracking the top ten.

The biggest drainer is wait times. They often stretch to 3-6 months if you’re pedantic about colour and interior spec. However, good things come to those who wait, and I did just that. 

The biggest revelation since picking it up is how much easier it is to drive. That’s what’s won me over more than anything else. 

The air suspension does a lot of the heavy lifting. The Performance AWD gets active air suspension with up to 45mm of ride height adjustment, and I run it on low all the time without the ride getting harsh. I’m not the only one who’s noticed, with electrive finding it rides smoothly despite its 21-inch wheels.

I also keep easy access mode switched on permanently, so when I leave the car it drops down and sits extra low. 

There’s plenty of space, and pet mode means Misha can come along for the ride. The adjustable boot lid is good for low garages too, because you can set how high it opens.

The switch wasn’t anywhere near as difficult as I thought it would be, and part of that is the tech. It’s also seven years newer, which also helps. 

All 7Xs run an 800V electrical system with a 22kW AC charger, and on a high-output DC charger the Performance AWD can go from 10 to 80 per cent in around 16 minutes. The 100kWh battery is good for 543km of claimed range, which is more than enough for city driving.

It’s the little things that make it easy to live with. All the car controls are in one spot, and the screen is a good size, with a 16-inch central touchscreen and a 13-inch digital instrument cluster running wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The head-up display is clear and easy to adjust, and on the higher grades it’s a 36.2-inch unit. Seat memory stores settings for up to three people, and the Bluetooth actually connects every time you get in.

The one-touch door opening takes some getting used to. The Performance AWD adds power-operated doors, Nappa leather seats and rear-side power window sunshades, and the doors are the one feature that genuinely changes how you interact with the car.

Together, they create a cabin that feels high-end, without pretending to be luxury like other Chinese EV brands. CarExpert said the 7X could be perfectly described as a luxury SUV because of how well it isolates you from the outside world, and that’s exactly how it feels from behind the wheel.

I went with Forest Green, and it was a good choice. The black interior is dope, premium enough to feel good every time you get in, and as The Driven put it, this is not a car that’s merely “good for a Chinese brand”.

The 21-inch rims are perfect, and on the Performance AWD they’re forged alloys. Then I handed the car over to Benny at Eurolab in Sydney’s west to black out the roofline, go darker on the windows and add DMARGE yellow calipers.

The whole lot cost about $2,600, and Benny did a cracking job. With those touches, it looks awesome.

I didn’t buy the 7X on a whim. We’ve driven Zeekr’s other two Australian models. The more of the range you experience, the more the 7X makes sense in the bigger picture.

The Zeekr X is the little brother, and it’s a riot. I spent a week with the updated Zeekr X Performance AWD around Sydney earlier this year, and it does 0-100km/h in 3.7 seconds, quicker than a 911 Carrera. It’s the city car for people who don’t want to feel like they’re driving a city car, and the range starts at $48,900 drive-away.

Then there’s the Zeekr 009, which is something else entirely. Our verdict was that it’s one of the most impressive family vehicles we’ve seen this year, and possibly the best thing in Zeekr’s lineup. The AWD version makes 450kW and 693Nm and hits 100km/h in 4.5 seconds, which is absurd for a people mover. The range runs from $115,000 to $139,900 before on-roads.

What ties them together is consistency. Having driven the X and sat in the 7GT, it was clear to us the brand’s engineering is consistent across the range, and that’s what gave me the confidence to put my own money into the 7X AWD.

There’s more coming, too. Zeekr is expanding its local lineup from three models to six, adding the 8X, 9X and 7GT. The 8X and 9X are plug-in hybrids with a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine, so the brand is clearly chasing buyers who aren’t ready to go fully electric yet.

As a wagon guy, I could have waited for the 7GT. Zeekr’s electric wagon is expected to undercut the 7X, with a starting price in the mid-$50,000s when deliveries begin early next year, and the range-topping Australian version is set to land with 500kW.

But I’d have been sitting on my hands until 2027, and the 7X is still a winner. The more I drive it, the more I like it. Credit where it’s due, the team at Zeekr City in Sydney were great. Thanks to Leslie and Ali for looking after me.

More people will make the switch, especially city drivers, and once you’ve lived with one, it’s hard to see why you’d go back. 

Hate EVs all you want, but they make a very compelling commercial argument in this economy.

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