TEST: Zeekr X Privilege AWD: The right ingredients for a different approach

In the flood of new Chinese cars and even brands that have entered our market in just over a year, it's becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with the latest. We humans, with our selective memory, are just that – we only remember those that stand out from the average in a positive (or negative) way. Zeekr X definitely does that. In a positive way, of course.

Base price: 47.990 €
Price of the test vehicle: 49.590 €

The automotive industry is one of the most developed and unforgiving industries on this planet – regardless of whether we are talking about the cheapest or most expensive cars that can be bought with hard-earned money. And it is in the middle of this spectrum that it is most competitive, where established traditional brands are increasingly selling status symbols rather than cars themselves. Newer brands, most often Chinese, are therefore forced to attract customers differently: either with a more attractive price or with a different approach. And Zeekr (read: zikr) has adopted the latter strategy with its smallest Model X.

Before we get to the test itself, we need to clarify something: what exactly is Zeekr? It is a premium Chinese brand with Swedish roots under the auspices of the Geely concern, which entered our market in November last year, but was only founded in 2021. In just five years of existence, they have managed to send more than nine models to the global market, and by last September they had sold more than 550.000 cars worldwide. Remember – they achieved these figures in just five (!) years. Now they want to cut their own piece of the sales pie in Europe, which they had not even really tackled until the end of last year.

The Zeekr X is a kind of technical twin of the Volvo EX30, as both brands fall under the Geely umbrella. They share many things, including the platform, powertrains and chassis, but not the design approach. Right from the start, you have to ask yourself whether this is actually a hatchback or a crossover. The truth is somewhere in between – the aggressive and robust design approach gives the impression that we usually get from crossovers, while the relatively low roofline and 17-centimeter ground clearance tell a completely opposite story. The Zeekr X may divide people with its image, but it will not leave anyone indifferent. Since it is a car of Chinese origin, there is also some design kitsch, such as the illuminated Zeekr inscription on the rear.

The exterior also features a special and practical innovation that is initially hidden from view – it only appears when the car is unlocked. A small, round screen is hidden in the B-pillar on the driver's side, which always greets the driver when entering and displays important information about the current charging session during charging. Even when the so-called "dog mode" is activated on the central screen, which maintains ideal conditions for your four-legged friend in the vehicle while you rush to the shops, a graphic appears on the external screen. This tells passers-by that your furry friend is safe and cool, even though he is alone in the car.

Upon entering the passenger compartment, the Zeekr pleasantly surprises with a modern and minimalist "cockpit", dominated by extremely high-quality and pleasant-to-the-touch materials. I dare to note that the materials, including the quality of workmanship, are better than in many cars twice as expensive - practically every surface that the user touches (or does not) is superbly finished. The most impressive are the metal covers of the Yamaha speakers and the ceiling, covered in microfiber. The vegan leather, which is covered with heated and cooled seats, is also pleasant enough to the touch to be praised in a significantly more expensive vehicle. The central part of the dashboard is occupied by a large 14,6-inch screen with CSD technology, and the role of the gauges is played by a thin 8,8-inch screen, rigidly mounted on the steering column - this means that the driver always has a clear view of it, regardless of the position of the steering wheel. The Privilege package also includes a huge 24,3-inch head-up display, which, in addition to speed, also displays navigation and travel assistant functions. Overall, the interior is an extremely comfortable and pleasant environment to spend time in.

Despite all the praise, the interior is not without its flaws. Although the central display is responsive and quite logically structured, it is simply too cluttered with information due to the complete absence of physical switches. Virtually everything, from the air conditioning to adjusting the sensitivity of the automatic wipers, has to be controlled via the screen, which is very annoying while driving. Voice control also doesn't work very well, and ZeekrGPT, which is based on artificial intelligence, is an additional paid service. The slot for wireless charging a mobile phone in the central armrest seems like a good idea at first glance, but in practice it turned out to be the opposite. For some reason, its operation is very unreliable (tested on several different devices), and when it does work, the closed design of the charger causes the phone to heat up a lot despite being cooled. We also criticize the placement of the door opening switch, which is a completely wrong solution from an ergonomic point of view.

As we are used to with cars of Chinese origin, the space in the back seat is about as much as that found in European competitors one segment higher – and the Zeekr X is no exception. Getting into the back seat is comfortable, and there is surprisingly much space considering the size of the car. At 1,82 meters tall, I myself sat very comfortably in the back row, even when the front seat was adjusted to my driving position. Speaking of the front seats – not only are they beautiful to look at and pleasant to the touch, but they also offer enough lateral support and at the same time offer enough space even for those who are not exactly model-sized. I would not be surprised if a Volvo engineer was responsible for their development.

The generously proportioned rear bench takes its toll on the boot. With 362 litres of capacity, it is more than a hundred litres smaller than that of the Volkswagen Golf, whose external dimensions are significantly smaller than the Zeekr X. Under the front cover there is a small, 21-litre boot (frunk). The emphasis is on the word small – unless you are an origami master, you won't even be able to fit a charging cable in it.

After the first few kilometers, it becomes clear that the brand, despite its youth, fully understands the desires of European drivers. The most impressive thing is the exceptionally well-balanced chassis. It is tuned a little firmer, but it still copes with the bumps of Slovenian roads perfectly. Thanks to the 20-inch wheels, the biggest challenge is short consecutive potholes, which are occasionally transferred to the cabin a little more roughly, but I would still describe the comfort overall as very good. Maybe even premium.

On the other hand, the sterile steering mechanism is a letdown, not giving the right feedback no matter what steering setting you are in. It feels very similar to those found in Tesla products. In dynamic maneuvers, the Zeekr X performs surprisingly well – the tilt is present, but it is not in any way disturbing, and the car holds the set direction like a bench thanks to the four-wheel drive. Even when the driver demands all 315 kilowatts (or a good 428 hp in good, old units) of power at the wrong moment, the safety electronics calm him down quickly and decisively, but at the same time not in a disturbing way.

Speaking of electronics – like any modern car, especially one with Chinese roots, the Zeekr X is also richly equipped with advanced assistance systems – from the basic lane keeping system (which can be a bit intrusive) to semi-autonomous driving on the highway with automatic lane changing. We were most impressed by the latter system, which performs lane changes decisively and quickly, and at the same time adapts to speed limits thanks to reliable recognition of traffic signs. This is nothing new, but of all the systems of this kind that I have tested, this is one of the most reliable and actually useful. It is also commendable that the most annoying assistance systems can be quickly and easily deactivated using shortcuts. Among them is the alert for concentration and driver fatigue, which cannot be deactivated at all in many competing cars.

The test vehicle, which proudly bears the Privilege AWD designation in its name, represents the very top of the range. This means two things: firstly, that it is loaded with practically every piece of equipment under the sun, and secondly, that it is brutally fast. Don't believe us? In this configuration, the Zeekr X leaves legendary athletes like the Corvette C7 Stingray, Porsche Carrera GT and even the Ferrari F50 behind in the sprint from zero to one hundred kilometers per hour. Even the Jaguar XJ220, which proudly carried the laurels of the fastest production car in the world in the nineties of the last century, would look at the taillights of our test Zeekr in the sprint from traffic lights to traffic lights. Yes, 3,8 seconds to one hundred is a downright brutal number, especially considering the fact that the Zeekr X is just a compact family car and not an uncompromising athlete.

However, using all the capacity will soon lead you to the charging station - consumption in this case increases rapidly, and the range drops sharply. Even in completely everyday driving, consumption is not the most favorable due to the additional electric motor on the front axle. With summer tires in favorable weather conditions on the highway, expect consumption of around 22 kWh/100 km, while on regional roads this figure drops to around 19 kWh/100 km. During our test, the Zeekr X required an average of around 20 kWh/100 km, which, combined with a battery pack with a net capacity of 64 kWh, was sufficient for a range of 320 km. This is enough for everyday errands, but not enough if you regularly travel longer distances - especially on the highway, where you will only travel just under 290 km on a single charge. When it's time to stop, the Zeekr X can charge at up to 150 kW on direct current (DC), which means that charging from 20 to 80% will take just under half an hour. Interestingly, we even exceeded the promised power in our test, as we managed to charge at 160 kW. This doesn't happen often in our tests. The most extensive Privilege AWD equipment package also includes a powerful 22 kW AC charger, while the other packages offer a standard 11 kW charger.

Overall, the Zeekr X is a successful fusion of Chinese and Swedish automotive culture, offering exactly what European buyers are looking for with its powerful powertrain, premium interior and confident road presence. However, I have some advice for potential buyers: if four-wheel drive is not an absolute requirement for you, choose the Long Range RWD (rear-wheel drive) version. Not only is it four thousand cheaper, but thanks to its more favorable fuel consumption it offers exactly what its name suggests – a longer range. It is true that the acceleration of the four-wheel drive version is significantly more brutal, but at the same time, it is, to be honest, completely unnecessary in everyday life.