Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi started selling its first car, the SU7, earlier this year.
Ford’s CEO says the EV is “fantastic.” Our reviewer says it looks good and delivers on performance too.
The SU7 simply shouldn’t drive this well given it’s from a company that has not produced vehicles before.
Ford CEO Jim Farley made headlines recently after saying he’d been driving a Chinese EV for the past six months — and didn’t want to give it up because he thought the car was “fantastic.”
The car in question is perhaps the year’s biggest sensation in China’s EV market: the Xiaomi SU7.
Xiaomi is not that big a name outside Asia despite being one of the world’s biggest smartphone makers. It’s the latest to enter the hypercompetitive Chinese EV market, in which the only Western company doing well these days is Tesla.
There’s no doubt the SU7 is a looker; the problem is it looks a bit too much like a few other well-known sports cars. Luckily, I found the car not only looks the part but delivers the goods when it comes to performance, too.
My test drive was quite limited by time, so I didn’t get to try the car as fully as I would have liked. One of my first experiences was driving it down into an underground parking lot for a wash before the video shoot.
With the tight spiral, the SU7’s near-five meter (16.4 foot) length proved a challenge, although the array of sensors offering a 360-degree view on the screen helped. The car has a respectable turning radius of 5.7 meters (18.7 feet).
Given Xiaomi’s consumer electronics origins, the SU7 is packed full of equipment. The infotainment screen in the center is impossible to miss, and there’s also an instrument screen that revolves to greet you. My car even had a fridge in the center console large enough for about six canned drinks, although I later discovered it’s an optional extra.
Once on the move, the wide-angle heads-up display takes center stage. I would say the SU7’s emphasis tends to be on tech rather than creature comforts. Yes, there is a 25-speaker sound system that boasts Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 — but even on my top-spec Max version, the leather seats are an add-on cost.
