Zeekr 007: This $36,000 Tesla Model 3 Competitor Proves We're Cooked
Even before the advent of mass-produced electric cars, some critics have insisted that too many new cars just look and feel the same—especially if they’re from the same parent company. To them, all these modular platforms with unmemorable names like TGNA and MQB just yield the same car over and over again; it’s even worse with EVs since batteries, motors and software don't create as many obvious differences as engines do.
I think that’s a little hyperbolic and far too pessimistic. There are plenty of things engineers can do to make vehicles feel different from each other, even if the vehicles themselves must share some common parts. That’s what separates the wheat from the chaff when it comes to a good car company.
Still, when I knew I’d be venturing to China to sample nearly all of the cars on Geely’s new modular EV platform, I had my reservations. I’ve driven lots of EVs from Volvo and Polestar before. Would I be flying 6,000 miles to essentially drive the same car damn near a dozen times?
Thankfully, that wasn’t the case. Geely’s figured out a way to craft a modular platform that is flexible enough for its end products amongst its too-many brands to have a different feel; the budget and pint-sized Smart #3 doesn’t feel like the Panamera-inspired Zeekr 001. The Honda Accord-priced Geely Galaxy E8 might as well be on a different planet from the super-luxe Lotus Eletre. But while sampling a fleet of generally well-resolved EV and PHEV models from the Geely group, one stood out as the surefire best-in-show: The Zeekr 007.
