What’s this new car all about then?
Where do we begin? Not just a new model to talk about, but a whole new brand.
Zeekr is not a complete unknown in a Kiwi context. It’s a sub-brand of Chinese maker Geely, and therefore part of a wider family that includes Volvo, Polestar and Lotus. All are distributed in New Zealand under the same Giltrap Group-owned NordEast company, by the way. You’re in good hands.
Zeekr is kinda the “cool” Geely brand: created specifically for export markets and aimed at a more enthusiast, premium and out-there audience. The Chinese BMW? If you like. In that vein at least.
In that context, an enormous people-mover like the 009 you see here might not seem like the obvious vehicle for these aspirations. Granted, it’s not core Zeekr fare here; might we refer you to the brand's sporty EV-SUVs, the compact X and mid-sized 7X.
The 009 is a deeply impressive machine, though. If you're looking for a bit of legacy-brand cred, it's actually built on the same platform as the Volvo EX90.
The 009 is pure-electric like Zeekr’s SUVs, with a monster 116kWh battery (WLTP range 582km, peak charging rate 205kW) and dual motors making 450kW. It weighs 2870kg, but it’s good for 0-100km/h in 4.5 seconds, which can be both hilarious and alarming; especially for everybody around you.
The exterior styling is… striking to say the least, but undeniably cohesive. We like it, and even if you don’t, you can’t deny it has presence.
The 009 is all about the passenger experience. And it is an experience, with three rows of seating, nappa leather/Ultrasuede upholstery, and individual “Sofaro First-Class Aeronautic” seats in the second row on 1-metre rails, with their own controls for everything from heating to massage.
There are individual “Smartbar Screens” on the doors for climate. And lots more tech. Too much tech to hope to cover in one story, but we’ll have a go.
Seats first. Because while the 009 is all about the occupant experience, it’s especially about the second row.
If you’re admiring the chairs in our test car, consider this: we’re looking at the 7-seat version, but if you opt for the 6-seat you not only get more sumptuous accomodation in the 3rd row, you also enjoy even bigger 2nd-row seats. You do also lose the walk-through space to the 3rd row and the fold-up table between them, but gain a lot of comfort - and nappa leather aircraft-style foldout tables for each chair.
Back to the more, ahem, utility-focused 7-seat model. The left-side seat is the place to be really, because the recline function goes even further and aligns with a powered footrest to create the full lie-down experience.
It takes about 25 seconds and the seat legrest seems to smoosh awkwardly into the front seat-mounted footrest for the last part of the conversion (perhaps that’s why the padding is called “Fantastic Rebound Sponge”), but still: what a way to travel. The front-passenger seat automatically slides/folds for this layout, so that’s a no-go zone in this configuaration.
There’s a cooling and warming refrigerator for the back (remote-release) and a separate 17-inch screen that descends from the roof; the remote is nestled in a seat knook.
All stuff that the kids will love, but also the vehicle for a pretty awesome executive express. Our 009 wasn’t yet live with a SIM card (all customer cars will be), so we didn’t have the full connected experience; but features like that rear-mounted screen have a multitude of applications, from streaming Bluey on a phone during the school run to logging into Teams meetings with the office.
The thunderous 3000W Yamaha sound system is also worth a mention: it’s tailored for the car, with 30 surround-sound speakers and another 8 in the headrests.
How much is it?
Our 009 7-seat test car is $149,900, while less costs a bit more with the 6-seat version priced at $154,900.
Not a lot of money for such a lot of luxury and technology… but still a lot of money.
Who’s going to buy a giant electric people-mover for $150k-plus? This is not really even a genre in the Kiwi new-car space right now, but Zeekr’s local operation sees potential in the 009 because luxury MPVs like the Toyota Alphard/Vellfire are reasonably popular used (60-80 imports per year) and sell for 6-figure sums.
Zeekr reckons it can match that volume with a super-luxury machine that brings a 5-year/unlimited km warranty (8 years for the battery).
What’s like to drive?
If you’ve skipped to this bit, you might have missed the point of the 009. It’s a supersized wafter designed for the people who are not driving.
It’s soft. Very soft indeed. In Comfort mode, it rebounds over judder bars and continues to gently rebound as you drive on. But you can firm things up either through the drive modes, or individual suspension control; the dual-chamber air setup is called “Intelligent Magic Carpet”, so that should give you a good idea of where it’s pitched. Pun intended.
It does grip strongly and being an EV with a lot of weight down low, it doesn’t necessarily feel wobbly through tight corners at open-road speeds.
The extreme acceleration feels like a novelty more than anything, given the 009 takes up so much road. And, you know, the fact it’s an enormous people mover. It is a good way to silence the sceptics, though; pop them in a First Class seat, select Sport and go.
The driver-assists are reasonably well sorted, but the 009 still has the Geely adaptive-cruise curse: on the open road, any sign of a gentle corner and it washes up to 40km/h off your speed, which enrages the traffic behind. Apparently a group-wide fix is coming via an OTA update, although the company has been saying that for a while now.
The 35in-plus colour head-up display is pretty impressive. It’s so big and packed with information, you might even say it’s a bit distracting.
The 009 may look like it’s the size of a small apartment, but the 360-degree camera system, with features like Transparent Chassis, makes it surprisingly easy to slot into tight spaces. It doesn’t hurt that the high sides are completely flat, of course. And if you must, there’s a fully automatic parking/exit system too.
What’s the pick of the range?
We haven’t had a go in the 6-seater, but unless you’re obsessed with having the absolute best or need to ferry some kind of foreign dignitary around, the cheaper 7-seater still serves up an outrageous level of luxury and equipment. Plus it has the utility of that extra seat in the 3rd row.
What other cars should I consider?
The Zeekr 009 is in a class of one for now. Putting the secondhand stuff already mentioned aside (none of it EV, of course), the closest thing might well be the VW ID. Buzz GTX (an identical $149,990), although even the long-wheelbase Dub can’t come anywhere near the 009’s sheer luxury and extreme performance.
Beyond that, you’re probably looking at electric SUVs. The Kia EV9 is the one that springs to mind: the flagship GT-Line at $139,790. But again, not quite the same thing.
If you like the attitude of the 009 but just can’t get your ahead around the MPV thing, there’s a close relative coming in the form of an SUV: the Zeekr 9X, which looks a whole lot like a Rolls-Royce Cullinan (yes, that’s deliberate). It’s likely to be a plug-in hybrid for NZ, but a powerful one: up to 300km range on electric, depending on the battery size specified.
