If you can’t decide between a pick-up truck and an SUV, maybe this is what you need. Making its launch debut at this year’s Thailand International Motor Expo is the Deepal E07, which is essentially a renamed Changan Nevo E07 that went on sale in China in October.
At first glance, the E07 appears to be an elongated SUV with a coupe-like roofline and low beltline. The party trick here is found at the rear of the vehicle, which features a vertical tailgate and an electrically powered retractable cover, enabling it to “transform” into a pick-up truck. Remember Audi’s activesphere concept from last year? Yeah, it’s something like that.
Zany ability aside, other notable design cues on the SUV/pick-up truck include C-shaped DRLs at the front that wrap around slim main headlamps, with additional light bars in the surroundings. This motif is also replicated for the rear, and you’ll also find roof rails, black body cladding and eye-catching 21-inch wheels.
In terms of dimensions, the E07 measures 5,045 mm long, 1,996 mm wide, 1,680 mm tall and has a wheelbase of 3,120 mm. That makes it a rather large vehicle, although its overall length is still less than actual pick-up trucks like the Toyota Hilux, Mitsubishi Triton and Isuzu D-Max. The load capacity is also said to be about 300 kg.
While the exterior is certainly striking, the five-seat interior is highly minimalist with the dashboard being dominated by a 15.6-inch infotainment touchscreen. There’s not even an instrument cluster in sight, although a head-up display comes standard.
Other features mentioned include electric adjustment for the steering wheel, powered zero-gravity front seats with ventilation function, a 60:40 split-folding rear bench, 256-colour ambient lighting, dual-zone climate control, an 18-speaker sound system and a 50W wireless charging pad.
For safety, there are front, side and curtain airbags, along with the usual array of passive systems, plus a sentry mode. Driver assistance comes in the form of an around view monitor with “transparent chassis” and recording functions, automated assisted parking, remote parking assist, adaptive cruise control with traffic jam assist, lane centring, forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, lane keep assist, lane departure warning, front and rear cross traffic alert and lane change assist.
The E07 is an electric vehicle (EV) that will be offered in two variants. The base option is called the Plus that gets a rear-mounted electric motor rated at 342 PS (338 hp or 252 kW) and 365 Nm of torque, which is good for a 0-100 km/h time of 6.7 seconds and top speed of 201 km/h.
The next step up is the Performance AWD, which, as its name implies, adds a front electric motor rated at 256 PS (252 hp or 188 kW) and 280 Nm for a dual-motor setup – the rear motor is the same as the Plus. With a total system output of 598 PS (590 hp or 440 kW) and 645 Nm, the Performance AWD is exceptionally quick with a century sprint time of 3.96 seconds and a higher top speed of 210 km/h. The range-topper is also the only one to get air suspension with continuous damping control – the E07 uses double wishbones at the front and a H-arm multi-link setup for the rear.
Both variants share the same nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery with an energy capacity of 89.98 kWh, which provides a NEDC-rated range of 640 km for the Plus, and 590 km for the Performance AWD. AC charging is at a peak capacity of 6.6 kW and the maximum DC input is 240 kW, the latter allowing the battery to get from a 30-80% state of charge in just 15 minutes. A vehicle-to-load (V2L) system is also standard.
Pricing-wise, the E07 is being launched with a special introductory price of 1.599 million baht (about RM207k) for the Plus, while the Performance AWD goes for 1.999 million baht (RM259k). Once the promo concludes, both will see their prices increase by 100,000 baht (RM13k).
As for colours, the Plus is available in Obsidian Black, Quartz White and Hematite Grey, all paired with a black interior. The Performance AWD gets the same options as the Plus, but its Hematite Grey is in a matte finish and there’s the additional choice of Jade Green – all with an orange interior.
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