The onslaught of new Chinese car brands and models in Australia continues with the Deepal S07, yet another mid-sized electric SUV to take on the top-selling Tesla Model Y.
Joining the longest-running Chinese brand in Australia, GWM, the born-again MG marque, and relative newcomers Chery and BYD, Deepal arrives as an electric vehicle (EV) and extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) brand under the control of Chinese state-owned manufacturer Changan Automobile.
Though the company that would become Deepal was founded in 2008, it wasn’t until 2022 that its first model was announced, and it was only in 2023 that the Deepal name even emerged.
That first car was the L07 sedan, jointly developed as an EV and EREV by Changan, Huawei and CATL. Joining the brand’s lineup in 2023 was the more rugged-looking G318 SUV, and this – the S07, the first Deepal to be brought to Australia, where it is now being distributed by long-time Subaru importer Inchcape.
Deepal’s entire five-model lineup in its native China is available in both EV and EREV form, but its first foray into our market begins with no internal combustion at all. So on paper at least, it’s difficult to discern anything new it brings to the table.
For a start, the S07 competes with quite a few EV-only mid-sized SUVs, primarily the segment-benchmark Model Y, which also comes here from China. It has been Australia’s best-selling EV for some time, and in newly facelifted guise it’s now priced from $63,400 before on-road costs.
Then there’s the all-new Kia EV5, a model also pitched as a direct rival to the Model Y. When it arrived here in October last year it stole Tesla’s thunder with an entry price of $56,770 drive-away.
But less than a month after the EV5 hit local showrooms, Deepal’s entry took to the Australian stage with an eyebrow-raising price of $53,900 before on-road costs. Even with only one variant, it seems the new Chinese challenger has come to play.
Those wanting a Tesla alternative may well be mulling the S07 over, so this review aims to go into more detail about its strengths and weaknesses. Is it really worth the attention?
How much does the Deepal S07 cost?
At $53,900 before on-road costs, the Deepal S07 is well-placed among many cheaper mid-sized electric SUVs.
Its most direct rival, the Model Y, was priced between $55,900 and $82,900 before on-roads, but the recently revealed facelift will come with price hikes to either $63,400 or $73,400 before on-roads, depending on the variant.
The EV5, meanwhile, is priced from $56,770 to $75,990 drive-away, which means that at the bottom of the range the S07 will likely end up dearer once on-road costs are applied.
BYD’s incoming Sealion 7 is set to be a strong challenger at less than $60,000, but beyond that the S07 is still considerably more expensive than other smaller mid-sized electric SUVs available from other Chinese brands.
Key among them are the Leapmotor C10 at a minimum of $45,888 before on-roads, the BYD Atto 3 at $39,990 before on-roads, and the smaller-still MG ZS compact SUV – currently available for as little as $36,990 drive-away.
| Model | Price before on-road costs |
|---|---|
| Deepal S07 | $53,900 |
To see how the Deepal S07 stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool
What is the Deepal S07 like on the inside?
There’s a lot to get used to in the S07 cabin, which is really, really reminiscent of a Model Y.
First up, there are no buttons on the dash. Thankfully, there are more steering wheel buttons than in the Tesla and there are still stalks here, yet just about everything is controlled and configured via the central 15.6-inch touchscreen.
Everything relating to drive modes, safety functions, economy information, and even basic controls like wipers have their more nuanced settings tucked away within the depths of the screen’s seemingly infinite menus.
There’s a lot to digest with the S07’s technology, so some time spent in one at a dealership will be invaluable. We also had some difficulties accessing some of the car’s functions, given a few are locked away for registered users and we weren’t able to log in to the system.
The crisp display’s home screen is the first thing you’ll see, and it appears relatively sparse for its size. A handful of widgets are always open along the bottom, which is where you’ll find the controls and info mentioned above, even if they are fairly inconspicuous.
Above that is an empty expanse, though there are some smaller icons and ‘buttons’ permanently located in ribbons along the top and bottom – look familiar?
At the top is merely quick info like outside temperature and battery charge (notably excluding range), but the ribbon at the bottom is the real heart of the S07. Every one of those icons does something, but they aren’t created equal and some aren’t as intuitive as others.
At the bottom right you’ll find a home button, a vehicle settings shortcut, and a button that opens the applications menu. The vehicle settings menu can also be opened with another separate button in the apps display, in a use of redundant extra buttons that appears to be a trend elsewhere in the cabin.
Then there are temperature controls for the dual-zone climate system, which is fairly well-configured but not the easiest to use.
Given the lack of physical buttons – including any means by which to physically adjust the air vents – you’re forced to adjust ventilation flow by using your finger to drag the digital air stream any which way.
Funnily enough, that’s exactly the same way it’s done in a Tesla. There are loads of other things to fiddle with in there, like preset fan modes, and spending some time with the car will eventually reveal all.
A downside is that air vent adjustment is fairly tedious. The two vents below the infotainment display are so close together that attempting to adjust one will often have you grabbing the other instead.
That means it’s too difficult to worry about while you’re on the move. You’re better off leaving the car to its own devices as a result, and we wish it was easier to take control ourselves.
Similarly, the wiper function is taken straight from Tesla, meaning that it’s controlled via a button on the end of the indicator stalk. Pressing it will briefly open a widget on the infotainment screen, through which you can adjust the wiper speed or toggle the rear wiper.
We had some difficulties with this, as sometimes a setting we enabled would turn off on its own once the widget disappeared. Patience is key here, as it did eventually save the setting.
You can turn on the wipers using a shortcut at the bottom left of the screen too, which is also where you’ll find a double-up of the volume controls on the steering wheel. We can at least praise these separate volume sliders for their ability to adjust music, navigation, and the car’s speech levels individually.
All that said, Deepal has attempted to set itself apart from Tesla in a handful of ways. One is with its Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, which of course isn’t available in a Tesla.
It’s wireless and occupies the whole screen, and it worked flawlessly during our week with the car, aside from a few hiccups when travelling under Melbourne’s toll gates – though many other cars also struggle here.
Then of course there are a set of stalks behind the wheel which, while minimalist, are functional. We’ve seen Tesla will be bringing back at least one stalk in the updated Model Y, so maybe there’s something to it.
The S07 also makes up for its Tesla-esque lack of a traditional instrument cluster by fitting an augmented reality head-up display (AR HUD) ahead of the driver as standard. To Deepal’s credit, this is one of the best features of the car’s cabin and it’s hard to fault.
It shows the normal information like speed, but it’s also home to an array of safety gear like the indicators and blind-spot monitoring, the latter of which is also indicated on the side mirrors – if there’s any complaint it’s that there’s almost too much crammed in here. There’s plenty of adjustment to get the HUD in the right position for you too, but of course that’s done through the central screen.
Like a Tesla though, speed is also displayed in the top right corner of the infotainment screen, but too far out of the driver’s line of sight to be practical.
Its other differentiating feature appears to be more of a gimmick. When you sit in the drivers’ seat, the screen will rotate towards you like a sunflower following the sun.
It does make it easier to see and interact with the screen, and one of the many vehicle settings is being able to select how far and in which direction you’d like it to rotate – favouring the driver or passenger, or keeping it dead centre.
If it’s oriented towards the driver, the screen will automatically rotate to face the passenger if the driver exits the car, and rotate back once they’re back behind the wheel. It’s a neat trick, if not a little unnecessary.
In the context of the rest of the car’s gimmicks though, this one is relatively tame. We may as well dive into those now, so let’s start at the start – its greeting when you unlock the car and open the door.
A voice will quickly announce some variation of “Hi, I’m Deepal!”, followed by one of many pithy pre-determined statements. Its repertoire includes phrases like “let’s travel the world together” and “your deepest driving companion”… yeah.
At least it can be turned off, but the voice will pop up again if you use the intelligent voice control.
EVs are required to play an audible sound at low speed for safety reasons, and in the S07 you can choose between three different loops to find one that best speaks to you in the settings screen. You can also select the sound that plays when you put the vehicle in Drive.
While you’re there, you’ll find that trawling the vehicle settings menu reveales a few other unique features.
One is Deepal’s Scenario Mode (or Scene Mode, as it’s written on-screen), which includes a range of different settings to adjust to specific circumstances like Nap Mode (with soft music and reclined seats), Car Wash Mode, and Season Mode, which features a virtual bonfire or snow dependent on the climate control – once again like a Tesla.
In there is also a ‘Lighting Show’, which will blast a remixed version of ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’ from the car’s speakers while flashing its exterior lights in time with the music. We’re not sure how often this will be used.
Finally there’s an interior camera, which can be used to take photos and videos of the cabin’s occupants. To all of this, we simply ask ‘why?’.
That camera, along with a handful of other more useful features, can also be controlled by hand gestures, but unfortunately that was something else we couldn’t enable without being logged in. The voice control system was off-limits for the same reason.
It’s also worth mentioning you can control a lot of the car’s functions through the Deepal app on your phone, again much like Tesla owners can with their cars.
Coming back to Earth, we’re impressed by the S07’s ergonomics and comfort. The seating position is excellent, and the driver’s seat – which automatically slides back and forth to help you get in and out – is easy to get situated thanks to its electronic adjustment, including lumbar support. A notable omission is any seat-base angle adjustment.
Steering wheel adjustment is only manual, but it has a good range of movement including tilt and reach. It’s all easy to live with and makes for comfortable driving, and you even get heating along with heated and ventilated seats.
The centre console houses a useable space, if not a bare one. There are no buttons here except the one to open the storage box, but you do get one USB-A and one USB-C port in the storage tray below.
There’s a felt-lined, divided phone storage pad and wireless charger under the infotainment display, much like what you find in a Tesla. An advantage here is the centre storage box, which opens with a split lid and is incredibly deep – in fact, it perfectly fits an eight-pack box of cans placed vertically.
To help keep those cans cool there’s an air vent positioned at the back of the box, which you can rotate to open or close depending on your needs.
Outside of that and the passenger side glovebox, there’s not much else physical to poke at in the cabin. There are large window switches on the wood-effect door armrests, as well as the buttons to electronically open the doors.
Once again there’s Tesla influence there, but it took no time at all to figure out where the emergency manual door release was. For those playing at home, it’s hidden behind a removeable black plastic panel below the door armrests.
Annoyingly, you’ll have to go back to the screen to adjust the side mirrors. Once you locate the setting, the car temporarily repurposes the right-side steering wheel buttons – normally used for audio controls – to change their orientation.
You can also link various functions to the two shortcut buttons on the left of the wheel.
Looking through the rear-view mirror reveals a narrow rear window, but there’s enough visibility to not feel blind to what’s happening behind you. There’s no digital mirror unfortunately, which would have helped to work around the S07’s rear-end packaging and tall tailgate.
The second row of seats is well-appointed and spacious. An unusual quirk is the bench seatback feels too far reclined, and of course it isn’t adjustable. There’s also only one USB-C port on the back of the centre console.
But once you get past the initial weird feeling, you’ll find it’s actually quite comfortable. The reclined chairs are nice to lay back into, and the space around you makes it feel like you’re travelling in something much more luxurious than you are.
There’s a sizeable centre armrest with two cupholders too, which is uniquely incorporated into the middle seatback. Additionally, a rear-facing climate control system features on the back of the centre console with more touch controls – as well as a more traditional physical air vent adjuster and map pockets.
The reclined seating angle will allow you to appreciate the massive glass roof. Its shutter can be controlled by a button above the rear-view mirror, through the infotainment screen, or via a touch button on the rear-facing climate interface. Again, there are a few too many ways to control the same function.
Storage in the S07 is adequate. Opening the powered tailgate reveals a decently sized boot, which will be more than enough for larger sports bags and groceries. Folding them down may not create a completely flat floor, but it unlocks a healthy amount of space.
Interestingly, you can head into the vehicle settings menu to adjust how high the tailgate opens – to avoid knocks if you’re parking in a tight garage. But the lowest setting doesn’t allow enough space to easily access everything in the boot.
Under the floor is where you’ll find the small selection of recovery gear you’re provided. There’s no spare wheel or any extra storage cubbies here; the space is instead taken up by the tyre repair kit and associated gear.
Under the bonnet is some extra storage too, and it’s well-sized for a couple of smaller bags or backpacks.
All-in-all, the S07’s interior isn’t bad. It’s comfortable enough to live with and maybe after multiple hours you’ll be used to everything, but it’s far too similar to a Tesla to make it feel at all unique.
| Dimensions | Deepal S07 |
|---|---|
| Length | 4750mm |
| Width | 1930mm |
| Height | 1625mm |
| Wheelbase | 2900mm |
| Cargo capacity | 445 litres – rear seats up 1385 litres – rear seats down 125 litres – under-bonnet storage |
To see how the Deepal S07 stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool
What’s under the bonnet?
A storage cubby. Powertrain-wise, the S07 has arrived in Australia with only one, and it comprises a rear-mounted electric motor with 160kW of power and 320Nm of torque, fed by a 79.97kWh ternary lithium battery.
| Specifications | Deepal S07 |
|---|---|
| Drivetrain | Single-motor electric |
| Battery | 79.97kWh ternary lithium |
| Power | 160kW |
| Torque | 320Nm |
| Drive type | Rear-wheel drive |
| Tare weight | 2073kg |
| 0-100km/h (claimed) | 7.9 seconds |
| Energy consumption (claimed) | 18.6kWh/100km |
| Energy consumption (as tested) | 15.6kWh/100km |
| Claimed range (WLTP) | 475km |
| Max AC charge rate | 11kW (8 hours approx. charging time) |
| Max DC charge rate | 92kW (35 minutes 30-80%) |
We were able to better Deepal’s economy claim by a considerable margin, despite a week with the car that primarily involved freeway driving at 80km/h or above.
Unfortunately, we were unable to reset the trip computer to start our review with a clean slate, as this is yet another function that requires the driver to be logged in.
As a result, our economy reading was recorded over roughly 850km, whereas our testing only covered around half of that.
For reference, the EREV powertrain offered in China incorporates a 70kW 1.5-litre engine and either a 175kW/329Nm or 190kW/320Nm electric motor. Batteries for such cars – developed by CATL for both EREV and EV S07s – range in capacity from 18.99kWh to 39.05kWh.
To see how the Deepal S07 stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool
How does the Deepal S07 drive?
If you were hoping the S07 sets itself apart from the Model Y on the road, that’s not quite the case either.
Getting in and ready to go is easily done thanks to the simple interior adjustment mentioned above, and you’ll quickly find the gear selector in the form of a right-hand steering wheel stalk.
It may seem strange at first to not have to press a button to ‘start’ the car, but that’s also the case with many other EVs from the likes of Tesla and Polestar, and it’s fairly easy to live with once you get used to it. It’s a set-and-forget system, and with the Deepal app it’d be much more convenient than with the key fob.
On that note, the fob is an interesting piece. As futuristic as it looks, it doesn’t seem terribly practical. There’s no hole to slot in a keyring, and the buttons lack a tactile quality that makes them tough to decipher in the dark.
With the app this would likely be remedied, but it still muddies the process before you even hit the road.
Once you’re ready to do so, pressing the brake pedal will sound the customisable welcome tone to indicate the car is ‘primed’, and flicking the right stalk down will put the S07 in drive.
The first thing you’ll easily notice is that exterior warning sound as you begin to crawl away. As mentioned you can select three different audio loops depending on your liking, but the standard ethereal orchestra-style tone we decided to keep has cemented itself in my head.
The second thing that crops up almost straight away is the intrusive safety tech. Because you’ll likely be trundling along with your head buried in the centre screen for the first couple of minutes as you figure the S07 out, it’s guaranteed to ping you for being distracted.
It’s quite an annoying warning sound that picks up in intensity the longer you’re “distracted”, and it takes its time to disengage once your eyes are back on the road ahead. We understand that’s the point of a driver attention monitor, but when everything is behind at least one other on-screen menu, it feels like the car is fighting against both you and itself.
Then there’s the lane-keep system, which is also overreactive and gets in the way. Regardless of the road type – a narrow regional road or multi-lane highway – it’ll be beeping at you for supposedly getting too close to the line and simultaneously wrestling you for control of the steering wheel.
Car News China does report the S07 uses a “vision-based system” developed by Huawei, which could explain why the car struggles in tricky lighting conditions like twilight.
Fortunately, and as you may discover by swiping across on the app screen, there are loads of shortcuts you can enable or disable in a quicker fashion than diving through the vehicle settings.
There are shortcuts to disable both the driver monitoring and lane-keep assist with just a press, swipe, and another press. It’s about as quick as it gets in the S07, but you will have to disable each shortcut every time you get in the car.
The third and final feature you’ll likely want to turn off is the speed limit warning, which of course beeps when you exceed the speed limit. Of the three safety systems it’s the least obnoxious, though keeping up with traffic flow will make it hard to obey.
With all three features enabled, the car makes noises and fights you as you roll down the road. Turning them off fixes most of those issues, but it’d be nice to not have to do it every time you hop in.
In fact, even with the ‘passive’ lane-keeping turned off it’ll sometimes spring to life for seemingly no reason, once again wrestling you for control of the wheel and taking you by surprise. We can’t fathom how it can do that on its own when deliberately straying close to the lane markings prompts no response.
Further, the S07 is fitted with both adaptive cruise control (ACC) and intelligent adaptive cruise control (IACC) that are operated using the gear selector stalk. Press it in the direction of Drive once for ACC, and twice for IACC.
ACC does what you’d expect: adjusts speed to adapt to the traffic around. That said, it struggles to get up to the set speed and will often sit 2 or 3km/h below instead.
A quick blip of the accelerator will get the car back in line, but it’s just not a flawless system. IACC, on the other hand, adds an active lane-keep function on top of the speed control.
Unfortunately, this also isn’t perfectly calibrated, as it’ll almost immediately start drifting uncomfortably far towards the left side of your lane – if it detects the lane at all. If you attempt to gently correct its trajectory, the S07 will quickly give up control.
It’ll then take over again as soon as it deems fit, and the cycle repeats. Put simply, it feels underdone. It’s also somewhat counterintuitive to engage – pressing down (Drive) on the gear selector enables it, buttons on the steering wheel adjust it, and pushing up (Reverse) on the selector disables it.
Being an EV, the S07 features regenerative braking. It’s not exactly like a Tesla, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Ford Mustang Mach-E, or the majority of EVs you could name, because it doesn’t feature one-pedal driving – a disappointing omission in a car that presents like this.
Fortunately, the S07’s regenerative braking effect is easy to manage when in the default Eco mode. Coming off the throttle allows the car to coast and then slow suddenly, but a gradual release of the throttle smoothens things out.
Tapping the brake pedal has a similarly strong effect in this mode, making it difficult to crawl in traffic. Comfort mode is much easier to live with as the regen braking effect is weakened, but almost to the point where there’s hardly any regeneration at all.
Sport mode does what it says on the tin, offering more power and heavier steering, and it’s hard to fault that.
You can also select a ‘Customise’ mode, which allows to you choose the steering weight, the level of regen braking, and the power delivery of your liking.
Despite that, we appreciate Deepal’s inclusion of a HUD as it’s more than enough to make up for the lack of an instrument cluster, and we very much appreciate it compared to a Tesla.
Then there are the seats, which are comfortable on the move. Maybe not quite at full-on luxury level, but compared to the competition at this price point they’re generally on par or better.
Powertrain performance also isn’t bad, though it’s hard to mark it too highly given it is slower than the base-spec Model Y in the 0-100km/h sprint by one second. The S07 on par with the Kia EV5 – but only its base Air trim.
Deepal has fitted ‘Double Layer Sound Insulation Glass’ to the front side windows too, which does wonders to keep noise down while on the move. You’ll only hear a slight rumble of tyre noise on rougher roads, but on smooth asphalt the S07 is dead quiet beyond faint motor whirr.
The EV5 is also quiet of course, but we can praise Deepal for getting it right in this car. We suspect the chunkier Giti-branded tyres on the 19-inch wheels fitted to our tester help with this, so it’d be interesting to see how it fares with the optional 20-inch wheels.
The S07 does struggle with its ride though, as it’s fairly bouncy on the move. Larger bumps really unsettle the car, and its body control doesn’t quite feel at the level it should be – though it’s a similar story with the EV5.
In a similar sense, the S07’s handling can be a bit nauseating. Throwing it around a turn will induce a fair bit of body roll, and the motion created by the shifting of its weight is reminiscent of a boat on water.
As such, it’s better suited to highway driving at higher speeds and sweeping bends. It’s better still on groomed roads, as routes like Hume Freeway can often hide the exact bumps that the S07 struggles with.
Its tyres don’t necessarily provide the grip we’d like – especially in the wet. Laying into the throttle on a damp road will spin the rear wheels, and around turns the steering wheel provides strange feedback that makes it tough to build confidence.
The car also tells you not to disable Electronic Stability Control (ESC) unless the vehicle is “stuck”, and we second its warning.
From the perspective of manoeuvrability, the S07 isn’t quite up to scratch either. Its turning circle isn’t ideal at 11.5 metres, which is disappointing for a rear-wheel drive EV.
We suspect this could be because of the EREV powertrain available overseas, which has extra components at the front of a chassis that’s shared with our EV.
For context, the 200mm-longer combustion- or hybrid-powered all-wheel drive Mazda CX-80 has nearly the same turning circle at roughly 11.6m, although both are better than the Model Y’s 12.1m circle.
At least it’s all backed up by a cohesive array of cameras and sensors, all of which work well to help navigate tight spaces and slot into narrow carparks. When low-speed manoeuvrability isn’t up to scratch, it helps to have systems like a surround-view camera to see how much space you’re working with.
Overall though, the S07 lacks the polish required to set itself apart from the competition. There are some solid aspects to its driving characteristics, but they’re not enough to help it pop its head out of the electric SUV crowd.
To see how the Deepal S07 stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool
What do you get?
The Deepal S07 is available in one grade in Australia.
2025 Deepal S07 equipment highlights:
- 19-inch alloy wheels
- 235/55 R19 tyres
- Tyre repair kit
- Four drive modes
- Heated, power-folding side mirrors
- Panoramic glass roof
- Electric sunshade
- Privacy glass
- LED headlights with high-beam assist
- LED rear fog light
- 64-colour ambient interior lighting
- Dual-zone climate control
- Air purification system
- Heated steering wheel
- 15.6-inch touchscreen infotainment system with sunflower tilt
- Augmented reality head-up display (HUD)
- Wireless smartphone mirroring
- 14-speaker Sony sound system
- USB-A ports x 1, USB-C ports x 2
- 12V power socket
- Rain-sensing wipers
- Power tailgate
- Keyless entry and start
- Panoramic-view dash cam
- 40W wireless charging pad with ventilation
- Gesture control
- Scenario mode
- Black synthetic leather upholstery
- 6-way powered driver seat with lumbar
- 4-way powered passenger seat
- Heated and ventilated front seats
Options:
- 20-inch alloy wheels ($NCO)
- Black/orange seat trim with orange stitching ($NCO)
- Metallic paint ($800)
To see how the Deepal S07 stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool
Is the Deepal S07 safe?
The S07 is yet to be tested by ANCAP and is therefore unrated. It was, however, tested last year by sister organisation Euro NCAP, which awarded five stars.
In European testing, the S07 scored 95 per cent for adult occupant protection, 87 per cent for child occupant protection, 74 per cent for vulnerable road user protection, and 77 per cent for safety assist.
Standard safety equipment includes:
- 7 airbags
- Adaptive cruise control
- Autonomous emergency braking (AEB)
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Driver monitoring system
- Lane centring
- Lane-keep assist
- Rear cross-traffic alert
- Safe exit warning
- Surround-view camera
- Front and rear parking sensors
- Overspeed warning
- Hill descent control
- Traffic sign recognition
- Traffic jam assist
- Tyre pressure monitoring
To see how the Deepal S07 stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool
How much does the Deepal S07 cost to run?
Deepal is leaning on Inchape’s existing retail network in Australia, which includes not only Subaru but Peugeot and soon Foton, and is backed by a seven-year, 160,000km warranty. Its EV battery is covered by an eight-year, 240,000km warranty.
| Servicing and Warranty | Deepal S07 |
|---|---|
| Warranty | 7 years, 160,000 kilometres – vehicle 8 years, 240,000 kilometres – EV battery |
| Roadside assistance | 12 months complimentary |
| Service intervals | 12 months or 10,000km (after initial 6-month/5000km service) |
| Capped-price servicing | 15,000km/18 months: $230.64 25,000km/30 months: $710.06 35,000km/42 months: $230.64 45,000km/54 months: $686.89 55,000km/66 months: $462.62 65,000km/78 months: $454,83 75,000km/90 months: $205.75 |
| Total capped-price service cost | $2984.43 |
Following the first service at six months or 5000km (whichever comes first), the servicing schedule starts at 18 months or 15,000km, with subsequent services required every 12 months or 10,000km.
Compared to its rivals, Tesla doesn’t outline a dedicated service program for the Model Y, though Kia offers three pre-paid service plans for the EV5. They’re priced at $980 for three years, $1535 for five, and $2431 for seven.
Deepal has also teamed up with Evie to offer a 12 month complimentary charging subscription.
To see how the Deepal S07 stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool
CarExpert’s Take on the Deepal S07
We wanted to like the S07 and to be able to recommend it as a viable Model Y alternative, but it doesn’t quite hit the mark.
Given what Deepal said last year about how it plans to stand out from the EV crowd, it’s now difficult to see exactly what has been done to achieve that.
Sure, you can buy a bright orange or yellow S07 with an optional orange interior, but that’s not quite what it meant. Its driver assist tech is no better than a lot of its Chinese competition. For example, the brand-new MG ZS Hybrid+, which is one size smaller, does it better at a much lower price.
Indeed, the main issue here is how similar the S07 is to the Model Y. The more you dig into it, the more you realise almost everything is done the same way as the Tesla, in a harder to understand manner.
We like the AR HUD, indicator stalk and the hushed cabin on the move. But along with an exceptionally long equipment list and sharp looks, are they enough to sway Model Y buyers? Probably not.
To its credit – and for both the right or wrong reasons – the Deepal S07 is memorable. Colleagues and friends who spent any time with car said they probably wouldn’t forget it any time soon, primarily because of those strange gimmicks that keep piling up.
All the voices and sounds, unique interior gear, and questionable controls mean the S07 doesn’t present much like another other car at surface level, and could see many people struggle to comprehend everything going on.
And once you live with it, you realise how derivative most of the key functions are here. It’s like the car’s engineers got their hands on a Model Y for benchmarking but copied it a bit too closely.
Of course, a side effect of that is Tesla owners will feel right at home.
If Deepal really wanted to set itself apart from all the other EV brands in any meaningful way, it will need to reimagine its products a bit more to provide a genuine alternative.
People in the market for such a car will likely have a Tesla high on their shopping list, and those who don’t may go for the Kia EV5 or something cheaper like the BYD Atto 3 instead.
The S07 would have benefitted from more consideration about what people don’t like about the Model Y and doing the opposite, rather than trying to emulate everything it does for a slightly lower price in an effort to attract buyers.
As it stands, Deepal’s debut Australian model may lack what it takes to float boats in the already crowded Australian market. Perhaps its subsequent models will change that perception by being more unique, but the S07 certainly won’t do it alone.
Interested in buying a Deepal S07? Get in touch with one of CarExpert’s trusted dealers here
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