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By Jonathan Crouch

Is the Changan Deepal S07 good enough to make an impression on the tightly-fought mid-sized EV market? Jonathan Crouch takes a look at what's on offer.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 43

Changan's Deepal S07 is a stylish mid-sized EV crossover with some strong plus points: an affordable entry price, loads of equipment and eye-catching looks. But there are some issues too, so you'll need to be clear about what is really being offered here.

Backgroundword count: 147

Ready for another mid-sized Chinese EV crossover? They keep coming don't they? Here's another, the Changan Deepal S07. It joins a crowd of other Chinese would-be Tesla Model Y rivals at around the £40,000 price point, including the Xpeng G6, the MG IM5, the Leapmotor C10 and the Geely EX5. All serious players - as this S07 claims to be, signed up for sale with some of the UK's biggest dealer groups. These operators have done their homework on this car and if customers do the same, they'll find out that Changan is one of China's largest car makers, with over 40 years of production experience and 39 factories worldwide. Deepal is one of the conglomerate's most successful sub-brands, though it's only actually been selling cars since 2023. This one, the Italian-designed S07, will sell here alongside a smaller S05 SUV model. Let's take a closer look.

Engines and Tech Specword count: 244

You don't need a start button to get going. Just get in, push the brake pedal and drive off. There's a head-up display instead of an instrument binnacle - and an area view camera system for surroundings that cuts out at 18mph. A 79.97kWh battery sounds properly sized for a car of this kind, but it doesn't offer the kind of driving range that will trouble the class leaders. Still, reports suggest that the 295 mile claimed figure is closer to being day-to-day realistic than is the case for many rivals. And, to be fair, it's just 16 miles short of an entry-level Tesla Model Y. That battery energises a 218PS motor with 320Nm of torque, which translates into a not particularly startling 0-62mph time of 7.9s. Top speed is 112mph. Regenerative braking is adjustable to suit the driver and works above around 9mph. But no setting is fierce enough to provide the kind of strong 'one-pedal' retardation championed by some rivals. Should you want to add a tow bar, trailers at up to 1,500kg in weight can be pulled along. As usual with Chinese cars, some of the ADAS settings and drive assist features can be intrusive. Fortunately, Deepal provides two programmable steering wheel buttons to help you set four of the functions. And these can be used to disable the speed limit warnings and the Lane keep assist (but not the driver attention monitoring). Expect a firm ride - but excellent refinement.

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