Deepal S07 Review 2025
Deepal S07 At A Glance
Promises to be a good value choice. Driving range and performance should be ample for most needs. Handsomely styled.
Unfamiliar brand will prove a hindrance to some. Lack of physical buttons and controls is irritating. We’ve not yet driven it.
Despite car buyers’ switchover to electric cars not being as swift as manufacturers and legislators would like, we’re in the middle of a period of unprecedented — and potentially confusing — change. That’s in large part due to the sudden influx of unfamiliar brand names and models going on sale, almost all originating from China. One such newcomer that’s waiting in the wings is the Deepal S07.
Before we explore the S07 family-sized SUV model specifically, let’s set the scene for Deepal as a brand. It’s one of several marques belonging to Changan Automobile Group, a Chinese state-owned company which also has 50:50 ventures with both Ford and Mazda. We’ll see a fruit of the latter enterprise in 2026 when the Mazda 6e goes on sale here.
For its self-developed models, which additionally benefit from its own UK-based research centre’s endeavours, Deepal is one of several brands that the company intends to launch here over the next few years. As well as Changan as a marque name, the group is also likely to sell upmarket models under its Avatr monicker.
To begin with the Deepal S07 will be the sole offering but expect some other models from the currently six-strong Chinese line-up of Deepal saloons and SUVs to join it in relatively short order.
Its styling is clean, sharp-edged and relatively uncluttered by superfluous addenda, with more of a European feel than some other particularly distinctive Chinese designs. That Changan has a design studio in Turin goes far in explaining the S07’s appearance.
At 4750mm long and to be sold here with electric-only power, the S07 will take on a wide array of models, beyond the BYD Sealion 7 and XPeng G6 from its home nation.
It will hope to dent the sales of the Tesla Model Y as well as tempt would-be Ford Explorer, Renault Scenic E-Tech and Skoda Enyaq customers before they’ve signed on the dotted line for a finance agreement.
We’re expecting the Deepal S07 to be offered in just one drive system and trim level combination. This is a slightly alien concept to British buyers used to a sometimes bewildering scope of derivative choice, but it could work in Deepal’s favour by simplifying matters for consumers getting their heads around a new brand in the first place.
With a rear-mounted, 217PS electric motor driving the back wheels, performance is more than adequate for a family car with a claimed 0-62mph time of 7.6 seconds. Energy is stored in an 80kWh battery pack said to give a WLTP Combined cycle driving range of 295 miles — not outstanding, but competitive nonetheless.
Where the S07 seems more off the pace is with its maximum DC rapid charging flow rate of 93kW, with several rivals offering speeds at least 50% quicker. Deepal quotes a 35-minute duration to take it from a 30%-80% state of charge with that kind of connection — no word yet on times for a domestic wallbox hook-up, but expect a flat-to-full recharge to be in the 12-hour ballpark.
Interior-wise, the Deepal S07 follows similar themes that other electric SUVs have adopted following Tesla’s lead — a minimalist approach with very few physical buttons and a large format touchscreen sprouting from the centre of the dashboard to control the multimedia system and virtually everything else.
There’s a high-set centre console between the front seats complete with wireless smartphone charging, cupholders and a central storage cubby beneath the armrest section. Its rearmost edge houses a touchscreen for rear-seat passengers to vary the climate control settings for their requirements.
Whether Deepal S07s sold in the UK will enjoy the brightly hued two-tone interiors of Chinese market models, let alone novel touches such as the flip-down display screen integrated into the front passenger sunvisor remains to be seen. What we do know is that the crash-test gurus at Euro NCAP have already awarded it a full five-star rating.
Orders for the Deepal S07 are scheduled to open by summer 2025 with a price tag of £39,995 — this should represent decent value with the promised high levels of standard equipment, but self-evidently isn’t a bargain basement choice. First customer deliveries will commence soon after.
Keep this page bookmarked for further news as well as to read our comprehensive full Deepal S07 review in the weeks ahead.
