You may not be familiar with the Zeekr brand, but it’s one that you’ll be hearing a lot about in the next year or so. Zeekr is a premium brand from Geely – that mega manufacturer that already owns (or has controlling stakes) in Volvo, Lotus, Polestar, Smart, Lynk and Co and, er… Geely. Oh, and it’s just confirmed a partnership with Ford in Europe, too. 

So it’s got a lot going on, but Zeekr is its next big move. This is a luxury brand that will major in hybrid and electric cars – we’ve already driven the new Zeekr 7X SUV and 7 GT, which we’re expecting to be the first Zeekr models to go on sale in the UK by next summer. It’s already on sale in some 50 countries globally, including China and many major European markets.

Now, Zeekr has confirmed that it’s bring its halo SUV – the 9X – to Europe. Well, when I was out at the Beijing show earlier this year I had the chance to take the Zeekr 9X super-hybrid for a brief but entertaining drive around a handling course (car park with cones in…). Here’s what it’s like! 

What is the Zeekr 9X? 

Good question. The Zeekr 9X is a  5.23-metre long luxury SUV and – wait for it – a kerb weight of around 2.9 tonnes. Ouch. 

It’s that heavy because this is a huge SUV that gets a vast battery, in addition to a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine. In Chine, it’s offered with either a 55- or 70kWh battery for an official range up to 146 or 236 miles respectively, although over in Europe it seems that we’ll only get the 55kWh model.

There’s 900v architecture, as well, in order to give the 9X ultra-rapid charging so that you can top-up the battery in under 10 minutes.

All of that battery and petrol power combines to give the 9X a total power output of 897hp, going to all four wheels via an active all-wheel drive system. 

Think of this as Zeekr’s answer to the Range Rover, BMW X7, Volvo XC90 and EX90, Bentley Bentayga and even the Rolls-Royce Cullinan. In America, I can imagine there being some comparisons drawn with the Cadillac Escalade. It’s got that sort of swagger to it, and the Zeekr 9X is not holding back on luxury, performance and kerbside presence – put it that way. It certainly felt like a worthy rival to all of those cars when I was stood next to the cliff-face of chrome bonnet out in China, before I went for a drive.  

What’s it like to drive?

Fast. Heavy. Imposing in every possible way. The car I drove out in China was the 70kWh version, which gets a dramatic 1,381hp with a tri-motor setup for a 0-60mph time of 3.1sec. That’s all a bit much, really, isn’t it? Even in the brief gymkhana around some cones that I did, the sheer pace of this thing was incongruous – especially given the mass of it. You sit really high up, the windscreen feels upright and a long way away, and everything about the 9X feels… hefty. 

I haven’t driven the version we’re getting in Europe, with the smaller battery, a bit less power (a mere 898hp) and dual electric motors for a 0-62mph time of 3.9 seconds, but that’s still not going to feel slow, is it?!  

As with the car I drove out in China, the Zeekr 9X will get adaptive air suspension and electromagnetic shocks, and if that doesn’t mean anything to you – don’t worry. All it means is that this should be a comfy car. Really comfy! I didn’t get much of a chance to judge ride comfort, but this is definitely a car that feels like it’ll press the road into submission even if there are any bumps. That’s the main takeaway from my brief car park gymkhana in the Zeekr 9X, is that this feels unassailable in the way it goes about its thing.  

What’s it like inside?

To be honest, the powertrain sounds like the headline news but it’s the interior that will probably sell this car. In Europe we’re getting the six seat layout, so you get six armchair-like seats, leather on every surface and the sort of material finish and ambience that would feel appropriate in an executive jet. 

Space? Oh yeah. How about a 677 litre boot, when you’re in four-seat mode. And even with six seats up I’d say there was a decent amount of space for some soft bags. 

Tech? How about a 47-inch head-up display, a 16-inch dual-screen OLED display, a 17-inch screen for those in the back, 32 speakers, active noise cancellation, remote parking, and the capacity for Level 3 ‘hands-off’ semi-autonomous driving where legislation allows.

Will the Zeekr 9X sell well in Europe? 

Ah, well, that’s where I’m not so sure. It’s already proving to be a success in China, and I suspect this will do really well in the UAE, where Zeekr is already selling cars. Europe could be tricky. Yes, we love a big luxury car. But we can be brand snobs, can’t we? And let’s face It - our roads just aren’t as well equipped for a car of this size. 

Don’t get me wrong – I reckon the 9X will do well in certain European markets, as there’s no other PHEV with quite this sort of phenomenal electric range and performance. But right now we haven’t had pricing confirmed, nor is there word on whether the 9X will come to the UK yet. And this is one of those cars that’s vastly impressive, and almost vulgar in the levels of luxury and tech it has. And yet I can’t avoid the niggling feeling that it might be a bit too much for the European market. Is it a bit… vulgar? Is it all just a bit much, to be lugging around this size battery as well as a petrol engine? I mean, we love a big SUV and we love a lot of luxury, so we’ve got form with this sort of car over here in Europe and the UK. But maybe the Zeekr 9X is just… a bit too much.