Deepal E07 AWD Performance 2026 review

We have entered a new era of vehicular novelty. Post World War II it was the microcar trend, in the early-mid 2000s it was ‘coupe’ SUVs and now it’s a blend of SUV, 4WD, ute and passenger car that’s electrified in some way.

Made in China by Changan Automotive and branded the Deepal E07 for Australia, this wacky Sports-Ute-Coupe — SUC, if you like — features twin electric motors, a large 90kWh battery pack, more grunt than an HSV Maloo ute and trick active air suspension, the likes of which is usually reserved for Audis, BMWs and Mercs.

Microcars receded into obscurity but this new breed may be good enough to set a blueprint. Comfortable to drive, fast in a straight line along with being spacious and adaptable for a family, it has all the makings of one.

The price is just over $80,000 driveaway. Everything’s there in the package — it’s rather enticing — but what’s it really like to live with in Australia?

What are the E07 AWD Performance’s features and options for the price?

The E07 AWD Performance costs $73,900 before on-road costs and for that you get an awful lot of talking points.

Starting with sheer numbers: two electric motors drive all four wheels for a power and torque output of 440kW and 645Nm.

With that much grunt and grip, it’s no wonder the E07 claims a 0-100km/h time of 4.0 seconds, though with less ferocity and more serenity than you’d expect. Chalk that up to the E07’s significant 2440kg kerb weight. It’s a big thing, too, at 5045mm long.

Standard equipment is lengthy, with the below highlights.

• 21-inch alloy wheels
• Air suspension
• Tyre pressure monitoring
• Glass roof
• LED head and tail lights
• Dual-zone climate control
• Heated and ventilated seats (front and rear)
• Seat massage function (front and rear)
• Nappa leather upholstery
• Power-adjust back seats
• Integrated dashcam
• Insulated glass
• Proximity inlocking
• 256-colour ambient lighting
• 360-degree camera
• Head-up display

The AWD Performance is available in five colours — all named in a mineral theme and two more than RWD — including Quartz white, Obsidian Black, Jade Green along with two premium colours Spessartite Orange and the pictured Matte Hematite Grey ($1800). The orange interior shown costs an extra $500. 

How does the E07 AWD Performance drive?

The Deepal E07 is a vehicle of extremes. We have become desensitised to figures but a 2440kg vehicle hurtling from 0-100km/h in 4.0 seconds is simply absurd.

It’s the sort of pace typical manufacturers reserve for a special performance-fettled model with firmer suspension, chassis wizardry and big sticky tyres. Just look at the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, it’s wildly fast and backed up with all that goodness. The Deepal? Not so much.

There are various drive mode settings including Eco, Comfort and Sport plus a Custom mode with oddly named changeable parameters. Steering can be Light, Normal or Heavy, the powertrain can be in Soft, Normal or Strong and the ‘Suspension Strength’ varies between Comfort, Normal and Sport. The ride height can be changed too.

No selection of settings can ably harness the rabid acceleration of the E07 AWD Performance. At one point, we noticed the inside front wheel lifting under acceleration out of a hairpin, which is rather alarming.

It’s a generally disconnected experience and your money is better spent on the slower RWD model. That’s because the suspension compliance is otherwise good, with a smooth enough ride most of the time and good road noise insulation.

Drivetrain calibration could do with a second going over as well, because the Deepal’s over-sensitive accelerator makes for jerky low-speed driving. The adjustable regenerative braking (no one-pedal mode, mind you) just isn’t as seamless as we’ve experienced in Tesla, Kia/Hyundai and Polestar products.

Thick A-Pillars affect forward visibility, and the dramatic rear end’s shape doesn’t help when looking out the back. Also, the AWD model suffers from a poor turning circle. At least the E07 has a crisp, bright and adjustable 360-degree surround view camera.

What is the E07 AWD Performance’s interior and tech like?

Deepal’s minimal interior takes some getting used to. There are only six buttons in the car and they’re all on the steering wheel, though it does thankfully keep indicator and gear selector stalks behind the two-spoke tiller, and there’s a head-up display for speed read-out.

The seats offer heaps of adjustment with recline, lumbar and cushion tilt. They also provide climate control in the form of heating and ventilation for four of the five seats. Impressive stuff. A selection of massage modes (including ‘Buttocks’) provide a strong, if not quite deep tissue, experience.

In the centre of proceedings is a 15.4-inch touchscreen. It’s big, bright and feels like it’s running a generic operating system — nothing particularly special about it in graphics terms.

Features include an interior camera with photo and video recording, data storage (there’s even a memory clean-up shortcut; more smartphone than car), and light-show functions. It features the usual wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto capability we’ve come to expect as well.

Given the lack of physical landmarks inside you might expect build quality to be good, though all the moving parts at the back and sheer weight of the thing seem to contribute to a lack of body rigidity. We noticed the Deepal E07’s cabin creaking from a few spots while on test.

The E07’s proximity unlocking feature could also do with refinement. It activates at a greater distance than most cars, and unlocked from across the road in one instance — not exactly confidence-inspiring.

The Deepal E07’s real party tricks come at the back, with a massively spacious back seat that has more features than most vehicles’ front seats at this price. A digital control panel for the sunblinds, power-reclining seats with heating, ventilation and massage and masses of space.

For powering accessories, the E07 also supports vehicle-to-load (V2L) functionality using the charge port and adapter. Maximum power is 6.6kW at 220 volts — plenty more than the typical three-pin sockets found in utes.

Now for the real goodies — the E07’s entirely unique load space. A hybrid of a typical boot and pick-up tub with all moving parts powered by a series of electric motors.

You press the ‘open boot’ button at the back and a glass sheet descends first, before the rear window lifts and motors up, allowing access.

The actual tailgate is then dropped by pressing another button, and from there you can lower the back seat partition and flatten the seats to access the full-length bay.

There will be no replacing dual-cab utes for work reasons with this, but there’s definitely novelty for the family. In litres, the load space goes from 524L to 1654L, Deepal sells a mattress so you can sleep in the back, and the concept works very well for transporting dogs. There’s no spare tyre, however.

It’s even possible to activate the ‘boot’ using voice commands from outside the car: ‘Hey Deepal, open the trunk’, and it does The Magic Trick. The Deepal E07 also features a 131L frunk.

Is the E07 AWD Performance a safe car?

The Deepal E07 has not been rated by independent crash testing body ANCAP and is unlikely to be, given its low-volume aspirations.

It carries plenty of safety features, both active and passive. Active assists include driver attention monitoring, lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, front and rear cross-traffic alert, speed sign recognition, adaptive cruise control, door opening warning and more.

The airbag count runs to eight and it has the usual array ABS and stability control systems as well, which are tuned conservatively.

Integration is quite good in many cases. The E07 remembers the driver’s preferences for speed limit assistance and driver attention monitoring, so it doesn’t default to a beeping mess after a key cycle.

The E07 could do with further improvement, though, including for the lane-keep assist and lumpy adaptive cruise control programming. Deepal has rolled out updates for its S07 medium SUV for this market.

What are the E07 AWD Performance’s ownership costs?

Deepal is brought into Australia by established importer Inchcape, and the new Chinese brand offers a strong ownership package on paper to entice buyers.

Warranty on the car is seven years and 160,000km, while high-voltage electrics (battery and motor) are covered for eight years and 240,000km.

Servicing costs $1984.40 for five years, with maintenance due annually or every 20,000km, whichever comes first.

Charging is rapid in the E07 with peak DC speeds of 240kW. Deepal only quotes a 30-80 percent charge time but it’ll do the usual 10-80 interval in about 20 minutes. Oddly, the E07’s AC charge speed is a slow 7kW rather than trendy 11kW or 22kW, so flat to full takes a lengthy 13 hours.

Efficiency was reasonable on test, the onboard computer displaying 18kWh/100km over a range of driving conditions. Compared to the 510km WLTP range rating, our tested figure sees the E07 able to do 500km from a charge of its 90kWh battery, which is a good number.

That said, for a car that sells the idea of adventure, an available plug-in hybrid version would boost its long-range roving abilities.

The honest verdict on the E07 AWD Performance

When it comes to concept, the E07 scores high marks. It is an interesting, novel take on the automobile, seemingly fusing pick-up practicality with SUV comfort and sports car pace at a price that isn’t absurd.

Thing is, execution leaves a bit to be desired. There’s a sense the E07 lacks body rigidity and the sheer number of parts moved by audible electric motors don’t inspire long-term confidence in this vehicle.

Further refinements to driver assistance systems and the air suspension would be appreciated as well. Best to save your money and go for the RWD, it’s more efficient in the real world and has a more sensible balance of speed and capability.