New Xiaomi YU7 2025 review: a world-beating new EV to worry the establishment
BMW or Mercedes would do anything to keep the new Xiaomi YU7 from sale in the UK and Europe, and this is why
Verdict
It’s astonishing what Xiaomi has achieved with the YU7 SUV. This is not just a good looking, high quality and high-tech EV, but one that offers world-beating range, charging and performance in a package that feels as well engineered as any European or Japanese alternative. The fact this new-age brand has achieved all this with less than 10 years experience of building anything more mechanically complicated than a vacuum cleaner or smart phone is even more incredible.
From refrigerators to tablets, air-conditioning units or even ultrasonic toothbrushes, Chinese brand Xiaomi has an incredibly wide remit when it comes to its consumer products, but its venture into the world of electric cars seems to have put it right to the forefront of European attention. Twelve months after the release of its first EV, the impressive SU7 saloon, is the ambitious brand’s next natural step: the YU7 SUV – a model that’s already been setting the sales chart alight in its native Chinese market.
This large, stately and well formed SUV might have a design that’s reminiscent of a few European brands – we’re thinking a little McLaren 720S around the nose and Ferrari Purosangue at the side – but this is hardly a bad place to start when designing a new brand from scratch. Size-wise it’s actually quite a large SUV, being slightly longer and wider yet lower than a Porsche Cayenne. This also makes it quite significantly larger than its more direct rival from Porsche, the Macan Electric.
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Cash £14,999As a result there’s plenty of space inside the cabin, which is minimalist in design and feels of high quality. Like many new-age Chinese EVs the interior tech is quite captivating, with a large central touchscreen joined by a huge head-up display that sits across the base of the whole windscreen. Drivers can configure this new display in multiple formats, and it provides a home for the in-car virtual assistant that takes the form of a cute and cuddly capybara. This is very similar to what BMW has been working to introduce on its forthcoming Neue Klasse models, although the German brand seems unlikely to include the exotic furry side-kick.
The cabin also includes a new type of panoramic glass roof that’s able to graduate between completely clear and completely tinted to a factor of 99.85 per cent, albeit taking a few minutes to complete the transformation.
Xiaomi offers the YU7 with two battery packs and three power levels, and all feature 800V electronic architecture with an incredible 500kW peak DC charging rate. This is leagues ahead of all the western competition, even beating the latest Mercedes MMA products which offer 320kW maximum charging speeds. Its range and performance figures are also in a different league to almost all rivals.
The smaller 96.3kWh battery is available as standard with a single 315bhp motor and can complete up to 517 miles on the Chinese CLTC testing cycle. A Pro model with a more powerful 489bhp dual-motor setup is capable of 477 miles. It is worth noting the Chinese CLTC range test is even more forgiving to EVs than the European WLTP cycle, with range figures often differing by approximately 15 to 25 per cent between the two, but even so these are incredible numbers considering the size and performance of the YU7.
The model we drove was the top-spec dual-motor Performance variant with a 101.7kWh battery and 749bhp peak power figure. With a range of around 471 miles, it doesn’t compromise on efficiency yet is still capable of reaching 0-62mph in just 3.2 seconds.
To drive, the YU7 is at once seamless and also quite violent thanks to the incredible performance from its two e-motors. The throttle is well calibrated, though, so it feels controlled and composed. Regenerative braking can be adjusted in three stages, with a final one-pedal mode able to bring you to a complete stop without touching the brake pedal.
A fast EV is nothing unusual in this day and age, but the real surprise is how well Xiaomi has tuned the YU7’s ride and handling. The model we drove featured air suspension and adaptive damping, and handled its huge 2.8-tonne mass with ease. This is all helped by accurate steering, and is a remarkable result considering the company has only around a decade of experience in automotive engineering and design.
Yet the biggest selling point might be that Xiaomi has priced the YU7 from just over £26,000 in the local Chinese market, with the top-spec model we’re driving here costing just £33,820. These aren’t at all relevant to a potential price when, or if, Xiaomi ever decides to sell its cars in the UK but the YU7 proposition as a whole is a huge testament to the speed of Chinese manufacturers' progress. Xiaomi is not just building competent EVs, but world-class ones at incredibly low prices.
| Model: | Xiaomi YU7 Performance |
| Base price: | £33,820 (CDM pricing) |
| Powertrain: | 101.7kWh battery, 2x e-motor |
| Transmission: | 1-speed automatic, all-wheel drive |
| Power/torque: | 680bhp/866Nm |
| 0-62mph: | 3.2 seconds |
| Top speed: | 156mph |
| Range/charging: | 481 miles/500kW |
| Length/width/height: | 4,999mm/1,996mm/1,600mm |
| On sale: | In China only (for now) |
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