Lexus took nine years to deliver 10,000 vehicles in Australia. Seven years on from its launch as a standalone brand, Genesis is still somewhat shy of that figure. Infiniti and Eunos never got close.
The point is, establishing a new premium brand in this country is difficult. Unless you’re Zeekr, who recently delivered its 10,000th car less than two years after setting up shop in October 2024.
The foundation of this success has been the 7X SUV, which shifted almost 2000 units in July 2026 alone. Price has undoubtedly played a big role. It starts at $57,900 and stretches to $72,900 (both plus on-roads) for the all-singing, all-dancing Performance.
That means the 7X is able to poach from mainstream and premium brands alike, enticing buyers up or down respectively with sharp styling, loaded equipment levels and plenty of power and range.
But to attribute the success of the 7X to price alone would be to do Zeekr a disservice and the bad news for those established brands is that the new 7GT is unlikely to make their lives any easier.
Many components are familiar from its bigger SUV brother, but it’s faster, has more range, the same extensive specs and is likely to be cheaper. Australian pricing is still to be determined, but Zeekr did intimate that it hopes to replicate its European strategy.
There, the 7GT is roughly eight per cent cheaper across the board than the equivalent 7X variants. Apply that locally and even if you round up to the nearest likely figure, that puts the base 7GT at $53,900 and the Long Range RWD at $58,900.
By that logic, the Performance sits at $67,900, with all prices being exclusive of on-road costs. If the specification levels mirror that of the 7X – which seems likely – even the base model will receive 19-inch wheels.
It will likely get powered and heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, panoramic glass roof, triple-zone climate control, heated rear seats with power recline, a power tailgate, and a 16.0-inch infotainment screen with wireless smartphone mirroring.
Wireless phone charging, a 10-speaker stereo and a 13.02-inch digital instrument display would also be included. Expect higher-spec variants to add powered steering wheel adjustment, a 21-speaker stereo, and a giant head-up display.
They’ll likely also get ventilated front seats with massage and, in the case of the Performance, 20-inch wheels, bigger brakes, air suspension, Nappa leather and power-operated doors. The final specification may differ slightly, but this at least gives some indication.
A massive list of safety equipment is a given – the 7GT has been awarded five stars by Euro NCAP under its strict new 2026 protocols – and there’s a 5-year unlimited kilometre warranty with 5-years of complimentary roadside assistance.
Mechanically, the base level uses a 75kWh ‘Golden Brick’ battery that feeds a 335kW rear motor for a WLTP range of 519km and 0-100km/h in 5.5 seconds. The Long Range RWD uses the same motor but a 100kWh ‘Qilin’ battery increases the claimed range to 655km.
Finally, the dual-motor Performance produces 500kW for a blistering 0-100km/h time of 3.5 seconds, though range falls to 558km. These power figures are 25kW more than the 7X and torque will also increase, but Zeekr could not confirm by how much.
It’s also worth noting that the range figures quoted here are from European variants and are likely to be slightly higher for Australian cars. Charge rates are a maximum of 22kW AC and 450kW DC.
The lack of chargers that fast in Australia means the fastest charge time quoted is 16 minutes for a 10-80 per cent fill at 360kW. This is not at all a comprehensive review of the 7GT. Our time behind the wheel was limited.
We managed a few laps of the Highlands Motorsport Park racetrack in the Performance and a motorkhana and high-speed lane change in the RWD (as well as some ice driving), so while we have some pieces, the puzzle is far from complete.
What’s immediately apparent – as the figures suggest – is that the Performance is explosively rapid. In Sport+ mode it wants to gallop forward with the slightest throttle input and even on the sensation-sapping expanse of a racetrack it feels extremely fast.
On a public road it may well be unsettling. It does a reasonable job of deploying these reserves, though it’s also immediately apparent that a racetrack is not the preferred environment of the 7GT.
Tested in left-hand drive, and tipping the scales at 2405kg, it is massively heavy and feels it, asking a lot of the 255/40 Continental tyres and the larger four-piston front brake calipers, judging by the smell that invades the cabin on lap two.
Whereas previous experience with the 7X Performance suggested a tendency to understeer under power, the sports stability control setting was happy to allow some oversteer exiting the hairpin.
Irrelevant? Perhaps, but it proves the 7GT is rear-biased on more than just the specification sheet. Even in its sportiest setting the suspension is still soft, allowing significant vertical movement over Highland’s unusual bridge section.
That’s about as close as we can get to a ride assessment at this stage. While they lack the outright firepower of the dual-motor, the rear-wheel drive variants are still more than acceptably quick and will squirm slightly in response to a full-throttle start.
What all share with both each other and the 7X is a feeling of polish. The steering might not offer that much communication, but it’s consistent in its response and weighting and feels relatively natural rather than over-assisted.
The 7GT also shares its interior with its larger SUV sibling, for better and worse, though many of the actual bits are slightly different. Material quality is very good at this price point, there’s acres of occupant space and a decent – if not class-leading – boot.
A small frunk sits under the bonnet, but there’s also too much reliance on the touchscreen. No doubt navigating the giant screen becomes easier and owners won’t be cycling through settings with anything like the frequency of a score of car-swapping journalists.
Regardless, with such a huge amount of configurability and so few buttons, you’re often swiping and tapping through multiple screens to get to your chosen function, if you can remember where it is to begin with.
The automatic doors also remain the answer to a question nobody was asking. A more comprehensive test of the 7GT will have to wait until it hits Aussie soil, when pricing and specification will be confirmed.
It’s clear, however, that in true Zeekr fashion it’s going to offer an extraordinary amount of car for the money. While it won’t have the same sales impact the 7X has, the 7GT’s space, equipment, pace, looks and price might just lure a few buyers back to that wagon life.
Further information is available on Zeekr’s Australian website, or from your local dealership.
