Changan Deepal S07 review: déja vu all over again

September 19, 2025 Matt Allan

The Changan Deepal S07 brings space and lots of equipment for a low price, but can it rival the Skoda Enyaq and Renault Scenic on performance, range and quality?

The name might be new to us, but Changan has been around for more than a century in its homeland of China and has been involved in vehicle production for 41 years. It’s even had a presence in the UK for more than a decade via its powertrain development facility near Birmingham.

Nevertheless, the Deepal S07 is its first attempt to break into the UK and European market. And, almost inevitably, it’s a C/D-segment electric SUV priced at around £40,000 that’s trying to steal buyers away from the likes of the Skoda Enyaq, Ford Explorer, Renault Scenic and incoming Kia EV5.

But, unusual name aside, does it do anything to stand out in a tide of similar offerings from the likes of Leapmotor, Skywell, and Geely?

Design, interior and technology

The Changan Deepal S07 gets off to a reasonable start. Designed in Turin, there’s a bit character to its angular bodywork and a cleverly sculpted reer glasshouse creates the illusion of a coupe-like shape even though it’s a boxy SUV in reality.

That said, it does feel like a mash-up of various other cars, there’s bits of Toyota bz4X to the angular front, a hint of Cupra/Volkswagen in the rear and shades of the BYD Sealion 7 in the overall shape.

Inside, there’s also a feeling of familiarity to the minimalist design and layout. Like a lot of its compatriots, the S07’s interior is virtually featureless. There’s a wide, flat dashboard, two-level centre console, a steering wheel and a screen, and that’s your lot. On the positive side the material quality feels like a match for most European or South Korean rivals and there’s a good amount of space. This is a 4.75m car, which means there’s decent space in the back seat for adult passengers. The boot is a relatively small 445 litres, but it’s supplement by an almost comically large frunk with 125 litres of additional storage.

As with every new Chinese car that comes to the UK, there are no proper controls. Like cars from BYD, Jaecoo, Skywell and more, every function – from the windscreen wiper speed to the direction of air from the vents – is controlled via the touchscreen, which pivots “like a sunflower” to face the driver or passenger. You can programme a couple of shortcut buttons on the steering wheel but these just open sub-menus on the screen. It might be cheaper and “modern”, but it’s more distracting, awkward and less safe than having simple hard keys.

Also like every new Chinese car, the S07 comes with a huge suite of driver “assistance” systems. In acknowledgement that what’s popular in China might not go down well here, Deepal says these have been adjusted and calibrated for the UK. They are definitely better than some – less intrusive and insistent, and also less aggressive in matters such as lane assistance. But they’re still not particularly accurate and are more overbearing than the setups in European models. Thankfully, there’s a readily accessible menu that deactivates the most irksome with three quick presses.

Battery, motor and performance

The Changan Deepal S07’s powertrain offering is a simple one. While rivals offer a confusing array of battery and motor combinations, Deepal offers just one, which sits firmly in the middle of the market.

Its single rear-mounted motor produces 215bhp and 236lb ft, giving a 0–62mph time of 7.9 seconds. They’re similar numbers to a host of rivals ranging from Skoda to Skywell and Leapmotor to MG.

An 80kWh battery offers a maximum range of 295 miles – not the best in class, not the worse either and certainly enough for most day-to-day motoring. On my test route it returned a reasonable 3.4m/kWh. Disappointingly, DC rapid charging is capped at 90kW, meaning a 10-80% charge takes 43 minutes. In comparison, a Skoda Enyaq with a fractionally smaller 77kWh battery will do nearly 360 miles and take just 26 minutes to charge.

On the move, the motor provides enough immediate punch for nipping around town but runs out of grunt above 50mph, leaving you wishing for a more linear power delivery. The same is true of the brakes which, with two regen options, never feel calibrated quite properly.

From the driver’s seat, there’s a modicum of feedback from the steering wheel and it feels connected to the front wheels in a way that many Chinese rivals can’t match. A Ford or Skoda still feels far more sorted though. That’s even more true of the ride, which lets the Deepal S07 down badly. Changan says that it significantly retuned the ride of the Chinese model to better suit UK roads. It makes me wonder how bad the Chinese car must be, because the UK model bashes and crashes along with a constant judder and harsh response to any surface changes.

Price and specification

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the Deepal S07 follows a familiar path to its compatriots – come in with lots of kit and a low price and look to undercut the established players.

So the S07 is priced at £39,990 and comes with pretty much everything as standard – only the powered towbar and 20-inch alloys are optional extras. Heated and ventilated seats, a panoramic sunroof, heat pump and wireless smartphone mirroring are all standard, as are “vegan leather” upholstery in a choice of three colours, and a 14-speaker stereo.

There are lots of other features, too, many of which are pointless gimmicks to pad out the spec sheet. There are 256 shades of interior lights, the headlamps will “dance” along to your music when parked, and there’s a gesture-controlled selfie camera built into the roof that leaves other drivers thinking you’re making rude gestures at them. However some, like the augmented reality head-up display and build-in dashcam are actually useful.

Verdict

I came away from my time with the Changan Deepal S07 neither enamoured or offended. The S07 is a thoroughly middle-of-the-road offering. The ride is poor, the user interface problematic and alternatives offer better range, performance and charging speed. That’s offset by good space, generous specification and a low price.

For me, the technical limitations would be enough to make me scratch around for a few thousand more to buy an Enayq. For others, the budget appeal might be too strong to resist.