THE X FACTOR

Geely’s Zeekr X is an all-electric poweiimes of a compact SUV that packs plenty of Scandinavian charm into a sumptuous cabin.

- ALVIN LIM

Another day, another electric vehicle (EV) brand jostling for space in an already crowded Singapore market. This time, it's Zeekr - pronounced "zeeker" - an upstart Chinese marque gunning for a share of the premium EV market despite being all of three years old.

Make no mistake though - the brand is by no means a babe in the woods, as its vehicles ride on the technology and reputation lent to it by its Hangzhou-based automotive giant parent, Geely, which counts established automakers like Lotus, Polestar and Volvo in its ever-growing stable.

With that kind of backing in mind, it's easy to see why the Chinese brand decided to go bold with their Singapore launch, wade headlong into one of the most competitive categories from the onset with the Zeekr X-their version of the five-seater compact sports utility vehicle (SUV) currently flooding the market.

SEEKING BEAUTY IN BALANCE

On paper, Zeekr's all-electric crossover sounds almost like any other on the field.

Both the standard rear-wheel drive (RWD) model - the version we got our hands on - and the flagship all-wheel drive (AWD) variant operate off a 66kWh battery, making for a comfortably hefty range of over 400km on a full charge. For most commuters, this means you'll only have to head into the charging station once or twice a week.

Both versions, too, boast that signature electric zip. The standard 268bhp model kicks off from zero to 100 in a respectable 5.6 seconds, though the souped-up version does it noticeably faster thanks to a second motor on the front axle bringing its horses up to 434bhp and its century sprint down to an almost supercar time of 3.8 seconds.