The recently introduced Chinese brand Zeekr appears to have its own agenda.
A prime example is Zeekr’s new Mix, a luxury, five-seat, electric people mover that could be headed our way.
Described as the Citroen Picasso re-imagined, Mix achieves a seemingly impossible combination of space, convenience and safety.
Industry-first double sliding doors provide a 1.48-metre wide entrance, which together with a floor height of 390mm ensures easy access.
But, rather than compromising safety, the absence of traditional B-pillars doesn’t compromise safety — Zeekr claims it enhances it.
Mix features a hidden dual B-pillar design, with two ultra-high-strength steel pillars embedded within each door.
This structure, crafted from 2000 megapascal hot-formed steel and fortified by a unique thickening process, offers over 30 per cent more strength than conventional hot-formed steel.
A one-piece die-cast rear body adopts the same material as the larger Zeekr 009, further enhancing the vehicle’s resilience.
The Zeekr Mix comes standard with an enhanced 800V system.
A single electric motor drives the rear wheels with an output of 310kW and 440Nm of torque, enough to propel the vehicle to 100km/h in just 6.8 seconds.
Two battery options are available: a 76 kWh lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery pack that offers a range of 550km under the China Light-Duty Vehicle Test Cycle (CLTC), or a 102 kWh nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery pack with a range of more than 700km (CLTC).
It can be charged from 10 to 80 per cent in just 10.5 minutes thanks to 5.5C ultra-fast charging technology.
Zeekr describes Mix as a revolutionary capsule-shaped model that encapsulates the young marque’s vision of future mobility – an intelligent living room on wheels.
As the first family-oriented product built on the SEA-M architecture, the Zeekr Mix re-imagines the concept of an everyday vehicle.
Born out of a desire to challenge conventional automotive design, Mix combines a capsule-style exterior and innovative packaging to maximise cabin space.
With a length of 4688mm and a wheelbase of 3008mm it boasts a spacious interior, with front-row seats that can swivel 270 degrees, an in-cabin height of 1350mm, and a movable central console.
Through innovative damper design and suspension space optimisation, the front wheels can turn more than 50 degrees, delivering a turning circle of 10.0 metres.
Like the 007 sedan, there’s a customisable front light bar.
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