The Weltmeister EX5-Z is one you’ve probably not heard of before and it was the best-selling EV in China in the past year. so it begs the question, has legacy automakers already lost the EV battle?
Weltmeister. this is a company with German car aspirations and was started in 2015 and they’ve already got two models this is actually a refresh of their first model. and this was the best-selling ev in 2019 in china. so this has sold a lot of cars over the past couple of years here.
Legacy automakers have largely been silent over the past five or so years. when it comes to EVs, they maybe have a token model or two with some batteries slung underneath or slung in the boot of one of their petrol versions. this has allowed startups in china such as Nio and Geely and XPeng to really come in and dominate.
Interior Design of the EX5-Z
In the interior, it’s not as clean or minimal as some of its competitors. however, it’s a very nice place to be. and there’s a good quality of fit and finish in the interior of this Weltmeister EX5-Z. also leather equipped. I’ve got these metal grilles up for speakers. I’ve got a lot of speakers around all over the vehicle.
However, it does have one very annoying feature which is non-tactile buttons. which aren’t even on the screen. so in the down, I’ve got about five or six buttons. and you’ve really got to mash them with your finger to turn them on or off. everything else in there is fine. I’ve got this screen which swivels around if I press the button.
This electric SUV is powered with facial recognition. so when I get in, it adjusts to the settings that I have for my for myself. down there I do have some nice tactile buttons. I’ve got a simple knob for going reverse, neutral, and drive. and I’ve got a really nice spinny thing there for putting it into drive mode and that’s like a very nice metallic finish.
In the interior. there are lots of storage space for a few drinks charging ports as well. overall not a bad place to be.
Rear Seating
I’m a little bit spoiled in here actually because I have lots of features just for me. so I’ve got a couple of speakers down there. The backside of the front seats has USB ports that they can use for rear passengers. I’ve got my own air conditioning here. as well obviously I’ve got this here with a handy cup holder. but it’s comfortable enough for a long journey. now the floor down here is flat. which which you know really helps with access and if you’re taking stuff from the dump or something.
Cost
Weltmeister EX5-Z costs $28,000 after subsidies new.
Battery and Range
Weltmeister EX5-Z is powered with a 69 kWh battery pack. This electric vehicle has a 520 km NEDC range.
Driving Modes
So just very quickly talking about the modes, the eco, the sport, and the custom modes are available. custom is set to what you’re used to driving and it would adjust to your driving style. I’m not going to use that. but eco is your eco mode gives you the most amount of range. so this is the 520-kilometer car. and the sports mode is very rapid actually given that this is a large car. it’s actually really quick. it’s also very quick in draining your battery. so use it sparingly.
Charging with Weltmeister
Weltmeister actually doesn’t have their own charging networks like some of its rivals like Xpen and Nio. instead what they’ve done is signed agreements with about almost nearly 200 providers. one of which is the state grid, the major power provider in China. and what that allows for is a huge charging network that users can use anywhere.
The AC charger is located at the backside of the car. so we just take our lead come around the back. it’s just nice and simple plug it in. the fast charger is on the front of the car and actually has quite a neat feature in that. the bars on the front of the logo light up. and they light up for showing how much battery you have left remaining. I think that’s quite a cool feature.
Exterior Design of the EX5-Z
One thing I can’t quite get over is the design. so they’ve gone for quite a plain-looking car. and it’s a little bit generic looking. maybe to counteract its German competitors. however, I do like it’s got these quite flat profiled sides it’s got the door handles which are flush with the body. and it’s got these flat alloys here. now, this isn’t going to win any beauty competitions. but on the road, it has a presence it’s quite large. in terms of size, it sits in between both the Xpeng and Nio. and it does have quite a nice presence on the road and a good feeling when you’re driving.
Boot / Trunk space
So in the Weltmeister, we are treated to quite a large boot space. and let’s have a quick look if we open it. now I can actually open this with my voice. voice activation from the front which is very easy to open and closed it’s all-electric. also whilst we’re at the backside, I’ve also got sensors and a camera on the back. so this car has 12 sensors around it and it’s got a couple of cameras one on the front and one on the rear.
Driving on Twisty Mountain Roads
I’ve been driving this car for a couple of days now and I’ve driven on the highway and on the mountain roads and this is a very stiff chassis. .you know we’ve got the battery in the bottom skateboard chassis. but for a very heavy car, it’s over 1500 kilos. you know actually grips the road quite well especially in the corners. it doesn’t roll too much. like some of the other large cars. now this is a big car don’t get me wrong this is bigger than the x-pen and this is smaller than the neo.
So it fits in the middle uh of its two rivals. however, it is a bit awkward driving in the city. which is why it’s got all the cameras on the outside to help you reverse. and lots of bonging to give you warnings of when you’re close to things. so you know although the bonding is quite irritating for me. it’s actually really usefu.l because in a tight driving situation like shanghai .you know this is perfect country roads like this. no problem.
Summary – Should Legacy Carmakers be concerned?
So what do I think of Weltmeister, what these guys have done in two years is incredible. now although they don’t quite have the same levels of refinement or sophistication as some of the German rivals at the momen.t they are easy on the track to overtake them within the next two or three years.
If you look at how fast these guys have grown. it’s only a matter of time and if I was a legacy automaker I would be worried. because if these guys can do this in a couple of years it makes you beg the question of what are they doing. you know BMW had bought out another three series, VW bought out another golf it’s like guys come on these guys have built a whole brand which is electric, which is running, and which is decent and for a good price. and they’ve bought this to market already. legacy automakers, watch out!
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