- The Xiaomi YU7 is expected to go on sale in China starting in June.
- Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun says hes sold 258,000 SU7 sedans since it was introduced last year.
- Currently, Xiaomi has no immediate plans to export the SU7 or YU7 to markets outside of China.
The Xiaomi YU7 was officially launched this week, and a few Chinese local journalists and influencers have already gotten their hands on the car in static form. But now Telescope may be the first English language YouTube channel to have a hands-on with the YU7.
Honestly, from what I’ve seen in the video, this may be more impressive than the SU7 sedan. Mainly for one big reason: that interior.
We’ve already seen static press images of the YU7’s interior, but Haoran (Sean) Zhou, the presenter for the YouTube channel Telescope, gives us better context as to what it will look like in person. He highlights the “Xiaomi Hypervision” gauge cluster screen. This design moves the gauge cluster and instrument panel’s information to a full-width display placed right against the base of the windshield. It isn’t a unique idea, BMW has a similar concept for its forthcoming Neue Klasse cars, as do the brands Lincoln and Avatr.
To me, the most striking part of the interior is just how sumptuous it looks. Perhaps the camel-colored beige interior and seats make it look more expensive than it is, but every surface looks round and soft. I think most non-car people would be pretty fooled into thinking the YU7 is from a bona fide luxury brand. That’s great for Xiaomi, which considers itself slightly premium with the SU7 and YU7, but not full-on luxury.
Zhou was somewhat critical of the interior space, though. The YU7’s Ferrari Purosangue-aping styling does look cool, but like the Ferrari, it has a very long hood, though without a big V12 gas engine. The YU7 ends up with a sizable frunk, but it seems to come at the expense of interior room. He described it as just enough, but I do wonder if the YU7 would have more interior room if it had proportions that were more human-focused.
Everyone knows that the YU7 and, to a lesser extent SU7 are inspired by expensive Western designs. No one’s questioning that. This car is almost as if Steve Madden decided to branch out into electric cars instead of fashionable shoes and bags. However, like Steve Madden’s designer-dupe shoes, it feels like Xiaomi has figured out a way to match the aura of an already good design, but make it more accessible to people who don’t have as much money.
I expect the YU7 to have even greater success than the SU7. Let’s just hope that Xiaomi can keep its quality standards in check, because lately things aren’t always looking too good for SU7 owners.
Contact the author: Kevin.Williams@InsideEVs.com
