Geely Galaxy E8 launched in China – up to 665 km EV range, 646 PS, 710 Nm; 45-inch display; fr RM114k

Geely has launched the Galaxy E8 in China, where it is offered in five variants and priced between 175,800 and 228,800 yuan (RM114,225 and RM148,661). The E8 is the third model in the Galaxy series, which was launched last year as an independent brand.

First previewed by the Galaxy Light concept, the E8 features slim headlamps, prominent daytime running lights, a sleek roofline, retractable door handles, frameless doors and a drag coefficient of just 0.199.

Built on Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) that is also used for Zeekr, smart, Volvo, Lotus and other vehicles under the Geely banner, the E8 has a wheelbase that spans 2,925 mm. Other key dimensions include a length of 5,010 mm, a width of 1,920 mm, a height of 1,465 mm, a rear trunk volume of 465 litres, a front trunk volume of 53 litres, a turning radius of 5.62 metres as well as a ground clearance of either 136 or 143 mm.

The variant line-up includes the 550km Pro and 550km Max, both equipped with a 62-kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery providing a range of up to 550 km following the CLTC standard. For more range, there’s the 665km Long Range and 665km Smart Driving that get a higher-capacity 76-kWh LFP battery for 665 km of range.

These four variants feature a 400-volt electrical architecture and come as standard with a rear-mounted electric motor rated at 272 PS (268 hp or 200 kW) and 343 Nm of torque, enabling a top speed of 190 km/h and a 0-100 km/h time of 5.95 seconds.

According to Geely, DC fast charging at a max of 150 kW will get the battery from a 10-80% state of charge (SoC) in 28 minutes for the four variants mentioned. It also noted that 665km variants have silicon carbide technology in their drive systems, which is also true of the range-topping 620km Performance variant. A vehicle-to-load (V2L) system is also standard for the E8.

The 620km Performance is a different from the rest as it has an 800-volt electrical architecture that allows for an even higher DC charging capacity of 360 kW – 10-80% SoC in just 18 minutes. The LFP battery capacity is slightly lower at 75.6 kWh for this variant and so is the range at 620 km.

The latter is due to the dual-motor, all-wheel drive setup that consists of a rear electric motor providing 421 PS (416 hp or 310 kW) as well as a front electric motor rated at 224 PS (221 hp or 165 kW). Together, the total system output is 646 PS (637 hp or 475 kW) and 710 Nm, which greatly reduces the century sprint time to 3.49 seconds while the top speed is bumped up to 210 km/h. A Porsche Taycan GTS has a higher top speed but loses out to the E8 in a 0-100 km/h drag race.

As for life on the inside, the E8 sports a 45-inch “unbounded” display that spans nearly the entire width of the dashboard and has an 8K resolution. The huge display is divided into segments, with one being for the digital instrument cluster, while the other two is for the infotainment system and front passenger screen.

The screens, along with the 25.6-inch AR-enabled head-up display, are powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295 chip and run Geely’s Galaxy N-OS software. Other interior features include a 256-colour ambient lighting system, a cooled 50 W wireless charging pad, an eight- or 12-speaker system (the latter is a Harman Infinity system) and powered front seats (with available heating, ventilation and massage functions).

In terms of safety and driver assistance systems, the E8 has a hardware suite with as many as five millimeter wave radar sensors, 12 ultrasonic sensors, 10 cameras and one LiDAR sensor. These allow for functions such as autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control with intelligent cruise assist, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, lane change assist, blind spot monitoring, front and rear cross traffic alert, automated parking and Navigate on Autopilot 2.0 semi-autonomous driving.

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