Geely's Panda Mini EV is rumored to have a very un-EV-like price - the diminutive car unveiled last week in Geely's home market of China is allegedly going to start at just about US$ 5,700. No, there isn't a digit missing there. Of course for a tenth of the price of most EVs you're not getting a lot of power. Or space. But you are getting some character - just look at it. Weirdly enough, the initial announcement from Geely was devoid of any images of the interior of the car, but that has been rectified today. And we also get more specs!
So let's dive in. The most endurance you
can expect from this Panda Mini EV is about 200 km, and that version
features support for 22kW DC charging. This takes 30 minutes to go from 30% to
80% at an ambient temperature of 25°C (77°F), while a full charge takes 68
minutes. On AC the Panda can do at most 7kW, taking about three hours to fully
charge at the aforementioned temperature. There's also an option to charge it
at 2kW at home, in which case you should expect to wait eight and a half hours
for a full charge.
It's interesting to see the Geome
branding, but not surprising - this car was initially supposed to be launched
under the Geometry brand, and its name was changed at the last minute to make
it part of Geely's main portfolio. The car has a 9.2" instrument cluster
display and an 8" central control screen. There's Bluetooth for phone
connections, intercom functions, and sharing of destination info. Through an
app you can remote unlock the Panda, turn on the AC, open the trunk, that sort
of thing. There's no vehicle key, you use your phone and Bluetooth to unlock.
This works automatically once you've set it up.
The Panda has two driving modes, Sport and
Normal, and has three stages of selectable recuperation. The car measures 3,065
mm in length, 1,522 mm in width, and 1,600 mm in height. The wheelbase is 2,015 mm, and its curb
weight is 797 kg. It has a 41 hp electric motor and the top
speed is limited to 100 km/h.
