HiPhi Z (2023) review: EV with 672 hp and a touch of Nissan GT-R

This is the HiPhi Z, the HiPhi’s bolder, bolder, and fiercer sibling. They are the first models from the automotive branch of Chinese Mobility startup Human Horizons. X plays the role of a classic luxury SUV, Z is a wild, more attractive sedan.

Their chief designer used to work at BMW, but if you’re looking for features of the i3 or i8, none of those are on his CV. Perhaps the views of the Nissan GT-R can be detected in the design from certain angles. However, stylistically there is a lot going on. We leave the decision about how all the details come together to you. It’s a lot, though.

And you can safely use the whole story for price and performance. It has two engines, which open no less than 672 hp and 820 Nm on an unenviable road surface, it has an all-wheel drive and sprints to 100 km / h in 3.8 seconds.

HiPhi does not want to compete with Porsche

The technical boss at HiPhi is Mark Stanton, who previously worked at Jaguar Land Rover. He knows very well that trying to beat the Porsche Taycan in terms of handling is a) dead end and therefore b) not worth trying at all. And so they go for different experiences.

Z can look like a Transformer from all sidesyou wantFortunately, the inside has become more stable and you can imagine yourself in a cocoon up to the weight of an ounce. Which certainly doesn’t mean it’s total smooth it is.

Photo: © TopGear
Photo: © TopGear
Photo: © TopGear
Photo: © TopGear
Photo: © TopGear
Photo: © TopGear

It corners well and gets plenty of firm grip from its Michelin Pilot Sport EV tires, while rear-wheel steering (with 13.2 percent travel) somewhat mitigates the effects of its 2.5-tonne weight – that’s for sure. it is well divided 50 / 50 between the front and rear axles.

HiPhi Z is still young, but you don’t see that

We didn’t really get a chance to insult him, and it’s possible that there’s a great entertainer hiding somewhere under the eyes, but we don’t have any real complaints. It feels put together, especially for a product from a company that only saw the light of day in 2017.

And it is certainly beneficial if, as a brand, you bring in a whole pack of people who previously worked at Jaguar Land Rover. Its excellent driving characteristics on standard air suspension are certainly reminiscent of the best that JLR has to offer, and past contacts with Meridian have in any case resulted in a superb 23-speaker, 2,820-watt sound system from the company. Delicious.

Less clear is the Z’s charging capabilities. It has a 120-kWh battery that provides a range of 555 kilometers according to WLTP standards, but the speed at which you can increase the package has not yet been announced.

When can I order?

Well, they still have time; We drove a car that was made for the Chinese market and it is expected that it will take until late 2024/early 2025 before this HiPhi is available to us. We will therefore suspend final judgment for the time being. But aside from all the aesthetic nonsense and the plethora of technology, there seems to be a solid core to the HiPhi Z.