First Drive: Chery aims high with premium Lepas L8 SUV

What is it?

Another day, another Chinese new car brand. Meet Lepas – a new name that has visions of taking on established players such as Volkswagen and Toyota, but also tempt more well-healed customers out of their premium marques.

Lepas – which is a portmanteau of ‘leopard’ and ‘passion’ – is the latest venture from the Chinese powerhouse Chery. It has already found huge sales success with its Omoda and Jaecoo brands, along with SUVs wearing its own name. But the firm believes there’s more it can do to win the hearts of British buyers, and the Lepas brand, with its loftier aspirations, is the answer.

What’s new?

It may sound new, but the Lepas L8 uses some very familiar ingredients. Underneath, it shares plenty with its sister brands Chery, Omoda and Jaecoo, and it’s a strategy the Volkswagen Group has found great success with.

Power comes from the same SHS ‘Super Hybrid System’ set-up as found in a whole number of cars from the Chery cars.

What’s under the bonnet?

It’s a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine with an electric motor and an 18.4kWh battery. Power stands at 275bhp, with the EV range topping 56 miles. That’s average rather than outstanding – a Citroen C5 Aircross manages 53 miles, but a Toyota RAV4 can eke out a claimed 85 miles. The L8 also gets DC rapid charging up to 40kW, and Vehicle-to-Load (V2) up to 6.6kW.

While the powertrain is designated a plug-in hybrid, in reality it performs more like a range-extender. When driving, electric running is prioritised, with the petrol engine kicking in when needed.

What’s it like to drive?

With the same mechanicals as several other Chery Group cars, it’s of little surprise to discover the Lepas L8 drives in a very familiar way.

While it won’t trouble a Ford Kuga PHEV for driver involvement, the L8 does impress in an area that is more important to most buyers – ease of use. While the ride is fidgety at nearly all speeds and there’s a slight wobbliness around corners, it’s not really an issue for a family-sized SUV like this.

The steering feels noticeably more accurate and better weighted than any previous Chery or Jaecoo I’ve driven, and the L8 is super quiet on the move. That’s mostly due to the predominant electric-running characteristics of the powertrain, but also the double-thickness glass for the front side windows, and the active noise cancellation. Both of these features are standard on the top-spec car.

How does it look?

Lepas says its cars have more of an elegant flair to them compared to sister Chery, Omoda and Jaecoo models, and are designed to appeal to a more aspirational customer.

That’s mostly marketing speak, but the L8 undoubtedly has a more European look compared to Omoda models, for instance. It’s quite a simple, if unassuming, design from most angles, with smooth surfaces and little ornamentation. There’s a whiff of Porsche Cayenne from the rear, while the only real example of design flair is the front-end that has more than a passing resemblance to a Genesis GV70.

What’s it like inside?

Again, if you’ve stepped inside a Chery or a Jaecoo model recently, there won’t be many surprises in the L8. There’s a similar minimalist look with a very touchscreen-heavy design. The 13.2-inch portrait touchscreen is relatively easy to use, and there’s a small row of physical buttons. However, what looks like a volume knob actually controls the driving modes, which is rather odd, and there’s no shortcut to disable the ADAS – but Lepas promises it is working on a solution for this.

Interior space is the real highlight here. There’s plenty of it up front, but the rear quarters are positively limousine-like. There’s tons of rear legroom and head space, and the front and rear seats can be reclined – the front can even lie completely flat if you wish. Boot room stands at 507 litres, which is comfortably more than most rivals.

The only real disappointment for me was the interior fit and finish. While there are a few too many hard plastics on the doors and glovebox lid for my liking, there isn’t a noticeable step up from cheaper Chery models. It’s a sign of just how plush the more entry-level models are in the Chery Group empire, and makes me question why you’d pay extra for a Lepas when there’s little appreciable difference in cabin quality over a Chery or an Omoda.

What’s the spec like?

Very good – but did you really expect anything less? The entry-spec Essence, at £34,900, gets 19-inch diamond-cut alloys, an acoustic laminated windscreen, panoramic sunroof with electric blind, fabric and leather effect seats, the large central touchscreen and 10.25-inch digital driver’s display, and a wireless charging pad with cooling. Bizarrely, this trim is £270 cheaper than the Jaecoo 7 plug-in hybrid, despite the Lepas supposedly being more premium in the Chery group of brands

For an extra £3,000, the Elevate adds larger 20-inch wheels, laminated front side windows and active noise cancellation, a six-way electrically adjustable driver’s seat and a four-way passenger seat, heated and ventilated front seats with massage, 256-colour ambient lighting, an in-cabin fragrance system, a Bentley-esque folding table on the back of the front passenger seat, a Sony sound system, and much more.

Verdict

The Lepas L8 is another example of why the Chinese brands are doing so well in the UK – it’s a well-equipped, spacious, refined and surprisingly plush-feeling car at a good price. The premium feel and image Lepas is trying to present is a little harder to identify with, though, especially when cheaper Chery and Omoda models are impressively well equipped and trimmed. On paper, the L8 should be a posh Jaecoo 7, but it isn’t.

But the L8 is just the start, and there’s every reason to expect Lepas will be another sales success.

Facts at a glance

Model as tested: Lepas L8 Elevate

Price: £37,900

Engine: 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine with electric motor

Power: 275bhp

Torque: 364Nm

Max speed: 111mph

0-60mph: 7.7 seconds

MPG: 403.5

Emissions: 21g/km

Electric-only range: 56 miles

Maximum charge speed: 40kW