Geely Galaxy E8: The EV Price War Is Heating UpIssuing time:2024-03-22 15:56 What is it? You probably know the Milky Way Galaxy, a massive collection of stars, gas, dust, and dark matter that happens to be our home in the universe. What you may not know, is that within that galaxy lies another galaxy, the Galaxy E8. Galaxy is an all-new brand from Geely, and slots into the mainstream category. Prices for the E8 sedan range from 25-32,000 USD. Geely is best known for its acquisition of brands like Volvo and Lotus, but it also has a growing portfolio of its own plug-in hybrid and pure electric brands. Kinda like how the Milky Way is constantly absorbing the stars of nearby dwarf galaxies even as it gives birth to new stars.
The Milky Way takes the form of a disk with spiral-like arms, a common shape for galaxies. The Galaxy E8 also adopts a common shape among modern electric sedans, the fastback roofline. The front-end design, while not as awe-inspiring as our cosmos, is quite fetching, and arguably more aggressively styled. Not only that, it’s also got a frunk measuring 53 liters! The Milky Way Galaxy is roughly 105,700 light years in length, while the Galaxy E8 measures a more modest 5010 mm, or a tiny bit shorter than a BMW i5. Spread across that length is a smooth body with deeply sculpted sheet metal, terminating in a razor thin LED taillight. This design allows the E8 to achieve a drag coefficient of just 0.199, easily among the lowest we’ve ever seen on the channel. At the heart of our galaxy lies a blackhole with a mass equivalent to 4 billion suns. The heart of the E8 is its lithium iron phosphate battery pack, which measures 62 or 76 kWh, and provides a CLTC range of 550-665 km. The 800v architecture of the E8 can fast charge from 10-80% in about 30 minutes, unless you get the dual motor powertrain, which has a slightly different battery pack measuring 75.6 kWh and can do it in just 20 minutes. Our galaxy received it’s first “charge” from the Big Bang itself, and it’s kept on going ever since.
Rivalling the night sky The E8’s front-end styling can’t rival the beauty of the night sky, but the center screen, a single 8K display measuring 45-inches in width, just might be able to. It’s not three different displays, but one single screen, though it can display content across three different sections in whatever combination you prefer. Not only that, it also has way more apps and faster load times than the Milky Way thanks to a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295 processor. If that’s not enough to convince you, there’s also a 25.6-inch augmented reality head-up display that will show driving info like speed and turn by turn navigation prompts. Without a head-up display, we’re forced to use math to figure out how fast the Milky Way is moving. Geely is known for producing some of the best built interiors of any Chinese automaker, and the E8 is no different. It's simple, modern design is attractive, and has tight tolerances throughout. Compare that to our section of the Milky Way, where stars are an average of 4 light years apart. Talk about panel gaps! Almost every trim level of the E8 comes standard with a 50W wireless charging pad and heated and ventilated seats. The top spec dual motor car even adds massaging. It’s even possible to option a satellite phone that will connect through one of Geely’s low orbit satellites. Despite being noticeably smaller than the Milky Way, the Galaxy E8 still manages to provide rear passengers with surprising comfort thanks to a wheelbase of 2925mm. Again, just a bit shorter than a BMW i5. Those passengers also get dual USB charging ports and a large panoramic glass roof that would be perfect for, you guessed it, star gazing.
Not as fast as the Milky Way The E8 is built on the Sustainable Experience Architecture, one that it shares with models from Volvo, Lotus, and Smart. According to Galaxy, the E8 has a perfect 50/50 weight distribution thanks to extensive use of aluminum and high strength steel. As for the Milky Way, it makes extensive use of invisible dark matter, which makes up 90% of the galaxy. A rear motor Galaxy E8 can hit 100 km/h in 6 seconds, but upgrading to the $32,000 dual motor model with 475 kW and 710 Nm of torque, will get there in just 3.5 seconds. The Milky Way is also accelerating, but due to the aforementioned dark matter, not electric motors. The rear motor E8 can hit a top speed of 190 km/h significantly slower than the Milky Way’s current speed of about 2.2 million km/h. I’m afraid it’s not much better for the dual motor which still lags massively behind the Milky Way with a top speed of only 210 km/h.
The E8 might be able to muster massive acceleration numbers thanks to its electric motors, but its affordable price point dictates that it uses a simple McPherson strut front suspension. Still, with a five-link rear suspension, it still manages a good performance in terms of ride comfort. I don’t know what type of suspension the Milky Way uses, but seeing as you didn’t even notice you were hurtling through the universe at 2.2 million km/h until I just told you a second ago, I’m guessing it’s pretty nice. Galaxy sells the E8 as a performance electric sedan, comparing its stats to those of the Taycan GTS, but while the E8 can rival the GTS in a straight line, it can’t do the same in corners. Having said that, we’re talking about a vehicle that stickers for less than 1/6 the price of a Taycan GTS here in China. If it manages to provide a driving experience that’s more than 1/6 of the Porsche’s, I’d consider that a win. While it may not be nearly as precise as the Porsche, particularly in terms of its steering feel and turn in, the E8 punches well above its price category. There’s a good reason for that; it wasn’t supposed to be so cheap. The E8 is one of the many victims of China’s ongoing price war, and rest assured, Geely never wanted to sell it for so little. It’s only due to the ongoing pressures of the Chinese car market that you can get so much, for so little.
Takeaway Due to the speed at which the universe is currently expanding, even if we were somehow able to travel at light speed, we would still only be able to reach 3% of visible galaxies. That has nothing to do with the Galaxy E8, a fine entry into the highly competitive electric sedan market here in China. I just wanted to give you something to think about as you lay awake tonight contemplating existence. Specifications
Article classification:
Electric Vehicles
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