Lynk & Co 08: Are You Sure You Need An EV?

What is it?

It’s a known truth that things go out of fashion, but they have a habit of coming back around. PHEVs aren’t really old enough to have fully fallen out of fashion but the Lynk&Co 08 EM-P is part of a new wave of better PHEVs. With improvements in charging speeds and EV-only range the Lynk&Co 08 promises to deliver a better experience.

Price

Pricing for the Lynk&Co 08 vary widely depending on trim and options. The overview is the cheapest single motor RWD model can be had for just under $30,000 whilst the top of the range comes in at under $36,000. Competitive considering the build quality and premium feeling this vehicle brings.

Exterior

Previous Lynk&Co products with their wide mouthed grills and bulbous daytime running lights drew some ridicule online, where people dubbed the cars as “Frog faced.” The Lynk&Co 08 is not a massive overhaul, the daytime running lights are still on the top of the bonnet, but they are less bulbous, more angular and minimalist. Still frog like, but less so.

The Lynk&Co 08 is a masterclass in car metal origami. delightful folds, creases and crevices on every panel. And as someone who can barely fold a paper airplane that flies more then a 2 meters, I’m impressed. An energetic side profile, the two tone scheme with the blacken pillars and roof working wonders to lower the roof line visually. The wing mirror design where they appear to be adhered to the door has split opinion in the office. Do they look more like snorkels or streetlamps?

At the rear there is a couple of questionable design details. Why a family crossover needs an integrated roof spoiler or a faux diffuser still keeps me awake at night. But I think it speaks more to general car design these days, where everything from tiny urban hatchbacks to large SUVs need the trappings of race cars to pretend they’re “cool.” For the record, it’s not cool.

The Lynk&co 08 exterior styling has me in two minds. Sometimes I like it and sometimes I don’t. Lynk&Co claim it’s based on their “the next day” design language. Like getting lucky on a night out, then waking up “the next day,” in the stark, harsh daylight, maybe disagreeing with your previous perception of beauty.

Our test car wore the optional 21inch fan style Aero rims, I quite like them, but I’m bias as they look almost identical to the Aero rims on my own NIO ET7. As standard you get a set of 19inch multi-spoke alloys.

You can expect decent luggage space in the Lynk&Co 08, 545L with the second row up and putting the second row down yields 1,277L. Respectable numbers.

Interior

As a general rule of thumb, Geely interiors are top shelf, and the Lynk&Co 08 is not an exception. Napa leather, alcantara, and fancy rose gold accenting. Ambient lighting that stretched the dash, and continues pulsating through the speaker grilles. The standard 8 speaker system on paper seems to pale in comparison to our test car’s optional Harman Kardon 23 speaker, 1600W surround sound system with spatial audio. Sounds great.

Screen in the Lynk&Co 08 include a 12.3 inch instrument panel, a humongous 92 inch heads up display and a crisp 15.4inch 2K LCD infotainment screen. The central infotainment system is super slick and responsive with the Meizu Flyme Auto OS, being powered by a ECARX Antora 1000 Pro Double Dragon Eagle 1 CPU, in Chinese the name is more concise,.

If you are unaware Geely invested into smartphone maker Meizu a few years ago, whilst the Geely Chairman invested into ECARX. So it’s no surprise we see them powering the Lynk&Co 08. And while not the most famous in-car solutions, the speed of the screen speaks for itself.

A few silly grievances though on the inside. The wireless phone pads, are actually just a singluar 50W pad and one that’s pretending. And there are a few points of over engineering, the hidden spinning cup holders seem cool but unnecessary. And the glove box is opened by delving into the screens menus, where a normal manual button would have been easier.

My largest gripe though is the doors. The grab handle is elegantly hidden away, but when grabbing the handle, the unlock button remains just out of thumb reach. So opening the door is a bit of an ergonomic nightmare, its either a two stage process, or a double handed job. So if you buy a Lynk&Co 08 enjoy explaining how to open the door to every single passenger ever.

The front seats are very nicely bolstered, great looking with floating headrests that have integrated speakers, nice touch. They get heat, ventilation and SPA massage. And the front passenger gets extending calf rest. The rear bench has no heat but strangely does have SPA massage function. You can also recline them manually, although it’s marginal.

The rear is equipped with the standard features you’d expect, a couple of cup-holders, a couple of USB sockets and the same levels of materials and finishing as the front. There are a ports in the back of the front seats to mount official accessories, like tables and ipad holders. Legroom is spacious and headroom is decent, sitting in the rear has plenty of light thanks to a large panoramic glass roof, which can actually open.

Battery, range, charging

The Lynk&Co 08 is a PHEV, but it can be had with decent sized battery, and supports fast charging. All models claim to DC fast charge 30-80% in 28mins. Which is a massive improvement of older PHEVs.

The base single motor versions you get the smallest 21.2kWh CATL battery. It’s a hybrid LFP/NCM battery offering a claimed 102km of pure EV range. You can opt for the super long range single motor version, which carries an 39.8kWh SVOLT NCM pack with double the claimed EV only range at 205km. Out test car was the dual motor version, with a 39.6kWh CATL NCM battery and a pure EV range of 185km.

All models use the same 1.5L turbo 4 cylinder engine.

Driving

The 1.5T engine puts out 120kW and 255Nm and all models use the same 3 speed DHT (Dedicated Hybrid Transmission) to route power from the engine and motors.

The Lynk&Co 08 suspension is Mcpherson struts in the front and a multi-link in the rear. It’s not the be all and end all in comfort but you couldn’t describe it as   uncomfortable. There’s no clever air suspension or CDC. it rides solely on springs and franky it feels like it, but it’s well dampened and gets the job done.

Two power options for the Lynk&co 08. The RWD versions have a single rear mounted electric motor putting out 160kW & 350Nm, and combined with the engine have a total of 280kW & 615Nm. Whilst the Dual motor versions two electric motors put out a combined 316kW & 640Nm. Add the engines power and you get a total of 426kW & 905Nm. That huge torque figure doesn’t translate into neck snapping speed. On paper 0-100kph is completed in 4.6s seconds, but it’s a laid back ramp up. .

Lynk&co a sporty brand, but i wouldn’t describe the driving as sporty. It’s Powerful but finesse it doesn’t have. And although it looks quite low slung you definitely feel the heft in the corners. Driving inputs are typical Chinese style, light pedal feel and light steering. It’s something you get used to in Chinese cars. The brake pedal though has good feel throughout the pedal range.

The Lynk&Co 08 has a strictly Level 2 ADAS, which is a big catchment category, but as standard it has lane keep assist and ACC combined, that’s it. It stays in its lane and maintains speed nicely. Just don’t expect this to change lanes for you unless you upgrade to the option Highway NOA.

Takeaway

The Lynk&Co 08 has a fantastic interior, great fit and finish & top notch materials. It’s more than powerful enough and has a good EV-only range for the daily grind. But like me, although decent looking we both can’t hide that bit of extra weight. Let’s just say sporty isn’t how you’d define us. But hey, you can’t win them all.