It’s time to stop pretending that Chinese-made cars can cross the Pacific with their radically low prices intact. U.S. lawmakers and automaker lobbyists aren’t going to tolerate that any time soon, regardless of which party is in control. But what if Chinese automakers make cars so good that they don’t need to sell them at a discount?The ability to command a premium might allow Chinese companies to accept tariffs as a cost of doing business rather than exiting the market altogether.

You don’t have to imagine that possibility. It’s already happening just south of the border, where a handful of Chinese automakers are paying Mexico’s new 50% tariffs to import gasoline, hybrid and electric cars, many of which are unaffordable. Take Zeekr 7X for example. compact SUV Less than a quarter inch in size Tesla Model Y It retails at a premium price of $1,700, but it’s loaded with extras that make it seem like a bargain.

A case where the price of EVs in China increases

Owned by auto giant Geely Automobile, which sold 3 million cars last year, Zeekr is already positioned as a premium EV brand in China, Mexico and Europe. Based on the Zeekrs I’ve seen and driven, it’s easy to imagine this brand being touted here as a Tesla alternative. One of Zeekr’s newest models, the 7X, is finished with a level of polish that makes it feel like a luxury car second only to a Chevrolet, if not better than a Mercedes.

From first impressions, the Zeekr 7X rewrites any preconceptions you have about Chinese cars, whatever they are. The 7X’s handsome design manages to avoid the amphibious look that plagues many Chinese models, and while its styling may be a little conventional, its surfaces and proportions are clearly the work of an experienced design team. The panel gaps in the cars I drove were as narrow and uniform as anything you can buy in America today at any price point. When you’re ready to get in, just press a button and the door will open and stop in front of the next car, parking lot, or person in your path.

You’ll think of Tesla when you first see the 16-inch screen hanging in the center of the dashboard, and then when you dive into the system and discover similar logic built into the user interface. But the rest of the cabin feels more traditional than any Tesla, which is probably a good thing for an automaker chasing mainstream appeal. Below the screen is a gear selector stalk and some physical controls, as well as a small digital instrument cluster and head-up display. The front seats warm, cool and massage your back. It also has electric sunshades on both the rear side windows and the panoramic glass roof. Are you seeing this, Tesla? Sunroof that can be closed. How innovative!

Great hardware, unforgettable dynamics

The mechanical kit is even more impressive. The 7X has air springs and adaptive dampers, and its two-motor powertrain delivers 637 horsepower. That’s good enough for a 0-60 mph time of less than 3.8 seconds. The 100kWh battery carries about 20 percent more energy than the Model Y unit and runs at 800 volts, so it should last longer than Tesla’s rated range of 327 miles and charge faster. (In China, Zeekr offers the 7X with a 75 kWh lithium iron phosphate “golden battery” that can reportedly charge from 0 to 100 percent in less than 20 minutes.)

I only drove the 7X for a few miles on the Las Vegas Motor Speedway road course. That’s not the right time or place to judge a compact SUV that will likely spend the majority of its miles shopping for groceries, caring for children, and competing for position during rush hour. But the experience was enough to make me realize that the 7X’s weakness lies almost entirely in the way it drives.

The 7X flies off the line like an arrow, but feels heavy, inert, and uninterested when the pavement turns left or right. Agility and athletic ability are significantly reduced. Ford Mustang Mach E, Kia EV6or the Model Y feel, which is amplified by light, detached steering. We also didn’t have a real chance to evaluate the 7X’s ride quality at the track.

One of the reasons Chinese automakers are able to develop new cars so quickly (and therefore at low cost) is that, generally speaking, they don’t pay attention to dynamic details like their Western counterparts. They get around this problem because buyers in their home market simply don’t know or care. They prioritize technology and value over old-fashioned, basic approaches to building cars. This begs the question: Do American buyers still care about things like ride and handling? Well, we know that hundreds of thousands of them endured the harsh ride and dirty steering of the original Tesla Model 3 and Model Y.

Is it really enough to have a great car?

In Zeekr’s home market, an all-wheel-drive 7X with a large battery costs an outrageous under $39,000, but it would be a fantasy to think the 7X would arrive in the U.S. at that price. A better idea of ​​what will happen —maybe— Future possibilities come from looking south. In Mexico, Zeekr sells a single trim called the 7X Flagship for about $56,000, which is only $1,700 more than the price of a Tesla Model Y Premium AWD sold in the same market.

With all this equipment at this price point, you don’t need a cocktail napkin to make the case that the Zeekr 7X is a uniquely powerful product. There is nothing comparable to what is currently sold in America. Because it’s more luxurious and valuable than any alternative. However, that is not the same as being successful in sales here.

If you’re launching a new brand in the U.S. auto market, offering great products at great prices will get you off to the starting line. Long-term success also requires getting the marketing, sales, and service elements right. Geely should know this better than most Chinese automakers, as it has first-hand experience of the struggles of launching a brand in China. Polaris It was supposed to be a younger, cooler, more technological version of Volvo. But for millennials at their peak earning years, the Polestar brand has as much name recognition as Delahaye. The real question for Geely’s decision makers is not when to enter the US market or how much to price the 7X, but rather, what will Zeekr do differently from Polestar if it ultimately wants to succeed in the US market.