Another shot of the car.

Took for another drive on a very sunny day.

9 hours ago, G Rex said:

I never thought it would happen to me, but yesterday … (this sounds like one of those readers letters to Penthouse magazine..(readers? Did anyone ever read it?) ) we had our new Zeekr X delivered.

As a car tragic, and dedicated petrol-head , this is my first experience of electric cars - other than the dodgems at the big fairs.

The car is very well appointed - and it actually handles very well. It is also bloody fast!!

I recently had a 15kW solar array & 32Kw battery storage installed at our house, so it seemed the next logical step to purchase an electric vehicular appliance.

I sold an 18 month old Mazda CX30 at a healthy loss before buying the Zeekr. The Mazda was, in true Thai market form, very under powered, and though a reasonable car - it was a very uninspiring drive. The Zeekr is so much more fun! You get bang for your buck with electric cars in Thailand.

The installation guys for the home charger arrived yesterday afternoon - and were positively salivating at the thought of our installation. Our meter is about 150m from our house, so we were going to be up for a fortune for new heavier electric wiring. When I told them I want it connected to our solar system - the mood changed. Apparently they need to talk to their boss to see if this is possible(?) - lol

Should be no worries about using your solar. The car will set the correct charging current.

@brfsa2 @G Rex

Congrats on your new BEVs...wishing you many years of happy driving. Down with the burning & exploding of petrol molecules and up with the moving of lithium ions & electrons back and forth.

PS for @brfsa2 regarding Atto 3 charging speed (since you also own an Atto 3 and had charging speed issues) yesterday the wife and I did a 360km round trip Bangkok-Pattaya/Jomtien. Sunny to overcast, no rain weather...ambient temp in the 32-37C ballpark during the trip....took the Atto instead of the SL7. Did a lot of tollway driving at 100-115kmh. In Pattaya after driving continuously for 185km / 2.5hrs in getting to and driving around Pattaya/Jomtien a little I stopped at a Spark DC charger to top-up for the trip back to Bangkok---was most interested in what charging speed I would get. Would the fairly hot weather (although not as hot as Mar-May Thailand summertime weather) cause the Atto BMS to drag-down charging rate to protect the battery from overheating.....like both of us have experienced over recent months with our Atto's.

Starting SOC was 54%...and as you know up to 65% SOC the Atto is spec'ed for 80-88KW DC charging speed...then 57KW from 65- 85%....then 32KW 85-100%. I was really interested in what charging speed I would get after this continuous driving....would I get something close to the Atto charging spec in yesterday's hot weather "although this was not the "really hot, bright weather" typically experienced in Mar-Apr-May Thailand summer time where ambient temps gets into the 40C ballpark along with "cloudless" skies and "bright sunshine" to really heat things up. The kind of HOT temperatures where both of us have experienced the Atto DC charging speed dropping way off from its charging specs in order to protect the HV battery.

Well, I didn't experience any charging speed drop off....I started the charging with 54% SOC and was getting an 85KW charge rate (see below)...and it continued to charge at 85KW up to 65% (per specs) when it dropped to 57KW (per specs)...and once reaching 85% it dropped to 32KW (per specs)....I stopped changing at 85%....headed back to Bangkok. Charging speeds per specs....no drop-off. A charge top-up lasing 21 minutes...just enough time to take a bathroom break and visit 7-11 for some snacks.

I've owned the Atto 3 for 2 years, 8 months now and the more I think about it this year was the first year I used DC charging during the Thailand summer months....the REALLY HOT months of Mar-Apr-May....just based on when the wife and I decided to do some long, same day trips in the the 300 to 450Km ballpark where I would top-up the charge along the way. Before this year the only time I did a lot of DC charging was Aug-Dec 2024 when BYD/Rever provided free charging for 5 months to certain customers of which I was one. Over those 5 months in the Aug-Dec 2024 timeframe I DC charged 80 (eighty) times for free and always got the spec'ed/full charging speeds such as 80-88KW up to 65% SOC. But the Aug-Dec timeframe is not has hot and bright as the summertime in Thailand (Mar-Apr-May)....the Mar-May timeframe in Thailand is just seriously hot combined with the cloudless skies allowing the sun to create frying pan conditions on the car and road surface which really heats up the battery. Preaching to the choir I know.

Anyway, with your new IM5 and its almost 400KW max/peak DC charging speed you shouldn't have to worry about getting the max charge rate from most any DC charger you plug into.

Atto Charging Speed

never thought it would happen to me, but yesterday … (this sounds like one of those readers letters to Penthouse magazine..(readers? Did anyone ever read it?) ) we had our new Zeekr X delivered.

11 hours ago, G Rex said:

As a car tragic, and dedicated petrol-head , this is my first experience of electric cars - other than the dodgems at the big fairs.

The car is very well appointed - and it actually handles very well. It is also bloody fast!!

I recently had a 15kW solar array & 32Kw battery storage installed at our house, so it seemed the next logical step to purchase an electric vehicular appliance.

I sold an 18 month old Mazda CX30 at a healthy loss before buying the Zeekr. The Mazda was, in true Thai market form, very under powered, and though a reasonable car - it was a very uninspiring drive. The Zeekr is so much more fun! You get bang for your buck with electric cars in Thailand.

The installation guys for the home charger arrived yesterday afternoon - and were positively salivating at the thought of our installation. Our meter is about 150m from our house, so we were going to be up for a fortune for new heavier electric wiring. When I told them I want it connected to our solar system - the mood changed. Apparently they need to talk to their boss to see if this is possible(?) - lol

As a dedicated petrol-head what do feel was the biggest factor driving you to shift from petrol to electrons?

I see you already had solar for the house so I guess it may have been just waiting for the right EV to come along...the urge to move from ICE to EV became to great, etc? Probably a combo of things. Congrats again on the new EV.

26 minutes ago, Pib said:

As a dedicated petrol-head what do feel was the biggest factor driving you to shift from petrol to electrons?

I see you already had solar for the house so I guess it may have been just waiting for the right EV to come along...the urge to move from ICE to EV became to great, etc? Probably a combo of things. Congrats again on the new EV.

If I still lived in Oz, I most likely would still be using Dino Juice. This is the 54th car I have purchased/owned in my life. Living in rural Australia - the charging infrastructure is still inadequate (even though I had solar in my house there too).

Now, I live in Thailand, it just makes more sense to go electric. The fact that any petrol/diesel car producing more than 225hp is so heavily taxed here is also a big factor. We have had Honda HRV, Toyota Altis and Mazda CX30 here - and honestly, their performance is insipid at best (downhill and with a tail wind!).

I found a lot of the smaller electric cars a bit dull looking - but the Zeekr stood out because it looks a bit different - it has character. (oh , & did I mention it goes very fast?)

On paper - it is the fastest accelerating car I have ever owned. Faster and better handling than my 2017 750hp Shelby Super Snake, and quicker than the 911 Carrera 4S I owned here a few years back.

I am not going to become a 'born-again' type convert to electric vehicles - I just love (good) cars. As i said, now it just makes sense!

10 hours ago, brfsa2 said:

Another shot of the car.

Took for another drive on a very sunny day.

I saw a black one the other day - what an amazing looking car! especially with those wheels - not very aerodynamic, but who gives a damn, there must be limits how far aero is pushed. Enjoy the beast!

On 6/26/2026 at 8:08 AM, Andrew Dwyer said:

Have you considered Sinjet ?, more expensive but with a rear dash cam also, a simple sentry mode and ( imho the best feature) the rear view camera on your rear view mirror. Fully built in with no trailing cables and wi-fi on some models to transfer video to your phone/laptop if necessary.

I want to chip in on the dash-cam discussion, particularly regarding parking (or "sentry") mode.

I fitted our Xiaomi dash-cam in (to my EV) and initially hard-wired it into an always-live circuit in the interior fuse box using fuse taps. That allowed the camera to remain powered after the vehicle was switched off, with the motion sensors active so it could record anyone approaching the car while parked, exactly what I wanted.

The downside was the drain on the 12-volt auxiliary battery (which typically sits at around 13.5 to 14.5 volts while the vehicle is operating or charging). Even with the low-voltage cut-off set at around 12.8 volts, the camera would only run for around four hours before shutting itself down.

My concern was that, despite being an EV, the car still relies on the 12-volt battery to boot all of the control systems and close the high-voltage contactors. If that battery becomes too depleted, the car may not start.

The alternative is to fit a dedicated dash-cam battery pack that charges while driving and powers the camera when parked, avoiding any drain on the vehicle's own 12-volt battery. Xiaomi even make one specifically for this purpose, but I wasn't particularly keen on having another sizeable lithium-ion battery permanently sitting inside the glove box.

In the end, I rewired the camera to one of the vehicle's 12-volt accessory sockets. It was a much simpler solution and completely avoids any risk of draining the auxiliary battery, although the obvious trade-off is losing parking mode.

One final point is warranty. Hard-wiring via fuse taps introduces modifications to the vehicle's electrical system which, if an electrical fault were ever to arise, could complicate a warranty claim.

Using the factory 12-volt accessory socket involves no modification at all, so there's little scope for any warranty-related argument.

On 6/26/2026 at 9:06 AM, Pib said:

BUT the very next day the salesperson called the wife and said not to order the camera as the tech wasn't allowed to install...even said a non-BYD camera system would not be compatible. Reading between the lines....the unspoken story....etc...I expect the dealership management decided (had a policy change) they would stop installing dashcams for customers...especially any dashcam the customer ordered and hand delivered to be installed. Instead, just let the customer go to dashcam shop.

I think this might have to do with potential warranty issues - IF the dealership installs the dash-cam for you, but then something happens and claims the warranty is void because of the dash-cam installation, thinks could get quite sticky.

My 'guess' if that the management have cleverly decided to avoid any such conflict of interest there.

13 hours ago, G Rex said:

I never thought it would happen to me, but yesterday … (this sounds like one of those readers letters to Penthouse magazine..(readers? Did anyone ever read it?) ) we had our new Zeekr X delivered.

As a car tragic, and dedicated petrol-head , this is my first experience of electric cars - other than the dodgems at the big fairs.

The car is very well appointed - and it actually handles very well. It is also bloody fast!!

I recently had a 15kW solar array & 32Kw battery storage installed at our house, so it seemed the next logical step to purchase an electric vehicular appliance.

I sold an 18 month old Mazda CX30 at a healthy loss before buying the Zeekr. The Mazda was, in true Thai market form, very under powered, and though a reasonable car - it was a very uninspiring drive. The Zeekr is so much more fun! You get bang for your buck with electric cars in Thailand.

The installation guys for the home charger arrived yesterday afternoon - and were positively salivating at the thought of our installation. Our meter is about 150m from our house, so we were going to be up for a fortune for new heavier electric wiring. When I told them I want it connected to our solar system - the mood changed. Apparently they need to talk to their boss to see if this is possible(?) - lol

Interesting to read a review from a self-confessed petrolhead.

I used to be heavily into cars. After spending rather too much money on some decent vehicles over the years, having a family changed things quite quickly. Cars became far less interesting, particularly with the taxation on higher-powered vehicles making the whole 'hobby' much less appealing.

About 18 months ago it was time to replace the family car. We all liked the look of an EV, that was genuinely the deciding factor. We weren't looking for an EV specifically, we simply liked the car. We sat in it, took it for a 30-minute test drive, and bought it because it appealed to us - I didn't care for EV's at the time, I was completely indifferent - the charing solution installed at our house was just another facet of convenience of EV's - one which IMO is one of the best features of an EV - not having to go to a Petrol Station everyweek - not even having to think about it !!!...

What genuinely surprised me was the performance. Even a fairly ordinary family SUV was noticeably quicker than some of the "fast-ish" ICE cars I'd previously owned, cars that had been marketed as sporty. The instant torque is addictive.

The one downside I've noticed is the weight. You can really feel it in faster corners. At motorway speeds, particularly around 120 km/h over the Khlong bridges or on the long, sweeping bends of the expressway, the car seems to float and move around on its suspension over minor undulations in the road. It's not dangerous, but it is slightly unsettling.

I never noticed the same sensation in my previous ICE SUV, despite it being a similar size. That weighed around 1,700 kg, whereas the EV tips the scales at about 2,130 kg. An extra 430 kg is significant, and you can feel it. Whether that's simply the laws of physics, the suspension tuning, or an inferior chassis, I'm not sure, but it's certainly the only characteristic that has stood out to me.

I like the tech, but realistically very little of it is unique to EVs. The same tech is available on modern ICE cars too.

The safety technology in particular, adaptive radar cruise control, forward collision warning, autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning, lane assist, head-up displays, 360-degree cameras and similar driver assistance systems, have been around for years. My previous ICE SUV, despite being around eight years older, already had all of those features.

For me, the real difference is the drivetrain rather than the technology. The instant torque, smoothness and refinement are what stand out. The infotainment and safety features are largely a reflection of buying a newer vehicle, regardless of whether it's powered by petrol, diesel or electricity.

Richard Hammond takes the Zeekr 7X for a spin:

7 hours ago, G Rex said:

If I still lived in Oz, I most likely would still be using Dino Juice. This is the 54th car I have purchased/owned in my life. L

Wow....you've owned 54 cars!!!!....that's a lot of cars unless you happened to sell cars for a living/extra income, owned a business where a lot of cars were needed.....OR, maybe your are immortal (of the vampire type maybe?) and have been buying cars since 1908 when the Ford Model T came out. And don't let your new Zeekr X find out you owned so many cars as it may think you'll be kicking it to the curb in a year or so for a new car. 😁😉🤪

But seriously, enjoy the new EV!

On the issue of DC, charging speed, a couple of times at BYD in Chiang Rai I only got 25 kW for 10 minutes before increasing and on one of those occasions, a Thai plugged into the other charging head disconnected and said there’s something wrong. He was only getting 25 kW too.

I believe it’s something to do with PEA telling the charger to slow down charging because the network can’t support high speed at that moment.

We bought a coffee shop for my daughter this weekend from a guy with a Zeekr 7X. He offered to let me drive it, but I was happy to just sit in it. I don’t see 400k THB more value than Sealion 7. I like it but I won’t be selling a car to buy it.

I do like the AVATR 11 and I believe there’s a fast version coming here later this year for 2.8M THB, with depreciation the way it is, I won’t be buying one of those either.

Two niggles with the SL7, it’s a PITA every time you get it having to say” hey BYD turn on seat ventilation in the front row at position one”, why can’t it remember? And the other niggle is sometimes when I get in the electric Sun blind has closed, even though I left it open.

25 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

....And the other niggle is sometimes when I get in the electric Sun blind has closed, even though I left it open.

47 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

Two niggles with the SL7, it’s a PITA every time you get it having to say” hey BYD turn on seat ventilation in the front row at position one”, why can’t it remember? And the other niggle is sometimes when I get in the electric Sun blind has closed, even though I left it open.

The bit about the seat ventilation does not make sense - there are two distinct voice command zones, i.e driver and passenger. If you as driver want seat ventilation turned on, all you need to tell the lady is 'turn on seat ventilation' et voila, service is rendered.

Passengers can request same.

Maybe ask nicely instead of bossing her around makes a difference? I am the gentle type, works like a charm in our SL.

1 hour ago, Pib said:

Thanks, I’ll try that.

34 minutes ago, mistral53 said:

The bit about the seat ventilation does not make sense - there are two distinct voice command zones, i.e driver and passenger. If you as driver want seat ventilation turned on, all you need to tell the lady is 'turn on seat ventilation' et voila, service is rendered.

Passengers can request same.

Maybe ask nicely instead of bossing her around makes a difference? I am the gentle type, works like a charm in our SL.

Yes, if I’m on my own, I do say hey BYD turn on seat ventilation at position one. But most of the time we are both in the car and I find turning it on at position two which is the default too noisy.

My BYD computer is female, and I just assume they are meant to be bossed around. It’s the natural order of things?

Question : any consequences to charge short time as 10-15mnmn for example, if we don't want to wait, and this often, as every couple of days. Anyone charging OFTEN this way ? I am thinking about people going to work, stopping the car on the way for a cup of coffee (in shop or take out), and this everyday on the way to the office.

30 minutes ago, khunphil said:

Question : any consequences to charge short time as 10-15mnmn for example, if we don't want to wait, and this often, as every couple of days. Anyone charging OFTEN this way ? I am thinking about people going to work, stopping the car on the way for a cup of coffee (in shop or take out), and this everyday on the way to the office.

dont see a problem with that. actually it might even be easier on the battery to charge for 10 min before it starts to overheat, vs a full 30-40 minutes that a fast charge session can take until full.

On 6/28/2026 at 1:34 PM, richard_smith237 said:

The one downside I've noticed is the weight. You can really feel it in faster corners. At motorway speeds, particularly around 120 km/h over the Khlong bridges or on the long, sweeping bends of the expressway, the car seems to float and move around on its suspension over minor undulations in the road. It's not dangerous, but it is slightly unsettling.

heavy EV cars actually have a lower center of gravity and if suspension is adequate, the car can take corners much faster than an ICE car with a higher center of gravity, so It depends heavily on the model and how good the suspension is setup, as well as tires profile.

The Atto3 had terrible suspension from day one, I changed to Tein Endura pro just a year ago, as well I have a sport tires, this have improved the cornering a lot. the car is now decent, but not great, because the Atto 3 setup is a MacPherson strut on the front and double wishbone on the rear, which is quite basic and not that great for future improvements.

a high profile /55 or /60 will do poorly in corners. the atto 3 came with 215/55

a /40 or /45 will be much more planted, so I went for 235/45 ( a full 2.5 CM shorter than stock)

On 6/28/2026 at 10:56 AM, Pib said:

Well, I didn't experience any charging speed drop off....I started the charging with 54% SOC and was getting an 85KW charge rate (see below)...and it continued to charge at 85KW up to 65% (per specs) when it dropped to 57KW (per specs)...and once reaching 85% it dropped to 32KW (per specs)....I stopped changing at 85%....headed back to Bangkok. Charging speeds per specs....no drop-off. A charge top-up lasing 21 minutes...just enough time to take a bathroom break and visit 7-11 for some snacks.

That's good and very reassuring your Atto 3 is healthy.

So, The 85kW image was on the charger, I assume it must be the power delivered to the car? Do you remember the kW rating on the car dashboard? it should take a full 88kw, given you were driving on highway prior to charging, it is like it was spending 2-3kW on cooling.

When my BYD is hot, but not hot enough to throttle down, the Atto 3 seems to take a full 3-4 kW for cooling, the DC charger reports 88kW, and Atto 3 says 83kW.

only when cool, I see 85-88kW. super hot days, I get only 46kW-32kW depending on SOC.

My atto3 might still carry a coolant leak somewhere, unless the car came from Factory with reduce coolant. it went from 1100gr to 500gr as the engineer said.

since it has a lifetime battery warranty now, I'm not so keen to sell it, unless someone gives it a decent price.

Yes...Ii do remember what the car was displaying....it was 84.8Kw.....and the charger showed 85.1Kw. Very little difference "in this case." And the charging actually reached 85.5kw for a few seconds but I wasn't fast enough to take a pic.

But there have been other DC charging sessions where there was a 1 to 2Kw difference, but the great majority of the time it's less than 1Kw difference based on my DC charging experience. Lots of variables that can affect DC charging.

Yes, the Electric A/C compressor has a 4kw capacity and I've seen it draw that much for around 30 seconds (OBD monitoring) on really hot days after leaving the car parked in the sun and the A/C compressor must work at max power to cool the cabin down. After about 5 minutes the compressor is drawing 2 to 3Kw as it cools down the cabin. But I've never seen the compressor pull that much power while charging.

A few times since owning the Atto 3 I've seen 89.2Kw on the car dash while DC charging....but I've never seen 90kw or more. Around 89kw has been the max which exceeds the car's 88Kw DC peak charging rating.

Each DC charging session can bring variations from the battery's normal charging curve due to temp, DC charger, etc. Preaching to the choir I know.

7 hours ago, khunphil said:

Question : any consequences to charge short time as 10-15mnmn for example, if we don't want to wait, and this often, as every couple of days. Anyone charging OFTEN this way ? I am thinking about people going to work, stopping the car on the way for a cup of coffee (in shop or take out), and this everyday on the way to the office.

On 6/28/2026 at 1:34 PM, richard_smith237 said:

Interesting to read a review from a self-confessed petrolhead.

I used to be heavily into cars. After spending rather too much money on some decent vehicles over the years, having a family changed things quite quickly. Cars became far less interesting, particularly with the taxation on higher-powered vehicles making the whole 'hobby' much less appealing.

About 18 months ago it was time to replace the family car. We all liked the look of an EV, that was genuinely the deciding factor. We weren't looking for an EV specifically, we simply liked the car. We sat in it, took it for a 30-minute test drive, and bought it because it appealed to us - I didn't care for EV's at the time, I was completely indifferent - the charing solution installed at our house was just another facet of convenience of EV's - one which IMO is one of the best features of an EV - not having to go to a Petrol Station everyweek - not even having to think about it !!!...

What genuinely surprised me was the performance. Even a fairly ordinary family SUV was noticeably quicker than some of the "fast-ish" ICE cars I'd previously owned, cars that had been marketed as sporty. The instant torque is addictive.

The one downside I've noticed is the weight. You can really feel it in faster corners. At motorway speeds, particularly around 120 km/h over the Khlong bridges or on the long, sweeping bends of the expressway, the car seems to float and move around on its suspension over minor undulations in the road. It's not dangerous, but it is slightly unsettling.

I never noticed the same sensation in my previous ICE SUV, despite it being a similar size. That weighed around 1,700 kg, whereas the EV tips the scales at about 2,130 kg. An extra 430 kg is significant, and you can feel it. Whether that's simply the laws of physics, the suspension tuning, or an inferior chassis, I'm not sure, but it's certainly the only characteristic that has stood out to me.

I like the tech, but realistically very little of it is unique to EVs. The same tech is available on modern ICE cars too.

The safety technology in particular, adaptive radar cruise control, forward collision warning, autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning, lane assist, head-up displays, 360-degree cameras and similar driver assistance systems, have been around for years. My previous ICE SUV, despite being around eight years older, already had all of those features.

For me, the real difference is the drivetrain rather than the technology. The instant torque, smoothness and refinement are what stand out. The infotainment and safety features are largely a reflection of buying a newer vehicle, regardless of whether it's powered by petrol, diesel or electricity.

I can see humour is lost on some of you guys (re female voice, bossing around).

Re charging for short time (I can think of something witty there), when on a long trip, it absolutely makes sense to plug in for even 10 minutes on a pee break. It will add up to 100km of range.

I did find the Sealion AWD a bit wallowing at high speed. We’ve had the Profender Drift suspension upgrade. It can be a bit firm on a bad road surface but it’s better at speed.

Would I recommend it? no, I’m ambivalent about it.

12 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

it absolutely makes sense to plug in for even 10 minutes on a pee break.

A 10 minute pee break???

See a doctor!

😜

17 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

Re charging for short time (I can think of something witty there), when on a long trip, it absolutely makes sense to plug in for even 10 minutes on a pee break. It will add up to 100km of range.

c'mon - don't you even have a shewee ???

11 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

A 10 minute pee break???

See a doctor!

😜

At 69 (next week) a pee break does take a little longer :-(

11 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

c'mon - don't you even have a shewee ???

I had to google that.

Sometimes comes free (just like floor mats) with ICE vehicles. Once solid state batteries become common place EVs should get them free also.

1 hour ago, JBChiangRai said:

At 69 (next week) a pee break does take a little longer :-(

You just underaged me by 11 years, but I still never get confused. :)

32 minutes ago, carlyai said:

You just underaged me by 11 years, but I still never get confused. :)

I can still pee normally but stopping takes a little while. The collagen in older bladders is less elastic and gravity has to assist.

I had a 20% oversized prostate 3 years ago but since taking Saw Palmetto Extract, I’m 15% under average size.

When we stop and plug in for 10 minutes it invariably involves a trip to 7/11 for a snack. I would like to buy chocolate but can’t stand the nagging if I do.

14 hours ago, JBChiangRai said:

Re charging for short time (I can think of something witty there), when on a long trip, it absolutely makes sense to plug in for even 10 minutes on a pee break. It will add up to 100km of range.

Would I recommend it? no, I’m ambivalent about it.

So, no big consequence for the battery. Good.
As when you are working 6 days a week, and you can't charge at home, and you know your EV will not make it until next Sunday, every morning stop could be interesting to add 30-50 or more km until the full charge on next Sunday. That was my point, thanks for your answer.