Words Abhay Verma
Over the past couple of years, buyers looking for a premium, feature-rich SUVs have had been spoilt for choices. And that is the buyer VinFast is targeting with its VF7. Importantly, while its design may be very different, the VF7 offers a premium, sporty and upmarket vibe right from the first glance. VinFast is playing its premium card well with the VF7 in that sense. I got a chance to experience the VF7 and drive it briefly at VinFast’s factory in Vietnam, and I came back impressed.
The VF7 has VinFast’s signature ‘V’ styling upfront, comprising of LED DRLs spanning the SUV’s width, with the VinFast logo in the centre. This makes it look similar to the VF6 at first glance, but look closely and you’ll notice the bumper and headlamp design here make for a more impactful looking face. The VF7 also uses flush door handles and muscular lines all round, making for an eye-catching stance, while running on 19-inch wheels. Overhangs at are short and while overall length is 4.5 metres, the VF7’s wheelbase is 2.8 metres. The sculpted rear end makes for a classy appearance and adds dollops of character to the VF7’s appeal, along with the unique-looking tail lamps. Overall, the VF7 looks unlike anything else in India and has a very striking appearance that is sure to turn heads.
The interiors offer a very classy feel too thanks to the high-quality plastics, use of vegan leather – for the Indian market specifically – and the two-tone, black and brown theme. The cabin is also very spacious, and rear legroom and kneeroom are particularly impressive – this is an SUV that’s sure to impress chauffeur-driven buyers. The VF7 also has a massive, 537-litre boot. The rear bench is the place to be given the space and the comfortable seat, which offers excellent under thigh support and has a seat back that reclines. The sunroof has a fixed glass pane stretching from edge to edge and adds to the sense of occasion and spacious feel inside.
Move up to the driver’s cockpit and you’ll notice a large, 12.9-inch touchscreen sitting angled towards the driver. It offers tonnes of information including essentials like speed, range, charge status and more, given the absence of a traditional instrument cluster behind the small, flat-bottomed steering wheel. India will get a head-up display as standard too, a welcome addition. A set of switches for the drive selector sit below the touchscreen, followed by a well-laid out centre console integrating a wireless charging pad, cup holders, an open space and a rotor and switches angled neatly towards the driver.
The soft-touch leather panels with contrast stitching and soft-touch plastics add to the premium feel further. The VF7 is also loaded with features, and the list includes dual-zone climate control, an electrically adjustable driver’s seat, ventilated front seats and large bottle holders in door pockets besides the aforementioned ones. On the safety front, there’s seven airbags, Level 2 ADAS, 360-degree view and more. Most functions are accessed through the touchscreen which is split into three parts vertically, though using it on the go can take some getting used to.
India is getting the VF7 in a single, fully-loaded trim, but with the option of either a single motor with FWD, or a dual motor with AWD. Both will use the same, 70.8kWh LFP battery, which is similar in size to the Hyundai IONIQ 5’s 72.6kWh unit. DC fast charging speeds are yet to be announced but expect the VF7 to rival the Mahindra XEV 9e’s charging speeds, it being a direct rival. As per the WLTP cycle, range per charge is 450km for the FWD version sold internationally and 431km for the AWD version. We only drove the AWD briefly on VinFast’s test track, which offers 350PS and 500Nm, making for seriously quick performance courtesy its dual motors.
Claimed 0-100kmph time is a scant 5.8 seconds and acceleration is quick enough to thrust you into the seatback. Acceleration is in fact fiercely quick well into triple digit speeds, though we couldn’t go too fast on the test track. Despite the aggression, driving at slow speeds is an easy affair and throttle responses have been tuned well, besides which driving modes help matters too. The VF7 also impressed with its stability under hard acceleration and braking, masking its 2.2-tonne weight well and offered a planted and a very European feel, though the very brief time behind its wheel meant judging the SUV’s dynamics was not possible.
To sum it up, the VF7 is a very impressive package, given its distinctive styling, the luxurious interiors, spacious cabin and list of features, not to forget the strong performance from its dual electric motors. We are also expecting it to be priced very aggressively given VinFast’s focus on localisation – this should help in turning into a recipe that’s irresistible, if in the market for a premium SUV, whether electric or not.
