The short version
- Zeekr 7X charges at 450kW, three times the other two, and claims 10 to 80 per cent in 13 minutes
- Longest range: Zeekr 7X Long Range at 615km from a 100kWh battery
- Cheapest entry: BYD Sealion 7 Premium at $54,990 drive-away
- Best warranty: Kia EV5 at seven years, unlimited kilometres
- Biggest boot: Zeekr 7X at 539L, and 1,978L folded
- All three are heavy: 2,190kg to 2,340kg, and the Sealion 7 Performance is the heaviest car in this comparison
Sealion 7 against Model Y is our most-viewed comparison, but the more interesting fight is the one just behind it. Zeekr against Sealion 7 and Sealion 7 against EV5 were both in our top ten this fortnight, which means a lot of people have already decided against the Tesla and are now choosing between the challengers.
These three take genuinely different positions. One is the cheapest, one is the fastest to charge by a margin that is hard to believe, and one is the safest long-term ownership bet. Here is the full picture from our own database.
The charging number that changes the conversation
The Zeekr 7X RWD peaks at 450kW and claims 10 to 80 per cent in 13 minutes.
The BYD Sealion 7 and every Kia EV5 peak at 150kW. Kia quotes 30 minutes for the same window. The Zeekr is charging at three times the rate and finishing in less than half the time, and its Long Range and Performance versions still take 420kW while carrying a 100kWh battery.
Two pieces of honesty about that. First, 450kW chargers are not common in Australia yet, so most of the time you will not see the peak. Second, peak rate is not the whole story, because a car holds its peak for a limited window and the average across the session is what decides the wait. But even discounted heavily, 13 minutes against 30 is a real difference on a long drive, and it is the largest single spec gap in this comparison.
If most of your charging happens at home overnight, this advantage is close to worthless to you and you should weight the rest of the comparison accordingly. Our range calculator will tell you how often you would actually need to stop.
Prices and the full line-ups
| Variant | Price | Battery | Range | DC peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BYD Sealion 7 Premium | $54,990 d/a | 82.6 kWh | 482 km | 150 kW |
| Kia EV5 Air Standard Range | $56,770 | 64.2 kWh | 400 km | 150 kW |
| Zeekr 7X RWD | $57,900 | 75 kWh | 480 km | 450 kW |
| Kia EV5 Air Long Range | $61,170 | 88.1 kWh | 555 km | 150 kW |
| Zeekr 7X Long Range RWD | $63,900 | 100 kWh | 615 km | 420 kW |
| BYD Sealion 7 Performance | $63,990 | 82.6 kWh | 456 km | 150 kW |
| Kia EV5 Earth Long Range AWD | $64,770 | 88.1 kWh | 500 km | 150 kW |
| Kia EV5 GT-Line AWD | $71,770 | 88.1 kWh | 470 km | 150 kW |
| Zeekr 7X Performance AWD | $72,900 | 100 kWh | 543 km | 420 kW |
The BYD figure is drive-away while the Kia and Zeekr figures are list prices before on-road costs. On a $55,000 car, on-roads typically add several thousand dollars, so the Sealion 7 Premium's advantage over the other two entry cars is materially larger than the table makes it look.
Note also that the Zeekr 7X Long Range at $63,900 costs almost exactly the same as the Sealion 7 Performance at $63,990, and goes 159km further on a battery 17.4kWh larger. Those two cars are aimed at completely different buyers despite being $90 apart.
Space and weight
| Measure | Sealion 7 | Zeekr 7X | Kia EV5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boot, seats up | 500 L | 539 L | 513 L |
| Boot, seats folded | No data | 1,978 L | 1,714 L |
| Length | 4,830 mm | 4,787 mm | 4,615 mm |
| Wheelbase | 2,930 mm | 2,900 mm | 2,750 mm |
| Kerb weight | 2,225-2,340 kg | 2,190 kg | No data |
| Braked towing | No data | No data | 300-1,250 kg |
These are close on boot volume, within 39 litres of each other, so it is unlikely to decide anything. The Zeekr's folded figure of 1,978 litres is the standout, 264 litres more than the Kia.
Weight is the number to sit with. The Sealion 7 Performance at 2,340kg is the heaviest car in this comparison and 150kg heavier than the Zeekr 7X. Mass costs you tyres, brakes and the way a car changes direction, and none of it shows up in a 0 to 100 time.
On towing, only Kia publishes figures we hold: 1,250kg braked on the Long Range variants and 300kg on the Air Standard Range. We hold no braked towing figure for the Sealion 7 or the Zeekr 7X. That is no data rather than zero, and if you tow, it is the first thing to establish with either brand. Our towing and payload calculator will run the numbers properly for the Kia.
Performance and efficiency
All three offer something quick, and the pricing is instructive. The Sealion 7 Performance at $63,990 makes 390kW and 690Nm for 4.5 seconds. The Zeekr 7X Performance at $72,900 makes 475kW and 710Nm for 3.8 seconds. The quickest Kia, the Earth Long Range AWD, takes 6.1 seconds from 230kW.
On efficiency the ordering is Zeekr 170Wh/km, BYD 178Wh/km, and Kia from 180Wh/km on the Air Long Range up to 210Wh/km on the GT-Line. At 30c/kWh over 15,000km that is about $765 a year for the Zeekr, $801 for the BYD and $945 for the Kia GT-Line. None of these is an efficiency champion in absolute terms, which is what 2.2 tonnes does to a car.
Safety and warranty
All three hold five-star ANCAP ratings. The Sealion 7 and Zeekr 7X were both rated in 2025 and the Kia EV5 in 2024. All three were assessed under recent protocols, so this is a closer comparison than most.
Warranty is where the order reverses completely.
- Kia EV5: seven years, unlimited kilometres, seven-year battery
- BYD Sealion 7: six years or 150,000km, eight-year battery
- Zeekr 7X: five years, eight-year battery
The Zeekr offers the shortest vehicle cover here by two years. For a brand still establishing itself in Australia, that is a fair thing to weigh, and it partly offsets its considerable technical advantages.
The part the spec sheet cannot tell you
Two of these three brands are new to Australia and one has been here since 1997. That is not a specification, but it is a real part of what you are buying, and it deserves stating plainly rather than being left as an unspoken bias.
Kia has a mature national dealer and service network, an established parts supply chain, and a long record of honouring its seven-year warranty. Whatever you think of the EV5 as a car, the ownership infrastructure behind it is a known quantity, and its resale values benefit from that.
BYD has scaled rapidly here and now sells in volume, which matters because volume brings parts availability, independent repairer familiarity and a used market with enough transactions to price a car properly. It is no longer a niche import in the way it was three years ago.
Zeekr is the newest of the three in this market and has the smallest network. Its five-year warranty is also the shortest here by two years. That combination is worth weighing against its very real technical lead: a 100kWh battery and 450kW charging are things neither rival can offer at any price, but a technical lead is enjoyed on the road and a network is needed in the workshop.
None of this is a reason to avoid a newer brand. It is a reason to ask where your nearest service centre is before you sign, rather than after.
So which one?
Buy the Zeekr 7X Long Range if you drive long distances. At $63,900 it has the biggest battery here at 100kWh, the longest range at 615km, the biggest boot, and charging that is three times quicker than anything else in this comparison. The five-year warranty is the price of admission.
Buy the BYD Sealion 7 Premium if value is the priority. At $54,990 drive-away it is comfortably the cheapest way into this class once on-road costs are counted, and the battery is the second-largest of the entry cars. Accept 150kW charging, the heaviest kerb weight here, and that we cannot tell you what it tows.
Buy the Kia EV5 Air Long Range if you plan to keep the car. Seven years and unlimited kilometres is the strongest ownership case in the group, 555km for $61,170 is competitive, and it is the only one of the three with a published towing rating. Avoid the GT-Line, which costs $10,600 more than the Air Long Range and goes 85km less far.
Compare any two directly on our Zeekr against Sealion 7 and Sealion 7 against EV5 pages, or browse everything in our electric listings.
On our figures
Every specification above is the value we hold against that exact variant, sourced from the manufacturer's Australian material. Prices marked d/a are drive-away; the rest are before on-road costs. Range figures are WLTP. Running costs are modelled at 30c/kWh and labelled as estimates. Where we hold no figure, including towing for two of these three cars, the table says no data rather than showing a zero. Checked 26 September 2026.