BAIC X55 review: Quick drive

A new carmaker seems to be confirmed for the New Zealand market every month these days, so you could be forgiven for being a little apathetic seeing reports about the latest brand on the block; BAIC.

What is maybe not so normal, particularly amongst the wave of Chinese manufacturers coming to our shores, is the launch of a conventional, traditional, bread-and-butter internal combustion engine car. Not an EV, a PHEV, or even a standard hybrid. 

The BAIC X55 is the car that bucks the trend. It’s one of two mid-size SUVs BAIC is has brought to market here. Whilst its sibling, the B30, aims at a more adventure-focused buyer and can be had with hybrid propulsion, the X55 follows a more conventional route — pitched squarely as an urban wagon. 

We got to take it in for a brief first drive earlier this week, and we had plenty of thoughts. 

How much does the BAIC X55 cost?

BAIC launches the X55 here with just one variant; the 1.5-litre 4-cylinder Premium. As the name suggests, it’s a very generously equipped SUV packed with several features that are notable for this price point. 

Speaking of price, the X55 has two of them. Both of BAIC’s models are subject to extra sharp introductory pricing, meaning the X55’s regular price tag of $37,990 plus on-road costs comes down to a more tempting $34,990 — a price that just happens to equal the cheapest competitor in the mid-size SUV segment, the Chery Tiggo 7. That price lasts until the end of May.

BAIC pitches the X55 as a bonafide mid-size segment crossover. On first glance, at least to my eye, it actually looked a little smaller than the segment’s main players. But nope, its dimensions are right on the money. A length of 4620mm and a width of 1886mm means it’s 20mm longer and 31mm wider than the next-gen Toyota RAV4.

Given the RAV4 is quite a bit more expensive than the X55 (and given it has hybrid power), it isn’t really a rival. Auto Distributors New Zealand chief executive Simon Rutherford inevitably listed Chery and its sub-brands Omoda and Jaecoo as targets for the X55. 

Interestingly, Rutherford also listed the likes of the smaller Mitsubishi ASX — essentially pitching the X55 as a potential solution for those in compact crossover territory. Its pricing does have overlap with not only the ASX, but also the Kia Seltos. 

What’s the BAIC X55 like inside?

It’s not especially pretty inside the X55, but you can’t deny the sheer amount of kit you get for your money. 

The dashboard has plenty of odd, opposing shapes and angles — but it’s largely functional. As is largely expected with a lot of these affordable crossovers from China, there are very few physical buttons beyond those on the spokes of the steering wheel. Most features are only accessible via the 10-inch touchscreen in the centre. 

What makes this particularly annoying is the lack of any proper switches for the climate control system. In New Zealand’s changeable weather, where it can be cold one moment and searingly hot the next (as it was at the X55’s Auckland launch event), without proper buttons those adjustments are clumsy to make whilst driving.

The X55 deploys a Euro-esque floating centre console up front, which is actually done quite well. There are two handy phone cubbies (one being a wireless charger), and there’s a good amount of storage underneath. Whilst this means the cabin feels like it wraps around the front occupants, the second row offers a gaping amount of room. Legroom is very strong, with headroom not far behind. 

On top of the 10-inch touchscreen, you also get a 10-inch digital cluster, wireless phone charging, wireless Apple CarPlay, a 360-degree camera, panoramic glass roof, front and rear parking sensors, and a pair of memory front seats that are power operated, heated, and cooled. The seats come wrapped in faux-leather with red stitching, there’s a power tailgate, and there’s even a cooled central cubby.

Adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, blind spot monitoring, outboard second-row ISOFIX points, and lane departure warning all come as standard, too. There’s no crash test rating for the model as of yet, but BAIC has ANCAP testing in its plans. 

It feels reasonably put together, too, at least for the most part. There are soft-touch surfaces on the tops of the doors and dashboard. But, there are also some hard plastics about, too. Combined with its styling, the X55’s interior feels a little less premium than that of the Tiggo 7, and doesn’t feel as tightly put together as a Seltos. But it does inevitably run rings around an ASX.

The X55’s boot is arguably the weakest element of its interior. With BAIC potentially favouring rear legroom over boot space, cargo area with all seats in place is rated at an underwhelming 350-litres — well short of the 400–500-litres you’d expect in this segment. To be fair, the space itself will be generous enough for most buyers. And once you fold the back seats flat you get a more regulation 1500-litres of cargo space.

What’s under the bonnet?

No talk of hybrid this or battery that. The X55 instead gets a very conventional turbocharged 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol engine paired to an admittedly less conventional 7-speed dual-clutch automatic and front-wheel drive. 

Power and torque are rated at 138kW/305Nm, making this one of the most potent non-electrified 4-cylinders still standing. That’s 30kW/95Nm more than you get in the equivalent Tiggo 7 and 6kW/59Nm more than the upcoming Mazda CX-5 and its revised naturally aspirated 2.5-litre. 

Now typically, big power also means big fuel economy. Whilst BAIC did not provide local fuel economy digits, overseas the X55 with this powertrain has economy claims in the ballpark of around 7.5L/100km. 

How does the BAIC X55 drive?

Our drive of the X55 was a very brief one, so unfortunately there are a few elements of its driving prowess we can’t really comment on. Fuel economy is the main one, given we only spent around 10–15 minutes behind the wheel driving from Beachlands to Maraetai and back. We’ll address these points when we get a longer spin in the X55 in future.

What can we say, then. Well, we can certainly talk about power. Electrified powertrains have really spoiled us with their instantaneous torque and minimal lag. So, it’s inevitable that the X55’s 1.5-litre turbo isn’t as explosive off the line as most hybrids we’ve driven recently. 

But, compared to the pure ICE competition, the X55 feels quite quick. It enjoys being revved out to redline and the dual-clutch provides quite snappy gearshifts when under stress. Its straight-line abilities give the model a pleasant point of difference, particularly if you happen to be someone stepping out of an ASX or non-Turbo Seltos. 

As far as its drive is concerned, the X55 feels fairly at home on New Zealand roads. Again, our drive was very brief so it’s hard to get a good gauge. But, ride quality in the BAIC felt mostly appropriate — pliant enough to be comfortable most of the time but firm enough to not roll too heavily in the corners. Its steering is on the slightly heavier side, which pairs well with the X55’s revvy 1.5-litre but is perhaps something to note if you’re wanting something more easygoing.

Something else we noted about the X55 was the comparatively mild responses from its driver assist systems. Whilst its B30 sibling produced plenty of irritating beeps and bongs — even during the relatively short drive — the X55 was far less intrusive. But, there’s a good reason for why there’s less intervention … 

What do you get?

As we’ve mentioned, the X55 comes with just about everything you could expect from a car in its size division, from dual screens, to a big glass roof, to contrast stitching and an electric tailgate. It’s also surely the cheapest car on sale to come equipped with a set of 19-inch wheels. 

It’s easier to list what the X55 doesn’t come with. There’s no head-up display here, which is usually not expected in a car of this size and price anyway. There’s also no Android Auto — wireless or otherwise. Our press unit came with a little third-party plug-in dongle to make up the difference, which isn’t ideal.

More notable potentially is the lack of proper lane-keep assist. Although the X55 does come with an audible lane-departure warning system (beeping when you venture too close to the painted edges of your lane), it doesn’t come with an active system that steers the wheel to centre the car in the lane. 

This could be music to your ears if you’re the kind of person that gets frustrated by this kind of software (and, there are plenty of you out there). But, it could be a point of concern when BAIC takes the X55 in to get crash tested. 

Baic X55 Premium equipment highlights:

• 19-inch wheels
• Temporary spare tyre
• Multiple drive modes
• Electronic parking brake
• Push-button start
• Keyless entry
• Hill assist control
• Hill descent control
• ISOFIX points
• Front and rear parking sensors
• Reverse camera with dynamic guidelines
• Driver fatigue monitoring
• 360-degree camera
• Blind spot detection
• Adaptive cruise control
• Autonomous emergency braking
• Lane departure warning
• Heated door mirrors
• Panoramic sunroof
• Roof rack
• Flush door handles
• Power tailgate
• 2 x 12V charging ports
• Leatherette upholstery with red stitching
• Leatherette steering wheel
• Dual-zone climate control
• Rear air vents
• Cooled centre console
• Rear armrest
• Memory front seats
• Heated and cooled front seats
• Power operated front seats
• 10-inch touchscreen
• 10-inch digital cluster
• Wireless Apple CarPlay
• Wireless charging
• LED headlights and taillights
• Ambient lighting

CarExpert’s take on the BAIC X55

It might not move the needle in any particular direction, but the X55 represents a solid first go for a brand few people in New Zealand have ever heard of. ADNZ have said they have already fielded a solid amount of pre-orders for the model, including interest from some fleets. And we can see why. 

Are big titans like the Toyota RAV4 and Mitsubishi Outlander quaking in their boots? Most likely no, at least not yet. But as much as we appreciate and celebrate cars that do something interesting and new, it’s often standard meat-and-potatoes cars that sell in the highest numbers. And the X55 is exactly the kind of car an emerging brand like BAIC needs in its stable.