This post was originally published on Autocar
Chinese electric crossover has been revised ahead of its arrival in the UK. Has it been brought up to scratch?
Before we delve into the merits of the Skywell BE11 as a car, let’s consider where its maker comes from.Skywell emerged in China in 2017 as a joint venture between one of the world’s largest consumer electronics groups, Skyworth, and electric bus maker Nanjing Golden Dragon.Its cars are now being brought here by Gloucestershire-based importer Innovation Automotive.The BE11 is being introduced as not only Skywell’s first car but also its attempt to grab a share of the UK fleet market and rival everything from the Ford Mustang Mach-E to the Skoda Enyaq and Nissan Ariya to the KGM Torres EVX.We initially drove a prototype and, truth be told, we didn’t much like it. The steering was too light, the infotainment system was near-unfathomable, the speedometer only showed in KPH and the brakes were spongy.But Skywell has since fitted the BE11 with a new BYD-sourced motor, reduced the wheel size from 20in to 19in, reconfigured the suspension for comfort and downsized the infotainment screen by 2.2in so that users can see the ‘start/stop’ button once hidden behind it.This, then, is our chance to drive the finished product and find out if this new player has a fighting chance of success in the UK.The Skywell BE11 range at a glanceThe BE11 range is very simple, because there’s only one trim level. Two different battery sizes are available: a 72kWh unit offering 248 miles of range and an 86kWh Long Range unit that yields 304 miles. Both are nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) in their chemistry and sit within the car’s wheelbase.The single motor powers the front wheels, making 201bhp and 236lb ft of torque, which is good for a 0-62mph time of 9.6sec and a top speed of 93mph. All cars sit on passive suspension with a torsion beam at the rear and there’s no option of four-wheel drive.