Hongqi HS7

The overall cabin layout of the Hongqi HS7 looks like a mix of various other premium midsize SUVs on sale, but kudos to the Chinese carmaker for maintaining high-quality levels and making the cabin feel rich and luxurious. The cabin of the SUV is offered with two leather upholstery options, including dual-tone black and beige and all-black, both of which get substantial faux wood garnish in the upper layer of the dashboard and door trims.

The three-spoke multi-functional steering wheel of the Hongqi HS7, which is both tilt and telescopic adjustable, is heated and comes with paddle shifters and a full-TFT 12.3-inch LCD instrument console behind it. The centre console of the Hongqi HS7 has a 12.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system stacked between vertical AC vents in the upper centre console and is a home to 14-speaker BOSE audio system. The lower centre console also has an additional touchscreen for controlling the three-zone automatic climate control and other drive functions.

Despite being a generation old SUV, the Hongqi HS7 is decently equipped with additional features like a panoramic sunroof, powered driver’s seat, push start-stop button, memory functions for driver’s seat and steering wheel, heated and ventilated front seats, 64-colour ambient lighting with footwell illumination, wireless charger, and a powered tailgate.

While the Chinese auto market has already received the second-generation Hongqi HS7 at the beginning of 2023, the UAE car market continues to do so with this first-generation version of the SUV. The overall size and stance of the first-generation Hongqi HS7 still look commanding, giving it a strong road presence. However, the overall design has begun to show its age, especially after the arrival of the much more jaw-dropping second-generation version.

The front profile of the Hongqi HS7 has a huge trapezoidal grille, which has tapered edges at the lower corners and comes with multiple chrome slats and chrome surrounds. This grille features a contrasting red-coloured slat in the middle, which stretches upwards on the bonnet of the SUV – something that has become Hongqi’s trademark element across its lineup. The large-sized stretched headlamp housings flanking the grille come with LED projectors and daytime running LEDs below them. There are additional rectangular LED fog lamps on the lower corners of the front bumper, which come with wraparound chrome garnish stretched across the bumper’s width.

The side profile of the Hongqi HS7 also looks commanding, thanks to the long wheelbase, large 20-inch machined alloy wheels, and a prominent crease running sideways through the door panels. For a more premium effect, the Hongqi HS7 comes with chrome highlights around the window frame and door handles and slim silver roof rails. The rear profile of the Hongqi HS7 looks very much inspired by that of the previous-generation BMW X5, with a slanted rear windscreen in the upper half and huge combination tail lamps with LED inserts and curved lower edges, along with a prominent chrome strip running between the tail lamps across the boot lid’s width.

Among the two powertrain options, the Hongqi HS7 has a more SUV-ish character in the 3.0-litre engine variants, in which the SUV comes with a more capable all-wheel-drive system, all-terrain response system and intelligent damper control system, enabling it to be more versatile over varying driving conditions. There are seven drive modes on offer in the Hongqi HS7 AWD, including normal, eco, sport, off-road, snow, sand, and individual, all of which offer varying feedback from the suspension and steering setups.

The Hongqi HS7 is being provided with a choice of two powertrain options, both of which are four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engines. The smaller 2.0-litre engine develops 252 PS of power and 380 Nm of torque, while paired to a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and provided with a front-wheel drive configuration. The more-premium variants of the SUV have a 3.0-litre engine which claims 337 PS of power and 445 Nm of torque and comes paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive system as standard.

The Hongqi HS7 is armed with plenty of safety features, such as automatic parking, eight airbags, ABS with EBD, tyre pressure monitoring system, electronic parking brake, auto hold, hill start assist, traction control, and an electronic stability program. There is also a suite of ADAS features on offer, including forward collision warning, autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, blind spot detection, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, and driver monitor system.

The Hongqi HS7 might not feel like an all-new revolutionary product, but despite it being a half-a-decade-old SUV, it has a wide set of features and luxurious essence on offer in its cabin, making it a decent SUV for its asking price.