Mate Has Done His Research And The Best EV For Value Right Now Is The Weimeng Baopi

ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact

A local man is quietly confident this week that he's found the best value electric vehicle on the market.

After trawling through reviews and YouTube videos for hours, Betoota Heights commuter Dylan Shaw settled on a compact SUV from little-known Chinese marque Weimeng.

The Weimeng Baopi (威猛包皮) is a fully electric luxury SUV, combining brutal acceleration, over 2sqm of screens and the sort of aggressive boxy, yet modern styling usually reserved for airport architecture. The Baopi promises up to 620km of range, ultra-fast charging and modern autonomous driving hardware that you can put your life in the hands of.

Pricing starts at $48,990 drive-away for the rear-wheel-drive Baopi Squeeze, rising to $57,990 for the long-range Baopi Stretch, $66,990 for the dual-motor Baopi Blast, and $79,990 for the flagship Baopi Smegma.

Under a novated lease, Shaw tells his group chat, you're essentially being paid money to drive one.

"Lads," he said.

"Crunched the numbers. If you're looking for a new car, I reckon getting a Weimeng Baopi is unbeatable. I'm getting one soon. Seriously though, if you blokes have rooftop solar already, it's a serious no brainer,"

"Especially if you've got a high-kilometre car or something. Like your Prado, Damo, that's gonna be a money pit sooner or later. Plus I bet you're drinking 10-12L per 100km at $2.5o a litre of diesel. Brah, you'd be saving thousands."

Damo was reportedly unconvinced that trading his 2010 Prado for a Weimeng Baopi was the right thing to do for him.

"Your money, brah," Dylan added.

The Weimeng Baopi sits alongside the Tesla Model Y, BYD Sealion 7 and XPeng G6, undercutting most of them on price while matching or beating them on claimed range and performance. In the hand, it's hard to beat.

More to come.