If it was a Citroen, they'd call it the 'multibogies' but it's a Chinese-built Deepal and is named the Multitruck – the E07 Multitruck to be exact.

We say Citroen because Deepal seems to have adopted the quirky mantle in the world of EVs.

It dares to be different.

The road is well-paved with utes that have been converted to SUVs in recent years, but never a SUV that has been transformed into a ute and back again at the touch of a button.

And yet, that's what the Deepal E07 Multitruck is capable of.

Why?

Perhaps a better question is why not, after the car attracted admiring comments from not one – but three passers-by.

Deepal says the E07 embodies its progressive spirit: pushing boundaries to create experiences that feel more personal, more versatile, and more human.

STYLING

There's two grades; the E07 RWD, priced from $64,900 and the E07 AWD Performance, priced from $73,900 plus on-road costs.

Our test vehicle was the Performance model finished in optional Matte Hematite Grey at $1800 with Orange Nappa leather for another $500 (black is standard).

RWD has a single motor that drives the rear wheels, while the Performance model adds a second motor and a tonne of extra performance.

Apart from the quirky luggage compartment, the Multitruck offers a long list of luxury appointments.

There's 21-inch wheels; high-priced Michelin Pilot Sports; variable air suspension; nappa leather seat trim; driver and front passenger eight-way power-adjust seats; four-way lumbar and two-way leg adjustment; driver seat with heating and cooling; two memory settings, with front passenger seats that adds a third memory; plus, massage and zero gravity functions.

The front windows have double insulated glass, with rear privacy glass and a panoramic sunroof with electric shade plus 256-colour ambient background lighting.

There's just one caveat.

You have to work out how to activate many of these features.

After a week behind the wheel we were still trying to figure out how to open the front boot, along with how to operate the sunroof shade and how to adjust the steering wheel.

We've been doing this job for 25 years.

Multitruck comes with a seven-year/160,000km warranty and eight-year/240,000km battery warranty.

Service intervals are a relatively brief 10,000km or 12 months, after an initial complimentary 5000km or six months service.

There's also fixed price servicing for seven and a half years or 75,000km.

SAFETY

Multitruck has been awarded a full five stars for safety by ANACP, with enough active and passive safety features to fill a book.

ENGINES / TRANSMISSIONS

AWD Performance has two electric motors and is engineered for those who want uncompromising performance, producing 440kW of power and 645Nm of torque.

DRIVING

There's no need to start the motor; just apply the brake, select Drive and you're good to go.

The seats are large, comfortable and recline, with massage and extendable leg support.

But the concealed air conditioning failed to impress, at once freezing the driver and cooking the front seat passenger.

A minimalist approach to design sees the user left to figure out what does what most of the time, which isn't ideal for driver attention.

The gear selector on the right of the steering column doubles as cruise control, but there appears to be no easy way to adjust distance to the car in front.

The same goes for figuring out what button does what when it comes to opening or closing the tailgate which is a case of suck it and see.

In hatch mode Multitruck offers 524 litres of storage space or a whopping 1654 litres with the seats folded in pickup mode.

The RWD is powered by a single electric motor, delivering 252kW of power and 365Nm of torque, with 0-100km/h taking 6.7 seconds.

It has a comforting driving range of up to 550km (WLTP).

AWD Performance has two electric motors and is engineered for those who want uncompromising performance, producing 440kW of power and 645Nm of torque.

The result is blistering acceleration, sprinting to 100km/h in just 3.96 seconds.

For this performance you sacrifice 40km of range, with a driving range of up to 510km (WLTP).

In a straight-line, Performance is akin to an Exocet missile, but it is large and heavy and lacks the composure to tackle corners at high velocity.

Deepal makes no claims in the specs about what to expect when it comes to energy consumption.

However, the trip computer showed a long-term average of 17.5 kWh/100km over a distance of more than 9000km.

For our part we were getting 19.9 kWh after almost 1000km and two charges.

Both models feature the same ternary lithium 90 kWh battery and can be charged from 30 to 80 per cent capacity in just 15 minutes using a 240kW DC charger.

For overnight charging, a 7kW AC unit can restore full capacity in 13-16 hours.

In reality, experience has shown these claims to be pie in the sky and don't forget 30-80 per cent is only 50 per cent of the battery's capacity.

Nevertheless, we boldly set off from Sydney to Canberra behind the wheel of our head-turning Multitruck, confident we had sorted out any charging issues on our previous trip there in the Ioniq 5.

But, once again, charging became an issue when it shouldn't have, threatening to ruin our weekend away.

Our first moment of doubt came just a few kilometres down the road where we planned to top up the Multitruck before heading off.

A good 30 minutes later we were still trying to get the car to accept a charge from a bank of 300kW Tesla Superchargers, or had Tesla decided to lock us out (we'd encountered this before)?

We tried three different stalls all with the same result, chatting with Tesla owners as we tried to troubleshoot the problem.

The car started to charge, but disconnected almost immediately, citing an unknown error.

Frustrated and out of time we decided to charge the car somewhere along the motorway, or indeed when we got to Canberra where we had previously used a bank of Superchargers at Tuggeranong.

But as our range dropped it became clear we wouldn't make it without a top-up, so we pulled into an Ampol service centre and tried again - unfortunately with the same result.

A couple of phone calls later it turned out the Deepal with its state-of-the-art 800-watt architecture had an issue with Tesla chargers and, it appeared, with Ampol too - good to know (now).

By this time, with patience wearing thin, we decided to give it one last shot before pulling the plug on Canberra and our longtime friends.

Backtracking about 15km to Wilton we found a 150kW Chargefox charger with two stalls tucked into a corner of the tiny shopping centre.

One stall was occupied by a diesel-powered Mitsubishi ute (but that's another story).

Plugging in we were elated to see the charger fire up straight away and 40 minutes, 54 kWh and some lunch later we were finally on our way.

Welcome to the wonderful world of EVs where you never know quite what to expect.

The infrastructure has some catching up to do and it is one, if not the main reason that many Aussies are giving electric vehicles a wide berth.

Note too that our three different charge attempts required three different apps and three different accounts, along with handing over our credit card details to three different vendors.

As much as we enjoy exploring and driving EVs - and the Multitruck is right up there with the best of them - we're happy to hand them back at the end of the week.

SUMMING UP

The Deepal E07 Multitruck is an impressive vehicle.

Three people, one of them a Tesla owner, volunteered that it was a good-looking beast.

But as bold and as beautiful as it might be, the E07 or Multitruck (there's no Multitruck badge) is only as good as its next charge which as we demonstrated can be elusive.

And without the power to push on, whether it's to Canberra or further afield, it's not really fit for purpose and little more than a fancy ornament - don't you think?

RATINGS:

Looks: 7

Performance: 8

Safety: 8

Thirst: 7

Practicality: 7.5

Comfort: 8

Tech: 8

Value: 8

Overall: 7.7

AT A GLANCE

MODEL LINE-UP

Deepal E07 Multitruck RWD, priced from $64,900

Deepal E07 Multitruck AWD Performance, priced from $73,900

Note: These prices do not include government and dealer delivery charges.

Contact your local Deepal dealer for details.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Deepal E07 Multitruck AWD Performance, two electric motors, all-wheel drive, five-seat electric SUV

STANDARD WARRANTY

7 years/160,000km (8 years/240,000km on high voltage battery)