Once-slammed Skywell EV is now better but still needs work

Skywell BE11 drive by Steve Rogers

It is ironic that it has taken a war to send electric car sales to record levels.

The high cost of fuel has pushed buyers into giving electric a try and we have now gone through the two million barrier yet even though April was the best month ever taking 26 per cent of the market it is still way short of the 33 per cent needed to meet the Government’s zero emissions vehicle mandate.

Not a bad time to be launching a new electric car then, or in the case of Chinese brand Skywell, relaunching its BE11 SUV. The back story does not make for kind reading. Launched in January 2025 the BE11 was hammered by the motoring press and Youtubers for everything you could think of that is bad in a car, especially the lack of driver safety aids.

I did not drive the car to give a view, but to its credit Skywell listened, went back to the drawing board and hoped to have put things right. It has also knocked five grand off the price to bring it more in line with Chinese rivals.

So the BE11 is back with its best clothes on as it sets out on the comeback trail. I counted 21 new features, 10 of which are safety aids which says a lot about the shortcomings of the original effort.

The safety suite now includes adaptive cruise control, emergency braking, lane departure warning and assist, blind spot detection and rear cross traffic alert. What made the company think it could sell a car in Europe and the UK without advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS)?

This is a spacious SUV and follows the Chinese formula of packing the car with kit normally found on premium models sometimes costing nearly twice as much. It has a seven year warranty and up to 10 years road side assistance. Skywell is really making an effort here!

Battery options are 72kW or 86kW powering a 150kW motor giving a range of 248 and 303 miles respectively. The long range falls short of the leaders but anything over 300 is acceptable. What’s not so good is 45 minutes to get the 86kW battery from 20-80 per cent when charging away from home.

Using a 7kW home wall charger takes all but 12 hours or 10 hours for the smaller battery. That’s pretty standard.

Take a seat in the BE11 and you will be satisfied with the overall quality - soft touch materials along the dashboard and doors, wood effect panelling and rose gold effect accents. They have rectified an early blunder by resighting the rotary gear selector to the driver’s side of the centre console.

I didn’t expect switches and didn’t get any, apart from a few quick keys for heating. Everything goes through a 12.8in touchscreen, or cough up £800 for a 15.6in version, and takes time to work out. I spent a good 15 minutes swiping through the menus and trying to remember where everything is like the radio volume control for a passenger, a fiddly job. What’s wrong with a simple knob?

The large driver’s digital display is a swanky affair but doesn’t do a heck of a lot, not even displaying navigation mapping, and I was still trying to work out the simple task of selecting a mileage trip display when the car was returned. It is probably there somewhere.

Skywell came in for heavy criticism on the handling and comfort fronts and I am sure improvements have been made. I pushed it through some twisting country roads and wasn’t troubled by excessive body roll but the steering is too light and lacking feel. I switched to the sport setting which added a little weight.

There is still work to be done on the level of comfort if it is to compete with other Chinese brands let alone the best of what Europe has to offer. The ride is hard and road imperfections are felt on all but silky smooth surfaces. Many rivals do better.

BE11 is front wheel drive and, annoyingly, will spin those wheels without hesitation. Another bugbear is throttle lag from standstill and can cause driver hesitation when pulling on to a roundabout or from a junction. Oh, and can we have an intermittent swipe for the rear window please.

Skywell has clearly made the BE11 more saleable but it is a work in progress. The ride needs to be more refined, excessive wheelspin needs addressing, and the DC charging time is way too long.

There are redeeming features like a spacious cabin and large boot, competitive price and lots of kit.

Fast facts

BE11 Long range

£34,990 (Standard £31,990)

Battery: 86kW

Motor: 200bhp

0-62mph 9.6secs; 93mph

80kW charging: 45mins 20-80%

Boot: 689-1608 litres

Insurance group 43

Warranty: 7 years