2026 Avatr 12 review: International quick drive

Chinese cars found their footing in Australia with affordable utes and family SUVs, but in their home market, they’re dipping their toes into luxury-car waters.

Among the many domestic brands looking to take on BMW and Mercedes-Benz is Avatr, a considerable portion of which is owned by the large Changan automotive group that brought the Deepal brand to Australia last year.

Avatr is a collaboration between Changan and two other Chinese industrial giants – technology company Huawei, and the world’s largest battery manufacturer, CATL.

The brand has already built a range of four models in China – the 12 large sedan, 11 large SUV, 07 mid-size to large SUV, and about-to-launch 06 mid-size sedan – sold with either fully-electric or range-extender hybrid power.

Is Australia ready for a luxury car from an unknown Chinese brand? Drive was invited as a guest of the manufacturer to test the Avatr 12 (pronounced ‘one-two’) at Changan’s proving ground to find out.

If you’re used to Chinese cars of a few years ago carrying bargain-basement prices, the Avatr 12 is not that.

But it’s not as expensive as you might think a big, luxury-focused vehicle like this would be.

At the time of testing in 2025, prices in China for the Avatr 12 started from 269,900 Chinese yuan for the cheapest range-extender variant, and spanned up to 429,900 yuan for the ‘Royal Edition’ – or about $AU59,000 to $AU94,000 in Australian currency.

As a yardstick, at the time of writing, a Deepal S07 electric SUV equivalent to the $53,900 plus on-road costs Australian specification was listed for about 190,000 yuan in its home market, suggesting an Avatr 12 could be priced from about $75,000 to $130,000 locally, after Luxury Car Tax.

It would be a power of money from a car marketed by a new-to-market brand, but the soon-to-be-replaced BMW iX3 – a mid-size electric SUV built in China, so it attracts no import tariffs there or here – lists for 409,900 yuan in China, but $91,000 to $104,900 plus on-road costs in Australia.

A well-equipped, long-range electric Avatr 12 priced at around $110,000 – as a hypothetical – would see it well undercut European competition, such as the BMW i5 eDrive 40 ($155,900) and Mercedes-Benz EQE300 ($133,600).

It is a size and price class above a Tesla Model 3 ($61,900 for a Long Range rear-wheel drive) or BMW i4 (from $88,900), while MG offers the IM5 from $60,990 drive-away.

Doubling down on the luxury price, Chinese buyers can opt for a limited-edition Avatr 12, dubbed the 012, designed in partnership with designer Kim Jones – who has worked with brands such as Dior, Fendi and Louis Vuitton – with silver paint, unique wheels, a tan interior and more for 700,000 Chinese yuan ($AU153,000).

While it’s undoubtedly not a cheap car, Avatr 12 buyers get a lot of space, pace, and luxury grace for their money – so read on.

Measuring 5020mm long, 1999mm wide and 1450mm tall, on a 3020mm wheelbase, the Avatr 12 is a large car, similar in size to a BMW i5 Mercedes-Benz EQE/E-Class or Tesla Model S.

While there are the big screens and plush materials you’d expect of a luxury car, the Avatr beats a different drum with its design – inside and out.

Step inside and it feels like you’ve climbed into the Batmobile.

An expanse of leather makes up the dashboard – no creases, no obvious seams – ahead of a 35.4-inch 4K display stretching from edge to edge, with key driving data and customisable cards that can show music, trip computer, tyre pressure, and other information.

Within the driver’s reach is a 15.6-inch touchscreen, which runs software that looks sharp and responds as quickly as a smartphone – no surprise given it has been developed by Huawei. That also means it may not make the trip to local showrooms, given bans on Huawei 5G telecoms hardware in Australia.

It’s not all tech. There are soft surfaces nearly everywhere you can touch, with funky patterns on the doors, and plush power-adjustable front seats with winged headrests.

There are few buttons in the cabin, with a row of shortcuts under the touchscreen for cameras and the door windows among the only switches present.

It’s arguably been taken a bit too far. It took us longer than it should to find the electronic door releases – which are thin metallic lines, if you’re wondering – so we can’t imagine needing to locate the manual ones in the event of an emergency.

Chinese models can be had with heated, ventilated, and massaging seats, dual wireless phone chargers, power-operated doors, a 25-speaker Meridian stereo (again with Huawei surround-sound software), and nappa leather trim on the seats and steering wheel.

Space in the rear is generous, with plenty of leg room thanks to the long wheelbase, and adequate – if not exceptional – head room under the glass roof for average-sized occupants.

Optional is a 16-inch screen that folds down from the roof to display media, plus two smaller 6.7-inch touchscreens, and heating, ventilation and massaging functions for rear passengers.

There are a few elephants in the room to address, however.

As with the Polestar 4 sold in Australia, there is no back window, so rear vision is delivered by a camera placed on the tailgate, which projects its feed to the rear-view ‘mirror’ hung in the usual place.

It is arguably a solution to a problem that didn’t exist – and a feature that, even after hundreds of kilometres in Polestars in Australia, we’re not quite sure we have come around to.

Unlike the Polestar, the Avatr is also available with side cameras in place of conventional wing mirrors, which project vision from the car’s flanks onto screens on either side of the 35.4-inch dashboard display.

It is too is fiddly to use, and while our time behind the wheel of the Avatr was short, our experiences in other cars with this technology suggests they make judging distances on the road difficult, and are another solution to a problem that didn’t exist.

Speaking of those, here’s another: the Avatr’s dashboard layout means a conventional circular steering wheel would block the 35.4-inch screen, so it fits a small, octagonal ‘yoke’-style steering control in its place.

It looks cool when parked, but it’s frustrating to use on the move. We’ll go into more depth in the driving section up next.

Boot space – only 350 litres – is also very small for such a large car, though there is a 65L storage area under the bonnet, at least in electric versions.

As with other cars in Changan’s global portfolio, the Avatr 12 is available with fully-electric or ‘range-extender’ powertrains.

At the time of testing, electric versions used a 94.53kWh nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) battery pack driving one 237kW/396Nm rear motor, or two motors (one front, one rear) developing 402kW and 687Nm combined, good for 0–100km/h in a claimed 6.1 and 3.8 seconds respectively.

That’s according to the Avatr China website; a preliminary specification sheet distributed to Australian media lists outputs of 425kW/650Nm for the dual-motor version, good for 0–100km/h in a claimed 3.9 seconds.

The latest examples sold in China in 2026 use dual-motor rear-wheel drive, or tri-motor all-wheel drive, for as much as 712kW.

Battery-only models run 800-volt electricals, unlocking 240kW DC and 11kW AC charging capable of a 30 to 80 per cent recharge for the former in a claimed 20 minutes, or 30min from zero to 80 per cent.

Meanwhile, range-extenders sold in China at the time of testing drove the rear wheels with a single 231kW/367Nm electric motor, fed by a 39.05kWh lithium iron phosphate battery, but there’s a 1.5-litre turbo four-cylinder petrol engine under the bonnet to top up the battery when required.

The range-extender powertrain claims an electric-only range of 245km in Chinese CLTC testing – compared to the fully-electric model’s 705–755km CLTC, or 650km for the dual-motor under slightly tougher (but still not very stringent) NEDC lab testing.

But with a full tank and battery, Avatr claims up to 1155km in hybrid mode in CLTC testing – theoretically enough for Sydney Airport to Melbourne Airport, with enough juice left to get back to the NSW-Victoria border – plus a 30–80 per cent charge in 15 minutes.

New models in China have upped the battery to 52kWh, swapped one rear electric motor for two, and boosted electric range in tougher WLTC testing to 261km.

What does that all mean in reality? Our time behind the wheel was short, and only in a dual-motor electric Avatr 12, but it was a promising first impression nonetheless.

Power is prodigious from the dual electric motors, and it feels every bit as quick as the 3.9-second 0–100km/h claim suggests.

Unlike a high-performance Tesla, the performance on offer is not confronting – kilowatts and Newton-metres roll in smoothly, rather than slamming you into the seat back, but it doesn’t take long to build a considerable turn of speed.

It combines with a purposeful driving position – supple seats, a long bonnet, a deep dashboard, and the 35.4-inch screen across the driver’s field of view – that would suit the protagonists of The Godfather, should they become interested in a switch to electric motoring.

The weakest link in the driving experience – at least from this short taste – is the steering wheel, as Avatr has fallen into the same trap as Tesla in pairing a squished steering control with a conventional steering rack.

It means sharp turns require clunky hand-over-hand movements, as the driver fumbles in mid-air trying to catch a bigger wheel rim that isn’t there.

Drive the car hard into a bend at speed and the same thing happens – your arms quickly run out of reach, and you spend more brain power trying to catch the steering wheel than adjusting the car’s line in the corner.

Yoke-style steering controls can work, but they require steer-by-wire technology that can vary the steering ratio based on the speed. It means the wheel never needs to move beyond a quarter of a turn in either direction – no matter the speed – eliminating the need to lift the driver’s hands off it.

Wheel aside, the steering rack is direct, and there’s plenty of grip from the Dunlop performance tyres – though the five-metre length of this dual-motor model means it is no corner carver, and its 2.4-tonne mass quickly catches up with it in sharp bends.

The power distribution is rear-biased, though even with electronic assists supposedly turned off – as we found on the skidpan we tested the car on – there’s still a safety net to prevent the Avatr getting out of shape in damp conditions.

Top-of-the-range Avatr 12s are equipped with so-called ‘magic carpet’ suspension, which combines air springs and adaptive dampers with lidar sensors and an eight-megapixel camera that claim to read the road and adjust the suspension for bumps ahead.

Avatr claims it delivers reductions of 59 per cent in jitters over speed bumps, 75 per cent in body sway on undulating roads, and “bumpiness from rough road surface”.

Even expansion joints and small changes in the road surface make it clear the Avatr’s suspension is soft and tuned for comfort – with plenty of body roll, even in Sport mode – but it suits the character of the car.

It floats over small imperfections, and it does an admirable job of ironing out speed bumps. A good fit for the marketing tagline, it would appear.

The Brembo brakes deliver strong stopping power, and the pedal inspires confidence underfoot.

On initial impressions, yes. The Avatr 12 looks different, feels different behind the wheel, drives well – at least based on our short taste – and offers plenty of technology to back up a premium price.

An emphasis must be placed on premium price, however.

Australians have shown they are open to electric cars from unknown brands in the $40,000 to $70,000 bracket, but it may prove a different story at more than $100,000.

Brands such as Polestar – which has the backing of Volvo, a known and trusted name – are demonstrating it takes more than a great car to convince customers to spend BMW or Mercedes-Benz money on a new brand few have heard of.

But if local distributor Inchcape’s marketers and product planners can pull it off, the German prestige-car establishment should be worried.

Electric Cars Guide

Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner

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