mReview: Skyworth K – The New King Of Value?

The Skyworth K is the new kid on the block, but it’s arrived in a, literally, big way with lots of features at a not-so-big price. 

Some of you might have heard of Skyworth before, you might even have one of their products in your house. The purveyors of electronic goods like fridges and TVs have now expanded into the largest electronic good of them all, the electric car. 

Their first car is the Skyworth K, an electric SUV that quite literally stands out from the crowd. It’s noticeably larger than its closest competitors, with a lengthy 2.8-metre wheelbase giving it a substantial footprint on the road. 

The in-house Skywell branded sound system works well enough.

Looks-wise, the K is inoffensive and doesn’t stray far from the SUV design textbook with strong, boxy lines and a tall silhouette. The front end has two L-shaped DRLs to complement the rear light bar that, unfortunately, due to LTA regulations, can’t have the “Skyworth” wording within it illuminated like in other countries.

The interior of the Skyworth K is similarly textbook, with a cleanly laid-out dash with two main screens, one for the 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster and one for the 12.8-inch infotainment system. 

For the most part, the systems in the interior work fine but the K is definitely a little rough around the edges. For example, wireless Android Auto is native and comes as standard but Apple CarPlay is only accessible through a third-party wireless dongle. 

You also can’t skip tracks using the buttons on the multi-function steering wheel, what one would assume was the “skip” button actually just changes the radio station. There is also adaptive cruise control that works fine but getting it to start working reliably was a bit of a challenge. Oh, and the turn signal stalk is in serious need of some WD-40.

Apart from those minor niggles though, the Skyworth K’s party piece is its generosity with space. The legroom and headroom in the rear is abundant, even for giraffe-gened individuals, and the flat floor means no straddling for the middle-seat passenger. The panoramic sunroof also adds to the airiness of the cabin, making it feel even roomier than it already is. 

The second row has room for three with room to spare.

The second row also houses the three-pin socket that lets you charge or plug in any electrical item to use from the comfort of your car. Interestingly, this feature is disabled by default for safety reasons in case there’s a child behind, lest they stick their fingers in the socket. 

As a new brand, Skyworth has a lot to figure out when it comes to carmaking, chief of which is, of course, how the car drives. They’ll be pleased to know that on the whole, the Skyworth K leaves little to complain about. 

201hp and 320Nm of torque from its single electric motor puts in squarely in the Category B COE bracket, which Skyworth says was necessary to deal with the K’s size and weight. 0-100km/h takes 9.6 seconds which is far from sprightly but also far from struggling, the K gets on in this department perfectly adequately. 

467 litres of boot space with the seats up and over 1,000 litres when they're folded away.

The ride quality in the K is calm, composed, and mostly quiet. Wind noise is pretty noticeable at highway speeds but the car itself feels fairly solid and robust. There’s also a 360˙ camera which makes driving or parking the Skyworth K in tight spaces a simple task. Dynamically, the biggest issue is the K’s arcade-machine steering that is featherlight to use and devoid of feedback, a trait that detracts from the K’s otherwise intriguing value proposition.

Extra modes for special circumstances.

At S$180,888 including a guaranteed COE, the Skyworth K presents tremendous bang-for-your-buck with just how much car you get for your money. Those who aren’t brand-conscious and simply looking for a good deal will be chomping at the bit to snatch one of these off the Skyworth showroom floor.

However, as a new name, Skyworth remains a rather unknown quantity and have their work cut out for them to gain the trust of the consumers, a task made that little bit easier by the introduction of the Skyworth K.

Read More: mReview: MINI Countryman SE ALL4 – Stand Out From The Crowd

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