IM6 Electric Performance Review

As a car brand under the SAIC umbrella, the largest Chinese state-owned automotive manufacturing company in China, IM - which stands for Intelligence in Motion - is a brand you and I should start taking notice of.  

Going up against popular and capable cars like the Tesla Model Y, the Xpeng G6 and the Zeekr 7X, the IM6 is a five-seater fully-electric coupe SUV that impresses on most fronts.

The IM6 isn't exactly small, with a thick dark panel stretching the width of the rear

Moving quickly

For starters, it is ridiculously quick for a car that weighs over 2.4 tonnes. Thanks to the dual-motor setup in this Performance variant test car, the IM6 is capable of monumental figures. Some 767bhp and 802Nm of twisting forces are sent to all four corners of the car, allowing it to get from nought to 100km/h in about 3.5 seconds - figures you'd think can only be provided by supercars, not Shanghainese cars.

Also quick is the ability to charge the 100kWh battery from 10% to 80% in just 18 minutes, thanks to the 800V architecture that was developed through a joint venture between three Chinese companies: SAIC Motor, Alibaba Group, and Zhangjiang Hi-Tech. 

Yet here we are, thoroughly smitten by a technological machine that's the complete opposite of a low-slung, sexy-looking sports car. With its stretched headlamps, swelled up arches and a set of rather thick taillights, the IM6 isn't what you'd call sexy. But where it lacks, it more than makes up for it with its comfortable drive and ample space. 

Space is certainly ample for rear passengers

Moving comfortably

Thanks to the air suspension that comes standard with the top-of-the-line Performance variant, the IM6 glides over broken surfaces with ease, sending no vibrations whatsoever to the cabin. 

Of course, the comfort also has got to do with the excellent soundproofing, even at high speeds (which isn't hard to do), which limits sound intrusion and external road noise - fighting off anything that makes it through to the cabin. Very good indeed.  

That also simply means all on board will get the basic comfort that's provided in most modern cars today. Where the IM6 stands out, then, is its tech party tricks that most of these cars do not have.

Cool tech like side view cameras appearing whenever you signal (left) and the car parking for you once it detects a lot are available on the IM6

For instance, with a flick of your left hand on the steering, a rearview camera comes onto the screen to make it easier to see your surroundings, even under poor light and bad weather. There's also a reverse option system that remembers up to 100m how you drove into a dead end, and reversing out exactly the same way, which could prove to be useful in certain crowded areas on our sunny island.  

Not to mention, there are also ventilated seats with timer, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, presets for air-con vents and side view cameras that appear every time you signal, just to name a few.

Cabin is clean and minimalistic, with two huge screens stealing the show

Moving luxuriously

All these, as you'd come to expect, can be controlled from the 10.5-inch vertical screen that's weirdly mounted low on the centre console, which forces you to take your eyes off the road every time you meddle with it. Camera feeds will be, however, cleverly shown on the huge and crisp 26.3-inch screen in front of you. 

IM Motors say that there are only two kinds of colours to choose from for the cabin - light and dark. The test car came with the dark interior which, as you can tell from the photos here, are essentially tones of grey. I've seen the light one on an IM5 Sedan, and that's basically having the most parts of the cabin in light cream colour - clean, but not your weapon of choice if you have kids.  

Elsewhere, space is the royal order for the day. Head and legroom are more than ample for all five on board (maybe even six if you squeeze a little with four at the back) and you get a decently-sized 646 litres of hauling capacity. Couple all of that with the full-length tinted glass roof and what you get is a cabin that's light-hearted and lively.

Lots of options for you to meddle with on the 10.5-inch screen (left); the 646-litre boot space isn't the best in its class, but it's sufficient

Moving on...

All in, the IM6 is mighty impressive as a large barge. It's undoubtedly a comfortable car to potter around town, yet it manages to exude an agility of a sports car when you call for it. And not to mention because of its sheer size, it's a highly functional car for the family man. 

So I suppose as a car brand under the SAIC umbrella, IM is indeed a brand you and I should start taking notice of.