This is an Exeed Sterra ET, seen in the Chinese capital Beijing. The Sterra ET is a large SUV with a clean but somewhat anonymous design. The car I met is painted in Canngling Green with a Tile Green Gray interior.
Sterra is a high-end NEV line under Exeed, a Chinese car brand owned by Chery Automobile. The Sterra line was unveiled in 2023. Sterra sells two cars currently: the Exeed Sterra ES sedan, launched in 2023, and the Exeed Sterra ET SUV, launched in 2024. The Sterra line is mainly aimed at families.
The Sterra ET is a five-seat SUV with a clean and aerodynamic design. It looks excellent and a tad anonymous. The drag coefficient is 0.26 Cd, which is pretty good for an SUV of this size: 4955/1975/1698, 3000.
Exeed does great interiors and the cabin of the Sterra ET is no exception. It looks light, airy, and spacious. The real-leather white seats look very pretty and the overall design is, again, super clean and uncluttered. It has a small oval-shaped two-spoke steering wheel with a flat bottom and a thick rim. The drive selector is mounted on the steering wheel column, freeing up space on the center tunnel for two wireless chargers and two cup holders. The screen situation: a 15.6-inch touch screen and a 10.25-inch driver’s display.
With so much space, it is a tad strange the Sterra doesn’t offer a 7-seat version. Most competitors offer 5- and 7-seat versions of SUVs of this size and segment.
The Sterra EV is available with EV and EREV powertrains. The car that I saw is the EV version. They are hard to discern, there are no badges and the exhaust pipe is hidden far away underneath the car. The only difference is the lower bumper section. The EV has active aero there, whereas the EREV has a fixed grille with horizontal slats.
The EV version is available in 3 variants:
- RWD: 230 kW/425 Nm. 77 kWh LFP, 625 km range.
- RWD Max: 230 kW/425 Nm. 100 kW ternary lithium, 760 km.
- AWD: 353 kW/662 Nm. 77 kWh LFP, 540 km.
- AWD Max: 413 kW/691 Nm. 100 kW ternary lithium, 655 km.
The AWD max does 0-100 in 3.8 seconds and it has a 210 km/h top speed. All versions have an 800V architecture for fast charging. The LFP battery can charge from 30 to 80% in only 9 minutes, the larger ternary lithium needs 15 minutes. Very fast indeed. The AWD system is called Snow Leopard AWD, which is a great name.
The price range of the Sterra ET EV ranges from 229.800 yuan to 319.800 yuan, $31.5K to $43.8K, and that is a good deal for a car of this size which so much power and range.
Characters: 星途, Xīngtú, literally Stardom, the Chinese name of Exeed. The Chinese name of Sterra is 星纪元, Xīng Jìyuán, literally Star Era.
The Exeed Sterra ET has L2 autonomous driving capability, with 30 sensors including one lidar above the windshield. All in all an impressive vehicle but sales haven’t been that good, around 2500 a month, and the Sterra ET is a relatively rare sight on the road. The main reasons for the disappointing sales appear to be the lack of brand recognition in this segment and the almost-too-anonymous design. It needs a bit of wildness! Sterra seems to be a bit asplit about being wild or not, check this:
This is a photo from Sterra’s website advertising the Snow Leopard AWD system. The text reads: “Snow Leopard 4WD”, wild, and underneath it continues with “Navigating the world with wisdom and calmness”, which is not wild. Well, the series is still young, let’s hope Exeed can turn things around, as the cars surely deserve a better future.