The S07 motors out a pop-out door handle as you approach it, and then admits you into a fairly sparse and simple yet solid-feeling and discreetly upmarket cabin.
Many common modern interior design themes are apparent, and few secondary controls are included beyond column stalks for drive selection, turn indication, and wiper and headlight control.
There’s no instrument screen at all – although, unlike in some rivals that rely entirely on their central multimedia display for instrumentation, the S07 does include a colour head-up display (it can convey augmented reality navigation directions, and makes a key contribution to keeping the driver’s eyes on the road). Otherwise, the car depends to a large extent on a couple of heart-marked ‘favourite’ buttons on the left-hand steering wheel spoke for easy access to key controls; and on a permanently displayed shortcut nav bar running along the foot of the 15.6in infotainment screen, whose contents the driver can customise. It’s the sort of simplified secondary control layout that has led many cars to grief over the past five years where usability while driving is concerned – but, because it can be configured so flexibly, the S07 actually neatly avoids making itself one of them (see ‘Multimedia’ overleaf).
The front seats afford plenty of leg and head room for a 6ft 3in driver, and are broadly comfortable (great adjustable lumbar support, not quite enough thigh support). Their ‘vegan leather’ upholstery isn’t fooling anyone, but it’s pleasant enough to the touch and can be had in either white or orange as opposed to black. It is in plentiful supply on the door panels, fascia and centre console, lending the cabin an understated but convincing impression of quality that its few fixtures and fittings mostly manage to maintain.
In the back, a standard-fit glass roof (whose roller cover can be controlled by back-seat travellers, for once) opens up the sense of space, which is objectively generous for average-size adults in terms of leg room, and generous enough for head room too. Boot space (just over 445 litres in the back, with a medium-sized frunk under the bonnet) is a little small by class standards, but probably still sufficient for the typical family.
Multimedia – 4.5 stars
Motorised multimedia displays are still likely to turn out to be a fad (notable purveyor BYD is now abandoning them), but the S07 brings its own take on the idea. This is the ‘sunflower’ screen: a 15.6in portrait-oriented installation that uses its gesture-recognition camera to pivot by 15deg either to the left or right of the ‘dead ahead’ to face its user, a little like a sunflower turning towards the light (you can simply fix the screen in one place if you prefer).
The system’s voice recognition system is quite good, understanding key commands that reduce driver distraction (such as ‘Hi Deepal, change the navigation mapping to north up’, or ‘turn on the demister’); but failing to recognise navigation destinations. You can also use gestures for certain key commands (putting your index finger to your lips mutes the audio system, for example).
The system offers a cooled, 40W wireless smartphone charger and wireless device mirroring that worked flawlessly for us, and makes getting in and out of the mirrored and native software modes easy.
But the S07’s chief usability weapon is its customisable shortcut bar. Put a permanently displayed control for anything you like in here, whether ADAS functions, door mirror fold, rear wiper controls, or a trip computer shortcut. In many cases we would still prefer a physical button, but this is the next best thing.
The system has a number of novel operating modes supposedly suited to when you need to leave a pet in the car for a short period, or to sleep, or even to camp (it can play music through an external speaker, and produce a light show at night with its LED headlights).
The 14-speaker audio system is impressively powerful and clear, and includes a headrest speaker that means you can take Bluetooth phone calls without disturbing your passengers.
