We’ve had the unique opportunity to sample a wide array of the latest cars on race tracks all over the world. Or rather, around the region. A perk of being in this industry, I guess.

But Dongfeng isn’t a marque that we’d traditionally associate with on-track performance. So when Volt Auto told us that we’d have an opportunity to sample their 007 at Sepang sometime in 2026, we genuinely didn’t know what to think of it. Or what to expect from the experience.

Earlier this year, we had the opportunity to sample the 007 Premium on roads far wider, longer and windier than those at home (you can watch our travel itinerary guide with the 007 below). And that confirmed one thing – that these modern Dongfeng EVs aren’t slouches in a straight line.

But corners? Especially those on an FIA Grade 1 circuit? That we weren’t so sure.

SoyaCincau x Dongfeng at Sepang

So how did we end up here? Well, Dongfeng is the title sponsor of Malaysian publication SoyaCincau’s EV Clinic Track Edition. And the idea of this track day was to allow EV owners to safely explore the limits of their machinery.

As title sponsor, Dongfeng had two garages. The original idea was to have us sample the 007 only. There was the 007 Premium (which, fun fact, was the EXACT unit we took to Desaru), and an 007 Performance with spicy aftermarket Brembo brakes upfront.

Dongfeng Malaysia also brought along several other 007s, though they were all of the Premium variety. Still, these cars are no slouch – they are liftbacks with 268bhp and rear-wheel drive. The Performance is obviously more powerful, with its two electric motors delivering a combined 536 bhp.

With all the briefings and formalities over, we had to wait for our turn to have a crack at the track. And the first car that was made available for us? The aforementioned 007 Performance, which we were then told was the personal car of Volt Auto MD Mr Soh Ming. No pressure to keep it on the black stuff then.

Not Just a Straight-Line Machine

The 007 Performance was ridiculously quick. Not in terms of sheer top speed – like most EVs, it actually has a rather low Vmax. Rather, it can properly put all of its power down between the corners, with traction control rarely ever having to severely intervene.

And yes, we left the driver aids off, as the car defaults to having them on the instant it detects any loss of traction. Predictability on track is more crucial than anything else, especially when you have limited running and in someone’s personal machine.

You can tell that Dongfeng has engineered the car with a greater tendency to push (i.e understeer), though that should come as no surprise, since that serves as somewhat of a passive safety net. Still, the combination of the aftermarket brakes and the regen allows you to accurately pivot the nose of the car around even the tighter corners, so rotation wasn’t really a huge problem.

And as long as you commit to the corner and not make any sudden adjustments (one of my industry friends managed to severely upset the balance of the car – you know who you are), it actually feels fairly stable and almost like it wants to do more.

Our first flying lap was sub-3 mins (around 2:57), with subsequent laps in the mid-to-low 2:50s. Keep in mind also that we really only had three flying laps to play with, since we wanted to ensure the other journalists had a) sufficient charge for a representative lap, and b) sufficient time to film the content that they need.

But no amount of active brake torque vectoring and Michelin PS5s will be able to mask the 007 Performance’s sheer mass. Stable it may be, but it does take a while for the car to settle into the corners, and consecutive fast sweepers (T5-T6) really exposes how lazy the chassis feels.

The Unexpected Hero

As the 007s were constantly either charging or out on the track doing hotlaps, Dongfeng brought some additional support cars into the track sessions. There was a Dongfeng BOX, which we never got to sample on track, and two Vigos, which were originally designated as the Safety Cars.

Our fellow Singaporean journalists have all praised the BOX’s agility on track. What it lacks in power it more than makes up for in its lack of weight (1.3 tons), which means you can pretty much take almost any corner you want, at any speed that you one.

Though to be fair that’s perhaps more down to its 120km/h top speed than its chassis agility. What’s even more impressive is that the BOX here is on its factory Wan Li Harmonics. Not exactly a track-focused set of tyres.

We never got a chance to sample the lone box. What we DID get to sample, was the Vigo. With 40 more bhps than the BOX, it was always going to be quicker on the straights. But surely the higher ride height would hamper its on-track performance. Right? RIGHT?

Well, wrong. The beige Vigo we first drove only had about 60+% of charge, so we elected to keep it in Eco mode for our run. Not sure if it’d actually allow us to squeeze a bit more range out of the car, but hey, it was well worth a shot.

And it was a true RIOT on track. Like, a genuinely unexpected track hero. It topped out at about 150km/h, and the additional ride height actually felt like a bonus here. We were able to carry some ridiculous entry speeds (again considering the car’s form factor, power and ride height) into tricky sections of the circuit (110km/h on the entry of T5, which we maintained through to the exit of T6), and the softer suspension allowed us to full send over most of the kerbs.

On harder stops, gradual trail-braking shifts enough weight to the front that the rear becomes nice and loose, allowing it to properly rotate without losing excessive amounts of momentum. It is this approach that allowed us to do two push laps with zero issues with brake fade.

Again, for a 1.5-ton 134bhp electric crossover at 60+% battery on eco mode, the Vigo handled Sepang like a champ. The faster of our two flyers was just a smidge over the 3-minute mark, at a 3:02.66. Still, really respectable for what it is.

Takeaways

Here’s the thing. Chinese cars have never been known for their on-track prowess. Luxury, value and engineering, sure. But on-track performance and handling? You’d be better off buying Japanese or German.

But days like this really make you rethink what a Chinese car can do. Sure, it most definitely isn’t as capable as something like a Model 3 Performance or a Polestar. But those cars cost quite a good bit more. And on a day-to-day basis, it’s not like you’d be able to exploit the additional performance anyways.

However, whilst we did have a lot of fun, and the Dongfengs were surprisingly comfortable for light trackwork, there’s not denying that there are areas for improvement. Almost everyone complained about brake fade with the cars, something that was made dramatically obvious when a fellow journalist ended up spinning into the gravel trap at the last hairpin.

He ended up limping back to the pits with the 007’s rear brakes quite literally smoking. Again, keep in mind that these cars really aren’t built to do this sort of sustained on-track driving. So some worn tyres and brake pads should almost always be expected!

Here’s another story where we drove another manufacturer’s cars on another regional track!