HT the right spots with Hyptec's electric SUV

Despite some blemishes, the spacious Chinese car is hip and plush, and wows with its tech

- Christopher Tan

If there is a cure for the jadedness that comes from driving too many homogenous electric vehicles (EVs), it has to be a car like the Hyptec HT.

Hyptec is a premium brand from GAC Aion, one of the top EV-makers in China. The HT is a 4,935mm long, 1,920mm wide and 1,700mm tall full-sized sport utility vehicle (SUV) with rear gullwing doors and a huge wow factor.

Looking like a cross between a Porsche Cayenne Coupe and a DeLorean DMC-12 from the Back To The Future movie trilogy (1985, 1989 and 1990), it has an imposing presence – even if its overall design can come across as somewhat bulbous.

The car's dramatic gullwing doors – available only in the Luxury variant – and its conventional front doors are motorised and equipped with obstacle sensors. They open and close with the touch of a button, or soft keys on the car's infotainment touchscreen. The driver-side door also closes when you step on the brake pedal – just like in the BMW i7 electric limo.

While auto doors are impressive and manicure-friendly, they do pose challenges.

For instance, the front doors may not open fully if you stop too near a kerb, even if said kerb is low enough not to obstruct. Likewise, the rear doors may not deploy completely in a perpendicular parking space between two cars, even if there is ample room on the sides and above.

You could, of course, manually open them farther, but that spoils the fun of having auto doors.