The HiPhi Sure Looks Like A Spaceship But Is It Actually Any Good? | Carscoops

The HiPhi Z has perhaps the most intriguing infotainment display of any production car

by Brad Anderson

Few, if any, electric cars make quite as much of an impression on the road as the HiPhi Z. First unveiled last year and brought to life by Human Horizons, the car’s presence is undeniable and that’s regardless of whether or not you like its design.

Given that it is such an unconventional vehicle, YouTuber Wheelsboy was quite eager to jump behind the wheel of it to find out if it’s any good. His review includes a comprehensive tour of the Z’s exterior and interior designs and much to our surprise, it is even crazier than we initially thought.

It’s impossible to talk about the Z without discussing its exterior. Human Horizons has outfitted it with over 4,000 individual LEDs that allow it to display images on parts of the front and rear fascias, as well as on the doors. Curiously, the LEDs on the doors can only be configured to display English letters and not Chinese characters.

Read: Human Horizons HiPhi Z Combines Thousands Of LED Lights With A 0-62 MPH Time Of 3.8 Seconds

Then there’s the cabin. The automaker has ditched the trio of displays found in the HiPhi X crossover and replaced them with a single 15-inch center screen and a complicated head-up display. Making this screen unique is the fact that rather than being mounted to the dashboard like most infotainment screens, it is mounted to three robotic arms that not only allow it to rotate between portrait and landscape orientations but also allow it to tilt upwards, downwards, and side to side. Drivers can manually adjust the angle of the screen or it will change automatically based on the positioning of the front seat.

Four and five-seat variants of the Z are available, although the carmaker notes that most of its customers are opting for the four-seater. There are no rear door handles; instead, buttons must be pressed to open and close the doors.

Powering the HiPhi Z are front and rear-mounted electric motors driven by a 120 kWh battery pack. The car is good for 494 kW (662 hp) and 820 Nm (605 lb-ft) of torque, allowing it to hit 100 km/h (62 mph) in 3.8 seconds.