I Test Drove a Chinese EV. Now I Don’t Want to Buy American Cars Anymore.

中国电动汽车初体验：美系车从此失去吸引力。

Amazing battery range, customizable interiors and sleek software—our columnist fell in love with a Xiaomi SU7 Max after driving it for a few weeks

惊人的续航里程、可定制的内饰以及流畅的软件系统——本报专栏作家在试驾小米 SU7 Max 几周后，彻底爱上了这款车。

WSJ’s Joanna Stern cruises around New Jersey in the Xiaomi SU7 Max.

ByJoanna Stern| Photography by Matt Genovese for WSJ

Jan. 29, 2026 7:00 pm ET

My dearest Xiaomi SU7 Max,

It’s been about a month since we were last together. Now, every time I climb back into my Ford Mustang Mach-E, I can’t stop thinking about you—your long range, your modular interior, your absurdly large infotainment screen.

At night, I miss your adjustable color lighting. On weekends, the kids talk about your wireless karaoke mics, walkie-talkies and yes, that back-seat minifridge.

Please come back to America…for me.

Always,

Joanna

致我最亲爱的小米 SU7 Max：

自我们上次分别，已经过去大约一个月了。现在，每当我坐回我的福特电马（Mustang Mach-E）时，脑海里就不自觉地浮现出你的身影——你那超长的续航里程、模块化的内饰，还有那块大得惊人的车载信息娱乐屏。

入夜后，我会怀念你那随心而变的氛围灯；到了周末，孩子们总在念叨你的无线卡拉OK麦克风、对讲机，哦对了，还有后排那个车载小冰箱。

请回到美国吧……为了我。

永远爱你的，乔安娜

The Xiaomi SU7 Max—like other Chinese-made cars—is effectively blocked from the U.S. market. And yet, late last year, I spent two weeks test-driving one of China’s hottest cars around the mean streets of New Jersey. A friend who previously worked at Xiaomi bought the car and got a temporary permit to drive it in the U.S. He generously let me take it for an extended spin.

与其它国产车一样，小米 SU7 Max 实际上是被美国市场拒之门外的。然而，去年年底，我却花了两个周的时间，在新泽西州的大街小巷试驾了这款中国最火爆的车型。我的一位曾在小米工作的朋友买下了这辆车，并获得了在美国行驶的临时许可证，他慷慨地借给我进行了一次深度体验。

My time with the car confirmed what experts in the auto industry have long been saying: Holy crap, China is winning the digitally enhanced electric-car race.

这段试驾经历印证了汽车行业专家们长期以来的论调：天呐，在这场数字化驱动的电动汽车竞赛中，中国正遥遥领先。

Chinese EV makers such as Xiaomi,BYD and Geely have earned global accolades because their cars deliver longer battery ranges and deeply integrated digital platforms. We’re talking software that feels smooth like a brand new smartphone, not a screen you have to jab five times to load a map. Plus, they often cost tens of thousands of dollars less than Western competitors. In Europe and Mexico, they’re blowing past Tesla and other EV rivals.

小米、比亚迪和吉利等中国电动汽车制造商已赢得全球赞誉，因为他们的汽车提供了更长的续航里程和高度集成的数字平台。我们谈论的是那种操作起来像新款智能手机一样丝滑的软件系统，而不是那种想加载个地图都得戳上五次还没反应的屏幕。此外，它们的价格通常比西方竞争对手便宜数万美元。在欧洲和墨西哥，它们正风驰电掣般超越特斯拉和其他电动车对手。

“The competitive reality is that the Chinese are the 700-pound gorilla in the EV industry,”Ford CEO Jim Farley told me in an interview last year. “There’s no real competition from Tesla, GM or Ford with what we’ve seen from China.” Even Farley, after driving a Xiaomi SU7, said he didn’t want to part with it. The company is now rebuilding its EVs, starting with a $30,000 pickup, to compete directly with what they have seen from China.   

“竞争的现实是，中国车企是电动汽车行业中体量庞大且无法撼动的‘巨无霸’，”福特 CEO 吉姆·法利（Jim Farley）在去年的采访中告诉我。“就我们从中国看到的情况来看，特斯拉、通用或福特目前都无法与之形成真正的竞争。” 甚至法利本人在试驾过小米 SU7 后，也表示不愿与它分开。福特公司目前正重新研发旗下的电动车型——从一款售价 3 万美元的皮卡开始——以直接对抗他们从中国竞争对手那里看到的领先技术。

I didn’t understand it all until my Xiaomi tryst. I fell for the SU7 Max inside and out, and now I’m left wanting what I can’t have—at least for now. There are growing signs Americans might not have to wait forever to experience China’s superior take on the EV.

直到这次与小米汽车的“幽会”，我才真正理解了这一切。我彻底爱上了这款 SU7 Max，无论是外在还是内在；而现在，我陷入了那种求而不得的渴望中——至少目前如此。不过，有越来越多的迹象表明，美国人或许不必等上太久，就能体验到中国这种更高级的电动汽车方案。

The connected car

Smartphones, tablets, washing machines, toasters, dust-mite vacuums. If it uses electricity, Xiaomi probablymakes it and sells it in China. So as cars increasingly became computers on wheels, Xiaomi started making EVs.

智能手机、平板电脑、洗衣机、烤面包机、除螨吸尘器……只要是带电的东西，小米几乎都在中国生产并销售。因此，随着汽车日益演变成“装在轮子上的计算机”，小米也顺理成章地开始制造电动汽车。

The SU7 Max feels exactly like what you’d expect from a tech company making a car, not a car company making tech. The massive 16.1-inch infotainment screen runs HyperOS, the company’s Android-based software. It’s packed with apps—many of them in Mandarin, which I don’t understand. I am, however, fluent inApple CarPlay, which looks beautiful on that big screen. 

这款 SU7 Max 给人的感觉，完全就像是一家科技公司在造车，而不是一家车企在强行做科技。那块 16.1 英寸的巨大信息娱乐屏运行着澎湃 OS（HyperOS），这是该公司基于安卓开发的软件系统。屏幕里装满了各种 App——其中很多是中文的，我看不懂。不过，我对苹果的 CarPlay 倒是驾轻就熟，它在那块大屏幕上的视觉效果简直美极了。

The massive 16.1-inch display runs Xiaomi's HyperOS but also Apple CarPlay.

One of my favorite small features: Navigation directions don’t kill the music. They come through speakers in the driver’s seat headrest, while the song or podcast keeps playing everywhere else.

我最喜欢的细节功能之一：导航播报不会中断音乐。导航语音通过驾驶位座椅的头枕音箱传出，而音乐或播报内容则在车内其他位置继续播放，互不干扰。

Remember whenI chose an EV a few years back? Remember how loudly I complained about Tesla and others ditching buttons and knobs for all-touchscreen everything? With Xiaomi, you don’t have to choose. It sells a slim control bar that magnetically snaps to the bottom of the screen, giving you honest-to-goodness physical buttons for music and climate control. Miracles happen.

还记得几年前我选购电动汽车时吗？还记得当时我如何大声抱怨特斯拉和其他车企为了全触摸屏而抛弃所有物理按键和旋钮吗？在小米这儿，你不需要做选择题。它售卖一种纤薄的控制条，可以通过磁吸方式“咔哒”一声吸附在屏幕底部，为你提供货真价实的物理按键，用来控制音乐和空调。奇迹真的发生了。

You can snap on other modules, too, such as LED bars—if your goal is less family sedan, more Berlin nightclub.

你还可以加装其他模块，比如 LED 灯条——只要你的目标是把这辆车从“家用轿车”变成“柏林夜店”。

The real magic, though, is for people who live inside Xiaomi’s ecosystem. I could mirror whatever was on a Xiaomi 17 Pro Max phone directly on the main display. Full-fledged Xiaomi tablets—loaded with games and apps—dock into the backs of the front seats to face the rear passengers, instantly becoming climate-control panels.

不过，真正的魔法是留给那些生活在小米生态系统里的人的。我可以将小米 17 Pro Max 手机上的任何内容直接镜像投射到中控大屏上。装满了游戏和应用的小米平板电脑可以嵌入前排座椅靠背，正对着后排乘客，并瞬间化身为空调控制面板。

Bluetooth microphones pair with the sound system, and the karaoke app displays the lyrics to your fave karaoke songs. (Whitney Houston’s“I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” obviously.) Long-range walkie-talkies let the driver communicate with kids who have, for obvious reasons, decided to hide under the bed with them. A minifridge locks into the hump between the rear two seats, and you can adjust temperature from, yes, any of the many screens.

蓝牙麦克风可以与车载音响配对，卡拉OK应用则会显示你最爱的曲目歌词（显然，必点曲目是惠特尼·休斯顿的《I Wanna Dance With Somebody》）。远程对讲机让司机能与孩子们保持联系——毕竟孩子们肯定有各种理由想带着对讲机躲在床底下。车载小冰箱卡入后排两个座椅之间的凸起处，而且你可以通过车内任何一个屏幕来调节它的温度，是的，你没听错，是任何一个。

Xiaomi’s optional gadgets and accessories—from buttons to fridges to karaoke mics—let drivers customize the car.

As Americans, we don’t live in the Xiaomi universe. It’s like if Apple had actually built the long-rumored Apple Car and everything just…worked.

作为美国人，我们并不生活在“小米宇宙”中。这种体验就像是：如果苹果公司真的造出了传闻已久的 Apple Car，而且车内的一切都能与设备无缝衔接、顺畅运行。

The easy rider

I don’t only love this car because it’s like visiting a Chinese tech mall. I love driving it. I’ll leave the deep discussion of torque, suspension and other mysterious car terms to my colleague Dan Neil. What I can say is that this EV sails along smoothly and quietly while somehow feeling sportier than my Mustang Mach-E or the Tesla Model Y I tested a few years back.

我爱上这款车，并不仅仅因为它像是一个会移动的中国科技商场。我也非常享受驾驶它的感觉。至于扭矩、悬架以及其他神秘的汽车术语，我就留给我的同事丹·尼尔（Dan Neil）去深度剖析了。我能说的是，这款电动汽车开起来既平稳又安静，但不知为何，它的运动感却比我的福特电马，或是几年前我试驾过的特斯拉 Model Y 还要强烈。

Due to my lack of Mandarin skills, I couldn’t test the self-driving features. But on one trip from my home in New Jersey into New York City, I put the car into advanced driver-assistance mode. The car braked, steered and accelerated more smoothly than my Ford Mustang Mach-E. I especially noticed while crawling into the Holland Tunnel, a scenario I’ve been through many times in my Mustang.

由于我不懂中文，无法测试其自动驾驶功能。但在一次从新泽西家中前往纽约市的行程中，我开启了高级驾驶辅助模式。这辆车的刹车、转向和加速都比我的福特电马（Mustang Mach-E）更加平稳。尤其是在爬行进入荷兰隧道（Holland Tunnel）时，这种差距尤为明显——在那条隧道里，我曾开着我的福特经历过无数次类似的拥堵路况。

On those same New York jaunts, the battery range exceeded my expectations, largely set by my Mustang Mach-E. On one very cold day—when EV batteries typically take a hit—a 50-mile round trip used no more than 30% of the charge. Xiaomiboasts a range of 810 kilometers on a battery charge for the SU7 Max (roughly 500 miles). To charge it at home, I used my Level 2 charger with an adapter, since China uses different plugs.

在同样的几次纽约之行中，这辆车的续航表现超出了我的预期——而我的预期很大程度上是被那辆福特电马给拉低的。在一个非常寒冷的日子里（通常这种天气电动车续航都会大打折扣），一段 50 英里（约 80 公里）的往返行程仅消耗了不到 30% 的电量。小米宣称 SU7 Max 的单次充电续航里程可达 810 公里（约 500 英里）。为了能在家里给它充电，我使用了适配器来连接我的 2 级充电桩，因为中国和美国使用的充电插头规格不同。

We don’t know the long-term reliability or safety performance of these cars, according to analysts I spoke to. For me to be a serious customer, I would obviously need more information. But my impression during my brief time with the SU7 was that this is a well-designed and well-constructed vehicle.

据我采访的分析师称，我们目前还不了解这些汽车的长期可靠性或安全表现。如果要让我成为一名真正的买家，显然我还需要更多信息。但在我与小米 SU7 相处的短暂时光里，它给我留下的印象是：这是一款设计精良、制造精湛的汽车。

The Xiaomi SU7 Max pairs sleek design with serious tech—inside, outside and under the hood.

The global roadblock

So you get it, I fell in love with all things about this car, including its price tag. In China, its launch pricing started at 299,900 Chinese yuan, which converts to roughly $43,000—in the same range as a Tesla Model Y. Yet the Xiaomi experience feels more premium. Of course, experts I spoke to said the SU7 Max would cost more if sold in the U.S.

所以你明白了吧，我爱上了这辆车的一切，包括它的价格。在中国，它的上市起售价为 29.99 万人民币，约合 4.3 万美元——这与特斯拉 Model Y 处于同一价位区间。然而，小米带来的体验却让人感觉更加高端。当然，我咨询过的专家表示，如果 SU7 Max 在美国销售，价格肯定会更高。

“If”? Or should I say “when”? Right now, there’s a 100% tariff on Chinese-madeelectric vehicles—on top of other tariffs—and there are federal restrictions on Chinese connected vehicle technology. But those heavy obstructions might not last. 

是“如果”吗？还是我该说“何时”？眼下，美国对中国制造的电动汽车征收 100% 的关税（这还是在其他关税之上的叠加），而且联邦政府对中国联网汽车技术也设有种种限制。但这些重重障碍未必会永远持续下去。

In early January, in a speech at the Detroit Economic Club, President Trump said Chinese automakers would be welcome if they built cars in the U.S. using American factories and workers. “Let China come in,” he said.

一月初，特朗普总统在底特律经济俱乐部（Detroit Economic Club）发表演讲时表示，如果中国汽车制造商利用美国的工厂和工人来造车，那么他将表示欢迎。“让中国进来吧，”他说。

“You absolutely will get a car like the Xiaomi SU7 here—no question,” Michael Dunne, chief executive of auto-consulting firm Dunne Insights, told me.

“你绝对能在美国买到像小米 SU7 这样的车——这是毋庸置疑的，”汽车咨询公司 Dunne Insights 的首席执行官迈克尔·邓恩（Michael Dunne）告诉我。

“Chinese manufacturers are prepared and poised to pounce as soon as the door opens—and that door opens not through imports, but through manufacturing here,” he said, adding that it could happen in the next two years. Geelyhas even said as much, though Xiaomi said it has no current U.S. plans.

“中国制造商已经做好了准备，随时待命，只要大门一开就蓄势待发——而这扇门的开启方式并非通过进口，而是通过在本土制造，”他说道，并补充说这可能会在未来两年内发生。吉利汽车甚至也表达过类似的意图，不过小米表示目前尚无进入美国市场的计划。

I will wait for you, Xiaomi. We shall be together again one day.

我会等你的，小米。总有一天，我们会再次重逢。