Zotye T700 review: the biggest Zotye, and the same orphaned-brand risk as every other one
2.1/5MotorsSouq Editorial Team
On size and specification, the T700 was the most credible thing Zotye built in this era: a proper mid-size crossover with real engine choice and optional four-wheel drive. None of that matters more than the fact that the company behind it went through a bankruptcy reorganisation in 2021 and left this model out of its shrunken comeback. Buy one only as a cheap, disposable used car, never as a purchase you expect factory support to stand behind.
Pros
- Larger, more genuinely competitive specification than most other Zotye models — real engine choice and optional four-wheel drive
- 4.75m body and 2,850mm wheelbase give real mid-size SUV interior space
- Roughly 1,740kg kerb weight and available AWD suggest solid original engineering intent
- Consumables and generic wear parts remain sourceable through the aftermarket
Cons
- Discontinued before Zotye's 2021 bankruptcy and never returned to production
- No confirmed official GCC-spec power/torque figures could be verified for this write-up
- Turbo, dual-clutch and four-wheel-drive hardware on higher grades have no dealer parts support
- No manufacturer standing behind the car in any meaningful sense today
The T700 was Zotye's answer to the mid-size crossover class, and on paper it was the most ambitious car the brand offered in the Gulf: a choice of 1.8 or 2.0-litre turbo engines, front- or four-wheel drive, and transmissions ranging from manual to an 8-speed automatic depending on grade. At 4.75 metres long on a 2,850mm wheelbase, it competed on size with mainstream mid-size SUVs rather than punching below its class.
A genuinely capable shape, undermined by timing
Buyers who cross-shopped a T700 against a contemporary Tucson or Sportage at the time were not choosing something obviously inferior on paper — a roughly 1,740kg kerb weight and available four-wheel drive suggested a car built to compete properly, not a badge-engineered afterthought. That is precisely what makes its manufacturer's collapse a few years later so relevant: this was Zotye's best shot at credibility, and it still was not enough to prevent the company's near-total unravelling.
What that means for a Bahraini owner today
Zotye's parent was declared bankrupt in 2021 after a failed rescue investment, and when a restructured version of the company resumed limited manufacturing in October 2022, the T700 was not one of the models that came back. There is no meaningful factory support left for this generation anywhere, let alone in Bahrain specifically.
An existing owner should plan around the same realities as any orphaned Chinese SUV: consumables and generic wear items are fine to source independently, but the turbo, the dual-clutch or four-wheel-drive hardware on higher grades, and anything electronic will be a genuine search with no dealer fallback. As a used purchase, the T700's larger size and stronger original specification do not change the calculation — price it, and treat it, as a car with no manufacturer standing behind it, because there effectively isn't one.