2025 SERES 7 RE-EV Premium Review

The luxury crossover segment is a relatively small market here in the Philippines, dominated by established brands with years of experience under their belt. Their products have established a reputation, so consumers know what they’re shelling out large bundles of cash for. But what if you’re a new brand to the market? How should it differ from what’s already here?

SERES might have the answer with the SERES 7 RE-EV Premium. It’s a range-extended electric vehicle (RE-EV) featuring dual electric motors, a turbocharged 1.5-liter engine as a generator, and a 40.6 kWh capacity battery. On paper, the SERES 7 is quick, fast, loaded with modern tech, and very luxurious, so can it go toe-to-toe with other luxurious seven-seaters? We take it out on the road to find out.

On the outside, it’s immediately clear that the SERES 7 did not go the sporty and aggressive route in terms of design. The best way to describe the SERES 7’s look is sleek and subdued. The front end is simple, featuring LED headlights, an unimposing grille, and two air intakes flanking both corners of the bumper. This simplicity is further highlighted by the SERES badge at the top of the hood. This simple design belies the SERES 7’s size because this mid-size crossover is 5,020 mm long and 1,945 mm wide. For reference, the Mitsubishi Montero Sport, which is a mid-size SUV, is 4,825 mm long and 1,815 mm wide. 

Though the SERES 7 looks understated, it still has a few tricks up its sleeve. When you unlock the doors, the door handles, which are flush with the door when locked, pop open for you, along with the side mirrors, and a retracting step board. The step board might be a bit much considering the SERES 7 only has 150 mm of ground clearance, but it does make the driver and passengers feel special. 

The back of the SERES 7 is equally sleek, boasting wraparound LED taillights, reflectors at the lower corners, and a large powered door providing access to the cargo bay.

Speaking of cargo, the SERES 7 can carry up to 775 liters with the third row down. Put the third row up, and you’re left with just 188 liters of cargo space. Now, if you’re expecting the SERES 7 to offer more room with the second row down, it won’t—because it features captain’s chairs in the second row, and expecting those to fold flat is essentially impossible.

Starting at the third row, this row of seats in the SERES 7 is what we would say “just in case” situations. There are not many toys to play with here, and the seats themselves are quite low. The upside is that headroom and legroom are quite manageable for short jaunts. 

Moving up to the second row, this is where you’ll find the best seats in the car, but these two seats are different from each other. The seat behind the driver gets power-adjustability, ventilation, and a massage function. However, the seat behind the front passenger gets that and a full recline zero gravity mode. The reasoning behind this is likely that SERES wouldn’t want the second row’s recline function disturbing the driver as they drive, a thoughtful touch we would say.

As for toys back here, passengers have their own digital HVAC control panel on top of the features their seats have, map lights, two Type-C chargers with one providing 66 watts of charging. The seats are very comfortable, and the interior panels themselves are well built with multiple textures, making the second row a joy to be in.

Up front, drivers get a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and a 15.6-inch infotainment system. The center console houses two ventilated wireless charging pads, cup holders, and a storage box. While the center stack is clean and very ergonomic, the lack of physical buttons for air controls, volume adjustment is a bit of a downer because searching through the controls on one screen can get cumbersome. Even simple tasks like changing the direction of the air vents must be done on the screen, which we think is just too much.

The rest of the front interior, though, is top-class, from the touch points, the seats, the material used in the dashboard, everything you see and can touch feels well-built. 

Propelling the SERES 7 Premium is a pair of 323 kW electric motors driving the front and back wheels, producing 323 hp and 654 Nm of torque. Juice comes from a 40.6 kWh battery that is kept topped up by a 1.5-liter turbocharged gasoline engine generator. 

From the numbers alone, you’d guess that the SERES 7 Premium launches like nothing else, and you’d be right. This massive crossover is capable of going from zero to 100 km/h in 4.8 seconds.

As surprising as the speed is, the SERES 7’s mannerisms through the corners are even more amazing. Even though it’s a hefty vehicle, throwing it around corners is surprisingly easy. The car feels planted and can maintain its speed without any noticeable body roll or understeer. 

Though the SERES 7 is a composed vehicle going fast and through corners, it’s still a comfortable vehicle even as you go over bumps. We took this vehicle through EDSA and weren’t rattled by the imperfections of the road at all.

Driving characteristics are all good, but what’s not so good are the car’s driver-assist systems. The specific feature we take issue with in the SERES 7 is its adaptive cruise control, which is overly sensitive on the highway and unresponsive in stop-and-go traffic. What we mean is that the SERES 7 will slow down if it detects a car in the adjacent lane, even if it’s not directly in front. Meanwhile, in stop-and-go traffic, it won’t move forward even when the car ahead is already far ahead.

Does the SERES 7 deliver on its promise of being a luxurious seven-seater? Most definitely. However, for people searching for a premium three-row crossover, the SERES 7 might not be on their radar, especially if they’re already considering European offerings that go well beyond P5 million.

That said, if they’re looking at SUVs like the Ford Explorer, the Mazda CX-90, or even an executive van with captain’s seats, the SERES 7 performs well in many areas that could sway those buyers to choose it instead. It’s quick, powerful, luxurious, and efficient. If those are the qualities you're considering, the SERES 7 is definitely worth checking out.