Start-up manufacturers alike churning out fresh electric products seemingly overnight. This month, a new player from East Asia is finally delivering its first international offering to Canada: the 2023 VinFast VF 8.

“The model comes with a modern design, spacious and luxurious interior along with great performance level and excellent after-sales service. It is an attractive choice for customers in the North American market,” says VinFast CEO Le Thi Thu Thuy in a media release distributed during a recent launch event held in sunny southern California.

First giving journalists a brief taste of a pre-production version of the zero-emissions crossover last summer on a closed course at the company’s home base in Vietnam, attendees had a solid couple of hours to test drive on the public roads and highways of Encinitas.

Here’s what we thought of the experience…

The exterior of the compact SUV remains the same, still boasting the quirky styling that is a result of a partnership involving two Italian design firms, Pininfarina and Torino Design, both putting their mark on various Ferraris, Alfa Romeos and others. Highlights include the stacked headlamps, LED winged “grille,” and matching taillight bar, super-short overhangs, 20-inch wheels, and stretched wheelbase. Measuring 4,750 millimetres long and 1,934 millimetres wide, the size is a tad larger than a Hyundai Santa Fe.

Inside, the cabin looks much more polished than in the demos provided in 2022. The centrepiece is a 15.6-inch landscape-oriented touchscreen acting as the command centre controlling virtually all vehicle functions — outside of the core steering, braking and transmission — as well as readouts as there are no gauges or monitor mounted on the driver’s side of the dashboard. Fortunately, a head-up display is standard showing speed and additional pertinent info right on the windshield.

One seemingly common complaint is how often things are blinking on the screen accompanied by various dings heard through the speakers. Indeed, during my roughly three-hour evaluation I was constantly warned audibly of drifting slightly outside of the lane markers, or exceeding the speed limit, or about potentially violating any number of the many safety features baked into the Level 2 advanced driver assistance systems. Apparently, however, most of the beeps can be silenced via the appropriate settings found in the submenus.

The seats are comfortable no matter where occupants are sitting in the two-row interior and legroom is above average for It’s no secret EVs are the darling of the automotive industry right now, evidenced by legacy and the segment. It should be noted the early batch of VF 8s arriving still have a transmission hump protruding above the floor due to the model being initially conceived as an internal combustion automobile.

Performance-wise, I’m happy to report the crossover feels significantly improved compared to the pre-prods we piloted 11 months ago. While those felt sluggish due to in-progress software, here all 402 horsepower and 457 lb-ft (Plus trim), produced by a dual 150-kilowatt motor all-wheel-drive setup, felt on tap. A de-tuned entry-level Eco grade is also available outputting 348 horsepower and 368 lb-ft of torque.

Enthusiasts may have read some less-than-favourable reviews from certain American outlets criticizing a bouncy ride inducing motion sickness. However, I found the front strut and rear multi-link suspension to feel just fine, though on the firmer side, when traveling on smooth pavement in both a straight line and around semi-curvy terrain. If battery conservation isn’t of concern, switching out of the Eco or Normal dynamic modes and into Sport sharpens responsiveness and acceleration upping the fun factor.

On the topic of batteries, VinFast as of now has dropped the controversial subscription program instead conventionally including them in the purchase price.

Pictured here is the U.S.-only City Edition packing an 82-kilowatt battery — the variants landing here boast a slightly higher capacity unit yielding a maximum 425 kilometres on a single charge on the Plus, and 391 kilometres on the Eco.

The 2023 VinFast VF 8 is built in Haiphong Vietnam, and prices start at $53,600 MSRP (Eco) or $59,200 (Plus). More to come.