We took a trip down to Desaru with the Denza D9. Here’s our report.
This week, we were invited to test drive the all-new, all-electric Denza D9 as part of a media convoy from KL to Desaru. Our vehicle had 3 occupants and the front passenger seat was left perpetually empty to better show the capabilities of the D9 to carry ‘VIPs’ in complete comfort.
Denza, if you’re unfamiliar, is an upmarket sub-brand of BYD. This brand is its own authorised distributor though it still leans on Sime Darby for import support. That means you’ll find Denza showrooms that are independent of BYD and Sime Darby Beyond Auto selling just the Denza D9… for now. Future Denza products and perhaps even YangWang and FangChengBao products MAY be parked under Denza showrooms a-la GWM, but these have plans have yet to be confirmed.
The Denza D9 is a 7-seater all-electric MPV that is fully-imported from China. It’s available in two variants here – a front-wheel drive base model and a moderately up-specced AWD model. It features a 103.36kWh lithium iron phosphate Blade Battery with 11kW AC and 166kW DC Fast Charging. The base model features a front-mounted motor with an output of 230kW and 360Nm of torque. The AWD model has a total system output of 275kW and 470Nm of torque, enabling a 0-100km/h time of 6.9 seconds. WLTP range of the AWD model is 480km while the base model can manage 520km on a full charge.
Our convoy consisted of only AWD variant models, so our coverage will be focused on these. Besides the additional power, the AWD model also features DiSus-C intelligent damping suspension, which can be set to either Comfort or Sport mode. This is a great place to start, as it showed itself fairly quickly the moment we got on the highway. While it’s no air suspension, it allows for a level of adaptability to different road conditions. We found that in Comfort mode, the dampening was way too soft for high speed driving on Malaysian highways. In Sport mode, things were far more acceptable if a little on the firm side.
From a driver’s standpoint, the Denza D9 offers loads of physical button controls for most settings though certain functionalities remain hidden behind digital menus (such as the DiSus-C setting, which doesn’t change with the Drive Mode by default). It’s a confident driver – we were faced with a massive rain storm on the way into Desaru and the D9 held its own throughout – no erratic behaviour, just plain competence plus a host of ADAS features to keep you on the road. The spec sheet suggests some sportscar like performance but it’s a heavy MPV at the end of the day. Just know that the AWD model has more than enough gusto for the highway.
480km on paper sounds like enough range to complete a trip from KL to Desaru. I think if you’re lucky, patient and skilled enough it is possible. However, when you’re in a media convoy there are a lot of variables out of your control. In the end, just about every car was charged up during the lunch break to about 80% from around 60%. We took a little detour through JB town centre and stopped at Skudai to get ourselves a 10 minute charge up (32% to 50%) and finally reached Desaru with 28% to spare.
Our trip back to KL saw us stop by JPO to get the D9 juiced up to 90%. We reached KL with no issues and around 25% remaining, though some other cars had to stop for a refill. While we were impressed with the Denza D9’s relatively quick 160kW DC fast charging speed, we think that the overall range is not suitable for a long-distance family vehicle. Our recent drive to Penang in the more expensive Zeekr 009 saw far fewer charge up stops as the 009 has a WLTP range of 582km. It makes a huge difference.
Now let’s talk passenger comfort. We spent a majority of our time sleeping in the middle row and we can say that it’s a near-business class experience though the seats fall just short of being able to go into full recline. Each captain seat has a full colour touch-enabled control panel. This little touch screen gives you full access to most of the car’s electronics including the infotainment, windows, sunroof and even the front passenger seat if you want to move it out of the way. I’d say this is just above your average large MPV experience and would suit aging parents really well on long-haul journeys.
Each seat also comes with a ventilated 50W wireless charging pad, plus there are USB-C ports that were just strong enough to charge my Macbook Pro up while idling. An automatic freezer/warmer gives you the ability to condition food and drinks on long journeys with a temperature range of -6 to 50 degrees celsius.
There are also fold-out trays if you want to place a laptop/tablet or eat a meal. These trays fold out from behind the front seats and not from the armrest, so you need to bring your captain seat back to an upright and forward position to access them comfortably. I have to say that it’s a pretty nice experience being a passenger in the D9, but it falls just shy of the VIP standards set by the Zeekr 009. The rearmost seats can technically seat 3 adults, but 2 is a much more comfortable setup.
In terms of design, the Denza D9 feels like a step up from your standard BYD fare. Colour options are a little bolder here. I’m not sure why they opted for brighter coloured upholstery options for the rather conservative Malaysian family car buyer, but it’s hard to deny that the lighter tones improve the in-car ambience.
Besides the colour palette, the use of material in the Denza product feels like a step up over what BYD offer. You get a suede headliner and real wood trim pieces in cabin. A 14-speaker Dynaudio system and a 15.6” centre control screen provide entertainment but there isn’t a second screen for passengers at the rear.
There are twin sunroofs, both with electric sunshades this time. Sliding doors on both sides are of course powered. The AWD variant comes with 4 massage chairs.
I think the biggest ‘complaint’ about the interior is that it feels a little too close to something BYD would have offered. There isn’t a real ‘wow’ factor to this cabin and we’re sure other Denza products have.
In defence of the Denza D9, its philosophy is rather straightforward – give the people an electric MPV with no frills and keep pricing fair and managable. I think they’ve done a fairly good job in that regard. If you’re coming from an older Alphard or Vellfire, it’s going to feel like a significant upgrade in nearly every aspect – quieter, more rigid, better equipped, and more rapid.
That’s the strength of the Denza D9. It’s not the last word on luxury, but it gives you more than you’d expect for the price. If you can put up with charging throughout your journey, this could just be the EV MPV for you. Read Daniel’s full review here.
