Denza D9 is the most conventional vehicle in a very unconventional segment of the market.
The Denza D9 is part of the new wave of vehicles looking to supplant the Toyota Alphard as king of the MPV space. Of course, being a new and unfamiliar brand with an all-electric powertrain, the Denza D9 is at a massive disadvantage. Plus, the Alphard’s key advantage is that it’s brought into Malaysia used via parallel import, so there’s a massive grey market for this particular model. It’s a tough nut to crack, but it’s a niche that has its fair share of high-value customers.
This is because the typical Alphard customer is usually either in a financial position to pamper his large family or is looking for an alternative to your typical chauffeur-driven sedan from Germany. Either way, you’re looking at customers who want something big, comfortable, and luxurious. What the Denza D9 and other EVs also have on their side is that they’re pretty high-tech vehicles too. In Malaysia, the Denza D9 is available in two specifications, the longer-range 2WD model and the fully decked-out AWD model. We had the latter on test a couple of months ago and drove one to Desaru and back before that.
The Denza-BYD Connection
To those unfamiliar, Denza is actually a sub-brand of BYD and in a way, Denza in Malaysia is MORE BYD than BYD itself. This is because of a slight peculiarity in the arrangement between Sime Motors and BYD Malaysia. What you need to know is this: Denza is handled directly by BYD Malaysia and it’s positioned a little higher than BYD and this will become very evident once you step into an actual Denza showroom. There’s a much more premium feel to their dealerships, even in the way the sales staff attend to you. The product itself, the D9 has some obvious BYD roots, but there’s enough of a unique identity to separate the two brands.
This is especially true given that many BYD models sold here are of the Dynasty and Ocean series, which both have very distinct design language cues. The Denza D9 exists in a more generic, standalone state and the brown leather upholstery is a big visual cue that gives it its own fresh feel. And while the large 15.6” floating centre infotainment unit looks like it’s taken off a BYD, in the D9, it does not do the typical thing of rotating 90 degrees.
D9 Design And Equipment
The more time spent in the Denza D9, the more of this unique character you start to unlock. I mentioned ‘generic’ earlier, but I didn’t mean it in a negative way. The Denza D9 doesn’t have a very obvious design theme to it, but the design is cohesive and ergonomics are on point. Light colours bring the best out of this design, giving it an airy and open feel, complemented by the twin sunroofs and large glass house. It doesn’t have the oppressive dark interior of the Zeekr 009 and it’s even a little taller and longer, so the sense of space really is there. As a people-moved, the Denza D9 provides the right kind of interior environment, though I still think the Zeekr has its own strengths.
While it’s not positioned as a flagship-level product, the D9 has tech in here that would put to shame many experienced automakers, helped by its duty-free pricing.
You get soft-closing front doors and powered rear sliding doors as well as a powered tailgate, a panoramic sunroof, and a second sunroof for the front occupants.
A 14-speaker Dynaudio sound system, THREE 50W wireless phone chargers, a 6.8L fridge/heater, and a negative ion purifier with PM2.5 air filtration.
All of these are standard features, with the AWD model bringing a massage function for the front seats, driver seat memory function, Nappa leather, genuine wood trim, a suede headliner, a heads-up display, and a digital rear-view mirror.
It’s also the little things that matter, such as the triple zone climate control, 5 USB-C ports with a single USB-A port just in case, powered and ventilated seats with legrests, picnic tables, and screens for the 2nd row.
The third row of seats is comfortable enough and not too spartan either with 4-way manual adjustability and a few other amenities. Safety is also well taken care of, as expected. You get four ISOFIX mounts, which makes it one of the very few EVs with that many ISOFIX points. Just about every ADAS feature you could ask for is here too.
You’ve also got a very usable boot here with enough cargo space for the daily school run or a short weekend getaway and a partially collapsible rear seat row when more needs to be moved.
D9 Performance Evaluation
In Malaysia, the AWD version has a total system output of 374PS and 470Nm of torque, which doesn’t give it a spritely pace despite its 2865kg weight. 0-100km/h is done in just under 7 seconds, but the additional motor does eat away at the car’s maximum range. The range is not an issue at all in-city. In fact, the 103.6 kWh Blade battery gave us a comfortable amount for an extended weekend drive with plenty of pace.
On paper, 480km is achievable on the WLTP cycle with this model, rising to 520km on the 2WD version. That being said, the range suffers at higher speeds on the highway, as we experienced on our trip to Desaru and back via Melaka. A quick 30-minute top-up from 30-80% on the appropriate DC Fast charger will recover 150km of driving range, so a short coffee or lunch stop on an interstate drive is advisable. 11kW AC charging is accepted, but Denza will throw in a 22kW AC home charger for future-proofing for a limited time.
The Disus-C Intelligent Damping Body Control System is probably the best reason to go for the AWD model over the base model. By default, the suspension comes across as a little too vague and wallowy, which can make the Denza D9 feel a little unnerving to drive fast around corners. With the dampers set to Sport mode, it’s a lot more settled and we would recommend leaving it in this setting for all but the roughest of roads.
D9 Value Challenges
All-in-all, the Denza D9 is a really impressive all-rounder MPV. For just over RM300K, it’s hard to argue that it isn’t good value for money, but it’s also equally hard to argue that it’s a cheap car. It definitely brings a good challenge to the traditional king of the segment, the Toyota Alphard. However, I do foresee a number of challenges ahead and perhaps this is why the sales numbers aren’t quite as high as they could be. The first challenge is the association with BYD.
Ordinarily, a new brand like Denza would want to put some distance between itself and its parent company in order to create the perception that it’s providing a different type of experience and product. However, this puts Denza in a bit of a bind because most people don’t know what a ‘Denza’ is and only recently BYD has entered the public’s consciousness. So is there an advantage to splitting the audience this early on? I don’t think so.
The other ‘issue’ I would bring up is the perceived value and price-to-performance ratio. I think electric vehicles have created a couple of assumptions in the market: range and general performance should increase with price. The thing is, at about RM200,000 to 250,000 you’re already getting flagship-level EV performance from SUVs and sedans, which is why so many customers have left traditional premium brands for new EV brands. Electric MPVs don’t give you more range or more performance the higher the price goes, so you’re spending 30% more money than a flagship SUV and you may be getting a larger battery, but your effective range doesn’t go up by 30%.
In some cases, it may even go down by 30% when fully loaded. I think the customer expects something really special at RM300,000 and while the Denza D9 is an excellent product, it’s not outstanding. It doesn’t have the tech or design flair of its chief rivals, the Xpeng X9 and Zeekr 009. It’s the electric MPV for the conservative crowd, but I’m not so sure the conservative crowd wants an electric MPV.
In conclusion, the Denza D9 is trying to do something relatively familiar in a segment of the car market that is altogether new. It’s closest thing to an electric Alphard so it should have direct upgraders lined up. Its biggest weakness is the suspension, but a few tweaks in the settings can give you a pretty decent ride.
2025 Denza D9 AWD Specifications
Electric Motor: 369 hp electric motor
Torque: 290 Nm
AC Charging: 11 kW
DC Charging: Up to 166 kW
Acceleration: 0-100 km/h in 6.9 seconds
Battery: 103.4 kWh BYD Blade Battery
Driving Range: 480km (WLTP)
Price: RM309,000
