08/06/2025-Sunday Special

UIF4VOEBZ 4QFDJBM XIV >9 OW9 c 0W9 ŝĘ ŗŕŗŚ

out 313PS and 360Nm of torque. This gives it a range of 520km while the 100kph sprint is seen off in 9.5 seconds. As for the Premium model, it utilises dual motors which lets it put out 374PS and 470Nm of torque. But range takes a hit though as it is capable of travelling 480km in comparison. But it will accelerate to 100kph in just 6.9 seconds, which is quite astonishing considering that the MPV weighs a mam moth 2865kg. As for charging, both variants utilise 166kW of DC charging, which will let the D9 recharge from 30 to 80% in 30 min utes. And just 10 minutes of charging will give you 150km of range. As for AC charging, the D9 takes just 11kW, which means that it will take about 10 hours to recharge from zero to 100%, but you really shouldn’t be letting the bat tery deplete that much so the recharge time will be different. SO, HOWWAS IT LIKE? I started my Denza experience in the second-row seat of the Premium variant. As mentioned, the seat is as comfortable as it looks, and it comes with a massage function as well. And the Premium variant has more massage options as compared to the

Unfortunately you do not get a frunk.

The 14 speaker Dynaudio sound system sounds great around the cabin.

nologies; DiSus-A which uses more pre mium air suspension: DiSus-C (Premium variant) uses adaptive suspension that reacts in real time and finally the DiSus-P – which uses more conventional hydrau lic body control. Though Denza/BYD says the suspen sion in the Premium is adaptive, it does not adapt to the drive modes. Instead, it uses a dedicated switch in the infotain ment screen to either set it to Sport or Comfort. The first leg of our drive to Desaru was from the Denza showroom in Old Klang Road to the Seremban R&R area. While refinement levels in the back seat are exceptional – I could have a full

seat based on just how good they look. In typical Chinese EV fashion, there is a huge infotainment screen that domi nates the dashboard as well as a smaller instrument cluster for all the essential data. Curiously, there is no entertainment screen for rear passengers. This is a a pity considering Alphard owners can install it at any aftermarket store, and the Denza’s closest competitor, the Zeekr 009 has a large 15.6-inch rear screen. The luxurious touches continue with suede roof liner (fabric for the Advanced variant), electric seats with massage func tion and even a fridge that can be set at - 6%C or even work as a heater where the temperature can go up to 50°C. Simply put, the interior of the D9 is a marvellous balance of luxury and tech. WHAT ABOUT THE POWERTRAIN? The good thing with the Denza D9 is that when you choose to buy one, you don’t have to opt between battery sizes. You just have to decide what type of inte rior finishing you want, and how many motors you need. Both variants are powered by the same 103.36kWh Blade lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery. However, the Advanced model utilises a single front-mounted motor that puts

BUT WHY IS IT SO POPULAR? The Denza D9 is yet to attain the Alphard level of popularity, but it won’t be long until it does. The MPV is available in two variants in Malaysia – the Advanced FWD which is priced at RM259,000 and the Premium AWD, which is priced at RM309,000. I recently got to drive both of them to find out what the fuss was all about. I drove the Premium AWD on an exclusive drive to Desaru with the Denza team and selected members of the Malaysian motoring journalist fraternity. And the Advanced FWD I got to drive for a few days longer with the family. Both are differentiated by some key distinguishing factors such as adaptive suspension for the Premium variant and other interior and exterior touches. From the outside, you can tell the two apart by the drooping LED daytime run ning light on the Premium variant, but that is about all the difference you will see. From the outside at least. The interior can only be described as super premium. A decade ago, the inte rior of the D9 would have only been found in the insides of a custom-built lux ury car. The seats are not only comfortable, but they look great and invite you to take a

The temperature of the refrigerator can go as low as -6°C or as high as 50°C.

Advanced variant, but both have the all important ventilation function. There is a small screen fixed to the arm rest of the seat that works as the control centre for everything. Through this screen you can open and close the door, sunshade and sunroof by swiping the screen. You can also control the music, air conditioning, refrigerator settings, and even move the front passenger seat from the screen. It does everything except that there is no lock screen option. So, if you are going to be ferrying younger kids as I experi enced a few days later, you will have to deal with them changing your favourite music, turning the volume up and down, and even opening the front sunroof when all you want to do is focus on driving. A lock screen with password option would have perfected an already great thing. Anyway, back to how the back seat feels. The Premium variant comes with something called DiSus-C intelligent damping control. DiSus is an intelligent body control system developed by BYD for its new energy vehicles. The system has three different tech

blown conversation about EV’s with the guys in the front seat without raising my voice even at highway speed – the sus pension though felt a little stiff. I felt almost everything the road was throwing at the car. I felt every dip, every pitch, every dive under heavy braking, which truthfully made me feel a little nau seated at the back. But I took the driver’s seat next and found that the car’s suspension was actu ally set to Sport mode. And that explained why the car felt the way it did. From the driver’s seat though, the D9 Premium felt perfect. It was quiet, there was waves of torque that I could rely on to keep up with highway traffic. Even the driver’s seat comes with massage func tion, so it was heavenly at the front. And in case you were wondering, we left KL with 100% battery state of charge, then arrived in Melaka for lunch with 66% where we recharged to 85%, then reached Desaru with about 6% left. It could have been a lot better than that, but we were not exactly feathering the throttle. Flooring it without thought for the battery percentage would be it. On the second day, I spent more time in the back seat, but this time making

The interior of the D9 is typically EV, with a large infotainment screen and minimalistic layout.