2026 Denza D9 AWD Review

The luxo people mover segment is small in terms of sales, but there are a growing number of options within, including the Denza D9. Is it the pick of the bunch?

Kiwis are, err, value conscious. So when a car turns up wearing an unfamiliar badge on what’s essentially an upmarket BYD, the natural reaction is to ask why you wouldn’t just buy the BYD. Denza is BYD’s luxury brand, its Lexus. It began life as a joint venture with Mercedes-Benz, whose influence lingers in the D9’s 18-inch wheel design, and it arrived here last December with the B5 and B8 plug-in hybrid 4x4s. The D9 is the brand’s first full EV in New Zealand, a seven-seat people mover that’s 5.25 metres long and aimed squarely at buyers who’d otherwise be in something European. Apparently it’s working, with Denza telling us Range Rover owners are among those trading across. We spent a week in the all-wheel drive version to find out why.

Price and powertrain

There are two D9s. The front-wheel drive model costs $104,990 and has a single 230kW, 360Nm motor, good for 0-100km/h in 9.5 seconds and 520km of WLTP range. Our $115,990 all-wheel drive car adds a second motor on the rear axle for 275kW and 470Nm combined, cutting the sprint to 6.9 seconds and the range to 480km. It also gains DiSus-C adaptive dampers. That rear motor is an odd one. At 45kW it’s about the size you’d find in a kei car, and it sits behind a 230kW front unit, the reverse of how most dual-motor EVs split the work.

Both versions carry the same 103.3kWh Blade battery. Denza doesn’t quote a weight for the pack, but with LFP cells at this capacity it’s likely around 700kg. The front-drive D9 weighs 2764kg and the AWD is heavier again.

Charging runs at up to 11kW on AC and 200kW on DC. There’s also 6.6kW vehicle-to-load, and the adaptor comes in the box, stored under the boot floor rather than sold as an accessory.

Up front

From the driver’s seat the dashboard seems to stretch on for a couple of time zones. The windscreen is a long way off too, which means the thick A-pillars sit well forward and rarely get in the way.

Our car had the latte and burgundy-brown interior, and it’s the one to have. Nearly every surface is soft to the touch, the pillars are flocked and the stitching is neat. The one weak spot is the piano black centre console, which was already picking up fine scratches on a car with delivery kilometres. Its faceted crystal-effect finish is a bit Liberace, but it’s different.

The front seats are ventilated, with a choice of massage programmes and an airline-style headrest that folds around your head. There’s no seat heating, which seems a strange thing to leave out at this money.

Most surprising was how quiet the D9 kept its warnings. Chinese cars fresh off the ship often need a software update or two before the driver monitoring stops chiming at you. This one didn’t make a sound all week.

The second row

This is what you’re paying for. Two captain’s chairs sit on long rails either side of a central aisle, each with a small touchscreen in the armrest that runs seat position, ventilation, massage, climate, music, the sunshades and the fridge.

The fridge lives under the front centre console and opens from either row. It cools to as low as minus six degrees or warms to 50, and has an ultraviolet cycle to keep it clean.

The seats recline a long way and come with powered leg rests. A zero-gravity setting tips you back further, but it’s been limited for our market so your shins don’t end up wedged against the front seats. Fold-out tray tables, 50W wireless chargers in the armrests, USB-C ports and window blinds complete the picture, and the seatbelts are built into the seat backs so there’s no belt running across your view. A panoramic glass panel over the rear has its own electric shade.

The only thing we’d add is a drop-down screen, which the Zeekr 009 offers. City traffic can get dull from the back.

Third row and boot

The third row misses out on heating, cooling and massage, but there’s room for adults, along with a fold-down armrest, cupholders and USB-C. Access is either by sliding a captain’s chair forward or by walking down the middle aisle, which is easier but needs a one-leg-at-a-time approach. Once you’re back there, there’s no switch to send the second-row seat back again, so you’ll be reaching over to do it. Only two of the seven seats have ISOFIX points.

Boot space is 410 litres with all seats in use, rising to 2310 litres with both rear rows folded. There’s empty space under the bonnet that could have been a front boot, but Denza hasn’t fitted one.

On the road

In everyday driving the D9 is so smooth and quiet that you feel slightly removed from the business of driving. That suits the people in the back.

Switch the dampers, steering and drive mode to Sport and it tightens up considerably. The steering gains weight and that low-mounted battery helps keep the body flat through corners taken much faster than anyone should in a people mover. It doesn’t have the rigid feel of a Kia EV9 GT and keeps a little float, which is the right call here. It grips far better than you’d expect from 2.8 tonnes on Michelin e.Primacy low rolling resistance tyres.

Acceleration starts gently, then keeps building steadily until you lift. On the highway we averaged 24.7kWh/100km, which would give around 418km from a full battery. Around town that should stretch to roughly 490km.

A 10 to 80 per cent charge on a ChargeNet high-power charger took 41 minutes. The D9 hit its 200kW peak immediately but didn’t stay there long. Many big-battery premium EVs manage the same job in around 25 minutes.

The D9 hasn’t been crash tested by ANCAP yet. It has eight airbags, and Denza’s B5 and B8 both scored five stars.

The competition

The D9 isn’t alone. XPeng’s X9 starts at the same $104,990 for the front-drive Standard Range and runs to $124,990 for the AWD Long Range. The Zeekr 009 is the more expensive option at roughly $150,000 to $163,000, and has the rear screen the Denza lacks.

Closer to home, BYD’s own M9 people mover has recently been announced for New Zealand. It’s a plug-in hybrid rather than a full EV, and in Australia it’s priced well below the D9.

Verdict

The D9 is very well engineered and the build quality is exceptional. Everything works the way it should, with the kind of polish you’d normally expect from a long-established brand, and that second row is good enough to justify the car on its own.

Where it falls short is against its closest rival. The XPeng X9 is ahead on both technology and the drive, and it starts at the same price. Add modest highway range for a battery this size, slower than expected fast charging and no heated front seats, and the D9 has some catching up to do.

It’s a very nice BYD. Whether that’s enough to tempt a nation of value-conscious buyers is the question Denza needs answering.  

Denza D9 AWD

$115,990  /  n.a kWh/100km  /  0g/km
0-100 km/h 6.9s
Motor output  275kW
Max torque  470Nm
Battery  103.3kWh
Range  480km
Drivetrain Single-speed auto / e-AWD
Front suspension Mac strut / swaybar
Rear suspension Multilink / swaybar
Turning circle 11.9m (2.5 turns)
Front brakes  Ventilated discs (375mm)
Rear brakes  Ventilated discs (375mm)
Stability systems  ABS, ESP
Safety  AEB, ACC, BSM, LDW, RCTA, ALK, AHB
Tyre size  f/r-235/60R18
Wheelbase  3110mm
L/W/H  5250 / 1960 / 1920mm
Trackf-1675mm  r-1675mm
Luggage capacity 410-2310L  
Tow rating  Not rated to tow
Service intervals 12 months / 15,000km
Warranty  6yrs / 150,000 km
ANCAP rating  Not rated
Weight (claimed)  2865kg