First look at Denza D9: BYD’s premium electric MPV with two variants set to launch in Malaysia on Feb 20

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 14 — BYD Malaysia has officially confirmed that Denza D9 will be available in two variants in our market. The pricing for the new electric premium MPV was not revealed today, though, as that particular detail will only be announced during the Malaysian launch of Denza D9, which will take place on February 20.

Denza D9 Advanced vs D9 Premium for Malaysia

During the media preview today, BYD Malaysia didn’t go deep into the differences between each variant. The company mainly pointed out the level of performance that they have:

Regardless of your preferred variant, all D9 in Malaysia are powered by the same 103.36kWh BYD Blade LFP battery. They also come standard with 3-phase 11kW AC charging and support DC charging speeds of up to 166kW.

BYD Malaysia didn’t highlight this during the media preview event today but based on today’s brief encounter alongside our observation of units released in other markets such as Singapore and Thailand, there are also some differences in the materials that the company used for the interior of these D9 variants.

It appears that the D9 Advanced has Nappa leather seats and a suede ceiling while the D9 Premium has premium leather upholstery for its seats together with fabric headlining. While both of these D9 variants come with 18-inch wheels, the units that were shown during the media preview today feature different sets of tyres.

Specifically, the D9 Advanced has Michelin e-Primary 235/60 tyres but the higher-end D9 Premium variant features Continental PremiumContact C tyres instead. The easiest way to differentiate these two variants is by looking at their rear as the D9 Premium comes with a badge that says AWD on the bottom right part of the tailgate.

There will be three exterior colours to choose from including Arctic White, Whale Sea Blue, and Cosmos Black. As for the interior, BYD Malaysia has not yet announced the official variations but the units shown during today’s media preview come in Black/Brown and Black/Beige.

The D9’s boot space size is listed as 410L which can be expanded to 2,310L when the third row seats are folded. — SoyaCincau pic

What can you expect from Denza D9 in general?

For one, the Denza D9 has enough space to carry 7 adults, each of them being 180cm tall while also carrying 7 20-inch suitcases and 7 backpacks. If you are into numbers, the D9’s boot space size is listed as 410L which can be expanded to 2,310L when the third row seats are folded.

In case you are wondering whether the Denza D9 is larger than the Toyota Alphard which many touted as the king of MPV in Malaysia, here are their dimensions:

Yup, the Denza D9 is slightly longer and wider than the Toyota Alphard. BYD also claimed that the interior noise level of the D9 can be as low as 64.6dB while travelling at 120km/h on the highway.

The Denza D9 for the Malaysian market also comes standard with a built-in motorised refrigerator that can slide in and out just with a touch of a button. — SoyaCincau pic

The Denza D9 for the Malaysian market also comes standard with a built-in motorised refrigerator that can slide in and out just with a touch of a button. You can also use it as a heating box since it also supports temperatures of up to 50°C.

Not enough with that, you can also control the refrigerator from the 5.5-inch touch screens on D9’s captain chairs. Speaking of the touch screens, you can utilise them to adjust the seats as well as control the air conditioner, music playback, sliding doors, windows, sunroofs, sunshade, ambient lights, and reading lights.

While we are on the subject of screens, the D9 also features a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster for the driver (the Premium variant also includes a heads-up display) alongside a 15.6-inch infotainment touch screen. — SoyaCincau pic

While we are on the subject of screens, the D9 also features a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster for the driver (the Premium variant also includes a heads-up display) alongside a 15.6-inch infotainment touch screen. There is also a Dynaudio 14-speaker sound system as well as 50W wireless phone chargers on the captain seats and front centre console.

When it comes to safety features, the D9 is equipped with 8 airbags including side curtain airbags that cover all three rows as well as a central airbag. The MPV’s Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) also has a long list of features such as Intelligent Cruise Control, Adaptive Cruise Control, Automatic Emergency Braking System, Lane Keeping Assist, Pedestrian Collision Warning, and many more.

Speaking of the touch screens, you can utilise them to adjust the seats as well as control the air conditioner, music playback, sliding doors, windows, sunroofs, sunshade, ambient lights, and reading lights. — SoyaCincau pic

Denza D9 will be competing in a fast-growing market

The electric MPV market in Malaysia used to be quite empty as the only model available in this space was the Maxus MIFA 9 which was launched back in late 2023. Fast forward to last December, Zeekr 009 entered the space and in the next few months, you can also expect the arrival of XPeng X9 in our market.

Hence, things are not going to be a walk in the park for the Denza D9. However, we still think the electric MPV might be able to have some impact on the market if it is priced at under RM300k. — SoyaCincau