Denza has confirmed that pricing for its all-electric Z9 shooting brake will start from £105,000, with order books now open.
Aimed squarely at the likes of the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo and the BMW i5 M60 xDrive Touring, the Chinese newcomer was expected to undercut its German rivals when UK pricing was announced as a way of attracting customers away from the traditional German brands.
However, expectations were proven wrong, given that the Taycan Turismo starts at £84,500 in entry-level 4 Cross guise, while the BMW is priced from £100,095.
Denza is BYD’s premium brand, and the Z9 GT is its first model to go on sale in the UK. It will be hoping that its eye-popping performance will be enough to convince buyers to take a chance on the unknown brand.
The Z9 GT uses a tri-motor setup with an official power output of 1,140bhp. That delivers a 0-62mph time of 2.7 seconds and a top speed of 167mph.
That gives it nearly 200bhp more than the £163,000 Taycan Turbo S, although the Porsche still has the edge on acceleration.
The Z9 GT’s battery is a 122kWh ‘Blade’ unit integrated into the car’s chassis, and can manage up to 373 miles on a single charge – over 50 miles more than the BMW, and three fewer than the equivalent Porsche.
Nonetheless, the Z9 benefits from the Chinese automotive giant’s Flash charging technology. Soon to be rolled out across the UK, BYD’s Flash charging boasts speeds of up to 1,500kW.
This means that the Z9 can be topped up from 10%-70% in just five minutes with a Flash charge.
The fast-charging battery isn’t the only piece of impressive tech fitted to the Z9 GT. A Vehicle Motion Control system ensures that the Z9 GT can still drive in a straight line up to 112mph in the event of a tyre blowout.
Meanwhile, the four-wheel steering system creates a supermini-esque 5.35m turning circle, allowing the driver to manoeuvre in and out of tight parking spaces. Not dissimilar to the MG IM5, a digital parking assistant enables the Z9 GT to identify a space and reverse into it without any steering wheel input.
Inside, the Z9 GT is finished with Nappa leather upholstery, plus extending leg rests and reclining backrests in the rear. Its 20-speaker, Devialet stereo system was developed exclusively for Denza.
Optional extras for the Z9 include £1,600 digital side mirrors, £2,500 21-inch alloys in place of the standard 20-inch wheels, and five paint finishes. Emerald Green, Dolomite Slate, and Midnight Blue are priced at £2,500, while the matte finishes, Matte Copper and Matte Shadow Black, cost £4,500 each.
The Denza Z9 GT is also available as a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) called the DM, which uses a 62.82kWh battery paired with a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine. In electric-only mode, the Z9 PHEV can travel up to 126 miles on a single charge. When working alongside the internal combustion motor, up to 500 miles of range is achievable.
