The Xpeng X9 is one step closer to its Malaysian launch, with registrations of interest now open on the official website. The futuristic luxury electric MPV was previewed just last January and is set to compete with the Denza D9 and Zeekr 009, as well as the all-conquering petrol-powered Toyota Alphard and Vellfire.
Interestingly, the ROI form also included the option to place a booking, hinting that a launch will be happening very soon. Expect the X9 to be sold here in a similar form to Thailand – specs of the car have been revealed ahead of its official launch in the Land of Smiles, with just a single Luxury variant being offered there.
Power comes from a single front motor that produces 320 PS (235 kW) and 450 Nm of torque, enough to get this seven-seater behemoth from zero to 100 km/h in 7.7 seconds on its way to a top speed of 200 km/h. A 101.5 kWh nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery provides a WLTP range of 590 km; the X9 is also available with a smaller 84.5 kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) pack in Hong Kong with a range of 480 km.
Xpeng says the X9 supports “3C fast charging,” meaning that its DC fast charging power is about three times its battery capacity figure – as such, you’re looking at around 300 kW for the 101.5 kWh pack. Charging from 10 to 80% takes 20 minutes. Suspension consists of double wishbones at the front and multilinks at the rear, with dual-chamber air springs with 90 mm of height adjustment and even rear-wheel steering.
Looking for all the world like a spaceship, the X9 5,293 mm long, 1,988 mm wide and 1,785 mm tall, with a wheelbase of 3,160 mm. It’s comfortably the longest of them all (it certainly shades the Toyota twins, which are a hair over five metres long), although its rakish coupe-like roofline means it’s quite a bit lower than the others. The car is based on Xpeng’s Smart Electric Platform Architecture (SEPA) 2.0, just like the G6 SUV.
Inside, the X9 takes after the G6 with a minimalist interior dominated by two screens – a 10.25-inch digital instrument display and a 17.3-inch infotainment touchscreen. The second row is outfitted with “zero gravity” captain’s chairs with 18-way power adjustment, memory and massage functions, and they get their own folding table, flip-open cupholders and a 21.4-inch roof-mounted touchscreen monitor. The three-seater third-row is also power adjustable and can be stowed into the rear boot floor electrically.
Exterior standard kit in Thailand includes 20-inch two-tone aero wheels, keyless entry and start, power-sliding doors and a powered tailgate. Inside, you get 12-way powered front seats with memory, heating and massage, Nappa leather upholstery, five-zone (!) climate control, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, twin 50-watt Qi wireless chargers for the first two rows, twin glass roofs with power sunshades, a digital rear-view mirror, a Bluetooth key function and a 23-speaker Xopera sound system with driver headrest speakers.
In terms of driver assists, the X9 comes with Xpeng’s Xpilot Level 2 semi-autonomous driving function, including adaptive cruise control with stop and go, lane centring assist with curve speed reduction, traffic sign recognition, auto parking and remote parking assist. Autonomous emergency braking, blind spot monitoring with collision prevention, rear cross traffic alert, rear collision warning, a door opening warning and automatic high beam are also fitted, as is a 360-degree camera system with a 3D view and transparency function.
The one piece of the puzzle remaining is price. Nothing has been revealed just yet, but expect the X9 to retail around the ballpark of its main rivals – the Denza D9 retails at RM259,000 for the base front-wheel drive model and RM309,000 with all-wheel drive, while the all-wheel drive Zeekr 009 costs RM349,800 with seven seats and RM359,800 with six seats.
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