Denza Z9 GT Review & Prices

Denza may be a young brand in the UK, but it’s here to make a splash - or a cannonball for that matter - with the Z9 GT. It’s a hugely powerful, very posh grand-tourer estate car with a high-tech cabin, sleek styling and some very clever electric infrastructure under the skin. It’s eye-wateringly expensive, though, and it’s not very good to drive on a twisty road for such a sporty car.

Choosing the Z9 GT over the established crowd is a bit like going to an all-new restaurant in Mayfair, promising a state-of-the-art dining experience - with a price tag to match. The only problem being the well-known, highly-esteemed, Michelin star joints just down the road.

Take the Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo, the Audi RS e-tron, or the Lotus Emeya - all models from luxury brands which have been around for decades, which the Denza needs to prove itself against. The Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 isn’t quite as sleek, but it’s still rapid, while the Hyundai Ioniq 6 N is one of the fastest and most fun electric cars on sale. Look to the Polestar 5 for one of the prettiest cars you can buy full stop.

Denza Z9 GT: electric range, battery and charging data

Range: 373 miles
Efficiency: 3.0mi/kWh
Battery size: 122kWh
Max charge speed: 1,500kW
Charge time AC: 10h 54mins (0-100%, 11kW)
Charge time DC: 9mins (10-100%, 1,500kW)
Charge port location: Right-side, rear
Power outputs: 1,156hp

Still, the Denza looks really rather handsome. The Z9 GT isn’t quite an estate car, nor is it a saloon or a coupe, despite its sleek roofline and squat proportions. It’s something called a shooting brake, which is an amalgam of all three, though with four doors to make it pretty practical.

It’s a shame the roof-mounted LIDAR sensor (for an autonomous driving future, apparently) makes it look like a cab, and the traditional door mirrors are far uglier than the optional rear-view cameras.

The interior lives up to the Z9 GT’s whopping price tag, with an elegant design and acres of sumptuous leather or suede-clad surfaces around you. The dashboard is simple, as in a lot of Chinese cars, with a whopping 17.3-inch central display, straddled by a pair of 13.2-inch items for the driver display and passenger controls.

You’ll find a fridge-freezer between the ergonomic front seats, and there’s plenty of space in the back to get comfortable. All seats are heated, ventilated and massaging, which is very posh. There’s a 495-litre boot with a 53-litre front boot, too, which is roughly on par with a Taycan Sport Turismo and a Lotus Emeya.

There’s a single battery and motor combination for the Z9 GT, and that’s a mind-warping 1156hp tri-motor setup with an enormous 122.5kWh battery between the wheels. It’s good for up to 373 miles on a single charge, but more importantly it’s been developed for BYD’s ‘Flash Charging’, 1,500kW technology - meaning a full battery from 10% in around nine minutes. Woah.

We have yet to drive the Z9 GT in the UK, but after some time with the car in France we were left with mixed feelings. It’s very comfortable over broken roads and easy to manoeuvre despite its prodigious length and width, thanks to the clever four-wheel steering system. It’s also quiet and comfortable on the motorway, but for a sleek grand tourer with such sporting pretense, the Denza pales in comparison on a twisty road compared to a Porsche Taycan or Lotus Emeya.

The Denza Z9 GT starts at a whopping £105,000, though there is a cheaper plug-in hybrid model on the way for £95,000. Nonetheless, with its six-figure price tag the Z9 GT is far more expensive than entry-level versions of the Porsche Taycan (£88,000), Lotus Emeya and Polestar 5 (both £90,000).

Granted, you’ll pay almost £200,000 for the Taycan in Turbo GT trim - which is the closest in performance terms even if ‘only’ has 1,108hp. In the real world that much power is wholly unnecessary, and for the price of a Z9 GT you can have an alternative with a posher badge that’s more fun to drive, too.

Still, the Denza is equipped with an outrageous amount of standard kit including a 50.0-inch head-up display, 20-speaker Devialet sound system, a literal freezer between the front seats, 50kW rear seat phone charging. There’s even a four wheel-steering system that not only reduces the turning circle but allows you to crab the car at low speeds and pivot into parking spaces…for whatever reason.