Denza Z9 GT review

Premium brand from Chinese giant BYD is heading to Europe with this intriguing Porsche Panamera rival

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Chinese giant BYD doesn’t really do modesty, but then its remarkable growth (founded just 22 years ago, it’s now the world's sixth largest vehicle manufacturer) has earned it the right to carry a bit of swagger.

Even so, when BYD executive vice-president Stella Li describes Europe-bound premium sub Denza’s products as “10 times better than the competition”, it feels a touch bolshy, given that those rivals include the likes of Porsche and BMW.

Lexus, Genesis and Infiniti (remember them?) have highlighted the huge challenge cracking the European premium market presents. But again, when you look at BYD’s track record, anything seems possible.

Denza was formerly a joint venture with Mercedes-Benz before BYD took full control last year. Its flagship model is the Z9 GT, which is set to spearhead its European entry later this year. It uses the brand-specific e3 platform and Denza's engineers are currently working on a revamped version for Europe, featuring retuned suspension and steering among other changes.

To generate some hype, Denza recently brought a number of Chinese-spec Z9 GTs over to Italy to give journalists a taste – albeit exclusively on a race track.

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DESIGN & STYLING

2025 Denza Z9 GT review dashboard

The Z9 GT has more than a whiff of Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo to its front end and side profile, although there are just enough differing elements to not feel overly derivative. While the car is offered as a saloon and shooting brake in China, the plan is only to bring the latter to Europe, as it’s a market that still has something of a soft spot for a big-booted estate. 

Generally it has a nice flow to it; designer Wolfgang Egger repeatedly cited the way silk wraps over over objects as a design influence. That said, if this is a Taycan, it’s one with a mullet: it might be business at the front, but there’s a bit of a party going on at the back, with those intricately detailed rear lights.

There Z9 GT is 5180mm long, 1990mm wide and 1500mm high, making it slightly longer than the Porsche Panamera or BMW M5 and firmly in the ballpark for a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 3125mm.

Air suspension is standard all round, along with a double-wishbone set-up at the front and a multi-link arrangement at the rear. Our test car sat on 20in wheels.

INTERIOR

Inside, the Z9 GT fits its premium billing well. There’s plenty of leather trim on the dash and seats and lots of smoked wood effect materials elsewhere. There’s also lots of ambient LED lighting; you can select from 128 colours.

The front seats are comfy and feature electric adjustment, ventilation and heating and massage functions, as you would expect from a car in this class, plus active side bolsters. Unusually, the air used for these comes from the same tanks as the car’s air suspension.

The dashboard features three screens: a 17.3in central touchscreen, a 13.2in digital driver's display and another 13.2in touchscreen just for the front passenger.

While most of the controls are on the screen, you will find a handful of physical buttons featuring a crystal-style design, which aren’t quite as premium to touch as you would expect.

There’s also a large gear selector in the central console, although we’ve been told this will move to a column-mounted selector for European versions. You will also find a small fridge tucked into that console.

There’s another fridge built into the back of the rear seats as well. There’s plenty of room in the back, with the Z9 GT’s flat floor allowing for plenty of leg room. The boot is a decent size too. 

Meanwhile, every occupant will benefit from a 20-speaker Devlialet audio system.

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

The Z9 GT will be offered with electric and plug-in hybrid powertrains, making it a Porsche Taycan or Porsche Panamera rival, depending on your preference.

Our first drive was in the PHEV, badged Super DM, which uses the same layout of hybrid system as you will find in the likes of the BYD Seal U but is upgraded considerably, a new 204bhp 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine combining with a 268bhp front electric motor and a pair of 295bhp rear electric motors. 

The engine is largely used to charge up the battery that drives the motors, although it can directly drive the wheels when called upon at higher speeds. Meanwhile, the two rear motors can run independently, allowing power to be sent separately to each of the rear wheels. Total system output is 858bhp, giving a 0-62mph time of 3.6sec. 

The motors are powered by a 28.5kWh BYD Blade battery (which can be charged at rates of up to 82kW) and, unusually for a PHEV, the cells are connected directly to the body, increasing structural rigidity.

The PHEV has an electric-only range of 125 miles and an overall range of 684 miles. With the battery depleted, Denza claims the engine can achieve 42mpg.

The electric version also uses a tri-motor set-up, with a 380bhp motor on the front axle and two 322bhp motors (which can spin at up to 21,000rpm) at the rear. Again, all three motors can operate independently, with the car’s software working out where best to draw power from. 

Despite that extra power, the EV is just 0.2sec faster than the PHEV to reach 62mph. Power comes from a 100kWh BYD Blade battery, which also uses cell-to-body technology, giving it a range of 391 miles. Because the electrical architecture runs at 800V, the battery can be charged at rates of up to 270kW.

Our limited track run wasn’t enough for any definitive impressions, especially with our test car still in Chinese spec, but it was enough to suggest that, if properly honed and developed for European roads, the Z9 GT won’t disgrace itself among its intended premium rivals.

The ride of Chinese-market cars is often found wanting, but even on 20in wheels the machine’s air suspension system did a really good job of soaking up the bumps on Vairano's handling circuit.

The power delivery is smooth and rapid, with an EV-esque hit of instant torque and acceleration. It's also really calm and quiet, even when the engine does kick in to boost the power at high speed, giving it a genuinely premium feel inside.

Our short drive didn’t offer much ability to really learn about the Z9 GT’s handling, although it did suggest that you shouldn’t expect Porsche or BMW levels of driver engagement. 

Then again, you won’t found a Porsche or BMW that can crabwalk or rotate in a circle, which the Z9 GT can, thanks to its Vehicle Intelligent Control technology, unusual rear-wheel-steering and motor set-up.

Denza thinks this unusual ability could help the car squeeze through tight spaces in cities or park in otherwise difficult, narrow spots. That is, of course, if you don’t mind the sound of squealing tyres, a waft of burning rubber and various thoughts about how much wear you’re putting the wheels through.

VERDICT

So is the Z9 GT really 10 times better than a Panamera PHEV? Definitely not, although there’s no shame in that. And there’s plenty of promise here: the car offers a convincing take on the premium formula, has plentiful performance that is delivered smoothly and rides and handles with a maturity missing from some Chinese imports.

Of course, there is a lot we don't know, from when Denza will reach the UK (it will likely be late this year or early 2026), to the exact line-up – there's no guarantee the Z9 GT will be included – and, crucially, pricing. Denza insiders wouldn't even give us a steer, because you sense they're still trying to work out where to pitch it to try and win over premium class customers.

Still, depending on that price tag, the Z9 GT could be an intriguing alternative to the established premium brands. That is, at least, if Denza can succeed in getting buyers of such cars to look beyond their familiar firms to try a new badge. In a brand-conscious market segment, theat may be the toughest challenge of all.

James Attwood

James Attwood, digital editor
Title: Associate editor

James is Autocar’s associate editor, and has more than 20 years of experience of working in automotive and motorsport journalism. He has been in his current role since September 2024, and helps lead Autocar's features and new sections, while regularly interviewing some of the biggest names in the industry. Oh, and he once helped make Volkswagen currywurst. Really.

Before first joining Autocar in 2017, James spent more than a decade in motorsport journalist, working on Autosport, autosport.com, F1 Racing and Motorsport News, covering everything from club rallying to top-level international events. He also spent 18 months running Move Electric, Haymarket's e-mobility title, where he developed knowledge of the e-bike and e-scooter markets.