Denza Z9GT 2025 review: Flawed but sleek 1,062bhp shooting brake from BYD's luxury arm
Best kept to social media?
Car manufacturers are generally pretty risk-averse in their dealings with the media. Executives spend weeks in intensive media training courses having corporate soundbites etched into their brains in preparation for the grilling they will doubtless receive from the world’s press. As a result, slip-ups are few and far between, and they rarely pass comment on other brands or anything vaguely controversial.
But this is a brave new world, and it seems the Chinese brands are shaking up more than just the manufacturing sector. But even so, we had to do a double-take while interviewing BYD’s executive vice-president this week. Speaking at the European launch of Denza, BYD’s new premium brand, Stella Li said: “The Denza is 10 times better than any other competitor.”
And having briefly driven Denza’s flagship Z9GT shooting brake (coupé/ estate), we can’t for the life of us work out why. The Z9GT will spearhead Denza’s arrival in Europe, rivalling the likes of the Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo and Kia EV6 GT in bodystyle, technology and performance, though offering a choice of both electric and plug-in hybrid powertrains.
That’s a tough ask for a company that nobody has heard of. Ask Denza personnel, and they’ll say the brand’s name stands for Diverse, Elegant, Novel, Zenith and Aspirational, and while that might have sounded great in a marketing meeting, it’s more like word salad to everyone else. It’s also hardly dripping with the heritage of Bayerische Motoren Werke or Fabbrica Italiana AT.
And given Infiniti couldn’t survive with the nous and reputation of Nissan behind it, buyers in this space are clearly brand conscious (though, arguably, Infiniti could have made its vehicles vaguely pretty).
In fairness, the Denza executives might reasonably say they have a bigger backer than Infiniti ever had. BYD may be nascent in Europe but it’s becoming well known very quickly, and it’s already a huge player in China — not just with cars but also batteries and other electronic goods. That means that, while its coffers may not be bottomless, the company is not short of a bob or two.
All of which means Denza is aiming high, and the flagship Z9GT is a big old thing that’s clearly intended to appeal to those who like the finer things in life. The company’s designers droned on about the car’s styling being inspired by silk, but we suspect the Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo had more to do with it. The shape is decidedly similar, and there are parallels in some of the details down the side as well.
However, the rear lights feel a bit more VW Arteon-inspired, and the split headlights give the nose the look of an MG4 that’s been squashed slightly.
Inside, Denza has gone in hard on the technology, combining a massive central touchscreen with two (comparatively) smaller screens on either side. The one in front of the driver is the digital instrument display, while the other is a passenger touchscreen — similar to those used in new Ferrari, Audi and Porsche models. Except, of course, it isn’t, because the touchscreen technology in the Denza feels somewhat different.
The image definition is sharp and there’s something of the iPad about the layout of the home screens, but the icons aren’t always easy to use — or even easy to decipher. Admittedly, the car we tested had come straight from China, which didn’t help, and it’s all stuff an owner would likely become accustomed to over time, but the system didn’t feel especially user-friendly. And while the digital instrument cluster looks crisp enough, the display is a bit cramped and cluttered. The beauty of digital displays, of course, is that this can all be updated over time.
But aside from slight concerns about the tech, the cabin doesn’t look too bad. The style is generally clean and minimalist, and though the steering wheel looks as though it came from an old Hyundai i30, the cabin quality is pretty solid. Perhaps it isn’t quite at the levels of Porsche or BMW, but it isn’t far behind.
And it’s roomy in there. The rear cabin space is massive, with acres of legroom and adequate headroom, too. The light colour scheme also makes it feel nice and airy.
The catch is a tiny boot. Denza hasn’t actually published a luggage capacity figure but the boot looks pathetically cramped alongside proper estates like the BMW i5 Touring or an Audi A6 Avant e-tron. But then, as a shooting brake, style trumps practicality — think of it more as a slightly more useful hatchback.
And while the Z9GT will be offered in fully electric form, which may come with additional space, our test car was a plug-in hybrid. Under the floor, and structurally integral to the whole car, is a 38.5kWh battery, which is about the same size as that of a little Fiat 500e’s and officially provides about 125 miles of electric-only range.
Admittedly, that fanciful figure comes from the Chinese official economy tests, which aren’t quite as stringent as the WLTP regime used in Europe, so we’re expecting fewer than 100 miles for cars that come to the UK, and real world range will be even less than that. Nevertheless, it’s a really usable amount of electric-only motoring, and some drivers would be able to go most of the week without calling on the 2-litre petrol engine.
If you want the maximum performance, though, you use that turbocharged four-cylinder petrol motor in combination with the three electric motors — one of is positioned at the front, and two at the rear. The front motor produces 268bhp, while the two rear motors each churn out 295bhp, and the petrol engine has 204bhp for a combined output of 1,062bhp. Getting from 0-62mph takes just 3.6 seconds.
But with that 2-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine on board, it doesn’t sound anything like as good as a six- or eight-cylinder Porsche Panamera. And even though it has a total of four powerplants, the hybrid Denza Z9GT still isn’t quite as quick as its pure-electric sibling, which employs just the three electric motors. That’s despite the EV version weighing a massive three tonnes.
That weight is largely down to the battery, which has a capacity of 100kWh. In the Audi A6 Avant e-tron, a similarly sized battery offers an official range of around 440 miles on a single charge on the European economy test, whereas the Denza only manages about 391 miles on the less stringent Chinese system. However, Denza is aware the massive performance isn’t necessary, and the company is considering reducing power in exchange for greater range.
But the Z9GT is definitely designed for speed because it has some performance party tricks up its sleeve. All-wheel steering and an adaptive air suspension system, for example, which are designed to work together to reduce body roll in corners and to prevent any oversteer (the back sliding out) or understeer (the front end pushing ahead when you turn the steering wheel). It’s even supposedly capable of keeping the car on the straight and narrow if one of the belt-like tyres blows out at 100mph or more.
That is, admittedly, quite a useful safety feature, and the way in which the rear wheels turn by up to 10 degrees at low speeds, to provide a tighter turning circle, is also quite handy.
However, the system can do more than just that. By turning the rear wheels in opposite directions, then driving one wheel forward and the other in reverse, the car can pivot around its front wheels, turning up to 180 degrees in little more than twice its own length.
It looks very clever on Instagram and TikTok but Denza claims there’s more to it than showing off. It’s seen as a practical feature for manoeuvring; if you nose the car into a parallel parking space, you can pivot it into the space sideways. The car can even “crab walk” diagonally to navigate tight spots.
But while that might seem handy, we doubt many owners will use it, not least because it will shred your tyres while leaving marks on the road and ripping up the asphalt, which seems unlikely to leave you in your local council’s good books. Your nearest tyre fitter might suddenly become your best friend, though.
In a way, it’s a shame that such gimmicks dominate the commentary, because the Denza largely drives quite tidily. The steering is nicely weighted, and the ride quality is accomplished enough, if a little jiggly over really broken surfaces. It isn’t especially engaging but doesn’t offend, either. The suspension does a great job of keeping the body from lolloping too much, and its turning circle is quite impressive.
The only really awkward problem is the brakes, which feel disconcertingly short on feel, while also being grabby and inconsistent. Remarkably noticeable movements of the pedal elicit little braking force, before suddenly stopping the car in its tracks, making it difficult to drive smoothly, particularly at lower speeds.
In fairness, BYD has proved that its engineers are good listeners, and progress is often made swiftly on such fronts, so the company has some time to get things fixed before the car’s arrival in Europe later this year.
That said, there’s no official or final confirmation that the Z9GT is coming to the UK at all, and if it does, it’s thought the electric version will arrive first, ahead of the plug-in hybrid in 2026. And Denza has said it wants to tailor the car for Europe before it makes an official entrance.
As a result, it’s no surprise to see there’s no official pricing information as yet, which makes it quite difficult to reach any kind of solid conclusion as to the Denza’s ability to disrupt the establishment.
The Z9GT is not a bad car — there’s some potential in the ride and handling, albeit locked away behind dodgy brakes and some awkward touchscreens — but it feels like a slightly hubristic project built for the TikTok generation. The gimmicks make great social media content but customers are unlikely to use them regularly on the road, and the rest of the Denza experience is pretty nondescript.
If the Z9GT is affordable versus the competition, Denza might have a chance on these shores but otherwise BYD’s engineers have some work to do before this thing can really challenge the likes of Porsche and Audi on anything other than price.
Chinese carmakers: Denza
Shenzhen Denza New Energy Co., Ltd, known simply as as Denza, is a Chinese brand owned by BYD Auto, which in turn is owned by BYD Company, a privately-owned manufacturing firm that specialises in batteries, with headquarters in Shenzhen, China. Denza was originally a joint venture with Mercedes-Benz but the German firm exited the agreement in September 2024.
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- If you were interested in our review of the Denza Z9GT estate, you might like to read our review of an alternative from BYD, the Seal U
- Or check out the best-selling new cars of 2025 in the UK
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