► BYD’s luxury brand has some bold aspirations
► The Denza D9 is looking to give Merc’s VLE a bloody nose…
► … and it’ll have a similar starting price of £75,000

BYD is about to parachute its most premium brand, Denza, into the UK – and the D9 MPV will be the first of its vehicles on our roads. It’ll have a starting price of £75,000 which, interestingly, is the same sort of money we expect Mercedes is going to ask for the entry-level VLE.

That pricing marks a significant step away from the strategy most Chinese manufacturers have adopted to get their products into the UK. Rather than undercutting its biggest rival on price to gain an advantage, the D9 seems to be meeting Mercedes on its own terms.

Granted, there are some differences between the two MPVs. The VLE is an EV, whereas the D9 is a plug-in hybrid – albeit one with quite a long electric-only range. Plus, the D9 is going to come with more standard equipment. But the tides seem to be changing. Scroll down to find out everything you need to know about it before it touches down.

What’s powering the new Denza D9?

It’s a beefy version of BYD’s DM-i plug-in hybrid system. You get an electric motor on each axle (bringing four-wheel drive), a 1.5-litre petrol engine and massive 58.5kWh battery pack. For context, that battery is about 6kWh larger than the pack in the Renault 5 EV – and Denza says it’ll allow the D9 to cover 130 miles on electric power alone.

The D9’s hybrid system has a combined output of 348bhp enough for a 0–62mph time of 8.6 seconds and top speed of 112mph.

Denza’s thinking is that you can use the D9’s battery for commuting duties and lean on the petrol engine when you need to drive longer distances. With a full battery and a brimmed tank, the brand says it’ll be able to cover 590 miles, which is enough range to get from London to Edinburgh and still have almost 200 miles in reserve. Not bad.

Charge times are pretty good, too. The Denza D9 is compatible with BYD’s new, lightning-fast Flash Charging technology. Find one of the company’s charging hubs and you’ll be able to thrash the MPV’s battery from 10–70 percent capacity in just five minutes, while a 10–97 percent charge takes just nine minutes. That should allow you to make the most of its battery capacity, even on a long drive.

Denza also offers the D9 as full EV in other markets, although there’s no word yet of whether it’ll make it to the UK. It’s powered by a 103.3kWh battery pack and has a maximum range of 373 miles under the NEDC test regime.

Walk me through the Denza D9’s trim levels

There are just two, called Elegance and Ultimate. The entry-level model comes as standard with power-sliding doors, a cooled and heated food storage compartment, leather upholstery and a panoramic sunroof. Or, in other words, the same sort of interior kit you’ll find on the six-figure versions of the Mercedes VLE.

Denza’s range-topping D9 Ultimate builds on this specification with massaging and reclining second-row seats, Nappa leather upholstery and a digital rear view mirror. You get some infotainment upgrades, too, in the shape of an extra 10.25-inch screen for the front passenger and a 12.8-inch for each of the rear passengers.

Naturally, you pay a bit extra for these technology upgrades – but even the most expensive D9 will only set you back £85,000. So, while it’s aiming for the same price point as the VLE, you’re getting much better value by opting for the Denza.

Depending on where you put the rear seats, the D9 offers between 430 and 570 litres of boot space – but if you take the rearmost seats out you get a colossal 2,310 litres of space.

Denza hasn’t yet confirmed the exact date the D9 will arrive in Britain, but we expect deliveries to start before the end of the year. The brand is currently accepting expressions of interest on its website.