XPeng’s ‘Starship inspired’ X9 is a quick, clever and very comfortable seven-seat electric people mover, and its zero-gravity middle row is so good you’ll want someone else to drive.
“Space, the final frontier…” Ok, the newest arrival from XPeng isn’t exactly boldly going where no man has gone before (it’s more likely boldly going to the airport and back). But when the brand calls the design of its new X9 ‘Starship inspired’, you’ll forgive me for warming up the warp drive. And since it carries a full troop of seven, the title more or less wrote itself.
XPeng let us take a look at the range-topping X9 Performance AWD. It’s the biggest XPeng sold in New Zealand (it sits above the G6) and part of a wave of luxury electric MPVs now arriving here. My colleague Harry had it for several days before our joint review shoot, so between the two of us it got a very thorough going-over.
Our test car was silver, with a big metallic flake that really pops in the sun. It’s one of six exterior colours, all of them space-themed of course. The front end is very aggressive, with split headlights and a light bar running across the nose. It looks futuristic, but there are hints of the past too. Just quietly, I can see a bit of Citroen Picasso in there (which, given XPeng’s own styling, is meant as a compliment). The lines are sharp and angular throughout. It’s a very large vehicle at 5.3m long, 1.98m wide and around 1.75m high, yet the drag coefficient is around 0.236Cd, which is incredibly impressive for something this size.
Along the profile the wheels are big, and their centre caps are fixed so the logo stays upright as the wheels turn, Rolls-Royce style. The windscreen and rear window are both very steeply raked, so it looks almost like a Japanese bullet train, and big powered sliding doors give easy access to the middle row. At the rear, a full-width light bar lights up the XPeng logo. At night it gives the X9 an imposing, almost cyborg look. Resistance is futile.
The boot is well thought out. XPeng calls the third row the ‘electric transformable magic space’ (try saying that three times fast). Fold it down and you get 2,554L and a flat load floor that makes luggage easy to get in and out. With all three rows up there’s still room for about seven cabin bags, according to XPeng. The overall packaging is really smart. A 3m wheelbase on a 5.3m body means the third row has space for adults too, and that’s only possible because of a slim battery mounted low down and a motor at each axle, with no prop shaft in the way.
Under the floor sits a 110kWh battery, and it charges very quickly thanks to 400kW charging capability, with 10-80% taking about 12 minutes. With a motor on each axle, 0-100km/h takes around 5.9 seconds, and the official efficiency figure is 20.8kWh/100km.
Inside, the luxury goes beyond the design to how the cabin feels: the materials, the colours and how the tech is integrated. Ours had the lightest of the three interior colour schemes, and it carries right through to the seatbelts. The perforated front seats are heated, ventilated and massaging, and boy do you sink into them. Everything you touch is soft and inviting. Push things around and lean on them and there are no creaks or squeaks. The space theme continues with a wraparound dashboard that seems to stretch forward through the car, plus ‘cosmic ambient lighting’ with a choice of colours.
The detail is impressive too. The central air vent has a nice pattern across it and isn’t sharp or rough to touch, the speaker housings are well finished, and the X Opera sound system has around 25 speakers for a properly enveloping surround sound. For such a new player in NZ, the execution is on par with brands that have been around for a long time. It all feels cohesive, and the rough edges you often find with newer brands simply aren’t here.
It’s a seven-seat people mover, so practicality matters, and it’s well covered. There are generous, deep door cubbies, the usual two cupholders, space under the armrest, and storage under the floating centre console with charging sockets, plus two wireless charging pads. The large central screen dominates the front of the cabin. It contrasts sharply with the curved dash, but it isn’t mounted too high and it does so much. The shortcut bar along the bottom is fully customisable (press and hold to remove icons or add the ones you want). The car menu has preferences for each seat, plenty of drive settings, XPilot assist and a real-time driver assist display, all before you even get to the charging and discharging settings. Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Bluetooth are all present, and the app drawer includes Spotify, YouTube and Instagram, all easy to log into. There’s also an integrated drive recorder, an interior camera (a little voyeuristic, if you ask me) and a mindfulness mode.
The second row arguably takes the luxury even further, because the car does so much for you. A 21.4-inch screen drops down from the ceiling and mirrors the front screen, native apps included. A ‘TV’ button up front sends content back to it, and you can cast to it as well. The doors open and close at the push of a button, and motors take care of much of what you’d otherwise do by hand. There’s a fridge in the centre console that can also heat things up (although it eats into some of the front storage), and second-row passengers get side vents with their own temperature control. For work there’s a laptop-sized tray table, directable reading lights and 60W USB-C charging at the two outboard seats.
Then there are the zero-gravity seats, fitting for a starship. From the seat behind the passenger, one button moves the front passenger seat forward and takes your seat into a full recline that works even for someone tall. All seven seats are heated, but these two are heated on every surface, including under the backs of your legs, while you’re massaged down the road. Kicked back like that the screen is hard to reach, but a paired remote control handles everything from the volume to the mindfulness moments, which is ideal for passing a charging session.
During our time with the X9, the review shoot meant getting in and out of it about 100 times, and that’s where I discovered there’s a chime for seemingly everything: opening the doors, getting in, getting out. Normally it wouldn’t be a problem, and maybe it’s deliberate (in a luxury car you don’t simply step in or step out), but the chimes are quite extravagant. On saying that, the verdict from the back seat was simple: the right way to enjoy the X9 is to have someone else drive while you recline in the middle row with the massage on. That middle row is where this car’s real strength lies.
From behind the wheel, though, it’s quick. A sub-6-second sprint feels faintly ridiculous for a luxury seven-seat van, and launching it risks sending your passenger’s coffee and MacBook flying. It doesn’t chase the breakneck character some EVs go for, though. The impressive part is how it moves something this big and heavy while still feeling wafty. Other VIP shuttles can get unrefined and noisy when they lean on their powertrain for an on-ramp or a pass. The X9 does it in complete silence on a big wave of torque, and having that power on tap is a luxury of its own.
The dual-chamber air suspension keeps the ride smooth despite all that mass. It’s no back-road cornering weapon, but it was never meant to be. This is a car for easy overtakes and relaxed motorway stretches. Efficiency is a standout too: the screen predicted 19.6kWh/100km with the massage, heated surfaces and cabin heating all running. Like the G6 before it, the X9 shows how efficient XPeng’s powertrains are, here with more weight, more power and more features.
There is one catch. Kiwis after a luxury five or seven-seater are more likely to buy an SUV, and luxury van culture isn’t really a thing here. But (we reiterate) the middle row genuinely feels VIP. It’s very relaxing even for a bigger person, and the controller and casting make it all easy to use. However, maybe the X9 still needs to pick a lane: is it the VIP shuttle that collects you from the airport, or the luxury people mover for the family? It may not be the best fit for small children or growing families.
At $124,990 as tested, the XPeng X9 Performance is a seriously impressive starship trooper: quick, frugal, beautifully built and carrying seven in real comfort. It just needs to decide which mission it’s on. Now I’m off to find someone to beam me home while I lie back in zero gravity.
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