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Every new player in China wants a slice of the luxury market pie, but among them all, none has stood out as strongly as Geely Group's Zeekr. That ambition had already seemed quite convincing when it launched the small but potent Zeekr X on our shores. But the vision has only grown clearer still over the last two years, with the rollout of the 009 MPV and, of course, the 7X SUV - which really put Zeekr on the map in Singapore.
Conventionally, you'd expect that any brand with the might to make traditional powerhouses like BMW and Mercedes-Benz sweat a little would already be content with what it has for now. Zeekr's hunger for more, however, is an insatiable beast. Which is why it's gunning for even more grandeur.
Chinese netizens don't call the brand’s latest flagship SUV the 'Cullinan of Hangzhou' for no reason. Called the 9X, Zeekr’s current apex predator is an imposing machine aimed at a stratosphere even the Germans (with the exception of Merc, with Maybach) don’t typically deal in: That of ultra-luxury.
At more than 5.2 metres long, over two metres wide, and more than 1.8 metres tall, the 9X is already a large car in itself. But its (admittedly derivative) styling is what gives it its aura. The Chinese revel in excess; the 9X apparently boasted the largest front grille in the world when it debuted in Shanghai last year. It won't be surprising if it holds that honour today still.
Forget the futuristic light show of the 7X. The 9X leans instead into old-school ostentatiousness, with it squared out front fascia and boat-like side profile, replete with a full metallic kink to accentuate its D-pillar.
While its front may feel more Rolls-Royce, the rear end's rectangular band-like light bar feels fresher. The result is sheer magnificence. It takes a lot to make the likes of the BMW X7 and Mercedes-Benz GLS look understated, but the 9X manages it somehow.
While Zeekr's flagship doesn't match the Cullinan's levels of luxury on the inside, it's still a beautiful and expensively-finished space that’s loaded with tech.
Interspersed within the top-grain Nappa leather are various high-end textures that break up the monotony of an already sumptuous space. Dual-tone upholstery aside, there’s real wood too on the fold-down tray tables and on the centre console.
In an era where everyone from BMW to Mazda seems keen on throwing the rotary controller out, the 9X even persists for the cause with a gorgeous glassy item, which maintains a pleasant ‘tack tack tack tack tack’ when rotated.
For the second row especially, Zeekr’s decision to not bury all the controls within a touchscreen - as already seen on the 009 - serves the 9X well.
The second row captain’s chairs come with every possible function that a chauffeur-driven towkay would want, and each comes with its own metallic button (for massage, heating, ventilation, and to activate the zero-gravity reclination).
Proof that the even world beyond the auto industry is paying serious attention to Zeekr now, the 9X is even the brand’s first model to come with a Naim sound system as standard. Bentley used to have those bragging rights exclusively.
Zeekr's intelligent tech focus comes to the fore elsewhere - and not just because of the nine-litre smart fridge you'll find here. The 9X is a screen-fest! In the top-spec variant, in fact, there are no fewer than five of them in the car.
The highlight isn't even the pair of 16-inch 3.5K OLED touch displays on the dashboard, which should ensure you'll never be bugged by your front passenger.
Instead, it's a detachable 6.3-inch smartphone like control unit embedded behind the central arm rest, which in turn, can control the car's drop-down TV. The latter sits on automated rails neatly hidden into the periphery of the panoramic roof that can slide it fore or aft - either to open the sky up to you, or to bring entertainment closer to your rear-most passengers.
Speaking of the last row, the 9X comes as standard with six proper seats. The car's sheer size plays to its benefit here; unlike many other three-row SUVs, headroom and legroom are still generous in the back for adults.
Further back, the 9X boasts a fairly capacious 470-litre boot with all the seats in place - certainly enough to swallow more than a handful of golf bags, in other words. If ever the need arises, the 9X can even accommodate IKEA runs with its maximum capacity of 2,148 litres.
Still, the real party trick is its split tailgate, which opens up to reveal a smattering of buttons for adjusting the seats or raising/lowering the car’s ride height.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the 9X - which marks Zeekr’s first-ever plug-in hybrid model - also serves up flagship levels of power. As standard, power is drawn in combination from a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine and two electric motors, but step up to the range-topping variants and the 9X boasts a stonking tri-motor setup.
Never mind that the latter with its stupendous 1,381bhp wasn’t on hand for us to drive; even the dual-motor 9X that we got behind the wheel of can muster up to 660kW (885bhp!) and 935Nm of torque. That’s enough to send it from 0-100km/h in under four seconds if you opt for the smaller (and lighter) 50kWh battery pack.
Ensure that the latter is properly juiced up to power the electric motors, and you can expect not just rapid, but eerily silent progress as the 9X shoots for the horizon. Despite the absence of aural drama, the car's sheer straight-line speed is entertaining in its own right. That such a luxurious behemoth can outrun a Volkswagen Golf R feels quite ridiculous.
While we weren't able to assess the 9X's ride comfort on public roads, expecting pillowy rides in the backseat shouldn't be out of the question. Standard fare here includes dual-chamber air suspension and electromagnetic dampers with continuous damping control. Within the little course that Zeekr prepared, however, the 9X's suspension settled remarkably quickly for such a tall and heavy car after taking on a nefariously bumpy patch.
Step up to the tri-motor variants, and again the tech-fest reaches new heights with 48V active stabiliser bars. Even without them, however, the dual-motor 9X exhibited more willingness to change direction that you might expect from something weighing in the ballpark of three tonnes.
Just as impressive is the amount of electric-only driving range that it has, which sets new standards for plug-in hybrids.
Zeekr claims a CLTC-rated range between 235km to 302km depending on the variant (as mentioned, the dual-motor variants get either a 50kWh or 70kWh battery) – far, far more than the sub-100km figures managed by the PHEVs we have in Singapore today. What’s more, charging promises to be a rapid affair thanks to the car’s 900V architecture, which can see the battery’s state-of-charge go from 20-80% in a claimed nine minutes.
A new hallmark of luxury from the Chinese
Don’t expect, however, that all of this impressive luxury will come cheap.
Prices in China indicate that the 9X can cost twice as much as the 7X depending on variant. Subject to prevailing COE prices and Singapore’s taxes, that could see Zeekr’s flagship running well above the $500,000 line when it arrives. That sort of territory doesn’t already see large numbers to begin with, and has traditionally been dominated by the likes of the BMW X7 and Mercedes-Benz GLS.
But the Singapore market is undergoing a radical shift – one in which legacy players have started to seriously feel the heat from newer Chinese players across all segments of the market. Arguably, Zeekr isn’t even fighting to prove it deserves its spot in the premium sector; it’s starting to lead it convicingly, thanks to – as mentioned earlier – the likes of the 7X and 009.
And that momentum looks set to carry through still. With the 9X now, Zeekr hasn’t just crafted a convincing vision of a flagship for itself; it’s also created a new vision of Chinese luxury cars for the world to aspire toward.
Don't forget to check out what we thought about the facelifted BMW X7 below!
