New Xpeng X9 2026 review: a luxury lounge on wheels

Verdict

The X9 is like a luxury temple on four wheels, something hardly anyone is actually asking for, but Volkswagen and Mercedes had better watch out. The Xpeng has plenty of positive attributes and may even flourish in the camping market.

Competition is supposedly good for business. In the premium van segment, the likes of ​​Mercedes and VW dominate with their V-Class, VLE, ​​Multivan, and ID. Buzz. Chinese firm Xpeng aims to breathe new life into this small market with the X9, which is built in Graz, Austria, by Magna Steyr. According to the company, the X9 will be able to breach the market by setting “a new benchmark for premium mobility”. 

The X9 certainly offers plenty of technology. Features such as AI-assisted automated parking, adaptive city and highway driving assistance, dual-chamber air suspension with an ‘AI chassis’ that detects road surface conditions, reclining seats in the second row including a 21-inch touchscreen that descends from the ceiling, heated seats in all seven positions and soft-close front doors. And all this for a starting price of £74,900 in Standard Range form or £79,900 for the Long Range version we have here. With so many gadgets, the question remains whether Mercedes and Volkswagen have anything to fear in terms of losing their loyal customers.

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As they say, you only get one chance to make a first impression, so let’s examine the details. The exterior of the X9 is huge and imposing, but its futuristic design, continuous light strip at the front and rear and rather atypical van-like rear end play only a minor role. Where the X9 really needs to impress is inside. Seven passengers can hardly be seated more comfortably in three rows. Electric adjustments of every kind, comprehensive massage functions for the four seats in the first and second rows, and a reclining function in the second row.

The so-called ‘Zero-Gravity’ mode, allowing for near-complete reclining in the car, does not disappoint. Especially during charging breaks, one learns to appreciate the advantages of this luxury van. With the upholstery and workmanship of the Nappa leather seats, the still-young manufacturer Xpeng – founded in 2014 – appears to have the premium aspect cracked. Minor flaws, such as one or two uneven seams, are easily overlooked.

While the X9 makes good on XPeng’s claim of ‘executive-style comfort’, we did find the thigh support is not extendable for passengers taller than six feet. In terms of overall seating comfort, the X9 is excellent. For the second row in particular, beneath the centre console is a compartment with a capacity of around 11 litres, which can chill champagne to 10 degrees or keep a Kobe steak warm at 50 degrees on the journey home. Meanwhile, the five rear passengers can enjoy Netflix, YouTube or Amazon Prime on the 21.4-inch screen that descends from the ceiling – all part of the standard equipment. A ventilated charging compartment in the armrest provides space for mobile devices, or a laptop can be charged on one of the two high-quality folding tables. 

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This leaves the third row with three seats. While adults won't experience the same level of comfort as in the front rows, partly due to the short thigh support, it's sufficient for shorter journeys. 

The boot capacity ranges from 721 litres to 2,250 litres and loading is simple thanks to the lowering rear end via air suspension. The third-row seats also fold down fully automatically using a clever mechanism. The backrest folds forward onto the seat surface, then folds back together to create a flush load bay floor.

The real magic happens in the front, because Xpeng has installed a host of driver-assistance systems that are designed to create a feeling of floating on air. The Chinese have styled the control centre according to the motto “less is more”. While this looks nice at first glance, it only partially contributes to smooth operation – were it not for the very attentive voice assistant. Understanding it, however, is like dealing with small children. They don't always understand the voice commands, but eventually they follow. Climate control, doors, windows, multimedia display, massage function, boot and even seats – all of these can be adjusted or operated using voice commands. 

The driver-assistance system is less enjoyable at first. It’s activated via the right-hand stalk. With this feature, the X9 drives safely straight on the motorway, maintains a safe distance, comes to a complete stop on its own, accelerates again, assists with lane changes and reliably recognizes the surrounding traffic. However, it’s noticeable that the car occasionally wobbles slightly between the lane markings, giving the impression that it doesn’t know which lane to follow. The fiddly adaptive cruise control also loses points. With the driver-assistance system activated, it can be adjusted using the left-hand steering wheel stalk. That’s important to know because, without the assistance system activated, the left-hand steering wheel stalk controls the climate control. 

There’s still room for improvement in terms of usability, because Xpeng unnecessarily places numerous other functions on the display. Sometimes, “less” is just a touch too little. 

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From behind the wheel the dual-chamber air suspension knows what it’s doing – providing exceptionally smooth rides and expertly ironing out bumps in the road. Conversely, the X9 feels a bit harsh when encountering transverse joints or deeply recessed manhole covers, even though a camera is supposed to detect the surface ahead and adjust the suspension accordingly. Thanks to the standard rear-axle steering (up to five degrees for a supermini-like turning circle of 10.8 metres), the steering wheel guides the hefty van smoothly and precisely through a city. The rear-wheel steering, along with the numerous cameras and sensors, is also a great help when parking. 

On the highway, however, it can sometimes feel a bit too light and lacking in feel. The X9 responds to fast corners and sudden manoeuvres with a slight rear-end lift, which it quickly regains control of. 

As for the range? In a laboratory test, the X9 charged its massive 106kWh battery to 100 percent in just under 30 minutes using an 800-volt architecture and up to 520kW – making it one of the fastest-charging cars in the world. The base model reaches 332 miles on a charge, but we imagine most buyers will opt for this Long Range version which unlocks an extra 50 miles. There’s also the AWD variant, but even though it only loses 12 miles of range compared with the Long Range model, you really have to question how often you’ll make use of a 500bhp dual-motor powertrain in a vast people carrier like this. 

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