Article by Lisa Kuok
One aspect of Executive MPVs not usually considered after the comfort of the Captain Chairs is accessibility. We had the six-seater Zeekr 009 and seven-seaters, Denza D9 and Xpeng X9. With their doors closed, they all appear to have low ground clearance, making entry a small step up into the cabin.
However, the exterior appearance is deceptive. The suspension, EV powertrain and other mechanicals as well as the mechanism for the large sliding doors are sandwiched in the space between the undercarriage plate and the cabin floor. In the Zeekr, that’s an additional 23cm between the ground and the cabin floor. That step up is a climb for young children, the physically impaired and the elderly.
Both the Zeekr 009 and Xpeng X9 have air suspension and can be lowered on demand, reducing the distance from the ground to the cabin floor to 39cm and 41cm respectively making ingress and egress easier but there are additional elements that make Executive MPVs less convenient as a multi-generational family car.
While the Xpeng X9 is the longest of the trio at 5293mm, the Zeekr 009 leads for width at 2024mm while the Denza is the winner at 1920mm for height, making it less of a head banger if you have tall passengers.
With the exception of the Denza D9 which has a walk-through between the second row arm chairs, the Zeekr and Xpeng middle row seats have less than two inches between them because they have the more luxurious plush armchair-style Captain seats. The only access to the third row is by moving the Captain seats forward and climbing in through the gap to the back that this creates. This means that those in the second row have to be the last to get in and the first to get out. All three MPVs have one-touch Entry & Exit to adjust the Captain seats for third row passengers to get in and out.
Then there’s the matter of child seats if you have children under 12 years old. By law in Malaysia, under 12s weighing less than 36kg, or under 135cm tall are required to be in child seats while travelling in a private vehicle.
All three have ISOFIX anchor points for the second and third row seats. However how do you choose which row to install the child seats? If you put child seats in the third row the Captain seats need to be moved forward to accommodate the protrusion from the child seat. This reduces the legroom for the person in front. The child seat would also limit the recline range of the Captain seat in front as child seat would impede how far the back rest can go.
The most convenient would be in the second row, but it means giving up a Captain seat and its luxuries: multi-adjustable electric recline with leg rest, many different massage functions and hot and cold ventilation, the creature comforts that make travel in Executive MPVs desirable.
Decisions, decisions… perhaps if your family spans age groups of different decades with varying needs, consider a family EV MPV instead like the BYD M6?