Priced at 789,000 yuan, ZEEKR 009 Luminary is launching tonight.
Just before the launch, I had a deep experience with this car in Xiamen. After the experience, I am willing to call this car the ultimate experience of refrigerators, color TVs, and large sofas at this stage.
Distinctive Design
The ZEEKR 009 Luminary doesn’t offer a huge design departure from the standard ZEEKR 009 that’s already on sale. However, all the enhancements and design tweaks have presented significant challenges in terms of manufacturing complexity and costs.
One striking difference is the grille. The black stainless-steel grille, which ZEEKR refers to as a BLACK BADGE, is stunning. Yes, Rolls-Royce also offers a similar black badge on some models, featuring a black stainless-steel grille. ABSA the test-drive site, ZEEKR also presented two models, the Cullinan and Phantom for comparison and experiential feel.
The Luminary ZEEKR 009 features a larger grille, which takes around 30 hours and six rounds of manual labor to complete, followed by electroplating. The entire process takes about a week. Thus, the output of the Luminary ZEEKR 009 might be limited, or it can be said that this car is designed for a few top-ranked clientele.
The second difference lies in the wheel hubs. The Luminary ZEEKR 009 also offers the same distinctive feature as Rolls-Royce: the hub caps remain stationary irrespective of the wheel’s movement. Also, the 20-inch forged alloy wheels are mirror-polished creating an exquisite effect. Apart from the ‘Phantom’ Wheel design, the ZEEKR 009 Luminary features an engraved design.
The third difference resides in the car’s roof, which houses laser radar. The ZEEKR 009 Luminary’s assisted driving hardware is similar to the new ZEEKR 001, equipped with double Mobileye EyeQ5H chips. However, the ZEEKR 009 Luminary is likely to offer L5 autonomous driving– a feature that adds flair to an already impressive repertoire of features.
Aside from these three key features, the other design attributes remain largely the same as the regular model. This means that the ZEEKR 009 Luminary is a quite understated vehicle. For this reason, I believe the ZEEKR 009 Luminary is more suitable for affluent clientele with a need for discretion. If what you’re after is a more flamboyant image, there are even more luxurious brands to choose from.
Experience in the Back Row?
The major charm of MPVs lies in their rear part. The first thing to note about the ZEEKR 009 Luminary is the car entrance – it is sufficiently large with an official data width of 709 mm and a height of 1,241 mm. The car has only one level of steps, and the height of the steps is also very low, only 384 mm. At the same time, the well-crafted and sufficiently long handrails make it easy for passengers of different ages to get on and off the car.The only issue with getting in and out of the car is that if the vehicle is undergoing DC charging, the charging port cover would obstruct the left sliding door, making it unopenable.
The ZEEKR 009 Shimmer utilizes a four-seat layout, with the two rear seats situated further back than an average MPV’s, ensuring boundless leg space. This location lies level with the C-pillar, hence, aptly termed the C-ring, and is exceptionally sturdy. According to official data, with a weight of 1.4 tons and a speed of 50 km/h, the car body structure would deform by 3 cm in the event of a side collision.
Settling in, the passenger is greeted with a massive 43-inch screen. Being a vehicle screen, its specifications and size are unparalleled; however, as a TV, its parameters can’t be considered top-notch.
The screen resolution is 3840*2160, utilizing Mini-LED material and comprises 576 zones.
Mini-LED screens shine with their ability to achieve higher brightness and contrast, enabling HDR 1000 high dynamic contrast as well as Dolby Vision.
When viewing high-quality video sources, the advantage of this screen comes into play. Significant aspects like sunlight or flames shine brightly, and nights look thoroughly dark. However, Mini-LEDs have limitations. Displaying scenery like a starry sky is just about the same as an ordinary LCD screen. Even if there’s only one star in this zone, the entire zone needs to light up.
The system is similar to a TV box, operable through a remote touch or a central armrest screen, providing an easy learning curve.
One key highlight of the system is that it can initiate video conferences. For now, DingTalk is the only office software available. When starting a video conference, the retractable camera gradually descends, presenting a satisfactory viewing angle.
Another major feature is the screen mirroring. I managed to mirror my computer screen inside the car and was quite stunned when I opened a spreadsheet in the car. It’s an excellent scenario for bosses to review documents and reports in the back seat. Combined with the car’s 220 V AC power supply, bosses might consider having a mini PC installed for permanent use.
Approaching the seats, both of these chairs boast headrests, backrests, seat cushions, leg supports, and armrests made of semi-aniline leather, covering a total area of 3 square meters.
In terms of comfort, these chairs offer a multitude of adjustments, heating, ventilation, and massage features – 24-direction electric adjustment, 7-zone graphene heating, and 20-point real finger massage to name a few. Please make sure to sit in these chairs when visiting the ZEEKR store… After driving and photographing became somewhat tiresome, I got into the car, turned on the music, and fell asleep in less than 5 minutes. The comfort is superb, a key selling point of these chairs.
After resting, open the small desk, which is remarkably stable and doesn’t wobble. Working on a laptop or responding to a message on this small table is quite effective.
Of course, even these chairs have a couple of slight drawbacks.
Firstly, they cannot recline flat like a first-class airplane seat. Nonetheless, for safety, the seats can be reclined when parked and should be kept upright while driving. Secondly, the center armrest is slightly narrow which could be improved by being a bit wider.
The ZEEKR 009 model offers complete separation between the front and back seats, creating an independent and private space.
At the top of the partition there is a small window that can be lowered for communication between front and back seats and raised for privacy.
The four side windows in the second row are comparable to LCD screens, named LC smart dimming glass, where LC stands for Liquid Crystal. Touch them when the window is down and you will see waves similar to those on an LCD screen.
Powering this glass will turn the window transparent and turning off the power will darken it. Compared to the EC curtains found in many car models, the LC smart dimming glass changes color more quickly – going from most transparent to darkest in 1.5 seconds. It also has an excellent heat and sunscreen function. Under its darkest state, the total solar transmission rate is below 30%, blocking 99.9% of UV rays.
According to an on-site engineer, the cost of these four side windows is not cheap, with one costing around 10,000 yuan (~$1,567).
The side window experience is somewhat different to one-way glass. In the darkest state, sticking your eyes right up to the window allows you to see inside the car – stepping back just a bit makes it impossible to see inside.However, when it comes to privacy, it’s a bit disappointing that while the side and front windows are firmly covered, the rear window is relatively clear. According to the engineer, due to regulatory restrictions, the rear window glass cannot be sealed like the side windows. If you need privacy after purchasing the car, you can manually install a sunshade, and an interface has been reserved.
To Drive or To Ride?
The ZEEKR 009 certainly ensures a comfortable ride for its passengers, but it also offers stronger power. It starts with a full-stack 800 V high-voltage system which includes a 108 kWh ternary lithium battery pack, a front AC asynchronous motor, a rear permanent magnet synchronous motor, with a total maximum power of 580 kW, and a maximum torque of 810 N·m. Moreover, both front and rear motors adopt SiC power semiconductor technology, enhancing electric drive performance.
Under such a hardware configuration, the 0-100 acceleration time of the ZEEKR 009 is 3.9 seconds, and the maximum speed is 230 km/h, potentially marking it the fastest MPV. Under CLTC conditions, the range of the ZEEKR 009 reaches 702 km. In addition, the charging multiplier reaches 5C, the maximum charging power is 560 kW, with the fastest charging time from 10% – 80% being 11 and a half minutes.
Of course, I still insist an MPV doesn’t need such strong power, it all depends on the needs of the target user.
Conclusion
A four-seater MPV is destined to be luxurious and niche, even wasteful. It sacrifices practicality, with few families likely to choose it. However, whether it is the ZEEKR 009 or the Lexus LM, four-seater MPVs have their own value.
Among the car owners I know, there is one who has a wide array of luxury sedans, ultimate sports cars, and four-seater MPVs. But when he goes out, he ultimately chooses the four-seater MPV for its comfort. With the launch of the ZEEKR 009, I believe it will captivate many high-end consumers and become another example of a Chinese brand moving toward a higher-end market.
This article is a translation by AI of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.