Deepal S09 Unveiled as Brand’s First Flagship SUV

The all-new Deepal S09 breaks cover as the brand's first flagship three-row SUV that packs an REEV powertrain.

Unveiled publicly for the first time today is Deepal’s latest and largest SUV model to date, the Deepal S09. As the brand’s first flagship SUV model, the new S09 features a six-seater layout spread across three rows while being powered by a range-extender EV (REEV) powertrain setup.

Starting with the visuals, the S09 looks somewhat different from other Deepal EV SUVs such as the S05 and S07, with the flagship model adopting a more conservative boxy SUV design while featuring several familiar design cues. Key highlights include the full-width LED DRL and headlights at the front that look similar to the S07, a full-width taillight bar at the rear, flushed door handles, and 20- or 21-inch wheel options, to name a few.

Dimension-wise, the S09 measures 5,205 MM long, 1,996 MM wide, 1,800 MM tall, and has a wheelbase of 3,105 MM—thus putting it ahead of other large electrified SUVs such as the Kia EV9 and Volvo EX90, to name a few.

While no official on-board photos were unveiled by Deepal, we’ve got a glimpse into the S09’s innards thanks to a teaser video published on social media. From said video, we can deduce that the S09 gets a pretty spacious and well-equipped cabin, primed with amenities such as a large central infotainment screen with a dedicated front passenger display, two captain-style chairs for the second row, a sliding central console that hides a built-in chiller, and many more.

As of now, powertrain details for the S09 remain a mystery, although CarNewsChina reports that the flagship SUV will be solely offered with an REEV option, at least for now. The REEV in question comes in the form of Deepal’s new Super Range Extension 2.0 technology, which uses a 1.5-litre turbo hybrid petrol engine as its core and is mated to either one or two electric motors, delivering 310 HP (231 kW) and 485 (362 kW) of power, respectively. No sprint time performance was mentioned, but CarNewsChina claims both versions are capped with a top speed of 205 KM/H.

Similarly, both the single- and dual-motor variants share the same LFP-type battery packs supplied by CATL. Again, there is no information about the capacities, but it is possible that there are two different battery sizes, given the difference in power outputs for both models.

The all-new Deepal S09 is anticipated to make its official Chinese market debut sometime later in Q1 this year, with prices reportedly starting around the CNY 350,000 (RM216,145) region. As of now, there’s no news on whether this flagship SUV will be made available in the export overseas market.

Closer to home, the Deepal brand recently made its inaugural Malaysian debut, as Bermaz Changan recently previewed the Deepal S07 EV SUV in our market ahead of its launch in Q2 this year. Should Changan decide to export the S09 into the overseas market, there’s a chance that Malaysia might be on the list.