First impression: Is the GWM WEY G9 the smartest premium MPV buy right now?

KUALA LUMPUR: Big luxury MPVs are easy to admire when they are parked up outside a nice hotel. They have the chrome, the giant grilles, the lounge-like cabins, and enough road presence to make everything else in the car park look a bit apologetic.

The problem is, that is the easy part. The real test starts when you driver goes home and you actually have to drive one properly, especially on Malaysian roads that go from city congestion, to twisty climbs, to long-distance highway hauling in one trip.

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And that is exactly why the GWM WEY G9 made such an impression.

Our route started at Bamboo Hills, then headed straight into the winding sections of Karak Highway before opening up into the smoother, faster run towards Kuantan. On paper, that sounds like a good way to expose any big, heavy, comfort-first people mover.

In reality, it ended up revealing something a lot more interesting.

The WEY G9 is not just a plush premium MPV with a long features list. It is also a surprisingly sorted thing to drive. GWM Malaysia positions it as a Hi4 plug-in hybrid premium MPV, priced at RM269,800 in Peninsular Malaysia, with a 1.5-litre turbocharged engine, dual electric motors, all-wheel drive, 442 PS and 642 Nm.

That last bit is the one that jumps out, of course. Six hundred and forty-two Newton metres in a family MPV sounds faintly ridiculous, and in truth, it kind of is. But the funny thing is, the WEY G9 does not drive like a gimmick built around big numbers. It drives like something that has been engineered to make all of that performance usable, and crucially, civilised.

The first surprise came within the first few corners. Looking at the WEY G9, you expect comfort. You expect softness. You expect the kind of floaty, slightly detached driving experience that is fine for ferrying passengers around but not exactly something that encourages you to take the scenic route.

Instead, the G9 feels controlled. Not sporty, and it does not need to be, but controlled in a way that immediately gives you confidence. Through Karak’s faster bends and direction changes, the body stays composed, the responses feel tidy, and the whole thing resists that slightly queasy, over-wallowy character some large MPVs can fall into.

That is what makes it interesting. This is still a premium family machine, not some secret performance car in disguise, but there is enough discipline in the chassis that dads who actually enjoy driving are not going to feel short-changed.

They may even have a bit of fun. The official GWM line is that the WEY G9 has MPV-specific tuning for Malaysian roads to deliver both handling confidence and comfort, and for once that sort of statement actually lines up rather neatly with what the car feels like from behind the wheel.

When it came to ride comfort, though, our experience was a little mixed. Some of us thought the WEY G9 rode just fine, but others pointed out that it could feel a bit bumpy from the second and especially third row.

We’d say that is fair. From our side, there was definitely a touch of firmness and some busyness coming through the cabin, particularly for those not sitting up front. That said, it never crossed into genuinely uncomfortable territory, because the second-row captain seats are still plush enough that we managed to doze off in them without much trouble.

So yes, the bumpiness is there, but it is not a deal-breaker. GWM Malaysia explained that the suspension tune was developed with a full load in mind, so with our test cars carrying a lighter passenger load than what owners might typically have on board, that could well be why the ride felt a little more noticeable than expected.

Then there is the way the powertrain goes about its business. This is where the WEY G9 starts to feel genuinely clever.

A lot of hybrids, and even some plug-in hybrids, can still feel a bit awkward when the system is juggling between electric power and combustion power. Sometimes you hear the engine chime in at odd moments. Sometimes the transition feels slightly disconnected. Sometimes the car’s responses just feel a bit synthetic.

The WEY G9, at least on this first drive, does a very good job of hiding the complexity. The switch between EV drive and engine assistance is impressively seamless. It just gets on with it, which is exactly what a premium MPV should do.

Part of that comes down to the hardware. The WEY G9 uses GWM’s Hi4 plug-in hybrid setup, with electric motors on both axles. The rear axle is driven purely electrically by a 184 PS motor, while the front axle can be driven by the 1.5-litre turbocharged engine, a 109 PS front electric motor, or both, depending on the situation.

It is effectively an electric all-wheel drive MPV, with the system automatically shuffling torque around as needed. GWM also says the G9 uses intelligent torque vectoring control, and a four-speed Dedicated Hybrid Transmission rather than the more common e-CVT-style setup seen in many transverse hybrids. The idea is to improve responsiveness at higher speeds while keeping engine revs lower for efficiency on the highway.

And that, interestingly enough, is exactly where the WEY G9 really catches you out.

Because yes, plenty of premium MPVs feel strong off the line. Torque-rich diesel MPVs, especially, have long made a habit of disguising their size with a big shove in the back the moment you lean into the throttle. But the WEY G9 does not just feel punchy from rest.

It pulls hard at higher speeds too, and that was the bigger surprise. The moment you ask for more in an overtaking situation, or when you are already travelling quickly and want another burst, the thing still gathers speed with far more conviction than something this large and family-focused probably has any right to.

The comparison that came to mind was the Kia Carnival, another MPV that can feel stronger than expected because of its torque-rich diesel character. But the WEY G9 goes a step further. With 642 Nm, it has roughly 200 Nm more to play with than the Carnival diesel, and it feels like it. GWM quotes a 0-100 km/h time of 5.7 seconds, which sounds almost absurd for a seven-seat luxury bus, but after driving it, you can believe it.

The more impressive part is that it can do this without turning into a fuel-guzzling brute. During our drive, the indicated fuel consumption hovered around 10.1 L/100km, which in the context of this vehicle’s size, weight, drivetrain and performance as well as our aggressive driving style during the drive is hard not to respect.

Official figures from GWM show 1.2 l/100 km under the NEDC cycle with a fully charged battery, rising to 6.2 l/100 km when the battery is at a low state of charge in ideal plug-in hybrid conditions. The company also quotes up to 170 km of electric-only range from the 44.28 kWh battery, though real-world results will naturally depend on how much charge is available and how the vehicle is driven.

Even so, a near-10 l/100 km real-world readout on a mixed route involving Karak’s climb and some enthusiastic use of all that shove is pretty compelling.

Of course, the WEY G9 is not trying to win people over on drivetrain nerdiness alone. Step inside, and it makes a strong case for itself as a premium family lounge. There is a 14.6-inch infotainment display with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 21-speaker, 2,440W peak audio system, fold-out tray tables, and even a double-opening cold and warm refrigerator that can keep contents between 0 and 50 degrees Celsius. In the sort of car where second-row passengers are just as important as the driver, that kind of equipment matters.

Still, the real charm of the G9 is that it is not all rear-seat theatre and gadget flexing. It has proper long-distance ability, and it backs that up with a drivetrain that feels modern, a cabin that feels expensive, and road manners that are far more disciplined than expected.

That combination is what gives it character. It is not trying to be a Chinese copy of something else, nor does it feel like a flashy spec-sheet special. It feels like a serious, well-thought-out premium MPV that has been tuned with actual use in mind.

And that is where the WEY G9 starts to look very smart in the Malaysian context.

With diesel reaching ridiculous prices and the other favourite MPV costing half a million ringgit, the GWM WEY G9 is probably the best value-for-money premium MPV in Malaysia right now with an official warranty.

It comes officially through GWM Malaysia, with local aftersales support and warranty backing as part of the brand’s Malaysian network, and it wraps that peace of mind in a package that feels genuinely premium rather than merely expensive.

That is what makes this thing so interesting. It gives you modern technology, proper electrified sophistication, all-wheel drive, surprisingly good fuel consumption for what it is, and an abundant amount of power. More importantly, it does all of that while still feeling like a cohesive, likeable, genuinely usable machine.

Early impression? The GWM WEY G9 is not just another premium MPV trying to buy attention with features. It may well be the best bang-for-buck premium MPV in Malaysia right now, and possibly the compromise many buyers did not realise they were waiting for.

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