- Doors and Seats
5 doors, 7 seats
- Engine
Perm Magnet, LI
- Engine Power
NA
- Fuel
37h 30m chg, 430km range
- Manufacturer
FWD
- Transmission
Red'n Gear
- Warranty
5 Yr, 160000 KMs
- Ancap Safety
5/5 star (2022)
2023 LDV Mifa 9 Luxe review
LDV pushes into brave new territory for a brand still establishing itself in Australia. It may be innovative as an electric people mover, but will the $131,000 price put potential buyers off?
- Second row is comfortable and spacious
- Real world driving range over 400km
- Five-star safety rating
- The price
- Ride and handling
- Interior quality and presentation
2023 LDV Mifa 9 Luxe
If you want a fully electric people mover, you now have two choices.
The first is from Mercedes-Benz, and the second is from Chinese brand LDV. It's called the 2023 LDV Mifa 9 and is a fully electric version of its regular internal combustion Mifa people mover that it also sells locally.
The 2023 LDV Mifa 9 is also currently the most expensive Chinese-built car ever sold in Australia, which goes to show you the rate of progress the nation is making in terms of industrialisation.
What's it like to drive? How far does it go? Is it worth over $100,000?
We answer all of those and more below – let's take a look.
How much does the LDV Mifa 9 cost in Australia?
The fully electric LDV Mifa 9 range starts in Australia from $106,000 before on-road costs.
That's for the 2023 LDV Mifa 9 Mode – an entry-level version and the cheapest one you can buy. As with all Mifa 9s on sale in Australia, it comes with a 180kW/350Nm electric motor driving the front wheels, a 90kWh battery pack, seating for seven, and a comprehensive suite of advanced safety systems.
Next up in the range is the 2023 LDV Mifa 9 Executive from $117,000 before on-roads, which adds things like electric sliding doors and a 360-view parking camera.
Sitting as the range flagship is our test car, the 2023 LDV Mifa 9 Luxe. It's priced from $131,000 before on-road costs, or around $143,000 drive-away depending on where you live and how you purchase it (private buyer or ABN holder).
The price quoted above is for a private buyer without an ABN. As you'd expect for the price, our flagship test car was loaded with technology and features. The second row is equipped with two independent captain's chairs that heat, cool and massage your bum, slide around electrically, and even feature their own control panel with poorly translated English.
Other interesting features at this top-tier trim grade include a digital rear-view mirror. As the car with the most taxing electric system and weight penalty, the top-spec car also travels the least of the three.
Whereas the entry-level Mifa 9 Mode has a range of 440km, our top-spec Mifa 9 Luxe can only go 430km on a full charge.
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Key details | 2023 LDV Mifa 9 Luxe |
Price | $131,000 plus on-road costs |
Colour of test car | Mica Blue |
Options | Metallic paint – $500 |
Price as tested | $131,500 plus on-road costs |
Drive-away price | $143,000 (approx NSW) |
Rivals | Kia Carnival | Mercedes-Benz EQV | Toyota Alphard (import) |
How much space does the LDV Mifa 9 have inside?
The first row initially feels spacious.
The dashboard's design sees it wrap itself around the driver and offer them as much space as possible, and the centre console also cantilevers over another storage area to create an airy and open feel.
Visually it works and looks good too. The seats are comfortable enough and feature decent lumbar adjustment, but do lack some bolstering on both the seat base and the back rest. I also found the driver's ergonomics slightly uncomfortable, specifically the relationship between my arms and the steering wheel.
The front seats of the Mifa 9 Luxe come loaded with standard eight-way power adjustment with memory, seat heating and ventilation, and massage function, plus a heated steering wheel.
Aside from some touch-sensitive buttons placed on the dashboard, the overall cabin is actually quite minimalist. Looking a bit closer at things reveals interior plastics and materials that are basic, however, and for the money you'd at least like something more fancy.
You know, like wood, aluminium, metal, carbon fibre, or any number of other higher-end materials found in other cars that cost this much (but maybe carry fewer people). The Mifa 9 Luxe does get an upgrade to leather trim, unlike lower-spec models that feature leatherette.
The only other things that stand out are the cool wireless charging pad on the upper centre console and a decent-size pair of cupholders too.
Over in the second row – accessed by electric sliding doors – a new world of luxury awaits. There are two independent 'captain's chairs' in the second row that are heated, cooled, massaging, and also reclining with an extendable rest to elevate your feet.
If you plan to be driven, or really just love the idea of offering your kids and friends epic space and novelty, it's a great place to spend time. Of course, the Mifa 9 is just as likely to be put into the role of a hotel shuttle or corporate transporter, so there's a good opportunity to impress customers and clients.
Each seat even has its own digital touchscreen control panel to configure the endless amounts of adjustment too, and they even alter the 64-colour ambient lighting from their own seat too.
Aside from chairs with screens in them, there are also small fold-out tables to work from or eat off. Although a bit thin and flimsy, these fold-out tables will hold a small MacBook air comfortably and are able to sustain abuse from aggressive typing and general keyboard mashing. As a side note, both chairs also have ISOFIX child seat mounts.
Accessing the second row is either done via the middle pathway between the second row inside the car, or by sliding the second row forward and going in via the sliding door.
Once in the third row, there isn't much room for adults. With the second row set back to a comfortable position, I found myself squashed and feeling quite hemmed-in.
It's okay for children, but that's about it. Only one of the three third-row seats has an ISOFIX point – taking the total count to just three – and a pair of cupholders are all you get.
Other petrol, petrol hybrid and diesel SUVs and people movers offer better habitability in the third row.
2023 LDV Mifa 9 Luxe | |
Seats | Seven |
Boot volume | 446L to third row 1702L to second row 2017L to first row |
Length | 5270mm |
Width | 2000mm |
Height | 1840mm |
Wheelbase | 3200mm |
Does the LDV Mifa 9 have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto?
The 2023 LDV Mifa 9 features a 12.3-inch infotainment display with wired Apple CarPlay connectivity, but no provision for Android Auto currently. Satellite navigation is also not included as part of the infotainment system.
The native software package that runs the infotainment system is clumsy and not the most intuitive. It can also be a bit slow to react at times, and also features poorly translated English – something that should be fixed by now.
However, it did run Apple CarPlay fine over the week-long vehicle loan. Making calls via Apple CarPlay was patchy, as more than one person commented on how my voice would intermittently go through a 30-second to two-minute window of weirdness when chatting to me on the phone.
What would happen is that my voice would go quiet and the audio would change for the person listening, as if something had turned on and was interfering with the signal.
The Luxe's 12-speaker audio system is mediocre too, and for the money you'd expect something a bit better. As the range-topper, the Luxe carries the highest speaker count, with six- or eight-speaker audio in the Mifa 9 Mode and Executive respectively.
Other extras include a wireless charging pad, three USB points in the front, two in the second row, and another two in the third row.
The driver faces a 7.0-inch digital instrument display
Is the LDV Mifa 9 a safe car?
The LDV Mifa 9 was awarded a five-star safety rating by ANCAP in 2022.
It scored decently for adult occupant protection (93 per cent) and safety assist systems (90 per cent), and good for both child occupant protection (88 per cent) and vulnerable road user protection (73 per cent).
Overall, it scored well and is a safe option.
2023 LDV Mifa 9 Luxe | |
ANCAP rating | Five stars (tested 2022) |
Safety report | Link to ANCAP report |
What safety technology does the 2023 LDV Mifa 9 have?
The 2023 LDV Mifa 9 features a wide array of advanced driver assist systems.
That includes forward and reverse autonomous emergency braking, lane-keeping assist with lane-departure warning, speed sign recognition, adaptive cruise control, driver attention monitoring, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert. The Mifa 9 Executive and Luxe grades add front park sensors (in addition to standard rear sensors) and a 360-degree view camera system.
The lane-keeping assist can be frustrating to drive with. Not only will it play a long, loud and single-tone noise for around 15 seconds after you veer off course even slightly, but also the intervention it applies is not that helpful either.
Another annoying thing is that if you indicate for half a second and then proceed to change lanes, the car will try to steer you back and beep at you. For some reason, the indicator needs to be on for quite some duration before it allows you to change lanes.
Some of the safety systems just need to be better calibrated.
How much does the LDV Mifa 9 cost to maintain?
Service intervals are every 30,000km or 24 months, whichever comes first.
The first two years costs $218.75, the next two $516.86, and the following two $218.75. That means four years or 60,000km worth of maintenance will set you back $735.61, and six years or 90,000km is $954.36.
Insurance costs are expensive at $4618 a year based on a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male driver living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.
Compared to other European cars of the same cost, the LDV Mifa 9 is expensive to insure.
At a glance | 2023 LDV Mifa 9 Luxe |
Warranty | Five years, 160,000km Eight years, 160,000km (battery) |
Service intervals | 24 months or 30,000km |
Servicing costs | $735.61 (4 years/60,000km) $954.36 (6 years/90,000km) |
Is the LDV Mifa 9 energy-efficient?
The LDV Mifa 9 Luxe claims to travel 430km with its 90kWh battery fully charged. That results in an official figure of 20.9kWh/100km, which we achieved easily on test recording 20.8kWh/100km.
If you keep it fully charged, you'll see over 400km per charge in the real world.
Energy Consumption - brought to you by bp
Energy Efficiency | Energy Stats |
Energy cons. (claimed) | 20.9kWh/100km |
Energy cons. (on test) | 20.8kWh/100km |
Battery size | 90kWh |
Driving range claim (WLTP) | 430km |
Charge time (11kW) | 8h 30min |
Charge time (50kW) | 1h 10min |
Charge time (120kW max rate) | 36min (30–80%) |
What is the LDV Mifa 9 like to drive?
The first step is to figure out if the car is on.
I know that sounds strange, but honestly it's true with the LDF Mifa 9. There is no physical 'on' button anywhere in the car, rather a small 'on' button in the corner of the home screen.
If you open the car door, the car turns on. You can't simply close the door and lock it at this point either, you're committed now. To turn the car off, you have to jump inside, tap through a few menus to find the off button, then get out and lock the car and leave.
As you can imagine, this is annoying if you're simply getting something out from the car that you forgot, or loading the car the day before you plan to use it. Why you wouldn't have a button somewhere on the dashboard, I don't know.
Once you're off and running, the ride quality can feel brittle and quite harsh.
There's an underlying sense of firmness that translates to a busy ride on a poorer-than-average Sydney road, and bigger potholes are met with crashes and bangs from the suspension. It's not the most comfortable car, and considering the money and proposed 'luxury' interior fit-out behind the driver, you expect a much softer and better quality ride.
The powertrain is eager and plenty powerful, but wet weather will result in tragic amounts of wheel spin. It's hard to accelerate up a slight incline in the wet smoothly, as the instantaneous nature of its electric motor simply creates wheel spin without much notice. Better tyres and better calibration of the vehicle's electric drive system are probably what's needed here.
On the move, there's no shortage of performance, and it'll manage highway speeds and 110km/h zones nicely and easily. The driver assist systems are overzealous and annoying too, with the lane-keeping assist playing a long and continual flat tone for about 15 seconds whenever you go half-an-inch near a road edge marking. It's annoying, your friends you're talking to via Apple CarPlay will hear it too, and there is no real reason for it to be so annoying.
Out of town and in a regional area, the LDV Mifa 9 remained okay to drive. It's not the sort of car you want to drive fast anyway, but in the wet it's best to err on the side of caution given the low-grip tyres.
Key details | 2023 LDV Mifa 9 Luxe |
Engine | Single electric motor |
Power | 180kW |
Torque | 350Nm |
Drive type | Front-wheel drive |
Transmission | Single-speed |
Power-to-weight ratio | 71kW/t |
Weight (tare) | 2535kg |
Spare tyre type | None |
Tow rating | 1000kg braked, 750kg unbraked |
Turning circle | 12.7m |
Should I buy an LDV Mifa 9?
Given the cost of the vehicle, it's hard to recommend the LDV Mifa 9 to most private buyers.
Business buyers looking to chauffeur guests around an establishment, and wish to do so silently, may be enticed by the package. However, there are other options out there like the Kia Carnival and even grey-import Toyota Alphard Hybrids that make more sense to the private buyer with $100,000 to $150,000 to spend on a people mover.
Although the LDV Mifa 9 offers an interesting-looking car with plenty of surface-level technology, there are shortcomings in the way it drives and its overall presentation. You'd expect a decent infotainment system using correct English as one such point, which I don't think is too much of an ask at this price.