Page to Page 1: Design and Interior

Driving Experience

It’s an electric vehicle, so it glides along without any engine noise and vibration. One surprising aspect of the Mifa 9 is that it’s quite a quick car, hitting 100km/h from a standstill in 9.2 seconds. It’s nowhere as fast as a Tesla Model Y, but bear in mind that most MPVs of this size in petrol and hybrid forms take around 10 seconds to accelerate into three-figure speed territory. 

The electronic stability control system helps modulate power to the wheels, and when hustled through corners it is remarkably composed, exhibiting none of the wallowy rolling you might anticipate from such a bus-like vehicle. 

The downside is that over rough surfaces the ride in the back can feel choppier than expected. This is amplified in the third row as it hangs quite a fair bit behind the rear axle, with body movement exaggerated by the distance from the point of rotation around the axle.

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On smooth highways however it does its best impression of a limousine. The torquey power delivery of the electric motor does means that even when fully laden it gets going with reasonable pace, when something like a Toyota Estima may feel that bit slower.

Real world power efficiency is around 24kWh/100km even though the factory spec claims a figure of 21.5kWh/100km, but it’s good for more than 400km per charge when driven normally.

At time of driving the Mifa 9’s software is stuffed full of electronic nannies that need to be manually toggled off. It’s an annoyance, but future software updates may change the way that they are triggered. The lane departure warning doesn’t just attempt to nudge you back into the centre of the lane, but also sounds a loud alarm that will suitably alarm your passengers. The fatigue detection system, which attempts to detect the driver nodding off at the wheel or driving distracted, will blare a loud alarm as a warning too. The trouble is, it triggers when you turn your head to check the blind spot when changing lanes.

Plus, we found that even if you turn the active safety systems off individually, they switch right back on the next time you start the car and you’ll have to do it all over again. After 100 times of doing it, it either becomes second nature or a total nuisance.

The good news is that in this single trim variant, it’s all fully specced and nothing is an additional cost. Starting the car no longer requires pressing anything. With the key in your pocket or in the car, sitting in the driver’s seat will switch all systems on. It’s convenient but you’ll need to remember to not let a small child accidentally take off in it because getting the car moving is a completely seamless process.

Once again the big question is, is it worth buying over other premium MPVs in this sector? A small section of the internet brigade will scream bloody murder at its 2023 sticker price and claim that the same car can be bought in China for a tiny fraction of that. However remember the fact that a huge chunk of the cost is in taxes and COE. Don’t go kicking down the dealership for something that it can’t control.

Yet, despite the slightly crooked seams and stitches on some of the seats and half millimetre gaps in some interior panels, this is a properly designed MPV that drives well and is hugely spacious. Like others in this class of car, it’s also not as intimidating to drive as they initially seem. All-round cameras help with parking, and build quality is good. With most of the competition pushing into S$300k with COE territory, the Maxus Mifa 9 is right where it’s meant to be.  

Maxus Mifa 9 

Drivetrain type	Full electric
Electric Motor / layout	Single / Front Wheel-Drive
Motor power / torque	241hp / 350Nm
Battery type /net capacity	Lithium ion / 90kWh
Normal Charge Type / Time	11kW AC wallbox / 8.5 hours
Max Fast Charge Type / Time	120kW DC / 25 mins 20 to 80 percent
Electric Range	435km (claimed)
0-100km/h	9.2 seconds
Top Speed	180km/h
Efficiency	21.5 kWh/100km
VES Band	A1 / -S$25,000
Agent	Cycle & Carriage
Price	S$293,900 with COE and VES
Availability	Now
Verdict:	A truly comfortable and spacious seven-seater, but with some mildly annoying quirks on the user interface that we hope will be eliminated with software updates.

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