Li Auto's i9 Home six-seat SUV set for Sept 16 debut, billed as a 'downtown penthouse'

The i9 Home is the largest model in Li Auto's i series, measuring 5,225 by 1,970 by 1,752 mm with a 3,168 mm wheelbase, 140 mm longer than the i8, and sits between the i8 and the MEGA in the lineup. Li Xiang said battery-electric platforms allow shorter front overhangs and a flatter floor, making extreme exterior dimensions less meaningful for interior space. He listed space efficiency, low drag and low energy consumption, and driving feel as the three main threads of the i series; the i9 Home has a drag coefficient of 0.215.

The exterior continues the i series silhouette, from the front light bar through a smooth roofline, two-tone body and tapered rear, with a dark chrome front treatment similar to the MEGA Home. Buyers can choose three standard colors, diamond black, pearl white and flowing silver, plus five optional shades. Twenty-one-inch wheels are standard, with other 21- and 22-inch designs optional.

Four doors with power closing and anti-pinch soft close are standard, and a dual Mach M100 embodied intelligence package adds power opening. Li Xinyang, who heads Li Auto's product line, introduced the car starting with getting in and out: the low floor lets passengers step in without an electric running board, while large door openings, a long second-row rail and a button that moves the second-row seat forward allow third-row passengers to enter from either side.

Inside, the dashboard keeps the continuous wide screen, two-spoke steering wheel and central storage island, offered in brown-and-coffee or white-and-gray trim with diamond-quilted seats. The ambient lighting pairs direct light strips with reflected light along the door panels. Four zero-gravity seats are fitted, and the second row can rotate to face the third. Both rear rows slide fore and aft, and with the rotated second-row seat and its leg rest, the two rows can be joined into one continuous space. The third row also reclines deeply and folds forward. A suspended rear screen is used instead of the MEGA Home's Home Light ceiling lamp. Li Auto calls these arrangements the Home living room, cinema and suite.

A voice-activated front trunk can hold a 20-inch suitcase, and the rear has an under-floor storage well with twin folding covers. The rear crash beam doubles as the air suspension reservoir, freeing space at the rear axle for rear-wheel steering hardware.

Only one version, the Home, is offered. It comes with one Mach M100 chip rated at 1,280 TOPS, rising to 2,560 TOPS with the optional dual-chip package. The standard Home concert hall audio uses a 7.3.4 layout with 23 speakers; the optional Home theater system adds up to 29 speakers and 4,960 W of peak power. Electric privacy shades for the second and third rows are standard, while electrochromic glass for those four side windows and a floating combined table shared with the MEGA Home are optional.

The i9 Home is the top of the i series but not of the brand. The new MEGA Home is a seven-seat MPV measuring 5,355 mm long with a 3,300 mm wheelbase, and its single version already includes dual Mach M100 chips, four lidar units, the Home Light ceiling lamp, an auto-leveling second-row power table and an active anti-roll chassis, according to ifanr. The i9 Home therefore has to serve as a flagship above the i8 while leaving room for the MEGA on price and equipment.