The answer isn’t as clear cut as you think. The Denza B5 can be both impressive and unimpressive, perhaps by equal measure.

Starting with the B5’s high points first, there’s the looks. It doesn’t win points for originality, but the tall, boxy, and upright stance makes it look like a bodybuilder in a well-tailored suit. The design elements, down to the rear door-mounted spare tire all successfully hark back to classic off-roader design cues, but modernized enough to pass muster for evenings at a five-star hotel. If anything, you just wished it came with larger wheels. The standard 18-inchers in this case make it look like it skipped leg day too much.

Yank the doors and you’ll find that there’s a satisfying heft to them. They close with the same authoritative thud. Getting aboard isn’t for the physically challenged—it requires some strong legs to climb into the seats. There are built-in grab handles on the dashboard for the front passengers which help entry, but they’re oddly placed that you’ll end up contorting your arm just to use them effectively. The rear ones can rely on the more straightforwardly placed ones on the B-pillar.

Typically, Chinese vehicles often use badly disguised chintzy pieces on its interior. No such shortcuts here. The B5 impresses with its materials and build quality. At times, it actually feels overengineered. Brush your hand against the headliner, and it’s finished in this satisfyingly plush suede-like material. Poke the dashboard, and it’s covered in a padded leather-like topper. No stone was left unturned with places like the wireless charging pad, glovebox, and even shelf underneath the center console all getting the proper soft-feel luxury treatment.

The front seats themselves are soft, wide, and padded like a La-Z-Boy; they’re even ventilated and come with built-in massagers too. It’s easy enough to get a comfortable driving position with a commanding view of traffic all around. There are also memory presets for the driver’s seat, but irritatingly enough, you’ll have to go through the sub-menus in the touchscreen to save or recall it. The rear seats don’t offer the same amount of party tricks as the front, but there’s no less comfortable thanks to a wide bench, full-sized adjustable headrests, and reclinable seatbacks.

When it comes to cargo space, the B5 is mediocre at best. The 470-liter figure is already average, but most of that went to vertical space (there’s no tonneau cover). It lacks the depth and width to be used for a proper airport run unless you plan to make luggage stand vertically in the cargo hold.

Plenty of frustrations with the B5 are centered on its touchscreen-heavy driver interface. The large screen looks quite clean and minimalist, but simple functions are often buried in layers of menus. At times, you’ll stumble onto a new menu, only to lose track on how to get back to that specific one in the future. The way functions are clustered together also don’t make much sense and there are some remnants of “Chinglish” (though minor) in there too. Thankfully, some functions can be pinned as a shortcut accessible anytime with a swipe down of the screen. The driver’s 12.3-inch display is no better. It looks nice, but the various icons make everything look fussy and confusing. There are three modes on offer—ADAS, Map (when navigation is engaged), and Simple, but annoying, it always defaults to ADAS when starting up.

On the surface, Denza has come up with a luxury SUV with genuine on- and off-road performance backed up by more equipment and features that you could ever want. This alone has put legacy luxury automakers on notice. But after spending a week behind the wheel of one, there’s still plenty of stuff that needs work here, particularly in the field of in-car software and driving dynamics. Even if the Denza B5 doesn’t end up being a threat to the likes of the Lexus GX, much less than the Land Cruiser Prado just yet, it ends up as a real statement of intent from a Chinese brand. Its more established competitors may have gotten away this time around, but they’ve done so by the skin of their teeth.