Final month, BYD, the world’s fastest-growing carmaker, introduced that it might launch its first ute into the Australian market to compete with best-sellers just like the Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger.
With early numbers shared by BYD’s native distributor, over 10,000 expressions of curiosity have been collected, making it probably the most anticipated Australian-delivered product from the Chinese language new power car (NEV) juggernaut.
The Shark 6, nevertheless, will not be totally electrical, like BYD’s different choices in Australia, which embody the Atto 3, the Seal and the Dolphin. It’s a plug-in hybrid electrical car (PHEV) with an EV-only mode rated at round 100 kms – although most likely nearer to 80 kms in actual use conditions – from its 29.56 kWh battery.
Will it win over the battery electrical skeptics? Fairly presumably, judging by the massive quantity of curiosity. And, having pushed the Ford Ranger day by day with engineering work over a decade in the past, I used to be wanting ahead to getting behind the wheel of the Shark 6 to see what BYD have give you on their first go.
Have they nailed it?
The market will resolve. However it has a good bit of electrical vary, some nice efficiency options, towing capability and car to load to energy a tradies’ instruments. And, with the hybrid set-up, it implies that the general vary is as much as 800kms.
Listed here are some key takeaways from what may very well be the primary ute to supply BYD Seal-like consolation and know-how, whereas displacing gross sales from large-volume ICE ute fashions just like the Ford Ranger and Toyota’s Hilux, which frequently rank as the 2 finest promoting automobiles in Australia on a month-to-month foundation.
The Shark’s acquired an enormous jaw
Domestically, the dual-cab Shark ute will probably be accessible in a single Premium variant at launch, providing a feature-packed product with a reasonably aggressive styling, the work of Wolfgang Egger, BYD’s head designer, who was beforehand at Audi and Lamborghini.
He says he took inspiration from the jaws of a shark with its mouth open. Therefore the presentation of the entrance headlights and daytime operating lights (DRL) with the large BYD brand within the centre.
Picture: Riz AkhtarThis shark theme continues on the roof, and the shark-fin antenna sits on the rear of the roofline.
Alongside the perimeters, there are some rugged sidesteps because the aggressive entrance results in a extra standard ute physique. These aspect steps are useful in getting out and in of the ute, given its top and the truth that the battery is on the car’s flooring.
On the rear, there may be additionally a big BYD brand stamped into the tailgate, together with a brake gentle LED strip that runs alongside the width of the ute. There may be additionally an built-in rear-view digital camera within the tailgate, which helps present a 360-degree view of the automotive from the within.
Opening the tailgate is straightforward because of the button on high of the gate, which results in a lined rear mattress.
Tonneau cowl choices may even be accessible at launch, with particulars to be shared nearer to the top of the month.
Spaceship inside design with tech not but seen in utes
Stepping into the Shark 6 with its standard handles is fairly easy, however that’s the place the similarities with different utes in the marketplace cease.
The inside begins with actually plushy seats, which jogs my memory of the BYD Seal, which is arguably one of the vital snug electrical sedans in the marketplace.
The steering wheel was properly proportioned with orange stitching and clear matte coated buttons, sure bodily buttons, dials and switches that sit on the steering wheel.
These not solely permit for infotainment system controls but additionally for on-road and off-road modes, which the Shark comes geared up with.
Behind the steering wheel is a good-sized display screen that may show key on-road/off-road driving info together with a map view if wanted.
Wanting on the centre console, there are some tactile buttons and switches which give the car an actual rugged really feel on the within.
The star within the cabin, although, is the big infotainment display screen with a lot of performance and tech seen in different BYD automobiles.
This features a 360-degree digital camera view on demand which was notably useful when driving on off-road tracks over typically rugged terrain.
The Shark 6 ute I examined appeared to have the most recent BYD software program, which has come a good distance for the reason that unique Atto 3 we examined again in August 2022.
The most recent software program model, coupled with the high-resolution display screen, makes the competitors really feel caught years behind.
With over-the-air (OTA) updates on supply, it’s probably that the entire expertise of possession will all the time be enhancing.
Within the again, there may be loads of room for a passenger, and having pushed across the hills round Marysville in Victoria, it was very snug on and off-road.
Plug-in Powertrain – Pure EV mode have to be skilled
BYD Shark 6 is a PHEV ute, and BYD will not be sugarcoating that. Getting behind the wheel within the Pure-EV mode, it drove like some other BYD product with easy energy supply from its dual-motor powertrain.
The suspension felt very trendy and took bumps very properly, definitely not just like the Ford Ranger I had years in the past. The on-road expertise was additionally balanced and didn’t really feel floaty, which may very well be anticipated in lots of utes.
The DM-O tech beneath this ute will supply one of many longest electric-only ranges in its class because of a 29.58 kWh BYD blade battery. It has an EV-only vary of as much as 100 km, which in the actual world is prone to be 80 km, lots for many day by day drives.
This blade battery pack will feed the 2 electrical motors on the entrance and rear axles. The entrance motor will ship 170 kW and 310 Nm, whereas the rear motor can output as much as 150 kW and 340 Nm.
This battery pack might be fast-charged at round 55 kW on a DC charger, so charging 30-80% might be accomplished in about 25 minutes. As commonplace, there’s a CCS2 port positioned on the fitting aspect of the car.
Mixed, the Shark 6’s drivetrain delivers 320 kW of energy and presents a mixed vary of 800 km. The battery pack within the ute will also be charged by the ute’s 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine.
In Pure-EV mode, I examined its acceleration on some flatter off-road trails, and it does throw you again into the seat, hitting 100 km/h from a standstill in round 5.7 seconds.
Car to load (V2L) can also be accessible, making it doable to cost different tools when on a piece web site or out tenting.
Talking of the V2L, there are plugs in three totally different areas, together with the tray within the again, highlighting the thought that’s gone into designing this ute for sensible use.
With that energy, the Shark 6 is able to braked towing 2.5 tonnes, and these specs have been confirmed for the one native variant.
For comparability, the upcoming Ford Ranger PHEV presents 3.5 tonnes of towing capability however lacks the electric-only vary restricted to only 45 km.
I additionally switched the Shark 6 to its Hybrid EV (HEV) mode to attempt the distinction, which turned the combustion engine on to cost the battery, which ran all the way down to about 60% within the drive by that stage.
What was clear is that this ute is designed to be with an EV-first powertrain and opens the likelihood for a full BEV model down the monitor.
Though the pricing is but to be launched, it have to be aggressive to outsell the incumbent utes whereas delivering on its clear car credentials. The pricing must be underneath $65,000 earlier than on-road prices, placing it on par with the competitors.
BYD Shark 6: A cleaner ute providing
Given the shortage of EV choices for fleets and companies which have delayed their transition from dirtier diesel utes, the Shark 6 may very well be the primary sensible use that would transfer that needle.
Everyone knows what occurs after they lastly expertise the EV drivetrain; it’s very exhausting to not wish to cost it day by day to save lots of on gas whereas powering tools on-site or on weekends away from experiencing the outside with out the rattle of an ICE car.
Given the time I spent with the car, it gave a very good glimpse into the highlights of the BYD Shark 6. One factor is for certain, it’s the primary ute to supply a cleaner powertrain with consolation and tech discovered within the newest premium EVs.
Riz is the founding father of carloop primarily based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV information, perception reviews and tendencies. He’s a mechanical engineer who spent the primary 7 years of his profession constructing transport infrastructure earlier than beginning carloop. He has a ardour for automobiles, notably EVs and desires to assist scale back transport emissions in Australia. He at the moment drives a pink Tesla Mannequin 3.
