Overview

The value proposition being offered by Chinese brands today is, simply, overwhelming. Denza is an example of the top-end brand that packs a lot of practical features in a drivetrain that is economical to own, fun to drive, safe and even attractive.

I’ve read all the pros and cons with BYD and its luxe-brand Denza, and the hate mail about the dubious future of Chinese brands, but in reality, I can’t see much downside. And I come back to the value proposition, which is why we’re all here.

The Denza B5 PHEV is the best capable all-wheel drive prestige SUV on today’s market. It’ll probably rarely see dirt (so you’re paying for a lot of tech for nothing) but even as a family wagon, it’s luxurious, performance-focused, has heaps of safety gear, reasonably roomy, can be very economical and is priced from $74,990 plus costs.

Even in its top-spec’ Leopard version as tested here, it is $79,990 (plus costs), which is outwardly a massive discount on some prestige Europeans that struggle to match the Denza’s feature list.

In the PHEV category for example, that includes: Audi Q5 $96,900; BMW X3 $107,700; Lexus RX350 $84,630; and Land Rover Discovery Sport $91,502 (all prices plus on-road costs).

So this is the best thing since sliced bread?

Hardly. It’s a beauty, no mistake. The way it invites its occupants to sit and play, the ease at which it cruises and the near silence betters a zen buddhist get together.

The interior looks top shelf, with stitched Nappa leather and well-styled dashboard and centre console, the breadth and imposition of the centre console and the instrument screen, and the neatly-crafted switchgear.

Where it walks over the luxury legacy brands is clear. Where it doesn’t is 100m down the road.

Denza, the luxury arm of BYD, doesn’t follow its parental design theme when it comes to an SUV. The B5 is the baby of the two-model SUV model range – the other is the seven-seat B8 – and both use basically the same bits and pieces, from body panels through to the interior and the drivetrain.

With that comes the jeep design style, contrasting the utilitarian chunky panels with the limousine-look of the interior. The mix works well, portraying the B5 as a sturdy go-anywhere machine for onlookers; a car that’s more like a hotel suite for occupants.

The Mercedes-Benz G-wagon does something similar and that point is obviously not lost on Denza’s design crew.

The B5 is a shade shorter (69mm) than the latest Prado and sits on a 50mm shorter wheelbase (2800mm) and while the visual similarities exist, the execution of Toyota and Denza are quite different.

Both sit on a ladder chassis but the Denza has a sophisticated hydraulic suspension system – DiSus – that can be adjusted for ride comfort, firmness and ride height from 200-310mm – the latter a great help for off-road exploring.

The Denza and Prado share a chunky exterior design. That can indicate better space utilisation, although the Prado has a bigger cargo space (954-1895 litres) than the B5 (470-1064 litres).

The Denza also has 20-inch wheels (Leopard version) with Pirelli Scorpion 275/55R20 tyres – nice choice for the road and sand but not toothy enough for biting into gravel and mud and snow.

Put them on the scales and the Denza is also considerably heavier at 3007kg compared with the Prado at 2520kg (five-seater), the difference being blamed on the traction battery.

The B5 carries its full-size spare in a cover mounted on the rear door, emphasising the jeep style and also bringing with it the annoyance of creating a heavy door. For right-hand drive markets, it is doubly annoying because it’s hinged on the left, making the boot awkward to load from the curb side.

Inside, the Denza employs design using lots of colour contrasts, an attractive mix of chrome and matte black, and then introducing the leather in three colours – standard black with optional green or tan. Even if it’s not to everyone’s taste, the cabin makes the car look like it’s an expensive bit of kit.

Features inside include Nappa leather seats with heating and ventilation front and rear; heated steering wheel; 12-way driver-seat adjustment and 10 for the passenger; massage function with numerous options; panoramic roof; fridge; and lots more.

The centre touchscreen is a 15.6-inch unit with an infotainment system that includes sat-nav and wireless connectivity for Apple CarPaly and Android Auto. The Devialet audio (the French company supplies all audio equipment for Denza and Alpine) is pretty good and is an 800W system that runs through 16 speakers.

The HVAC is also pretty good – I’m not raving about it – and could do with more prompt action when adjusting temperature. Fan speed could be better, too.

On the upside, the second row also gets two air conditioning vents at the back of the centre console, and one each from the headliner above the rear door. That’s summer taken care of.

The Denza B5 has a five-star crash rating from ANCAP, with an 86 per cent rating for adult occupant protection; 95 per cent for child occupant protection; 74 per cent for vulnerable road user protection; and 78 per cent for safety assist features.

The safety inventory includes AEB with pre-collision safety system including pedestrian, cyclist and oncoming vehicle detection; active cruise control; lane-departure monitoring; blind spot monitor; rear cross-traffic alert; front and rear parking sensors; panoramic view monitor; 11 airbags; and three top-teather child restraint anchors and two Isofix anchors.

Denza has a six-year or 150,000km warranty on the vehicle with a separate eight-year, 160,000km warranty on the traction battery.

It has a pre-paid capped-price service program that costs $3542 for the six services (including the first free service). The service schedule is 12 months or 20,000km with the major service at 80,000km.

Roadside assistance is free for the first three years.

Driving impressions

This car feels great – the seat comfort, the driving position and the knowledge that there’s 485kW of power (combined) powering all wheels at all times. It’s super quiet, even with the 1.5-litre petrol engine running, and its smooth.

But the expectation that all this is going to slingshot the B5 off the mark is thwarted by the unusually long lag between pressing the accelerator and the power reaching the wheels.

Simply, the pause between wanting to go and actually going is sufficient to let a Hyundai i30 jump ahead of you (albeit briefly) at the on-freeway ramp lights.

I’m told this lag is a primarily protective measure to gently ease the fat dose of power through the drivetrain while keeping the ride experience as tranquil as possible.

If that’s the only hiccup with this car’s power delivery, then I get it. The rest of the experience is damn good and when underway, the power comes on hot and strong, smooth and fuss free as long as the road isn’t too winding. 

Facing a winding road, however, unmasks the B5’s hidden penalty of the 3.0-tonne plus (plus occupants and fuel) weight and its desire to return to the straight road.

The mass makes it tend to understeer and the over-assisted power steering turns the driver into a passenger, devoid of sensing any road contact through the steering wheel.

In fact, although successfully isolating the discomforts of the surroundings, the Denza masks the driver from pretty much all the workings of the car.

For people who enjoy driving and have had an association with the mechanics of automobile handling, the B5 isn’t the best example of fine road holding and performance driving.

It is, however, one of the best examples of an insulated drive experience and one that can make some passengers – particularly children – delight in the serenity and ride comfort of this car.

The B5 would be a first pick for a long, relaxed drive where speed and timetable were of no consequence.

For ride and quietness – the result of acoustic glass, a lot of sound deadening and the electric drive – it is unmatched at the B5’s price.

Off the road, the suspension and drive modes have a staggering list of options. Scroll through the touchscreen – or use the roller switches on the console – and there’s everything for confronting obstacles and terrain challenges from sand to mud, from mountain and rock, and for ‘race’ driving (with launch control) and ‘crawl’, along with the variable ground clearance height and damper stiffness.

There’s ‘uphill’ crawl and ‘tug-of’war’, the ‘L’ button for enhancing low-speed torque, ‘tire chain’ for anti-skid driving in snow or mud, and ‘U turn’ that ensures the tightest possible turning circle.

The B5 also gets three driver modes – sport, eco and normal – and front and rear diff locks. Basically there’s a mode for pretty much every terrain so it’s a bit like an Inspector Gadget wagon for the family that wants to go everywhere and wants to come home again.

The fuel consumption of the B5 averaged 8.8 litres/100km on test. That would have been substantially better – maybe close to zero fuel use – if I had charged the batteries up overnight to make the plug-in hybrid EV (PHEV) run on electricity alone.

It will get about 88km from the batteries without starting the petrol engine, although it runs the batteries down to 25 per cent to ensure it has enough up its sleeve for contingencies.

The 135kW/260Nm 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine is used primarily as a generator for the batteries, which then power the front axle’s electric motor (200kW) and the rear motor (285kW).

In this way, it’s a bit like the Nissan ePower technology (X-Trail and Qashqai) but the Denza has the ability to mechanically drive the front axle when needed.

This need is triggered by power demand at the urging of the driver’s right foot, along with it sensing vehicle weight and/or difficult driving conditions, such as uphill. The same drivetrain tech, by the way, is used in the BYD Shark 6.