BYD is rising quickly in Australia, and now it’s making ready to hitch one of the vital hotly contended automobile segments.

The Shark 6 dual-cab ute is likely one of the largest native launches for the model to this point – in reality it’s one of many largest new mannequin launches for the complete Australian market this yr.

When it’s launched across the finish of this yr, this electrified ute will convey the struggle to phase stalwarts just like the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux. The truth is, the BYD Shark 6 will arrive earlier than the Ranger PHEV and GWM Cannon Alpha Hi4-T PHEV each arrive subsequent yr.

This dual-cab ute is the Chinese language model’s second plug-in hybrid (PHEV) mannequin to reach in Australia, following the strong-selling Sealion 6.

At launch it’s set to be provided in a single range-topping Premium trim degree with a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol, dual-motor all-wheel drive powertrain.

WATCH: Jack’s walkaround video of the BYD Shark 6

Orders for the BYD Shark 6 are set to open on October 29, when pricing may even be introduced.

Forward of first buyer deliveries, that are anticipated in December/January, we had the chance to pattern a pre-production prototype Shark 6 off-road in nation Victoria.

How a lot does the BYD Shark 6 value?

At this stage BYD hasn’t confirmed how a lot the BYD Shark 6 will value, although the CEO of native BYD importer EVDirect, David Smitherman, has promised that pricing shall be “aggressive”.

We do know that just one variant, the range-topping Premium, shall be provided from launch.

Nonetheless, as first reported by CarExpert, figures revealed on a authorities web site confirmed pricing for the “2025 Z Utility Shark Base 4×4” shall be $68,000 earlier than on-roads.

Though the itemizing states ‘Base’, it’s doable this worth is for a extra luxurious variant in a variety with a number of grade choices.

To see how the BYD Shark 6 traces up towards the competitors, try our comparability software.

What’s the BYD Shark 6 like on the within?

Put bluntly, very plush and nearly un-ute-like.

The BYD Shark 6 has a blocky and bluff design that signifies its perceived toughness. This extends to if you hop inside, as there are massive plastic aspect steps and chunky seize handles to make ingress simpler.

Inside, there’ll solely be one inside color possibility from launch – black with orange highlights and accents. It’s color alternative given the workhorse nature of a ute.

I respect how the outside and inside designs aren’t too outdoors the field, like another BYD fashions. This permits the plug-in hybrid powertrain to shine as essentially the most out-there a part of the automobile, particularly given it’s a ute.

The motive force’s seat may be very comfy, providing oodles of help for longer drives. Though I didn’t get to spend an excessive amount of time behind the wheel, it’s up there with the Ranger for consolation.

It’s completed in a pretend leather-based, which mightn’t be to everybody’s tastes – particularly people who use their utes as work automobiles. Even in comparison with a Ranger Platinum, it’s relatively plush and mushy.

The motive force’s seat affords eight methods of electrical adjustment, together with thigh help adjustment that’s incredible for taller individuals like myself. The entrance passenger seat additionally affords four-way of electrical adjustment.

Each entrance seats include each heating and air flow, which is operated by means of the touchscreen infotainment system. The latter is incredible on hotter Australian days when fake leather-based will get scorching.

Forward of the motive force is a chunky steering wheel that feels massive in your arms like a ute’s steering wheel ought to. It’s wrapped in real leather-based and likewise feels tremendous premium.

All of the buttons on the steering wheel are fortunately bodily push buttons which might be logically positioned and have a tactile click on motion. The 2 scroll knobs on the backside of the display screen are additionally fantastically positioned so that you don’t have to take your eyes off the street for too lengthy.

Behind the steering wheel, the ten.25-inch digital instrument cluster seems prefer it’s tacked onto the sprint like an iPad Mini. It’s fashionable wanting with clear, minimalist graphics.

A possible catch, nevertheless, is there’s no binnacle above the digital instrument cluster, which can trigger glares and reflections if the sunshine hits the display screen at a sure angle. My time behind the wheel was too brief to have the ability to precisely decide this.

On the dashboard there’s a head-up show that’s additionally minimalist and exhibits the crucial data you’d need to see whereas transferring. I like the way it doesn’t have flashy graphics as they are often distracting.

Transferring throughout to the left, there’s a huge 15.6-inch touchscreen infotainment system that’s the centrepiece of the cabin. As in different BYD automobiles, it rotates 90 levels, although for essentially the most time you’d like use it in panorama mode.

The touchscreen itself seems massive, with loud graphics that pack a punch. As normal, you possibly can both have a wallpaper or the satellite tv for pc navigation on the house display screen. I personally like how the latter seems.

The display screen is straightforward to work together with, like a big iPad, and may be very responsive to the touch inputs. There seems to be loads of processing energy, which suggests if you flick and swipe between submenus they open snappily.

An annoyance is that the local weather controls are embedded within the touchscreen. Fortunately, they’re at all times current on the backside of the display screen, and you should use swiping gestures to alter the temperature and fan velocity. One other different is utilizing the ‘Hey BYD’ voice assistant.

I didn’t get to spend a complete heap of time diving into the nitty-gritty components of the touchscreen, sadly. One of many components I wasn’t capable of strive was how smartphone mirroring works. In line with BYD, wi-fi Apple CarPlay and wi-fi Android Auto are each coming as an over-the-air (OTA) replace.

Trying across the cabin, there are such a lot of premium, mushy touches. This Shark 6 is unquestionably one the plushest utes I’ve been in to this point. It additionally arguably seems extra luxurious than numerous equally sized SUVs at the moment in the marketplace.

Past the touchscreen I respect what number of bodily buttons, knobs and controls there are. BYD claims to have designed the Shark 6’s inside to appear to be a spaceship.

Like all fashionable automobile, there are many locations to cost up your units up entrance. These embrace a 50W wi-fi charger that has a vent to maintain your cellphone cool, in addition to quite a few USB-C and USB-A ports.

First-row storage is okay for the phase, together with an satisfactory centre armrest cubby, glove field, cupholders, and bottle holders within the door.

I’m additionally an enormous fan of the 12-speaker Dynaudio sound system. Charli xcx’s brat remix album had simply got here out once I drover the Shark, so I had the music completely thumping and it sounded nice.

Transferring to the second row it’s a must to remind your self it is a ute as a result of the area again there’s extremely premium. It’s a far cry from the likes of the HiLux’s utilitarian second row.

Not like different utes, the Shark 6’s second-row backrest is reclined backwards additional, permitting you to chill and calm down. The bench seat can also be simply as squishy and supple because the entrance seats, so apprentices shall be driving in consolation.

At a leggy 182cm, I had fairly good leg, head, shoulder and toe room for dual-cab ute requirements behind my very own driving place.

One thing to notice is that the center place is slightly raised in comparison with outboard occupants, although the ground is flat as there’s no driveshaft operating to the rear wheels.

By way of second-row facilities, there are centre console-mounted air vents and each USB-C and USB-A ports, in addition to a 10A family socket.

Across the again, the Shark 6 has an assisted tailgate drop operate. It makes use of a damper to do that, which in flip makes manually closing the tailgate simpler.

The bathtub area on supply is respectable for the phase, however not class main. BYD claims it measures in at 1520mm lengthy, 1500mm vast, and 517mm deep, with a complete capability of 1200L. For context, that is across the similar as what’s on supply within the Ford Ranger Wildtrak.

In comparison with different combustion-powered dual-cab utes which have payload figures of round 1000kg, the Shark 6’s 800kg of payload is down as a result of added weight of the battery pack.

Braked towing capability can also be simply 2500kg, which is 1000kg down on the 3500kg benchmark for the phase.

Tub-related facilities embrace a bathtub liner and lighting, in addition to three 230V family retailers (complete output of 6kW) that can be utilized for vehicle-to-load (V2L).

The latter of those may revolutionise how we use utes in Australia as you possibly can energy electrical home equipment utilizing the ute’s battery pack.

The very last thing I’ll point out right here is that though the Shark 6 has an enormous battery pack, it nonetheless retains a full-size spare wheel, which is extremely uncommon for a PHEV, however crucial for off-road-oriented automobiles and utes.

To see how the BYD Shark 6 traces up towards the competitors, try our comparability software.

What’s underneath the bonnet?

Powering the Shark 6 is a model of the Sealion 6 Premium AWD’s 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine that’s longitudinally mounted as an alternative of transversally mounted, plus two electrical motors (one on every axle), and a 29.58kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery pack.

It’s value noting principally all my driving of the pre-production Shark 6 was off-road sampling the totally different off-road modes. This implies the petrol engine was on for a significant portion of the drive, therefore the upper gasoline financial system determine.

To see how the BYD Shark 6 traces up towards the competitors, try our comparability software.

How does the BYD Shark 6 drive?

One thing I need to flag right away is the Shark 6 examples we drove had been pre-production prototypes, in order that they’re not absolutely indicative of what clients will obtain.

The automobiles had additionally but to obtain ADR approval, in order that they couldn’t be pushed on public roads. As a substitute, we had an hour-long expertise taking the Shark 6 flippantly off-road on sure tracks, and a singular jaunt going from 0-100km/h.

With this in thoughts, we’ll have to order full judgement on this plug-in hybrid ute till we will drive it for longer, at larger speeds, and on extra acquainted sealed roads.

Switching on the BYD Shark 6, I used to be ready to really feel a trembling startup and listen to a chugging idle like a diesel-powered ute. As a substitute, I bought a chime and silence to let me know the automobile is able to drive.

BYD claims this ute is electric-first, and in observe it’s stunning how a lot driving could be executed on electrical energy alone. It’ll fortunately cruise round on EV energy with no fuss in any way and, relying on battery cost, is able to travelling silently at freeway speeds.

The 2 electrical motors are relatively highly effective and as with many EVs they supply instantaneous progress. That is incredible when travelling at low speeds off-road as a result of the complete quantity of torque is offered. It’s additionally straightforward to modulate throttle inputs.

Like just about all PHEVs, the Shark 6 affords an EV mode that means that you can utilise the battery pack cost for driving. It switches off when the battery cost reaches 25 per cent, nevertheless.

In line with NEDC testing, the ute is able to attaining as much as 100km of vary on electrical energy alone and, though I didn’t discover the higher limits of this determine, that appears to be a tad unrealistic. I wouldn’t be shocked if the real-world determine is round 80km, which in all equity if just like what the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV affords.

Your use case could differ however hybrid (HEV) mode appears to be the easiest way to expertise and drive the Shark 6. The powertrain administration is sensible, and choosing driving this manner permits for the battery cost to stay larger for longer.

It does this by switching on the petrol engine to maintain the battery pack topped up from time to time. When this occurred the primary time I didn’t even realise the engine had began. It’s nearly imperceptible.

Talking of the petrol engine, the 1.5-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder by no means immediately powers the wheels underneath 70km/h. As a substitute, it’s like a Nissan e-Energy hybrid system and employs the petrol engine as a generator.

The petrol engine usually idles away to prime up the battery, however for those who’re travelling slightly sooner or up a steep incline the engine will rev slightly tougher. There’s no rpm gauge although, so that you by no means know precisely how excessive or low the engine is revving.

It’s stunning how rapidly the petrol engine can prime up the battery cost. There’s additionally a maintain/cost mode that means that you can hold a specific amount of cost within the battery to be used later.

Above 70km/h the petrol engine does assist development, however solely on the entrance axle. There’s no bodily linkage between the entrance and rear axles, with solely an electrical motor on the latter.

One good thing about that is there are fewer parts underneath the automobile to influence floor clearance.

All collectively the BYD Shark 6 is very highly effective – some could argue it has slightly an excessive amount of mumbo for a dual-cab ute. With 321kW of energy and 650Nm of torque at your disposal, this 2.7-tonne beast will get up and transferring rapidly, particularly in Sport mode.

BYD claims the Shark 6 can do the 0-100km/h dash in 5.7 seconds, making it faster than a Ranger Raptor. In observe with 4 individuals within the automobile and on a hill, this determine felt fairly correct.

The primary a part of the acceleration is on EV energy alone, after which when you attain round 50-70km/h the petrol engine fires up and revs loudly. It’s humorous having the delayed engine startup as a result of I’m so used to having engine noise from a standstill, particularly when flooring it.

I used to be anticipating that in the direction of larger speeds the Shark 6 would really feel out of puff, however even uphill at 80km/h it felt like there was nonetheless lots left within the tank. I’d have an interest to see if that’s nonetheless the case with a trailer connected and a low battery state of cost.

There are two totally different regenerative braking modes that each really feel pure for anybody hopping out of combustion-powered automobiles. As with all BYDs, there’s no correct one-pedal driving mode.

However there are two brake pedal modes along with the regenerative braking modes that change how the pedal feels and reacts. I sadly didn’t spend sufficient time behind the wheel to note any tangible distinction between them.

As normal, the BYD Shark 6 affords the standard Regular, Eco and Sport drive modes, however there are additionally Mud, Sand, and Gravel terrain driving settings.

The latter modes not solely change the calibration of the throttle and powertrain setup, but additionally flip off sure capabilities like traction management, autonomous emergency braking, and the parking sensors to minimise their intrusion off-road.

One thing to notice is the terrain modes require wheel slip earlier than braking spinning wheels and sending torque to the wheels with most traction. This might be mounted with a locking entrance and rear differential, however you’d need to be performing some fairly hardcore stuff earlier than requiring this.

The ute additionally solely comes with Continental street tyres as normal, although due to BYD’s partnership with Ironman 4×4 you possibly can seemingly swap these out for some meatier freeway terrain or all-terrain tyres fairly simply.

Rounding out the off-road-oriented options, there’s hill descent management that in contrast to different programs doesn’t ship ABS noises reverberating into the cabin. As a substitute it really works away quietly and successfully.

In observe, it does a fairly good job of conserving the automobile round 8km/h, although at some factors, particularly when first tipping over the sting of a decline, the velocity would stand up a bit too excessive. It will be good for those who may management the set velocity.

I drove two pre-production examples of the Shark 6; the primary was an earlier construct and it had humorous steering really feel that felt lumpy. Throughout sure components of turning the wheel it felt gentle after which at others it firmed up.

This wasn’t the case with the opposite, newer instance I drove. Its steering was linear, fluid, and straightforward to guage. There are additionally two modes – Regular and Sport – that can help you change how agency the suggestions is.

As I discussed above, just about all our driving was executed off-road and regardless of this I used to be shocked how properly sorted the journey is. This seemingly comes right down to the Shark 6 getting coil-sprung rear suspension as an alternative of leaf springs on the again, as per most utes.

Should you didn’t inform me the Shark 6 was a ute, I seemingly wouldn’t have recognized from behind the wheel. It’s very SUV-like with its journey consolation, permitting you to deal with tougher bumps with out unsettling your passengers. The way it handles on twisty bitumen stays to be seen.

What shocked me past the just about silent powertrain is that the cabin can also be actually quiet. There have been no rattles or creaks, although it is a pre-production prototype that has been thrashed and examined by many individuals.

As a substitute, it was so quiet within the cabin that the rustling of our shirts and jackets had been making essentially the most noises, permitting occupants to simply have a dialog.

By way of manoeuvrability, I wasn’t capable of get the complete image throughout this low-speed off-road drive, although the 13.5-metre turning circle is on par with its rivals. The ute’s surround-view digicam system additionally has immaculate high quality.

Given we had been driving off-road for essentially the most half, I additionally didn’t get an opportunity to check out all the protection programs. One which did trigger a minor annoyance, nevertheless, was the motive force consideration monitoring.

It solely went off just a few instances, however it was sufficient to make me need to flip it off. It’s good to do that by venturing deeply into the touchscreen infotainment system’s menus. And it additionally must be turned off each time you drive it as a result of it defaults to on.

Lastly, the Shark 6 is likely one of the few PHEVs in the marketplace to supply DC fast-charging. BYD claims {that a} 30-80 per cent cost on the ute’s most 55kW DC fast-charging charge takes round 25 minutes.

To see how the BYD Shark 6 traces up towards the competitors, try our comparability software.

What do you get?

At launch the BYD Shark 6 will solely be provided in a single range-topping trim.

BYD Shark 6 Premium highlights:

Exterior

• 18-inch alloy wheels
• Full-size spare wheel
• Mounted aspect steps
• Aluminium roof rack
• Shark fin antenna
• Spray-on tub liner
• Automated LED headlights
• Automated high-beam
• LED tail lights
• Entrance and rear fog lights
• Rain-sensing wipers
• Heated, folding aspect mirrors
• Puddle lights
• Sound-proof entrance glass
• Rear privateness glass
• Keyless entry
• NFC card

Inside

• 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster
• 15.6-inch touchscreen infotainment system
• Head-up show
• Voice assistant
• FM and DAB+ radio
• Wi-fi Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (coming with OTA replace)
• Satellite tv for pc navigation
• Music streaming
• 12-speaker Dynaudio sound system
• Twin-zone local weather management
• 2x USB-C ports
• 2x USB-A ports
• 50W wi-fi charger
• 12V socket
• 10A family socket
• Push-button begin
• Auto-dimming rear-view mirror
• Leather-based-wrapped steering wheel
• Heated and ventilated entrance seats
• Black fake leather-based upholstery with orange accent stitching
• 8-way energy adjustable driver’s seat with 4-way lumbar
• 4-way energy regulate entrance passenger seat

BYD will supply the Shark 6 in 4 totally different exterior colors – Atlantis Gray, Arctic White, Cosmos Black and Outback Orange. The latter will solely be out there for examples arriving subsequent yr.

Is the BYD Shark 6 protected?

The BYD Shark 6 hasn’t been examined by ANCAP or Euro NCAP simply but.

Customary security gear contains:

• Autonomous emergency braking (AEB)
• Rear collision warning
• Blind-spot monitoring
• Entrance and rear cross-traffic alert
• Lane departure warning
• Lane hold help
• Adaptive cruise management
• Clever Cruise Management
• Driver fatigue monitoring
• Little one presence detection
• Encompass-view digicam
• Entrance and rear parking sensors

How a lot does the BYD Shark 6 value to run?

The BYD Shark 6 will seemingly be coated by the identical six-year, 150,000km automobile guarantee and eight-year, 160,000km battery guarantee as the remainder of the carmaker’s lineup.

BYD hasn’t confirmed logbook servicing intervals and pricing but.

To see how the BYD Shark 6 traces up towards the competitors, try our comparability software.

CarExpert’s Tackle the BYD Shark 6

Though my preliminary drive was temporary, the impression the BYD Shark 6 has left on me is profound. I’ve by no means skilled a ute fairly like this.

The cabin presentation and know-how is a lower above something its present rivals supply. Even in pre-production prototype guise, the ute feels strong and properly screwed collectively.

There’s an overarching premium really feel to the inside that mightn’t be to each potential ute proprietor’s tastes, but when high-end Ranger 4×4 gross sales are something to go by, that’s what the market calls for.

The premium really feel is felt notably within the second row, the place the backrest is tilted again at a extra comfy angle, and the seat itself is plush. I’m hard-pressed to think about a mid-size ute with a comfier rear bench.

That is all earlier than attending to how the Shark 6 drives. It’s tremendous quiet and SUV-like, even off-road. There’s additionally a lot energy on faucet that it could nearly be an excessive amount of for the on a regular basis particular person.

One other vital consideration past the fuel-saving advantages of EV driving is that the Shark 6 affords loads of V2L charging functionality. This implies you possibly can energy a variety of family or tenting home equipment and even commerce instruments wherever you need, battery cost allowing.

All this makes the Shark 6 an providing that would revolutionise the ute phase and the way individuals use the sort of automobile.

In fact, there’s the most important caveat that we’re but to drive the ute on public roads or at larger speeds. We additionally nonetheless don’t know the way a lot it’ll value.

Till then, I’ve to say I’m very impressed.

Fascinated by shopping for a BYD Shark 6? Get in contact with one in every of CarExpert’s trusted sellers right here

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