What have we got here?
BYD Cars has just launched its very first pick-up truck, the BYD Shark 6 DMO, and invited us to drive it for a bit. And while we’d gladly trade the scorching heat, scouring dust, and battle-torn dirt tracks for a sit in a chaise lounger at a nearby coffee shop—a nearby air-conditioned coffee shop—we came away suitably impressed by what we experienced.
Wait, BYD? Building a truck? Seriously?
Whoa, whoa, hold on there, that’s a lot of questions. But to answer: Yes, yes, and yes. BYD has taken a look at the lucrative pickup truck market and has decided, “Sure, we want some of that” and has gone ahead and built one mother trucker of a vehicle.
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And how much trucking truck are we trucking—er—talking here?
The Shark is a big one. At 5,457mm by 1,971mm by 1,925mm, it’s longer, wider, and taller than a Ford Ranger, or any other midsize truck on the market, for that matter. Only the Ranger Raptor is appreciably wider, and only because of those big off-road-ish wheels and tires. And even then, the big boy Raptor is a few hundred kilos lighter than the 2.7-ton Shark. Yes, boys, Brucie hasn’t been watching his diet. But this Shark also has some muscle, with 430hp on tap and a claimed 0-100kph time of 5.7sec. Given our short drive, we believe that figure to be pretty accurate. This truck can hustle.
So it’s fast, but can it do truck-like things?
With the caveat that any manufacturer-built off-road course is designed to flatter the car taking it, well, yes, it can do truck-like things. The Shark has its battery bolted to the frame rails rather than sandwiched between floorboards, which gives the body-on-frame Shark unibody levels of chassis rigidity. Add to that fully independent coil-sprung suspension, and the big boy tackles typical off-road obstacles with ease and in surprising comfort. There are no creaks or squeaks from the chassis twisting on full-articulation obstacles, and a 31-degree approach angle and 700mm wading capability make hill climbs and mud plugging a breeze. Full-time electric all-wheel drive means you get drive traction at all wheels at all times, rather than spinning power away when you’ve got two in the air.
Sounds like a truck.
Well, not quite. It’s very hard to pin down, but that weight and suspension setup make it feel a lot like a crossover SUV. It’s relatively plush-riding and steers well, but with the extra weight and power going through the front drive axles, it tends to understeer a bit when you’re plowing into a corner at speed on the dirt. There’s little danger of spinning loose like unladen diesel pickups are wont to when you’re hooning around. The rear motor is tuned more for torque than acceleration, and only kicks in when the computer senses a need to trim the sails on this gigantic battleship—gigantic, incredibly fast battleship—so it’s more a reactive system for safety rather than having fun.
What about utility?
The Shark’s interior is impressively large, with headroom and legroom to spare. There’s even enough space in the center bench to sit behind the A/C vents. And everything is covered in soft-touch leatherette rather than hard, scratchy plastics. There are even dip switches to play with, making you feel like you’re driving a bit of luxury industrial equipment rather than a mainstream pickup.
The cargo bed has a capacity of 1,200 liters, but like its 4x4 diesel competitors, the extra drive hardware limits cargo capacity to around 800kg. Not the end of the world. The 2.5-ton towing limit, on the other hand, is lower than many diesel competitors. It’s still capable of pulling a modestly large air-conditioned camper, mind you. And the three 220-volt outlets in the back provide 6.6kW of power, which is enough to run that camper—with the A/C running—overnight. There’s protection built in to keep you from fully draining the battery, but as with other DM-i vehicles, the 1.5-liter turbo engine puts out enough juice to run the vehicle by itself.
Recharging speeds are limited to 55kW, but the modest 29kw pack doesn’t take more than half an hour to top it up. The gas tank is likewise modest, at 60 liters—compared to 80 liters for most pickups—but with a full tank and battery pack, you’re looking at 800km of range, and over a thousand at a push, as demonstrated by BYD on a recent economy run.
So it’s a winner, then?
Yes—or rather, maybe. The lack of a diesel engine and the modest towing rating will certainly deter the hardcore truck buyer, and we don’t quite know yet how this heavy monster will do in truly rugged terrain, but for the typical lifestyle buyer who’s buying a truck as an all-around vehicle, the appeal of an electric Swiss Army knife may prove tempting. Add to that the reasonable P2,098,000 starting price, on-road performance, and driving range far beyond any competitor at this price range, and this looks like another sure hit for BYD.
