With BYD currently making waves in the Philippine market, the timing seemed right to introduce its premium brand Denza into the country. So in February of this year, it did a formal brand launch as well as debuting the Denza D9 executive MPV, and this was followed by the launch of the B5 and B8 SUVs in April.
Probably because of my previous experience with premium cars, my editors decided to assign a Denza B8 for my very first new-car review. It’s a premium full-size plug-in hybrid SUV with three rows of seats and loads of off-road spec and tech available in both seven-seat Dynamic and Premium six-seater variants. Priced between P5 million to P5.5 million, it’s up there with some pretty serious company like the Land Rover Defender, the Nissan Patrol, and the Toyota Land Cruiser 300. Let’s see if this new SUV can, as they say, play with the big boys.
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Styling
Make no mistake, the Denza B8 is a large vehicle—it measures almost 5.2m long and rides on a 2.9m wheelbase; it is also almost 2m wide and 1.9m tall and weighs over 3,000kg. This is a massive SUV that is unapologetic about its exterior proportions.
The squared-off two-box design features a broad front end with LED daytime running lights, allowing for a modern EV-like face. The door cladding, black 20-inch wheels and wheel arches call attention to the side profile, and flush retractable door handles give an indication of the PHEV nature of the vehicle. The large doors are equally heavy, featuring double glazing for added sound insulation. Not noticeable in the Eclipse Black demo unit are the thick pillars of the Denza B8; while they give off a robust and solid image, this comes at the expense of exterior visibility.
Out back, the Denza B8 has a side-hinged tailgate with a full-size spare tire mounted on the rear door reminiscent of classic 4x4 off-roaders but, again, limits outward visibility. The large side-hinged door could prove challenging when trying to load items if you are parked in tight spaces, and that door with the spare tire can be heavy and unwieldy.
Interior
Stepping into the Denza B8, you immediately know that this is a premium car, with the all-black interior giving you a moody but sensuous feel. The interior feels pretty well-screwed together. Soft-touch materials are abundant in the cabin, highlighted by the ultra-soft Nappa leather upholstery on the seats that incorporate heating, ventilation, and a massage function. This Premium variant comes as a six-seater, so the second row has two fully electric captain’s chairs that also comes with heating, ventilation, and massage functions which make them very executive-like and luxurious. Room in the second row is excellent, allowing passengers to easily cross their legs. While the third row is surprisingly roomy, I still would not recommended using it for long journeys.
Trunk space with the third row up is virtually non-existent, with only 147 liters available, but folding down the third row opens everything up to expand storage to 902 liters. The lift-over height is quite significant, and there is a large space between the cargo floor and the bumper, so loading heavy items will need some care to avoid scratching the top of the bumper. For the golfers out there, I am happy to report that the width of the cargo area is over 120cm and can easily accommodate a golf set horizontally.
The dashboard is dominated by the 17.3-inch infotainment system that basically controls the whole car. There are physical buttons on the center console, and the steering wheel gives you direct access to various functions. These buttons offer a solid and tactile feel when activated.
There is also a 12.3-inch instrument cluster in front of the driver that gives you real-time driving information and serves as the display for the night vision function. This screen gave a little too much information for my taste, and the abundance of numbers and diagrams proved to be confusing and, at times, distracting.
Engine performance
The B8 is powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged petrol engine that is paired with two electric motors, front and rear, and has a total combined output of 603hp and 760Nm of torque. It also comes with a 36.86kWh LFP battery that Denza claims can give you up to 115km of pure EV driving. I never drove the car at crazy speeds, but when I did need to floor the pedal for some overtaking, I found the power adequate, not the rapid acceleration that pushes you back on your seat that I was expecting of 603hp and 760Nm. I can only attribute this to the vehicle’s weight; at 3,290kg, those 603 horses surely have their work cut out for them.
The engine is very quiet and smooth for a four-cylinder, and the transition from pure EV to hybrid mode is not felt at all; only a discreet low hum indicates that the 2.0-liter has come to life.
I kept my standard driving habits and left the drive mode in ‘normal,’ with about 70% of the time spent cruising on the expressways at normal highway speeds. I also charged the battery to 100% before taking measurements, and I switched to full EV mode as often as I could once the engine had charged up the battery. In the days I had the B8, I drove a total of 571.5km and consumed 49.06 liters of fuel for an effective fuel consumption of 11.6km/L—better than expected for this type of vehicle. It is worth noting that I never recharged the vehicle after that 100%, so I suspect that owners who are able to charge on a regular basis can use the EV mode as much as possible and expect even lower fuel consumption.
Ride and handling
The is positioned as Denza’s flagship SUV, and it has the suspension tech to back it up: Front and rear independent double wishbone suspension with coil springs that integrates Denza’s DiSus-P intelligent hydraulic body control system that is designed to use the on-board cameras to scan the road ahead and adjust the suspension to best suit the road conditions.
The driving experience of the Denza B8 on smooth city roads and well-paved highways was excellent; the ride was plush and comfortable as expected of a premium SUV. The cabin was very quiet, insulating you from the noises of everyday traffic, and there was little to no wind noise at highway speeds. Steering was very light at low speeds, making easy work of parking and maneuvering the big SUV; it was accurate enough and offered decent feedback as to what the front wheels are doing—nothing exciting here, but it really does not have to be for a car like this.
Things were a bit different, though when going over bumps and potholes as the vehicle suddenly felt a bit clumsy and produced an annoying oscillation and body shudder, something very familiar when driving a vehicle with a ladder frame chassis. Only this was a lot more pronounced, probably because of the sheer mass of the B8 and its 20-inch wheels, which I set the tire pressures at the recommended 41psi.
Stopping this 3,000kg vehicle is no easy task, and to slow the B8 down from speeds, four-wheel disc brakes are highlighted by massive 380mm discs and six-piston fixed calipers up front. The brakes do an excellent job of stopping the B8, but it could use improvement in pedal feel and actuation—stepping on the brakes (even at slow speeds) produces no effect for the first 10mm or so, then suddenly the calipers will grab, resulting in sudden braking making smooth deceleration challenging.
I had no off-road adventures with the B8, nor did I push the car hard into corners, so we can leave that for another review.
Extra features
The equipment list in this Denza B8 can be overwhelming, with a standard features list far exceeding its price tag. It comes with a full complement of ADAS, which they call DiPilot and contains features that have almost as many acronyms as a Gulfstream. I find the system to work very well and does not annoy you with unnecessary dings like other systems I have tried.
The 17.3-inch infotainment screen is responsive, easy to read, and while the 18-speaker Devialet audio system produced clean and crisp sound, I felt it could use a little more bass. The Android Auto interface worked extremely well, never once disconnecting or hanging while I had the car, and I also noticed that the system does not drain the battery as much, but in the event that happens, two 50W wireless charging pads are available. The center armrest doubles as a seven-liter heat and cool box whose temperature can be adjusted from a freezing -6 degrees to a warm 50 degrees Celsius.
Given my limited time with the Denza B8, there were a lot more features the spec sheet suggested that I no longer had the time to try. I did realize that these items are nice-to-haves but not essential for the way I use a vehicle; I am talking about features like heads-up display, voice command, remote vehicle start, and the digital rearview mirror. I also was not able to download the Denza app, which gives you real-time status updates about the vehicle—for real owners, this will be an essential feature.
Verdict
My experience with the Denza B8 was positive; whilst it is still not up there yet with its competitors, it is coming pretty close. This is Denza’s first attempt at a full-size premium SUV, and it’s a pretty good attempt; yes, it has its shortcomings, but I am pretty sure most of them can be fixed by the 100,000 or so engineers BYD employs in its R&D department, so I can only imagine what the refreshed or new product can be.
But as Filipino buyers of premium products have come to expect, the ownership experience is as important as the hard product itself. As a new company that is not even a year old, they need to convince future owners that the brand will be there for them if and when things go wrong with their close P5.4 million car. The six-year vehicle and eight-year battery warranties are a good start, and as long as Denza Philippines makes good on these and gives the customer the aftersales experience expected of a premium brand, then things should be good.
Denza, an invented name from Chinese Tengshi, roughly translates to rising power and momentum. Given the number of B5 and D9s I am now seeing on the road in just a few months, they seem to have been off to a good start. I do believe only time will tell if they are able to sustain this momentum.
SPECS: Denza B8 Premium 2027
Powertrain: 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder + 36.864 kWh battery and front & rear electric motors
Transmission: Electric Hybrid System drive
Power: 603hp
Torque: 760Nm
Drivetrain: Front engine 4WD with front and rear differential locks
Suspension: Front & rear double wishbones with coil springs and DiSus-P
Seating: Six
Price: P5,398,000
Score: 8/10
More photos of the 2027 Denza B8 Premium:
