BYD prices Shark Performance as South Africa’s new most powerful bakkie

Launched in Australia back in April, BYD has formally priced the more powerful Shark Performance in South Africa.

Positioned above the “normal” Shark, which now wears the Premium moniker, the Performance steps up from its sibling by becoming the most powerful bakkie ever to the sold in South Africa.

1.5 makes way for 2.0-litre

Aesthetically unchanged from the Premium, the Performance’s biggest gain is its 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine in place of the former’s 1.5.

Outputting 180 kW on its own, the engine is once again paired to a 29.5-kWh battery pack, which powers an electric on each of the axles.

The result is a combined 350kW/700Nm, 29kW/50Nm more than the Premium, which BYD claims will see the Shark Performance get from 0-100 km/h in 5.5 seconds.

While able to travel 640 km with the inclusion of the combustion engine, the Performance has a reduced all-electric range of 80 km, but can now tow 3 500 kg compared to the Premium’s 2 500 kg.

According to BYD, the Performance supports DC charging up to 55 kW, which will require a waiting time of 35 minutes from 30-80%.

As with its sibling, the Shark Performance still has a claimed ground clearance of 230 mm, wading depth of 700 mm, a Crawl function and what BYD calls a Mountain Mode.

Smaller changes

Inside, BYD has made subtle differences, the biggest being the relocation of the gear lever from the centre console to the steering column and, seemingly, fixing the 15.6-inch infotainment display instead of allowing it to rotate.

Also new is the integration of a Google-powered embedded satellite navigation system. Compared to the Premium, the Performance’s specification sheet is unchanged.

Colours

In total, BYD has availed four colours for the Shark Performance:

• Snowy White;
• Obsidian Black;
• Atlantis Grey;
• Outback Orange

Price

Now available, the Shark Performance’s price tag, which breaches the R1-milion mark for the first time, includes a five-year/100 000 km maintenance plan and an eight-year/200 000 km battery warranty.

• Shark 1.5T DMO Premium AWD – R989 900
• Shark 2.0T DMO Performance AWD – R1149 900