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Plug-in hybrid double cab reaches 100km/h from a standstill in a mere 5.66 seconds.
The BYD Shark has set the bakkie bar very high. Picture: Mark Jones
I was really looking forward to driving the BYD Shark. It’s South Africa’s first plug-in hybrid (PHEV) bakkie. It makes stupid power, and I wanted to see if all the hype was justified.
There are videos online showing how it takes out the Ford Ranger Raptor. On the road that is, something I honestly thought I would never see.
The BYD Shark has all the tech, luxury and safety any owner could want in a bakkie. But this we have already covered and today is about the highly-anticipated road test. Now, before you say who cares how fast a bakkie is, just remember that every Ford Ranger Raptor that lands here is sold.
ALSO READ: BYD Shark banks on credentials to take down Ford Ranger Raptor
BYD Shark raises the bar
Nobody needs a 300kW bakkie, but seemingly everybody wants a 300kW bakkie. Talking of which, the BYD Shark PHEV produces a combined 321kW and 650Nm from a 135kW/260 Nm 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine up front, plus a 170kW/310Nm electric motor on the front axle and a 150kW/340Nm motor at the rear. The Ford Ranger Raptor makes 292kW and 650Nm for those that want to know.
Racelogic VBOX test equipment loaded. A claim of 5.70 seconds to 100km/h from BYD for the Shark. Which would make it by far the fastest bakkie The Citizen Motoring has tested. And that includes the Ford Ranger Raptor that ran a time of 6.90 seconds. Select Sport Mode. Hit the accelerator, and with just a hint of hesitation as the computers let the hardware know it’s go-time, the BYD Shark bolts off the line.
Cold-blooded Raptor killer
There is no emotion, no sound, no sense of real speed like with the Ford Ranger Raptor. Yet the BYD Shark hit 100km/h in a mere 5.66 seconds. And just like that, the king was gone, and a new king had his crown.
BYD claim an electronically limited top speed of 160km/h for the Shark. I got to this speed in just 14 seconds after covering only 400m of road. Then the surprise came, it did not stop pulling. 170km/h came along, then 180km/h, which is where the Ford Ranger Raptor stops. And finally, just before the 800m mark, the speed limiter kicked in at 185km/h, as seen in the chart below.
The obvious question now is what happens when the battery goes flat? The BYD Shark is quite clever in that driving in pure EV mode or intelligent HEV Mode, the bakkie won’t let the battery go below 25%. You will always have that combined power when you need it.
ALSO READ: Sub-R1m BYD Shark becomes South Africa’s most powerful bakkie
Clever battery tech
We ran the bakkie for as long as we could flat out in Sport Mode in attempt to try kill the battery. It eventually got it down to 13%, but nothing lower. I would have run out of fuel first and that number would still not have changed.
Sure, once you have tried to kill the battery like this, the BYD Shark is then a sitting duck for the Ford Ranger Raptor, but it’s still faster than almost all the other bakkies on the market today. And the moment you stop trying to be stupid, it starts charging the battery up again for full performance and increased EV range. Which brings me to the topic of fuel consumption.
BYD claim a figure of 9.6 litres per 100km and I averaged 9.8L/100km. Which I thought was more than acceptable. But it could have been way better. I don’t have a BYD installed wall charger at home, but if I did, the Shark would almost always be fully charged, and that meant I would have been able to do around 85km on electricity alone. And that for me most days would mean I would not be stopping at a filling station.
Value for money
The BYD Shark is priced at R959 900. If you look at what’s on offer at this price point, this is not a bad deal. If you are still obsessing over this being an out and out war with the Ford Ranger Raptor, it comes in some R300 000 more expensive at R1 270 000. That a big chunk of change. Especially when you consider that the BYD Shark comes with a five-year/100 000km vehicle warranty, eight-year/200 000km battery warranty and five-year maintenance plan. This is something no other manufacturer offers on their bakkies as standard.
ALSO READ: VIDEO: BYD Shark leaps into SA, guns for Raptor’s crown
The BYD Shark is well-appointed with a premium feel interior. The ride quality is okay, if not a bit firm for what is a luxury bakkie. It is faster on road than the Ford Ranger Raptor, and anything else on the market right now.
But you can’t dismiss the sound and emotion that the Ford Ranger Raptor brings to the table. And if hardcore off-roading, or high-speed dirt is your thing, then it is still the bakkie to beat. You know it, I know it, and BYD knows it too. The Shark is more city slicker than cowboy. It’s up to you which one you are. And which bakkie you want.
BYD Shark road test data
