Denza B5 - A New Chinese Defender Rival is Coming to the UK
BYD's Luxury arm, Denza, is soon to land in UK showrooms, and Alex Goy has been to China to try out the B5 ahead of its arrival.
Who owns Denza?
Denza is coming to Europe, and with it comes (it hopes) new options for people bored of luxury cars from Germany, the UK, and elsewhere. It falls under the BYD umbrella of companies, and where the likes of the Seal, Sealion, and other water-based creatures are good for all, Denza's cars will be just for those in the know. The B5 is a chunky off-roader, with eyes firmly trained on Land Rover. Is it good enough to best the masters? Maybe..? A quick trip to China to play was enlightening.
Defender Rival?
The Denza B5 (or so it'll be called when it gets here) is a chunky, angry looking thing. Where the Land Rover Defender has to take inspiration from past iconic shapes, the Denza isn't as rooted in the past. There's more than a hint of 'America' in its shapes, which'll go down well in some circles. It still has to tick the off-roader boxes though, as such it's tall, wide, looks like it was chiselled out of some sort of rock, and has lots of shiny bits on it to make onlookers think the driver's really, really cool and has loads of mates. It's not for the shy and retiring, basically.
Interior
Inside is much the same story - there's lots of 'style' bits that are all swoopy and angled towards making you feel like you're in charge of something designed to take flight, not something that'll get you over a damp field in a hurry. It screams 'Gifts for Him,' and looks like it smells of bergamot and beer. A chunky 15.6-inch touch screen dominates the centre console - through that you switch drive modes, use nav… all the usual things. It seems slick 'n quick, and the animations on offer are pretty sweet. The whole package is cool, but feels like it's trying a tiny bit too hard - as though a focus group decided what 'off-roader for cool guys' looks and feels like, and BYD agreed with everything. But hey ho, everyone's different, and the looks of the B5 will appeal to more than a few people.
Power and Performance
When it comes to power, the B5 isn't messing about. It's powered by a 1.5-litre turbocharged motor linked to a 31.8kWh battery and a pair of electric motors. Combined, the whole lot produces 677bhp and 561lb ft, which is quite a lot of power when you think about it. BYD says it'll get from 0-62mph in 4.8 seconds, then head up to 112mph. As it's still a China-only car, pricing is TBC for the UK, but a direct conversion from the local pricing puts it at roughly £25,000-£31,000. Though there's no way it'll be that cheap when it gets here.
Driving the B5
Sadly, there wasn't a chance to drive the car on China's roads for various, dull reasons. Instead, BYD has its own off-road course to play on. There are, of course, many modes to play in, and plenty of them promise wonderful things. We let the car's various sensors figure out what's best for it as we attacked multiple surfaces and terrains. Of course, the track has been custom made to make the B5 and its siblings look good, so expecting it to falter too much would be foolhardy.
Still, setting off meant its impressive torque got time to shine, and its convincingly sprung from the line. The first obstacle was lumps, bumps, cobbles, and the sort of stuff you'd find in most old European towns. It was pretty grim going for the spine, as the car managed to slink over it with ease, but physics is still physics. The good thing is, the massaging seat function is pretty fantastic - while your back's being thrown up 'n down 'n all around, the seat will make it feel better when the ride settles.
Up next, a fearsome-looking set of banks to get some angle on, and if you're feeling brave enough, balance the car on two wheels (I was not feeling brave enough). Again, the B5 just… did it. It pushed itself up, was easy to straighten out, and leaned at the sort of angles that many would struggle with. It was all rather impressive. When instructed to drive down a set of angry looking steps, the B5 bounced the occupants around a bit, but it got everyone down without any fuss. For a fleeting moment, driving down those steps, it all felt a bit action movie-ish.
When faced with a steep incline, it was time to switch to 'crawl' mode, which will set the car to chug along at low speed without any human intervention. While you do this, you're treated to a see-through view of what's going on underneath the bonnet as you go, just in case there are any big rocks, or errant… things in the way. Again, it simply got on with the task and didn't sweat anything.
There were more lumps, rocky bits, sections of banking, and other obstacles, but the Denza B5 didn't seem to care much for them. They were in the way, and all of a sudden they weren't.
Prices in the UK
Just like with the Denza Z9 GT we also featured recently, UK prices are officially TBC; however, we expect pricing to be between £60,000 and £90,000, depending on specification, and we'll need to wait a few months to get the official line.
Having a decent SUV in your armoury is a wise move when you're launching a new brand in Europe. For some, having a big 'ol box with lots of space is non-negotiable; for others, knowing that said box can clamber up a steepish drive without issue is essential. Truth be told, the Denza B5 was very impressive, but that comes with a huge caveat: it was on home turf. If you put a BYD product on a track designed by BYD to show BYD cars in their best possible light, there's a pretty strong chance that the BYD vehicle will excel. We'll see what it's like in the real world soon enough.
words by Alex Goy
photography by BYD/Denza
