A 12 months after it was launched in China, BYD’s Fangchengbao off-roader sub-brand has launched its second new mannequin, the Bao 8. Bigger than the Bao 5, it’s a three-row body-on-frame SUV with both six or seven seats, plus a extra highly effective plug-in hybrid powertrain.
That powertrain continues to be BYD’s Twin Mode Off-road (DMO) Tremendous Hybrid system, however right here you get a bigger 2.0 litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine as a substitute of the Bao 5’s 1.5 litre mill, producing 245 PS and 380 Nm of torque.
That is paired with a devoted hybrid transmission (DHT) and two electrical motors – the one on the entrance is equivalent to that of the Bao 5 and makes 272 PS and 360 Nm, whereas the rear motor is barely extra highly effective and churns out 408 PS and 400 Nm. Complete system output is rated at 748 PS and 760 Nm, enabling the Bao 8 to dash from zero to 100 km/h in 4.8 seconds.
Juicing the electrical motors is a barely bigger 36.8 kWh Blade lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery that gives the identical 125 km of pure electrical vary (on the lenient CLTC cycle, that’s) because the Bao 5. Couple that with an enormous 91.5 litre gas tank and also you’re taking a look at a complete vary of 1,200 km. The Bao 8 helps as much as 120 kW of DC quick charging, topping up the battery from 30 to 80% in 16 minutes.
All fashions get the DiSus-P hydraulic physique management system that’s solely optionally available on the Bao 8, providing 140 mm of peak adjustment and a camera-based adaptive perform. The automotive is able to a water wading depth of as much as 890 mm and comes with a rear locking differential, with the Flagship variant additionally gaining a entrance differential lock.
The Bao 8 is very large – at 5,195 mm lengthy, 1,994 mm broad and 1,905 mm tall, it’s 305 mm longer, 24 mm wider and 15 mm decrease than the Bao 5, whereas its 2,920 mm wheelbase is 120 mm longer. The truth is, it’s even bigger than the Toyota Land Cruiser 300, which maxes out at 4,985 mm lengthy.
Wanting all of the world like a stretched Bao 5, the Bao 8 carries over a lot of that automotive’s boxy, rugged aesthetic. These embody rectangular LED headlights with C-shaped daytime working lights, an upright glasshouse with a wraparound windscreen design, fin-like body-coloured C-pillars, outstanding entrance and rear haunches, small vertical taillights and an exterior spare tyre.
Extra sophistication comes within the type of flush pop-out door handles, large 20-inch six-spoke alloy wheels and triple roof bumps much like the Yangwang U8. The centre bump homes a lidar sensor, related to the motive force help package deal that we’ll get to later.
The dashboard, in the meantime, has been carried over just about wholesale from the Bao 5, with a tall and broad centre console, jewel-like clear switchgear and seize handles on both aspect. Identical to its smaller sibling, the Bao 8 is roofed in screens, together with two 12.3-inch shows for the motive force and entrance passenger, a humongous 17.3-inch centre touchscreen and a head-up show.
This financial institution of screens run on BYD’s DiLink 150 infotainment system, outfitted with an AI giant language model-powered voice management and help for display screen mirroring with Huawei smartphones. The tech large has additionally offered the Bao 8 with its Qiankun ADS 3.0 know-how, enabling highly-automated driving on highways and distant parking help, together with metropolis automated driving and even a “valet parking” perform as choices.
Different options embody an 18-speaker Devialet sound system, Nappa leather-wrapped powered seats with reminiscence, heating, air flow and therapeutic massage capabilities, triple-zone local weather management, soft-close doorways and twin 50-watt Qi entrance wi-fi chargers. A digital rear-view mirror and evening imaginative and prescient are unique to the Flagship variant.
The second row options both bench seats or captain’s chairs and include power-adjustment, heating, air flow and, within the case of the six-seater variations, therapeutic massage capabilities. The third-row seats even have power-reclining backrests.
The Bao 8 is priced between 379,800 yuan (RM234,200) and 407,800 yuan (RM251,400). The smaller Bao 5 has already been earmarked for a doable introduction into the Malaysian market, and we will anticipate the identical for the Bao 8, though the shortage of incentives for PHEVs means that it’ll probably command a excessive worth if it comes right here. Would you continue to purchase one? Pontificate within the feedback after the bounce.
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