New Denza Bao 5 arrives in UK with 544hp
Separate chassis, hybrid power, under £70k - how worried should Land Rover be? We try it out ahead of FOS debut
BYD premium brand Denza has arrived. If you're attending FOS this weekend, you will hardly be able to miss that fact, so large is the manufacturer's on-site footprint. Its headliner will be the supercar-ish Denza Z (more on that soon enough), but that model is a niche-filler by definition. Its other contender is aimed at the nation's soft underbelly; specifically where the likes of the Land Rover Defender and Toyota Land Cruiser do spectacular, queue-forming business. So while the new Bao 5 might sound more like a delicious steamed bread roll than a proper 4x4, its appearance and impressive on-paper spec are very much intended to draw second looks.
Using a 1.5-litre petrol engine, two electric motors and three separate differential locks, the Bao 5 is a £70k SUV with 544hp and a 50:50 weight distribution, complemented by an active hydraulic suspension system for its body-on-frame platform. Our first go was limited to a brief drive on the roads around Goodwood, although thanks to the lack of maintenance provided by Chichester District Council, we learned more than you might expect on tarmac.
Looks good, doesn’t it? Angular and boxy, and more than a little like a Land Cruiser in some ways, there’s no denying that the Bao 5 has the sort of presence which doesn't need a silly colour to stand out. It’s rugged inside too, with grab handles, heated/cooled seats and a storage box, plus physical buttons to control off-road functions - although predictably there are also three massive screens on the dash as per the rules of cars that herald from the People’s Republic. But there’s a head-up display as well, which is useful for keeping your eyes focused on the road.
Elsewhere, it’s rather annoying to find that none of the interior’s mechanical switches let you make adjustments to climate control settings. That requires you to dive into the menu and fiddle with digital buttons. At least the driving assistance bings and bongs are relatively easy to switch off - it’s just a wipe down and a tap of each of your most hated settings, albeit every time you start the car. The general fit and finish though, is superb. It feels well-built, with no squeaks even if you grab the screen with both hands.
There’s lots of space on offer as well, with the Land Cruiser again providing an obvious influence on the upright driving position. The seats are soft and supportive, and come wrapped in heated and cooled nappa leather on the £79k Ultimate we’re driving. For reference, the Toyota starts at £80,945, and the Defender 110 (which is more compatible in size than the 90), is from £84,250. We’re not for one second pretending that the Denza’s cabin feels on par with Land Rover’s upmarket off-roader - but the amount of standard kit you get is impressive.
It’s mechanically capable with that plug-in hybrid setup, with a 2.5-tonne braking towing capacity, V2L capability (despite not being a fully electric car), and with its cell-to-chassis construction, there are five layers of protection for the car’s battery underneath. With the 1.5-litre petrol engine working alongside the electric motors, the Bao 5 has 561lb ft of torque for a 4.8-second 0-62mph time. Certainly, it looks to be broadly capable with its on- and off-road credentials, even if it does fall a little short on practicality.
The boot, which has a side-opening door and a spare wheel bolted to the back like the Defender, has 430 litres of space, which falls well short of the Toyota and Land Rover. You can fold down the rear seats to turn the Bao into a flat-loading-floor van of sorts, but again, the alternatives have more overall space. At least rear legroom is good, with a full panoramic sunroof to ensure space between your head and the ceiling is also very generous. You can imagine this being quite appealing as a family car, even for those who never go off-road.
Well, that is until you drive it on the road. With that body-on-frame construction obvious from the get-go, the Bao 5 feels rigid over bumps at lower speed - not sufficiently so to feel crashy, but it’s a world away from Defender's comfort levels. Conversely, at higher speed through corners, the Bao 5 rolls around like a top-heavy 4x4 of old, smothering intrusions well enough but also leaving passengers looking for a grab handle.
With no time for off-roading, it’s only the occasional jaunt up a verge or into a pot-hole-ridden gravel carpark that provides us with an early hint of the car's 4x4 potential. Denzo makes bold claims for its abilities on the rough stuff, and they’re backed by an adjustable ride height that offers a 140mm range, with 90mm of that being upwards of the default setting. It'll go lower, too, although wherever you set it, the Bao 5 definitely ain’t no BMW X5 in the bends.
That said, it’s quick. Not off the line, mind you, as the initial hit of performance is smooth rather than sudden. But once rolling, the petrol engine acts like a generator to power the trio of electric motors and gives you a strong and unbroken shove of torque to the national speed limit. The claimed 0-62 time is entirely believable, although the slow, 4x4-style steering rack and strong but grabby brakes mean it doesn’t feel natural to carry this pace into corners. The Bao's direct rivals provide a more convincing on-road experience.
But there’s no denying that for the price - and for its looks, likeable interior and straight-line performance - not to mention a surprisingly refined road noise levels and a decent claimed PHEV electric range - make it a genuine threat to the Defender and Land Cruiser alike. With BYD’s dealer network growing by the minute and the Denza brand piggybacking off of that, you don’t need to look twice at Jaecoo sales to think that some UK buyers might be persuaded to put brand familiarity to one side. The Bao 5 isn’t as good to drive on the road as a Defender, but perhaps it doesn’t need to be. If it can offer even half of what the Land Rover does on the rough stuff, Denza might be more than halfway there...
SPECIFICATION | DENZA BAO 5
Engine: 1,497cc, turbocharged 1.5 four-cylinder plus twin e-motors (31.8kWh battery)
Transmission: Single-speed (E-CVT), all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 544
Torque (lb ft): 561
0-62mph: 4.8sec
Top speed: 112mph
Weight: 2,890kg
MPG: 72.4
CO2: 42g/km
Price: £69,500 (Ultimate tested: £78,880)
544hp...that will do well in the commuting to the shops traffic light Grand Prix where you can feel great about yourself ripping up an old dear in her Hybrid Yaris.
I am sure they will sell like hotcakes all the same.
The fact that they don't cut the mustard doesn't matter to a massive chunk of the buying public & just go on price.
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