DENZA B5 Review

DENZA may have made quite the splash with its D9 MPV here, but this second model in its local lineup has been designed to ford more than just the occasional puddle.

It's called the B5, and if you haven't guessed from its slew of rugged design touches, it's poised to win over those looking for something a little more macho from BYD's premium arm.

Chunky wheels and a pair of eyelets for tow hooks both add to the rugged visual appeal of the DENZA B5

Tall and handsome

Like your off roaders big? This B5 should be right up your alley.

At 4,888mm long, 1,970mm wide, and 1,920mm tall, it has the sheer mass to give those who would otherwise consider models such as the Mercedes-Benz G-Class and the Defender some pause.

Plus, there's no denying that it also looks the part. Strong, boxy fenders and its equally boxy silhouette mean this DENZA B5 would look right at home if it were crawling through the sands of the Rub' al Khali or ferrying some scientists deep into the Arctic.

And it shouldn't be found wanting for power on those challenging environments either. DENZA states that this B5 pushes out a total of 425kW (570bhp) thanks to a plug-in hybrid drivetrain that makes use of a 31.8kWh battery alongside a 1.5-litre combustion engine.

The DENZA's plug-in hybrid drivetrain makes light work of this car's 2,940kg total weight, but its small 31.8kWh battery means you'll need to be constantly plugged in if you want to save on petrol

All ready

It also acquits itself well even when put to the test on our local roads.

The car behaves more like an all-electric car than many of the plug-in hybrids we have tested when its battery has charge to spare, with its combustion engine only awoken when you're really pushing hard.

Cabin noise levels here are also on par with those you'd expect from an all-electric car. And further raising passenger comfort levels in the DENZA B5 is the fact that its suspension system here does an excellent job of ensuring precious little gets to disturb its cabin.

Selecting between different off-road driving modes can be done quickly via a scroll wheel on the steering wheel, and the background of the car's 12.3-inch instrument cluster changes to suit

You have quite a fair bit of power available with every flex of your right foot, and acceleration is strong once you've got a bit of speed under your wheels. But if you need to be somewhere urgently, you'll find that 'throttle' calibration could use a little fine tuning: The B5 exhibits quite some initial lag when you're moving off from a standstill. You quickly learn to drive this thing with a heavy foot when you're moving from traffic light to traffic light.

Body control, meanwhile, is commendable (especially given its tall statue). The B5 does well to reign in the sort of floaty, underdamped sensation that plenty of softly sprung Chinese cars deliver when met with road undulations or when driven at highway speeds.

There's a host of physical buttons from which you can further control how the car distributes power to each wheel, and the jewel-like switches here are a nice added touch

Strength to spare

But there's no getting around the fact that it weighs a hefty total of 2,940kg when it comes to the efficiency figures. Our afternoon photographing the thing (a drive of more than 20km) saw it draining nearly a third of its battery capacity, even with occasional support from its petrol engine.

We also observed that the car would repeatedly work its engine once you're close to a 20% state-of-charge to prevent its battery from draining any further. So, if you want to save on your petrol bill, you're likely going to have to plug it into a charger at least once every other day. This shouldn't be too surprising given that DENZA states that this B5 delivers a meagre 90km of all-electric range. The good news is that the 1.5-litre engine transmits scant little of its noise or vibrations even when you're gunning along.

And if you do decide to lock away the remaining charge in the battery, the B5 will return a fuel economy of close to 10.8km/L. A commendable figure, given the car's weight as well as its sheer size, which can't be doing it any favours when it comes to aerodynamic efficiency.

Passengers in the B5 will find plenty of room to spare, and there's even a compartment that can cool or heat your drinks

Plenty of toys

And it's not as if there's nothing to look forward to when you're parked up and waiting. As you'd expect from a premium product, those in the front row get treated to massaging and ventilated seats, while those at the back will have more than enough head room and knee alongside leg room.

There's even a handy compartment in the centre console that can either keep your food warm or your drinks cooled, which I imagine will come handy when you're out on longer drives or indeed out on an off-road trail.

The DENZA B5 may look tough and rugged on the outside, but its high ride quality and host of creature comforts mean owners won't have to tough it out when travelling in one

At a rather tasty price

So, should you get one?

At $348,888 (inclusive of COE), this DENZA B5 undercuts options such as the Defender (available from $357,888 before COE) or the significantly more expensive Mercedes-Benz G500 (which can be yours from $787,888 COE included, all prices as of press time), and thus should prove one tempting option for those looking for the associated brand image and road presence that comes with driving a large off-road machine.

That is also offers high comfort and refinement levels as we have witnessed today should only further works in its favour. And if DENZA could bring to our island a variant of this B5 with a more sensible power output so the model doesn't invite such a large road tax bill, this model should have no problem winning its own set of fans.

If that were possible, the rest of us should prepare to see more DENZAs plying our roads.

Like your SUVs big, powerful, and electrified? Be sure to also catch these reviews:

The Volvo XC60 T8 makes power and refinement more accessible than ever

There's also the comfortable all-electric Hyundai Ioniq 9 to consider

But maybe the feature-packed Zeekr 7X is more what you've been looking for?