Within BYD’s electric model offensive, the Yuan Plus is the electric SUV that has most surprised so far. It costs less than rivals, has good performance and a generous equipment list. Taking into account that BYD is a brand new to the market and still unknown to Brazilians, its new product proved to be interesting for what it costs. R7-Autos Carros tested the novelty for a week.
On the outside, the Yuan Plus repeats the styling that debuted on the Han SUV with a wide front frame and clean styling. Even generic in the visual solutions like the stretched headlight and the lines that suggest “movement”, the design of the crossover pleases.
Inside, BYD was much bolder. There are curved lines on the panel that suggest the design of sea waves and the quality of the finish is impressive. There are no burrs or disengaged parts. It’s the same level of trim as premium brands in their entry-level models.
There are different solutions like the floating digital cluster over the steering column, the detached 12.8-inch swiveling multimedia and the inner door lever in the shape of a shell or a throttle. On the door’s finish, the strings of a guitar that emit low sounds. There is also a good object holder and good internal visibility with large windows.
The engine has almost the same power as what is offered in the Chevrolet Bolt. It is the electric engine with 204 hp and 31.6 kgfm with a range of up to 460 km in the city and 380 km on the road. It is powered by Blade LFP batteries, lithium iron phosphate, with 60.5 kWh. In our urban test it reached 420km before warning that it was necessary to recharge the batteries, a good number without a doubt.
Equipment list
BYD Yuan Plus is sold in a single version. It has a 360° panoramic camera with 3D mode, Intelligent Cruise Control with Stop and Go, Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA) system in addition to traction and stability control, 6 airbags: 2 front, 2 front seat side and 2 curtain side, Electric Front Seats, Automatic Parking, Blind Spot Monitoring (BSD), Traffic Sign Recognition (TSR) and Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB), Traction Control System (TCS), plus Electric Parking Brake (EPB) and driving modes – Eco, Normal and Sport.
The maximum speed declared by BYD is 150 km/h but we reached only 125 km/h on a highway. How did he do? Check it out: Sufficient performance and suspension with some tweaks left to do
BYD Yuan Plus is light with sports car performance. In Eco mode performance is very limited and in Sport mode it is agile with drier responses in hard driving. In normal mode the steering will be extremely light as well as the brake pedal.
In stronger braking the ABS acts quickly which may not please everyone. Although it is balanced, the shock absorber responses could be a little better and more comfortable. It is not difficult to reach the “end of course” on speed bumps and ditches.
The Yuan plus is very well equipped but has some flaws such as not offering Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in a multimedia with a large and rotating screen, even having high resolution 360° cameras.
BYD Song Plus: the hybrid SUV that runs 1,100km on 1 tank and is cheaper than the Tiggo 8 and Compass 4XE. See the video!
Certainly the R$ 269.9 thousand are interesting looking at the context of the competitors. With 204hp, the Yuan has the same power as the Chevrolet Bolt, which is less equipped and costs R$ 329,000. It also costs less, around R$70,000, than the Volvo XC40 Recharge and is only R$10,000 more expensive than a Peugeot e-2008. Not to mention that BYD offers the Song Plus DMi hybrid for the same price, but that’s a topic for a future article.