BYD Tang electric car driving report

BYD would like to gain a long-term foothold in Germany in particular. After all, there is good money to be made here, but it is also the most demanding market in terms of build quality, safety and driving dynamics. To satisfy the latter, the chassis has been retuned for the facelift before the Tang comes to Germany in the third quarter of 2024.

The Tang is primarily intended to appeal to families and offers space for up to seven people. In the almost five-meter-long all-wheel-drive SUV, the last row is naturally only suitable for the children. The rear bench can be moved lengthways and the backrests can be adjusted to different angles. This means that even a long journey can be endured in a relaxed manner in the rear. However, comfortable seating has an impact on the trunk volume. In the basic configuration with three rows of seats, there are 235  liters, so large families should not take too much luggage with them. If the backrests of the third row are folded down, the volume increases to 940  liters. If you tilt the seat backrests of the second row forward, the volume increases to 1655 liters.

More binding than before

The all-wheel drive of the BYD Tang has two electric motors (front 180 kW, rear 200) with a total output of 380 kW. This allows the Tang to accelerate from a standstill to highway speed in 4.9 seconds and reach speeds of up to 190 km/h, ten km/h more than before. Despite the Tang's state-owned weight of 2630 kilograms, there is enough power for the 4.97 meter long seven-seater to be relaxed and fast on the road. This is also due to the improved chassis, which is much more authoritative than that of the Chinese version.

Electricity is supplied by an LFP blade battery with a capacity of 108.8 kilowatt-hours (previously 86 kWh). This results in a range of 530 kilometers according to WLTP, 130 kilometers more than the predecessor. The larger batteries are also accompanied by an improvement in charging performance. Up to 170 kW is possible at a DC fast charger. This fills the batteries from 30 to 80 percent within half an hour. When filling up with alternating current, the Tang now draws 7.3 kW with a three-phase 11 kW. A heat pump fitted as standard increases efficiency. If desired or necessary, the Tang with Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) can be transformed into a mobile charging station with an output of 4 kilowatts. It can be used to power electric barbecues or other household appliances, as well as all kinds of power tools.

In addition to battery technology and range, infotainment also plays an important role in China. This is why the swivel touchscreen has been increased from 12.8 to 15.6  inches. The twelve loudspeakers of the Dynaudio audio system provide voluminous sound, and the large glass roof provides pleasant light. In typical Chinese style, you can control the opening and closing of the roof, the air conditioning settings and the unlocking of the doors via smartphone app.

Swampy brakes

The fact that the Tang is set up rather comfortably is in keeping with the design of the e-crossover. Unfortunately, the brake setup takes some getting used to. The pedal travel is long and a pressure point can hardly be felt, which makes well-dosed braking much more difficult. It is quite possible that BYD will work on this. When it comes to the steering, we prefer the standard setting to the sporty, taut setting. There is no sailing mode for the recuperation and we prefer to leave it in the standard setting.

BYD has not yet been able to tell us the fuel consumption and prices. After our test drive, the system reported 24.2 kWh/100 km. In view of the larger battery, we assume a starting price of around 70,000 euros.

(mki)