The latest upgrade to Denza’s luxury off-roaders adds updated hydraulic suspension that allows each wheel to be individually raised or lowered, and makes changing a tyre a breeze.
BYD’s luxury arm, Denza, has revealed upgraded versions of its B5 and B8 plug-in hybrid four-wheel drives with a much more advanced hydraulic suspension system.
The top-spec version of the B5, called the Leopard, and the B8 range are already fitted with a hydraulically-controlled adaptive damping system called DiSus-P, which offers height adjustment and ride comfort adjustment.
The newest version, revealed in China, goes further and has been rebranded as DiSus-P Ultra.
Compared to the existing version, DiSus-P Ultra replaces single-valve dampers with a dual-valve system, increases suspension travel from 140mm to 200mm, and offers three-stage stiffness adjustment instead of two-stage adjustment with a new road preview function that can prepare the suspension for uneven surfaces to level out the ride.
Among the capabilities of the new system, Denza’s off-roaders can independently lift a single wheel to allow a jack-free tyre change, and can stay with one wheel raised for up to 24 hours.
Denza also demonstrated a three-wheel driving mode at speeds of up to 15km/h, allowing the vehicle to be moved to a safe location with a damaged wheel off the ground if a blowout happens somewhere that’s not ideal to fit the spare wheel.
Independent wheel control also allows an ‘escape function’ that can adjust each corner of the car and shift vehicle weight to maximise traction. The DiSus-P Ultra system can also be raised by up to 110mm from its standard height, or lowered by up to 90mm, and has a total lifting capacity of nine tonnes.
The system will make its debut in China, where the Denza B5 and B8 are sold under the Fangchengbao brand as the Bao5 and Bao8.
Other changes for the Chinese market B5 and B8 see the plug-in hybrid batteries of both models upgraded to be compatible with BYD’s ultra-rapid 1500kW Flash-Charge system – a significant upgrade to the current 100kW and 120kW maximum DC charging currently available.
Battery capacity for both increases to a larger 46.7kWh size, up from Australia’s current 31.8kWh in the B5 and 36.8kWh in the B8.
Other driveline changes see the combined output of the 1.5-litre engine and dual-motor B5 boosted from Australia’s 400kW/760Nm to 505kW/760Nm, while the 2.0-litre B8 moves up to 550kW and 760Nm, compared to 425kW/760Nm as sold in Australia currently.
The revisions appear to be in how the totals are calculated, rather than engineering changes, with the B8 keeping the same claimed 0-100km/h time of 4.8 seconds in the more powerful Chinese version.
BYD Australia told Drive it has no information about the updated model at this stage.
Kez Casey migrated from behind spare parts counters to writing about cars over ten years ago. Raised by a family of automotive workers, Kez grew up in workshops and panel shops before making the switch to reviews and road tests for The Motor Report, Drive and CarAdvice.
