The BYD Yuan Plus, a 100% electric SUV from the Chinese automaker, arrived in Brazil with enough attributes to disturb the main players in the segment, such as Jeep Compass and Honda HR-V, and become one of the best sellers in the country in the future.
After spending some time with the car and writing a full review about it, the Canaltech also listed 5 highlights on the surprising Chinese SUV.
BYD Yuan Plus: Target Audience
BYD Yuan Plus came to Brazil with a well-defined purpose: to serve the public that sees the future of electric cars with good eyes and wants to experience the segment, but does not have the financial conditions to invest in a more premium model, like the BYD Tan itself. — with prices in the range of R$500,000.
The brand’s “entry-in” SUV does not bring all the luxury and comfort of the brother that paved the way for BYD in Brazil, but it still offers interesting items, such as the rotating multimedia center or the small , but efficient, digital cluster.
Check below the list of 5 reasons for you to BUY BYD Yuan Plus.
5. “Friendly” artificial intelligence
In times of controversy involving ChatGPT and other forms of artificial intelligence, nothing better than a car with a friendly AI, right? And BYD Yuan Plus is a great example of that.
One of the features present in the Chinese SUV is that a female voice warns the driver and the occupant of the front seat, in case of forgetting, about the need to correctly fasten the seat belt.
Just leave the car without protection for the friendly AI to warn, in good Portuguese (and with a Portuguese accent): “Please, for your safety, fasten your seat belt”. For all these reasons, this item opens the list of 5 reasons to BUY BYD Yuan Plus.
4. Driver assistance package
In addition to Artificial Intelligence with a Portuguese accent, BYD Yuan Plus has other features often only offered in premium segment models, that is, in a much higher price range than that charged by the automaker for its entry-level electric SUV — USD 269,990.
The driver assistance package, for example, is extremely complete and useful for everyday use. During the tests of the report of the Canaltechsound and visual signals were emitted whenever a cyclist or a pedestrian about to cross the street appeared along the way.
The 360º camera is also a show in itself and an excellent help for those who tend to have difficulties when maneuvering cars the size of an SUV like this one, which measures 4,455 mm in length, 4,455 mm, 2,720 mm wheelbase, 1,875 mm in width and 1,615 mm in height.
3. Design interior
The third item on the list of 5 reasons to BUY the BYD Yuan Plus probably won’t please everyone, but for the article’s Canaltechhas become quite an attraction: the interior design, which mixes futuristic elements, such as the gearshift in the shape of an airplane stick, with other unusual ones.
The automaker, it is not known why, decided to innovate in the object holder of the front doors and exchanged the traditional plastic finish for ropes similar to those used on clotheslines to hang clothes.
The strangest thing of all (and yet we like it) is that they emit sounds, in different chords. Needless to say, on many occasions we found ourselves trying to play Smoke on the Waterby Deep Purple, while we waited for the traffic to clear or for the son to leave school, right?
2. Performance and handling
The penultimate item on the list of 5 reasons to BUY the BYD Yuan Plus is actually a performance + drivability combo. The electric motor installed on the front axle gives the driver 204hp of power and instantaneous torque of 31.6 kgf/m.
The behavior of the SUV in the face of this immediate delivery is the best possible. BYD Yuan Plus has three driving variants (Eco, Normal and Sport) and two steering wheel adjustment modes (Sport and Normal). Depending on the choice, the SUV changes its dynamic behavior a little, especially when cornering at slightly higher speeds.
Regardless of the selected mode, the Yuan Plus is agile and conveys a huge sense of security, with excellent stability and satisfactory torsional rigidity of the bodywork, despite some occasional more sudden rolls while driving.
According to BYD, the SUV accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.3 seconds and has a top speed electronically limited to 160 km/h. We didn’t get to test it for safety reasons, but the “kickback” when stepping on the accelerator is, without a doubt, quite strong.
1. Autonomy
Closing the list of 5 good reasons to buy the BYD Yuan Plus is autonomy. And why is this reason important? Because BYD Yuan Plus, regardless of Inmetro’s new determinations, delivers what it promises. And even more.
The declared autonomy of the electric SUV, before the new ordinance requiring the PBEV numbers, was 458 kilometers per cycle. Now, the information is that the Yuan Plus runs “only” 294 km on each full charge.
What was seen in practice, however, was surprising, and much more faithful to the original numbers than to the revised ones. Unlike many electric models that we have already tested, in which a stronger acceleration is enough for the battery to “evaporate”, the BYD Yuan Plus and its Blade set traveled 462 km and ended the period with the report with 22 km in the “tank”.
