It isn’t often that we hear from Denza, the brand of
the BYD-Daimler joint venture. Now we do, with a facelift and a new name. The
facelift includes a restyled nose and rear, an updated interior, and a new
name.
It was called the ‘Denza’, without anything else. The new car is called the
‘Denza 500’. And in this case the number 500 does not refer to range, it really
is a name, and that could indicate there are other Denza’s on the way.
Range of the Denza 500 is 451 kilometers measured by
the NEDC standard. The outgoing car did 352 kilometers when
launched in 2014, and last year Denza launched a 400 km version.
The battery pack has been upgraded to 70 kWh (was 62
kWh). Denza claims a consumption of 15.9 kWh per 100 kilometers. Denza also
claims a range of 635 kilometers if speed doesn’t exceed 60 km/h. This is a
rather vague standard often used by Chinese car makers.
The electric motor is located over the front axle
and has an output of 184 hp and 300 Nm. Top speed is 150 km/h and o-100 is gone
in 10.5 seconds. Price after subsidies will start at 299.800 yuan and end at
329.800 yuan, and that makes the Denza one of the most expensive locally made
EVs on the market.
Basic shape of the dash didn’t change, but new touch
screen is much larger and the steering wheel has a sporty flat bottom. The
‘Denza’ badge on the right side is gone. Instead of that there is a small ‘500’
badge. The new nose does it good but can’t hide that the Denza is a really old
car now, launched all the way back in 2014 and based on the platform of the
first generation W245 Mercedes-Benz B-Class. The Denza brand needs some fresher
cars soon or they won’t survive for very long.
