BYD Shark 6 2026 review: Performance - off-road test | GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV rival tested

Price and features – Does it represent good value for the price? What features does it come with?

8 / 10

The Performance tops BYD’s three-ute line-up, which includes the new, entry-level Shark 6 Dynamic cab-chassis, the existing Premium and the new Performance.

Our test vehicle has a price-tag of $62,900 (excluding on-road costs).

Standard features include:

• 15.6-inch touchscreen multimedia system
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster
• Wireless charging
• 11-speaker sound system
• 360-degree camera
• Tyre-pressure monitoring system
• Heated, ventilated power-adjustable front seats (eight-way driver, six-way passenger)
• A full-sized spare wheel
• A variety of on- and off-road drive modes (including Eco, Normal, Sport, Sand, Snow, Mud and Mountain)

Exterior paint choices include the no-extra-cost Great White, or Tidal Black, Deep Sea Blue and Outback Orange, each costing $700.

The Shark 6 Performance is competitively priced and represents solid value for money against feature-packed top-spec rivals such as the GWM Cannon Alpha Ultra PHEV (from $64,490 drive-away), Ford Ranger Wildtrak PHEV (from $70,000 drive-away), and, because of its range of standard features and its top-quality look and feel, this Shark even represents good value against the cheaper JAC Hunter X PHEV (from $54,844 excluding on-road costs).

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Design – Is there anything interesting about its design?

8 / 10

The BYD Shark 6 Performance is 5457mm long (with a 3260mm wheelbase), 1971mm wide (1660mm wheel track), 1925mm high, and it has a kerb weight of 2775kg.

I appreciate that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but it’s easy to point out that BYD’s Shark 6 is one of the better looking utes on the market in terms of widespread mainstream appeal.

It manages to straddle the line between being a too bulky, wannabe Alpha and a too-soft, fully cityfied ute.

The inside is just as easy on the eye and doesn’t stray into over-the-top territory.

Good job, BYD.

Practicality – How practical is its space and tech inside?

8 / 10

The cabin is very impressive as it’s practical with an overall high-level premium feel to it. Fit and finish and build quality are also very impressive and there are plenty of soft-touch surfaces.

The driver and front-seat passenger seats are comfortable and everyone in the cabin is well looked after with ample charge points, storage areas and general amenities.

The 15.6-inch touchscreen and the 10.25-inch driver’s display are easy enough to use and – for better or worse – you can control most aspects of in-cabin comfort and entertainment from that screen.

Back-seat passengers are well looked after as it is very comfortable across that rear pew and there’s a surprising amount of room.

At the business end, the Shark’s tray is 1520mm long, 1500mm wide (1224mm between the wheel arches), and 517mm deep. So it’s shorter, narrower and shallower than a Ranger tray (1547mm long, 1584mm wide, 529mm deep).

It has a sturdy looking tub liner, six tie-down points, a cargo-area light and a three-plug power outlet.

Under the bonnet – What are the key stats for its engine and transmission?

8 / 10

The BYD Shark 6 Performance has a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine – producing 180kW (up 45kW from the standard Shark 6) and 380Nm (up 120Nm) – and it has an electrical motor at the front and rear.

Maximum total outputs for the entire hybrid system are 350kW (up 29kW) and 700Nm (up 50Nm).

The Shark has a 29.6kWh battery and the petrol engine – and regen braking – feeds power into that battery during general driving.

It has a single-speed reduction gear/dedicated hybrid transmission, which enables electric-only driving and hybrid operation, switching between modes based on throttle demand and battery level, an all-wheel-drive system (split between the front and rear) and Drive modes include Eco, Normal and Sport, while Terrain modes include Sand, Snow, Mud and Mountain.

The newly tweaked Crawl/Leopard mode is claimed to simulate mechanical low-range 4WD to manage torque and traction on steep or slippery terrain.

Driving – What's it like to drive?

8 / 10

On road, nothing has changed about the BYD at all, except for the fact the Performance has more power and torque than the standard Shark 6, so it makes for an even smoother driving experience than in its standard stablemate.

There's plenty of power and torque available – and it’s delivered as even-handedly and as quietly as you’d expect in a Shark 6 – and its single-speed reduction gear (aka hybrid transmission) is smooth.

Steering has a light but precise feel about it, and ride and handling on sealed surfaces is exceptional.

Off-road, first things first, the Shark 6 is best thought of as an all-wheel-drive vehicle, so if you drive it within the capabilities of a traditional AWD off-roader, you'll be fine.

The traction control system has apparently been updated and it seems to work well as long as the Shark 6 is driven with consideration.

It does have a variety of drive modes, including Snow, Mud, Sand, and Mountain and this ute is effective for light-to-moderate difficulty off-roading: dry, well-maintained, bush tracks, with some shallow corrugations, etc.

It's no hardcore rock crawler, and even though it is now equipped with a reworked crawl mode (aka leopard mode), an electronic approximation of traditional low-range gearing and a diff lock function. While the introduction of any improved off-road traction control is welcome, it’s certainly not a cure or magic pill. It does help in terms of the Shark 6 getting torque to the dirt in a more effective manner than before – and as a result this ute does climb a little bit easier than a standard Shark 6, which does not have this software update.

Crawl mode irons out some of the regular Shark 6’s issues but, at the risk of belabouring a point, it's still best regarded as an all-wheel-drive vehicle.

A few factors work against the Shark 6 in off-road scenarios.

It is a big vehicle with a kerb weight of 2775kg and a 13.5m turning circle, so the Shark’s claimed 230mm ground clearance and 700mm wading depth are standard for this size of dual-cab ute.

It has a 3260mm long wheelbase and while its approach angle (31 degrees) is standard for a dual-cab ute, its departure (19.3) and rampover angles (17) are far from ideal, especially when 25-30 degrees (departure) and 21-24 degrees (rampover) are standard measures for dual-cab 4WD utes.

Because of that shallow ramp-over angle the Shark’s underbody – right where this hybrid’s battery pack is located – is quite vulnerable to scrapes and knocks, so you do have to drive it with ample care and consideration.

As in so many other contemporary utes, some off-road flaws or niggles boil down to standard showroom tyres. This ute would do a whole lot better off-road if it had larger, more aggressive tyres - 33 inch tyres would be great on its 18-inch wheels.

The Shark 6 would also benefit from a lift kit, just to give it that little bit more flexibility in terms of off-road angles.

If you were to drive the Shark 6 hard at every off-road obstacle in an attempt to monster your way over it, chances are you could get up, over or through whatever the challenge is, however, you risk damage to vehicle or people and, besides, the Shark 6 requires more nuanced driving than that.

Payload is listed as 725kg but minus the 350kg towball download and it’s 375kg. Once you get adults, kids, a surfboard or two, camping gear and your dog onboard, you’ll rapidly run out of payload in this ute.

Towing capacity is 750kg (unbraked) and 3500kg (braked), one tonne more than the standard Shark 6. Gross vehicle mass is 3500kg; gross combined mass is 6650kg.

While I had this vehicle for this test, BYD Australia issued an urgent safety recall for 32,009 BYD Shark 6 dual-cab utes built between August 2024 and June 2026 due to a risk that the spare wheel could detach while driving.

I checked the test vehicle’s VIN against the recall list as advised and it was one of the recalled vehicles. I hadn’t experienced any issues with the spare wheel carrier but I removed the spare tyre from the underbody carrier as advised. I returned the ute after testing as requested without incident.

Efficiency – What is its fuel consumption? What is its driving range?

8 / 10

The Shark 6’s official fuel consumption is listed as 1.3L/100km and it has a listed combined driving range – petrol and electric – of 640km.

Electric-only driving range is claimed to be 80km. I consistently used 75 per cent over 60km (dropping the Shark’s charge from 100 to 25 per cent) so I reckon that 80km range figure is pretty close to accurate.

The Shark 6 has a 60L fuel tank and I reckon you can reasonably expect a combined driving range – full-tank and full-charge – of about 600km.

That fuel consumption relies, however, on the state of charge of the battery, and once it drops from 70 to 25 per cent, fuel consumption through the petrol engine can increase substantially. I've seen a fuel consumption figure indicated in the driver dash display of 7.4L/100km on average.

Safety – What safety equipment is fitted? What is its safety rating?

8 / 10

The BYD Shark 6 Performance has the maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating.

As standard it has dual front airbags, dual side airbags and curtain airbags (that cover both rows) and far-side airbags for the driver.

Driver-assist tech includes auto emergency braking (AEB), rear cross-traffic alert, lane-departure warning/intervention, blind-spot warning/intervention, adaptive cruise control and that new crawl control mode.

Ownership – What warranty is offered? What are its service intervals? What are its running costs?

7 / 10

All new Shark 6s are covered by BYD’s six-year/150,000km warranty and 12 months of complimentary roadside assistance is included.

The Power Battery pack and Drive Unit (including Drive Motor and Drive Motor Controller) are covered for eight years or 160,000km, whichever occurs first, with a guarantee of at least 70 per cent battery capacity retention.

After the first service appointment at six months (at no cost), servicing is then scheduled at 12 month/20,000km intervals. Scheduling and costs are as follows:

• 3500km or six months - $0
• 20,000km or 12 months - $569
• 40,000km or 24 months - $749
• 60,000km or 36 months - $476
• 80,000km or 48 months - $1599
• 100,000km or 60 months - $373
• Total - $3766

Verdict