What's the difference?
The Denza B5 Leopard PHEV is the latest in China’s plug-in hybrid invasion of Australia.
Denza is a premium sub-brand of BYD and the B5 is a luxury body-on-frame 4WD wagon with five seats, 16 drive modes, a low-range gear-set on the rear axle, and front and rear diff locks.
It has a packed standard features list, a premium-style interior, about 100km electric-only driving range, and real off-road adventure potential.
But how does this plush plug-in perform off-road?
Read on.
Toyota Australia has made a raft of changes to the current LandCruiser 300 Series line-up as part of the latest round of upgrades, but even though the third-from-top Sahara gets a $1119 price rise, it doesn’t receive any updates.
In an increasingly competitive 4WD wagon market – where some car-makers are offering more standard features and tech at lower prices – has the venerable LandCruiser lost its lustre?
Read on.
The Denza B5 Leopard PHEV is an impressive five-seat premium-style 4WD wagon: it’s reasonably nice to drive, it’s comfortable and it’s a capable 4WD and word on the tracks is that a new software update is set to make it even more of an effective off-roader.
It doesn’t offer the level of fuel economy you’d hope for, and there are issues with elements of its driver-assist tech suite – some of which are jarring and over-reactive – but the B5 looks and feels like a premium 4WD and represents decent value for money, especially when cross-shopped against something like a new-generation Prado.
The Sahara version of the LandCruiser 300 is an impressive large 4WD wagon: refined and comfortable on-road, and it adequately retains that renowned ’Cruiser capability off-road.
It's supremely comfortable seven-seater and has heaps of potential as a touring vehicle, but while there's plenty to like about the Sahara spec, the updated seven-seat GXL (up $2029, to $110,820 excluding on-road costs) offers a more appealing compromise between price and features, especially now that it has a cool box in the centre console, four-zone climate control (previously two), and eight-way power-adjustable driver’s seat (with lumbar support), among other additions.