MG Mgu9 vs BYD Shark 6

What's the difference?

There’s another ute in town, and this time it’s from MG. The new MG U9 is offered in three grades, and we’re family-testing the flagship Explore Pro.

It lands with a seriously impressive list of standard equipment and the promise of genuine off-road ability. But it’s clear MG isn’t just dipping a toe into the dual-cab market, it’s diving right in.

Does this newcomer have what it takes to challenge the segment heavyweights, or does it need to prove its toughness before earning the trust of Aussie ute fans?

The BYD Shark 6 Performance is the top-shelf variant in the Shark 6 line-up and, as such, it has a larger 2.0-litre petrol engine, an improved off-road system (or so BYD reckons), and 3.5 tonnes towing capacity (up from the Premium's 2.5 tonnes).

This Chinese-built plug-in hybrid electric ute also has more power and torque than the standard Shark 6, with maximum outputs totalling 350kW (up 29kW from the standard Shark 6) and 700Nm (up 50Nm).

And, if speed’s your specific cup of tea, it might delight you to know that the Performance can do the 0 to 100km/h sprint in a claimed 5.5 seconds.

So, with an updated Crawl mode claimed to simulate traditional low-range gearing, is this Shark better off-road than the Premium version?

Read on.