Summary: Purely on a value-for-money basis, the BYD Shark 6 warrant inclusion on your shopping list, but if it’s off-roading you want, or towing a large caravan, it may not measure up.

2025 BYD Shar 6 PHEV dual cab ute

Pricing:  $57,900 (plus on road costs)

Options: premium paint $700, basic tonneau $1162, sports bar $1382, bull bar $3892

Warranty: Six-years, 150,000 kilometre, eight-year battery warranty, eight years roadside assistance

Safety: Five-star ANCAP (2025)

Engine: 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine plus electric motors on front and rear axles

Battery: 30kWh

Service intervals: 12 months or 20,000km

Power: 321kW

Torque: 650Nm (combined), 260Nm (petrol engine), 310Nm (front electric motor), 340 (rear electric motor)

Transmission: one-speed automatic, four-wheel drive

Body: 5457mm (long); 19715mm (wide); 1925mm (high)

Build country: China

Kerb weight: 2710kg

Towing capacity: 2500kg

Load capacity: 790kg

Wheels: 18-inch alloy

Tyres: 256/65 R18 Continental

Spare wheel: full size

Ground clearance: 230mm

Wading depth: 700mm

Turning circle: 13.5m

Fuel tank capacity: 60 litres

Claimed fuel consumption: 2.0L/100km (91 RON unleaded)

Fuel consumption on test: 6.8L/100km (600km)

seniordriveraus consumption on test: not tested

[review]

It’s BYD’s Shark and it’s coming for you.

At least it is if you’re in the market for a ute because the Shark, or Shark 6 to be exact, has been a runaway success for the Chinese company.

BYD has sold more than 10,000 examples of the dual cab utility since launch 12 months ago and just to set the record straight, it’s not an electric vehicle – but rather a plug-in hybrid (PHEV).

That makes the Shark rather special, but not quite unique, with competitors such as the Ford Ranger and GWM Cannon Alpha which also come as PHEVs.

What’s it cost?

There’s just the one grade offered, priced from $57,900 plus on-road costs. Premium paint adds $700.

Although the styling breaks no new ground, it’s a good-looking bus, especially at night with its full width LED light arrays front and back.

Interestingly, when you see one behind you in the traffic, it’s difficult to make out the brand because the BYD lettering is reversed in the mirror. LOL.

Standard kit includes artificial leather trim, dual zone climate air with rear vents, a leather-clad steering wheel and power-adjust front seats that are heated and cooled.

There’s also side steps, 18-inch alloys, head-up display, adaptive cruise control, auto high beam, traffic sign recognition, blingy LED head and tail lights, auto-dimming interior mirror, rain-sensing wipers, keyless entry and start, front and rear parking sensors.

Infotainment centres on a huge 15.6-inch centre touchscreen, with a separate 10.25-inch digital instrument.

There’s Bluetooth, voice control, FM and DAB+ digital radio, built-in navigation, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as well as a 12-speaker Dynaudio sound.

The cameras and navigation look great on the big screen, but the computer voice that delivers the directions is diabolical, almost unintelligible at times.

The directions are also a bit hit and miss, sometimes warning you not to take turn outs and at other times completely ignoring side roads.

USB A + C ports are provided front and back, along with wireless phone charging and over-the-air updates.

It also has vehicle-to-load (V2L) capability, with three power plugs in the tray and another three-pin plug in the cabin.

Shark gets a full five stars for safety from the ANCAP organisation.

Seven airbags, including a centre airbag are standard, plus reversing and 360-degree cameras and auto braking are standard (Car-to-Car, Vulnerable Road User, Junction & Crossing, Backover and Head-On).

There’s also a lane support system, with lane keep assist (LKA), lane departure warning (LDW) and emergency lane keeping (ELK), Blind Spot Detection (BSD) and an advanced speed assistance system (SAS).

Two ISOFix and top tether child seat anchors are supplied, but it’s a juggling act to fit the tether to the rear anchor.

Shark is covered by a 6-year/150,000km warranty. A separate eight-year warranty is offered on the battery, along with roadside assistance for the duration.

What’s it go like?

BYD’s Shark is 5457mm long with a 3260mm wheelbase, which makes it longer than Ford’s Ranger.

It weighs a hefty 2710kg, with a big 13.5 metre turning circle, ground clearance of 230mm and a wading depth of 700mm.

Tow capacity falls well short of the mark at 2500kg, while the load capacity is cited at 790kg.

The cabin has an upmarket feel, with artificial leather trim, contrast stitching and bright, metallic orange garnishes.

The seats are reasonably comfortable and rear legroom is good, with air conditioning outlets for rear seat passengers.

The rear seat flips forward to provide access to child seat tether points, but it is almost impossible to pull the webbing taut to make it secure.

There’s USB A and C ports front and back, with a 12 volt outlet front and a 240 volt outlet in the back – plus wireless phone charging.

The Shark’s hybrid system is a bit of a mixed bag, operating in both series and parallel modes.

Below 70km/h it operates in electric only mode, above this speed the petrol engine kicks in to provide extra grunt to the front wheels.

Like the Nissan e-Power system the petrol engine acts as a range extender, recharging the battery on the go – up to a point.

The hybrid system consists of a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine, together with electric motors for the front and rear axles and a 30 kWh battery.

Combined output is an impressive 321kW of power and 650Nm of torque, with drive to all four wheels via a reduction style one-speed automatic transmission.

That makes the Shark surprisingly quick off the mark, with the dash to 100km/h taking only 5.7 seconds.

Drive modes include Normal, Eco and Sport, along with the addition of Mud, Sand, Snow and Mountain all-terrain options (not sure what Mountain is all about).

In Eco mode the rear electric motor basically shuts down.

With a 60-litre tank range is a combined 800km, or it can travel up to 80km on electric power alone.

Like most plug-in hybrids it has claimed fuel consumption of 2.0L/100km.

Energy or power consumption is rated at 21.2 kWh/100km.

But this low fuel consumption figure is entirely dependent on the support of the battery, which in effect means stopping and recharging the vehicle every 100km.

The battery takes its charge from the petrol engine, as well as regenerative braking and of course when it is actually plugged into a wall charger.

That makes it a fairly clever system.

Around town it operates mainly in electric mode, which makes the ute quick and quiet.

But without electrical assistance, fuel consumption will revert to that of a conventional petrol vehicle.

We didn’t have the time or necessary access to recharge the battery.

As such we were getting 6.8L/100km after just over 600km of driving, but that’s still pretty good for a vehicle this size.

We’re not sure why there’s a need for such a big touchscreen. Sure, it’s a selling point, but at 15.6 inches the one in the Shark is almost too big.

The screen rotates between portrait and landscape, but Android Auto and we presume Apple CarPlay, doesn’t work in portrait mode.

Nor will you be able to see it in this mode if you are wearing polarised sunglasses.

A smaller, separate 10.25-inch screen sits in front of the driver.

Voice control implies that Big Brother is listening, and listening indeed it was, as we discovered. We were discussing travel plans and maybe the Cook Islands while driving along the motorway when Google suddenly piped up, declaring that it could help us with these plans – or words to that effect. WTF?

There are physical roller volume controls, on the wheel and in the centre console, but for temperature control you have to access the screen.

The Shark impresses with its strong off the mark performance and lack of background cabin noise.

We can imagine passengers turning and saying: “Wow. This is all right. How much is it, again?”

It’s not until you get the ute out of town and on to some rougher roads that its poorly sorted suspension comes to the fore. The setup features double wishbones and coil springs front and rear, promising better on-road performance. But it’s jittery, juddery and crashes over larger bumps in the road.

The Tasman feels like a magic carpet in comparison.

The brakes are ventilated disc front and back and sophisticated for a ute.

They slow the vehicle smoothly, but tend to jerk it to a stop right at the end – it’s quite annoying.

Off-road? That’s another story altogether.

Although Shark is all-wheel drive, it’s an unusual setup without the option of low range.

The Dual Mode Off-Road (DMO) system is designed to provide a balance of power, efficiency and off-road capability, making it suitable for diverse driving conditions.

Sure, it turns all four wheels, but without low range any physical connection between the front and rear wheels, there’s no apportioning of torque between the front and rear wheels (nor side to side for that matter).

So, despite the requisite ground clearance and approach/departure angles, this will be a limiting factor off road, with lots of wheel spin and a lack of forward progress.

A lack of suspension travel and what are basically Continental road tyres won’t be any help either.

Long story short, we wouldn’t be planning any major off-road expeditions in this vehicle.

The tub has a liner, but does not come with a tonneau, not just to cover the load but to keep out air turbulence from creating drag (which drives up fuel consumption).

A basic tonneau is $1162, a sports bar $1382 or a bullbar $3892.

There are six tie-down points, rear tray lights, and a damped tailgate, with three household power outlets for accessories.

A full-size spare wheel is fitted as standard.

What we like

• Stylish
• Value for money
• Outstanding performance
• Lowish fuel consumption

What we don’t like

• Terrible ride
• Plug-in propaganda
• Small 2500kg towing capacity
• Poor off-road ability

What over-50s need to know

It’s a ute and the usual caveats apply.

It’s hard to get in and out of, truck-like to drive and difficult to navigate city streets and carparks.

It’s hard to get past the price and impressive levels of equipment offered by the Shark.

It’s a looker too, although we’d gladly dispense with the glitzy, brightly coloured interior trim.

But does the touchscreen really need to be that big? You could attach a keyboard and call it a laptop for God’s sake?

Our main gripe however concerns the woeful ride quality.

There’s plenty of shudder and shake, even on relatively smooth, well-formed roads.

And without low range and any differential locks, Shark is going to be a bit of a show pony off-road.

Guys, the suspension really needs some work!

seniordriver comments

Once again, the Chinese have come up with the goods. And it’s showing in the sales figures; BYD is racing up the sales charts. Adding to its appeal is that it’s a PHEV, and the practicality of being able to travel 80km on electric power, plus the reassurance of 800km on petrol when the electric battery is exhausted is a strong incentive.

And all that from just $57,900!

Not so appealing is the thought that Big Brother(or should that be “Big Bluther”?) is listening in.

We’d appreciate it if Chinese companies would make voice recognition and speech mode more intelligible to Australian ears. It’s a problem that had to be addressed by various companies in the past and some had more trouble with it than others.

The lack of towing capacity (at 2500kg) will be a deciding factor for some buyers, especially those planning to tow heavy caravans.

Physical round controls for the radio make sense; having to delve into the screen for temperature control doesn’t.

Another issue will be the Shark’s less than impressive off-road performance. There’s no low range, and no apportioning of torque between the front and rear wheels, or side to side, will limit the car’s ability. As Chris says, you won’t want to plan any major off-road expeditions with the Shark.

The optional tonneau cover is a bit rich… most utes come with at least a basic tonneau as standard.

At this price, and equipped as it is, the BYD Shark 6 looks like an ongoing success story and one that over-50s drivers will be keen to get their hands on.