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By Jonathan Crouch

Is the BYD Shark the ultimate pick-up? Jonathan Crouch decides.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 31

In entering the pick-up market, you might have expected Chinese maker BYD to offer an all-electric contender. Instead, it here delivers a powerful PHEV in the form of this Shark model.

Backgroundword count: 116

The BYD Shark is a new kind of PHEV pick-up. Let's take a closer look. The market has changed for pick-ups. Since trucks of this kind were government-classified as cars, an awful lot of users have had to move to Plug-in Hybrid or EV drivetrains to keep their tax bills affordable. EV pick-ups are expensive and payload-limited (or both). As for the idea of a PHEV pick-up, well for some time, the market could only offer one, the Ford Ranger PHEV. But that's now changed with the arrival of this BYD Shark. It's far more powerful and longer-ranging than its Ranger rival. And looks just as assertive. But the value proposition will take some careful thought.

Driving Experienceword count: 267

As the sales figures illustrate, BYD is very good at Plug-in Hybrid drivetrains and that shows here. The Chinese maker calls this particular one it's 'DMO' (or 'Dual Mode Off-Road') set-up. And it combines a 1.5-litre turbocharged four cylinder petrol powerplant with the two electric motors that are mostly used to drive the vehicle. This 'Super Hybrid' set-up's combined power output of 436PS is in a different league to the modest 281PS of a rival Ford Ranger PHEV. And this BYD makes 62mph in a Ranger Raptor-like 5.7s - faster than a Golf GTI. Plus there's a prodigious 650Nm of torque. All this being the case, it's surprising that this Shark's braked towing capacity of 2,500kg is a tonne down on that Ford. This Chinese model regains ground with vastly more EV range than its Blue Oval rival - up to 55 miles, compared to just 27 miles with a Ranger PHEV. And that's to be expected because this Shark's big 32.2kWh battery is almost triple the size of the one in the Ford. As with BYD's PHEV cars, the Shark can operate either as a parallel Hybrid, when the engine motors work together to power the vehicle; or as a series Hybrid, where the engine just charges the battery. If you're planning to go off road, you might worry about this BYD's lack of a low-range transfer case or locking differentials. But the Chinese maker insists that this kind of capability is covered off instead by the provision of multiple off-road drive modes that can optimise power delivery off piste (Mud, Sand, Snow and Mountain settings).

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