by In Wulong, Chongqing, a light rain mixed with heavy fog turned Fairy Mountain into “Wushan Mountain” and turned “running the mountain” from an enjoyment into a challenge.
“I really didn’t expect that it had been sunny before.” The staff member said apologetically.
However, the sudden change in the weather actually became a good opportunity to test the strength of this BYD Tang DM-p.
Compared with the DM-i technology that consumers are already very familiar with, DM-p sounds a little strange. In fact, they are the “two golden flowers” produced by BYD DM technology.
As early as 2008, BYD launched the DM1 technology, which was installed on the F3DM model launched in December of that year. After 12 years of accumulation and four iterations, BYD released the DM-i and DM-p dual-platform strategy in 2020. Among them, “i” stands for “Intelligent”, pursuing energy-saving and efficient structural design concepts to satisfy consumers who pursue economical car use.
“p” stands for “Powerful”, the structural design concept pursues power and extreme speed, and satisfies consumers who pursue speed. Therefore, the vehicle is generally equipped with a 2.0T engine + front and rear dual motors, and the power performance is even better under the blessing of the electronically controlled four-wheel drive system.
BYD Tang DM-p | Source: BYD
Recently, the author conducted a test drive on Tang DM-p 215KM four-wheel drive flagship version in Fairy Mountain, Chongqing. The slippery road surface and the surrounding fog had some influence on this test drive, but it also made the author have a good understanding of Tang DM-p. performance has a new understanding.
Cars like Model 3 and Model Y are not the only ones that play with the sense of acceleration and pushback.Tang DM-p, which weighs 2.4 tons, can also have extreme performance and control,And the grades are not bad.
From simple fast to “feeling with feet”
In the era of new energy vehicles, the Chinese market has completed “changing lanes and overtaking”, and has advantages in both core technology and supply chain. Chinese manufacturers also have the confidence to shout out that Chinese brands are not just about competing for cost performance, but are based on technology and provide users with subversive products and experiences.
Specific to Tang DM-p, the first thing I feel is the hardware configuration that is directly full: the size is a circle larger than the domestic BMW X3, but the price is 100,000 cheaper; in terms of chassis structure, Tang DM-p also uses Electric four-wheel drive, electronically controlled active suspension and Eaton differential lock on the rear axle; acceleration from 100 kilometers to 4.3 seconds.
In particular, there is a “4.3s” logo on the right side of the rear of the car, which shows that BYD is very confident in its own acceleration. This speed is not only better than the Mocha DHT-PHEV (4.8 seconds) and the M5 four-wheel drive performance version (4.8 seconds), but also 0.1 seconds faster than its own Tang EV (4.4 seconds).
Behind these performance data is DM-p’s “electricity-based” four-wheel-drive hybrid architecture. The core components, the 1.5T high-efficiency engine for Xiaoyun plug-in hybrid, and the EHS160 electric hybrid system have all been fully upgraded. The maximum power of the system is 452kW (approx. 615 hp).
This also makes the power of DM-p higher than that of many top luxury cars. It is understood that the 4.0T+8AT automatic manual gearbox of the new Audi A8L is equipped with a rare V8 engine on the market, and the maximum horsepower is only 460 horsepower.
Of course, when evaluating a car, you can’t just look at the configuration on paper. The most important thing is the actual driving experience, especially the dynamic adjustment.During the test drive, Tang DM-p left a deep impression on the author. Except for the slightly blurred and sticky steering feel, the driving texture is more stable, solid, and the feedback is clearer.
In pure electric mode, the torque output of the vehicle is very direct, without waiting for the delayed output of the “internal combustion engine + gearbox”, so the acceleration performance from zero to one hundred kilometers is inherently fast. During the test drive, when the author stepped on the accelerator, the vehicle used the constant torque characteristic of DM-p to eject the author at an extremely fast speed through the dual motors, and felt “speed and passion”.
It is worth mentioning that the pure electric cruising range of Tang DM-p has reached 215 kilometers, which basically meets the daily needs of most users. In the actual use of the car, many people drive less than 200 kilometers per week, so even if they do not have home charging conditions, Tang DM-p owners can still meet users’ pure electric commuting in cities for 5 working days a week.
At the same time, thanks to the 1.5T high-efficiency engine dedicated to BYD Xiaoyun plug-in hybrid, the DM-p has a comprehensive cruising range of up to 1020km, which can easily cope with long-distance travel on weekends and even holidays, and bid farewell to people’s mileage anxiety. This is also an important reason why the growth rate of hybrid vehicles exceeds that of pure electric vehicles.
“Big” and “Athletic”
As a medium and large hybrid SUV, Tang DM-p is an out-and-out “big guy”, with a vehicle weight of more than 2.4 tons, which is also the heaviest among competing products in its class. In comparison, the Mocha DHT-PHEV weighs about 2.1 tons, and the QJ M5 four-wheel drive performance version weighs 2.35 tons.
For such a heavy car, driving on a rugged mountain road is a very big challenge for body stability, chassis suspension, steering and power output.
BYD Tang DM-p | Source: BYD
During the author’s test drive, Tang DM-p performed relatively calmly, whether it was starting in the wet or when cornering, with very good driving quality and excellent grip performance.Even when turning the steering wheel in a hurry, Tang DM-p can apply a strong brake at the first moment of fast steering, so that the speed of the vehicle can be quickly reduced. Coupled with the strong grip of the tires, the entire driving is very easy to control .
Behind this is Tang DM-p equipped with three hard-core performance configurations, intelligent electric four-wheel drive, DiSus-C intelligent electronically controlled active suspension and Eaton differential lock.
Among them, through the DiSus-C intelligent electronically controlled active suspension, the driving status of the vehicle can be monitored in real time. When driving on bumpy road conditions, this intelligent electronically controlled suspension can instantly reduce the damping of the shock absorber, keeping the body as stable as possible while increasing the comfort in the car;When cornering, when the vehicle has a relatively obvious roll, the electronically controlled suspension will enhance the support force of the outer suspension, that is, its compressed damping, to ensure better stability of the vehicle as much as possible.
At the same time, all Tang DM-p series are equipped with super intelligent electric four-wheel drive as standard. Through advanced vehicle torque control and distribution strategies, under different vehicle speeds and different load conditions, according to different acceleration curves, appropriate torque is distributed to the front , The rear drive assembly, through the corresponding proportion distribution, ensures the stability of the body posture under different road conditions and reduces power consumption at the same time.
If Tang DM-p is like a sportsman in terms of performance, handling, space, etc., it is excellent and comprehensive; but in terms of intelligence, BYD is still a little insufficient and needs to continue to work hard.
BYD Tang DM-p car-machine system | Image source: Geek Park
Like many BYD models, Tang DM-p is also equipped with DiLink 4.0 (5G) intelligent network connection system, including a 15.6-inch adaptive rotating suspension pad. After the overall experience, I feel that the touch of the entire car system is smooth without stuttering. The sensitivity of the voice system is very high. The windows, air conditioning, navigation, and music can all be adjusted by voice.
However, what is slightly insufficient is that the car-machine software adaptation needs to be strengthened. Currently, BYD is equipped with more than 20 apps including WeChat, Douyin, iQiyi, Tencent Video, Bilibili, and Netease Cloud Music. However, there will be problems with the adaptation of some apps. For example, when you click on iQiyi, QQ Music and other apps, there is only a vertical screen. Even if the screen is adjusted to a horizontal screen, the user experience is not good when watching movies or videos.
B-class SUV new “anchor”
The blowout of the new energy vehicle market has brought great success to BYD.
In 2022, BYD will become a phenomenal existence. The cumulative sales volume for the year was 1,863,500 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 208.64%. This also makes BYD the hottest brand in the global auto market and the world’s largest new energy car company.
But BYD’s ambition is not limited to this. According to market sources, BYD’s 2023 sales target is to reach 4 million vehicles, which means doubling the 2022 sales volume.
In order to meet the rapidly growing demand for new energy vehicles, BYD is constantly strengthening the competitiveness and product strength of its own models while continuously building factories and expanding production.
In BYD’s product matrix, the Tang family (including Tang EV, Tang DM-i and Tang DM-p) occupies an important place.
It is understood that the Tang family will sell a total of 150,800 vehicles in 2022, ranking fourth in the B-class SUV sales rankings that year, only less than 1,000 behind Shanghai Volkswagen Tiguan and Mercedes-Benz GLC, which ranked second and third. In the past, joint venture brands dominated the list, and the appearance of BYD Tang did bring many surprises.
In terms of positioning,The Tang family is in a range where luxury brands such as Mercedes-Benz GLC and BMW X3 cannot sink, and old models such as Tiguan and Tanyue are not strong. The goal of the Tang family is to hold onto the 200,000 to 300,000 hybrid SUV market.
Among them, the goal of Tang DM-p is to become the strongest hybrid SUV in the 300,000 class and become the “anchor point” supporting this market segment.
From the current point of view, Tang DM-p has completed his task well.
However, more and more players are beginning to enter the hybrid field. BYD needs to create its own differentiated characteristics through continuous technological innovation and continue its success in the field of new energy vehicles for the past two years.
