Denza B8 2026 review

Off the back of a successful year for BYD, luxury-pitched sister brand Denza is launching in Australia with the B5 and B8 4WD off-road wagons.

Pitched as large and upper large SUVs respectively – think Toyota Prado and 300 Series LandCruiser – the B8 is the showcase of what Denza says Australian buyers should consider. Not just because they’re priced aggressively but because they do things differently, and perhaps even better than existing rivals.

“We don’t do diesels, we focus on new energy vehicles” says Sajid Hasan, chief product officer at Denza Australia, meaning plug-in hybrid and fully-electric vehicles.

Kicking off at $91,000 before on-road costs, the B8 7S (seven-seat) is significantly cheaper than a Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series Sahara ($140,310), or the outgoing Nissan Patrol Ti-L ($108,040).

The equipment list is overwhelming – perhaps by design – with the following highlight features included as standard:

• LED headlights and tail-lights
• Power adjustment for the first, second and third rows
• Heated, ventilated and massaging front seats
• Heated and ventilated second row seats
• Heated steering wheel
• Two 50W wireless phone chargers
• 18-speaker Devialet sound system
• 17.3-inch multimedia screen
• 12.3-inch digital driver’s display
• Three-zone climate control
• 12-pin trailer plug and tow bar
• 360-degree camera
• V2L up to 6.6kW

Other notable additions include the hot/cool box under the centre armrest, Denza’s DiSus-P hydraulic adaptive suspension, charging cables and a full-size spare wheel – a rarity for a PHEV like this.

The B8 6S (six-seat) at $97,990 list adds more than just captains’ chairs in the third row in lieu of the three-seat bench, including a front locking differential, Nappa leather seat material, greater adjustment for the front pews, night vision system and even more cameras for the underbody.

Servicing intervals are every 12 months or 20,000km, with prices capped at $3420 over a five-year period.

The vehicle warranty is limited to six years/150,000km, with the battery and electric motors covered for eight years/160,000km.

We’ve already sampled the B8 overseas in China and at Lang Lang proving grounds in Victoria, now it’s time to see what it’s like tackling an adventure to the iconic Flinders Ranges, South Australia.

How does the B8 drive?

Built on the DMO Super Hybrid body-on-frame platform, the B8 seeks two objectives as both a luxury vehicle and a capable off-road weapon.

The longitudinally-mounted 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder ‘generator’ up front feels more like a guest than a resident in the B8’s drivetrain, and that’s a good thing; raising its revs on an as-needed basis to provide electricity for the electric motors as the 36.8kWh battery runs low, and even then, it keeps the noise to a minimum.

The cabin itself is incredibly hushed thanks to an abundance of acoustic glass and sound-deadening material, turning the South Australian Outback into a silent film as we left the city.

The lack of drone from the tyres and wind is appreciated as the hours roll on, but combined with numb steering and suspension that feels at times disconnected from the road surface, the B8 can feel almost too withdrawn from the world around it.

Denza’s DiSus-P hydraulic adaptive suspension is designed to counteract body roll and provide a smooth ride but it’s only partially successful and, more importantly, inconsistent.

At times, the B8’s chassis feels keen as it tackles a sweeping bend at highway speeds, you can feel how the suspension drops to one side to improve balance and agility.

But too often it would react differently to similar tasks, sometimes adjusting abruptly and tightening the B8’s natural turning radius to the point where steering and throttle input changes were required to stay in the lane.

There’s a clear comfort bias to the driving experience and the B8 generally hits this objective, but again the suspension would often fail to adjust its dampening on rough roads, leaving us swaying back and forth for up to 10 seconds before changing its tune.

Our brief experiences at low speeds hinted that this vehicle will make more sense around town but for country touring a passively damped LandCruiser would likely be a significantly more comfortable and capable choice.

Why? We’d guess it’s at least partly down to weight, with the 300 Series sitting around 2600kg (depending on the grade), the B8 clocks in at an astonishing 3290kg. GVM is rated at 3992kg – that’s approaching light truck levels of heft and that impacts the entire driving experience.

The 283kg lighter B5 Leopard is the better driving vehicle in all respects, mirroring the claimed 4.8 second 0-100km/h time despite the B8’s more powerful 2.0-litre engine and 25kW boost in peak power to a claimed 425kW/760Nm.

The B8 rarely feels like it’s packing those sorts of numbers, but it never once felt lacking in any respect.

Denza has rated the B8 to tow up to 3500kg (vs 3000 in the B5) and feels equipped for the task, particularly with its claimed ability to self-level the rear axle when hitched. It’s likely this task where the larger 2.0L engine will come into its own versus the 1.5L found in the B5 and BYD Shark 6, but we’ve yet to sample that as of yet.

There is clearly work to do on better calibrating the driver assistance features with lane-keep assistance, driver monitoring and other functions managing to be both hyper-sensitive and time consuming to turn off.

Unexpectedly, this problem (and the accompanying beeps and bongs) continued when we finally turned a wheel off the bitumen to tackle the red dirt mountains of the Flinders Rangers, with the ADAS and parking sensors constantly trying to re-engage, seemingly at war with the off-road modes that locked them out by default.

It was a distraction from an otherwise impressive performance by the B8, with the suspension rising from 220mm to an incredible 310mm thanks to the DiSus-P system. That’s Range Rover-style tech in a vehicle priced under $100,000; you needn’t budget for a lift kit with the B8.

Once raised, the B8 has a wading depth of 890mm – much higher than a 300 Series’ 700mm rating – and there’s been significant work done to make the petrol engine and electric components all water-tight, says Denza.

Although the drive modes and their functions are effective in practice, the learning curve is steep even for those experienced with off-road vehicles.

While the seven-seat B8 forgoes a front-locking differential, it’s of little consequence thanks to the snappy traction control. 

We do find it somewhat confusing that Denza chose to fit a two-speed transmission for the rear axle but not the front, and even then, the ratio doesn’t feel that low. The result is that the B8 doesn’t quite have a ‘true’ four-low function.

While of little consequence when ascending thanks to the snappy traction control, descending with the B8 relies heavily on the brakes to control the massive 3290kg weight in places where a normal 4×4 could rely exclusively on low gearing. 

Largely using crash data from the smaller B5, ANCAP has awarded the B8 a five-star rating under the latest protocols.

How is the B8’s interior?

The B8’s claim as a luxury vehicle holds weight when you climb inside its interior. We’ve already mentioned its exhaustive feature set but the way it all comes together is what really matters.

Even after hours of driving on rough roads, we didn’t detect any squeaks or rattles from the cabin, and it all feels incredibly well screwed together – save for the dinky arm rests on the second-row captains chairs.

Comfort from the front seats is only okay, and it’s deeply confusing why Denza has restricted the under-thigh adjustment to the six-seater B8, as the high floor and low seat base, made for an uncomfortable duo during our road trip.

Nappa leather is offered on the six-seater and is significantly nicer to touch, but the regular leather trim on the seven-seater is still fine, coupled with heating, cooling and a massage function by default.

The 17.3-inch multimedia screen certainly has a ‘slapped-in iPad’ feel to its integration, but the hardware behind it is snappy and the screen crisp. The menus are initially overwhelming and often mislabeled but in time they became easier to understand.

It serves in conjunction with a 12.3-inch screen and a heads-up display in front of the driver that doesn’t struggle under direct sunlight and helps keep information spaced out.

The standard 18-speaker Devialet sound system is solid for the price point and the seven-litre hot/cool box under the arm is incredibly welcome on a road-trip vehicle – though we did note an error in one test vehicle where it repeatedly failed to close with no obvious blockage.

Row two consists of either a three-seat bench in the seven-seat or two captains’ chairs in the six-seat configuration, with both setups affording plentiful room and amenities to occupants. Similar to the front, we’d appreciate more under-thigh support but this is a common woe for body-on-frame vehicles such as this.

Even without moving the second row forward, the third row offers an impressive amount of space and even luxuries such as power adjustment, USB-C ports, leather armrests and airvents. And, unlike some three-row SUVs, the B8 also offers full airbag coverage for all occupants.

Opening the swing arm tailgate takes a bit of muscle and might prove to be a bit of a challenge for some when parked on hills, and the left-mounted hinge will be a nuisance when loading in shopping from the curb side, but the space inside is at least respectable.

Measuring 147 litres with three rows up and 920L with two rows up (902L in the 6S), cargo space is competitive – though we do wish the B8 featured an under-floor area to stow cables like the B5.

The ability to fold/adjust all three rows from the boot via an array of buttons boosts the levels of convenience, as does the 6.6kW vehicle-to-load capability that packs enough punch to easily power a caravan on a remote weekend away.

The honest verdict

Having seen the success of its BYD sister brand, an emboldened Denza is going hard with its first two vehicles in Australia, offering incredibly competitive pricing and a new plug-in hybrid drivetrain type that is surging in popularity at a time when mainstream rivals like Toyota are hesitant to pull the trigger.

The B8’s strength and weakness is its appetite for excess, with a vast and comprehensive standard feature set that pushes the boundaries by offering technology such as height-adjustable, self-levelling suspension at a price point rarely seen.

Off-road, the B8 is incredibly effective and packs enough electric range for most urban buyers to rarely use a drop of petrol in their daily commute, but inconsistencies in the suspension behaviour, poorly tuned safety systems and reliability bugs will affect everyone.

In time, we’re told these issues can be addressed using over-the-air updates but we can only access the vehicle in front of us. For now, the B8 is a promising but not perfect addition to the growing 4×4 wagon segment.