Four years after the unveiling, BYD Han offers himself a slight mid-career restyling ahead of his official arrival in France. On the program of this Chinese electric car that promises to be as good as a Tesla Model S for the price of a Model 3: more comfort and the arrival of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and the virtual key Apple CarKey.
BYD is likely to be one of the manufacturers you’ll hear a lot about in the years to come. And it is not for nothing that the Chinese company, founded in 1995, is slowly entering the European market, just like MG in particular before that. A development closely followed by specialists, which then started with Norway, but is now gaining momentum, while the brand was present at the last Paris Motor Show in October.
New styling and improved infotainment system
Subsequently, several models were showcased, namely the SUV Tang, the Atto 3 and the Han, a rival electric sedan of the Tesla Model S. It was unveiled in 2019 at the show in Shanghai and will be offered early this year a light mid-career restylinge, which should undoubtedly benefit Europe and France. Remember that it is currently marketed in France.
And it starts with a very slightly reworked design, as the Chinese site explains. It’s home which transmits the first information. If we should not expect a radical change, this new version offers one in particular new Glacier Blue body color. As indicated Auto News Chinathe new versions with a range of 506 and 605 kilometers on the Chinese CLTC cycle adopt the aesthetic elements of the Genesis Edition style of the range.
According to the first blurry images visible on the net, thes aesthetic evolutions nevertheless remain very discreet. And for good reason we find a front end that looks strictly identical to the electric sedan we discovered at Porte de Versailles last fall. On the other hand, quite a lot is happening in the cockpit, even if one assumes that the presentation should not change too much, in terms of exterior design.
Apple and Google enter
According to the first information, this new version will finally be compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. A priori, these two features should arrive on the entire range (Han, Tang and Atto 3) via OTA updates. A nice step forward that allows the sedan to be a small step ahead of Tesla, which still does not offer this feature. In addition, the standard infotainment system didn’t make us particularly excited during our first hands-on, the presence of these two features then allows to significantly improve the experience.
The other great novelty is the presence of a 5G modem instead of 4G for data, which allows a better connection, especially for displaying the map or even connected functions such as video streaming.
And above all… compatibility with Apple CarKey. It is rarely pointed out as there are not many cars around the world that include this feature.
Launch in March
In other good news, the revamped BYD Han is now compatible with 5G connectivity, enabling better connectivity, especially for map display or even connected functions like video streaming. It also develops its technological talent with the arrival of one blind spot detection system.
But that’s not all, as it also offers brand new alloy suspension, standard on all versions. For its part, the traction variant (not available for sale in Europe) benefits.standard adaptive damping Also.
The engine range doesn’t change one iota for the sedan, also offered with all-wheel drive. The powers are then included ebetween 180 and 380 kW (about 245 and 516 hp) for a maximum torque of 350 to 700 Nm.
Three range levels are also available, namely 506, 605 and 715 kilometers, according to the Chinese CLTC cycle. It is then rather necessary to count on 430, 514 and 607 kilometers of WLTP. In France, only the 4WD (four-wheel drive) version is mentioned on the brand’s websiteof a range of 521 kilometers. It is then the Chinese version of 610 kilometers of autonomy. The version of 715 kilometers of autonomy (which would give about 600 km in European homologation) with drive is not proposed in Europe.
To compare, the Tesla Model S can go up to 634 kilometers away for a 0 to 100 km / h achieved in 3.2 seconds in its standard version, compared to 3.9 seconds for the Han all-wheel drive.
If the autonomy of the Chinese sedan does not seem to change according to the first information, it now offers a heat pump, which helps to reduce consumption related to heating and air conditioning and should therefore have an impact on the distance that can be traveled on a single charge. The heated steering wheel also makes its debut, as does a new audio system.
The car is expected to be officially unveiled within a few weeks the launch is scheduled for the month of March. Pricing has not yet been announced for this new BYD Han EV, but it should work out about 225,000 yuan, or about 30,650 euros. An even cheaper price than the Model 3, but we must remember that it could be much higher in Europe, as is the case for the current version, with a difference of approximately 27,500 euros. It remains to be seen when the arrival of this version in the Old Continent is planned.
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