I drove the BYD Yuan PLUS Champion Edition, and it is a joy to drive. With a price that’s reasonable and performance that’s sufficient, it might just be enough.

I Took the BYD Yuan PLUS Champion Edition for a Ride and It Was a Delight. With Its Affordable Price and Adequate Performance, It May Be Just Enough.

【PhoneAuto Test Drive】In the pure electric vehicle market, BYD has always been a force to be reckoned with. Its product line covers various segments from small cars to midsize cars, and from sedans to SUVs. In the compact SUV segment, the BYD Yuan PLUS Champion Edition is gradually replacing previous star models like the Song and Tang, becoming BYD’s new “flagship”.

The BYD Yuan PLUS Champion Edition, as the newest member of the Yuan series, not only has a noticeable increase in size, but also has comprehensive upgrades in terms of exterior design, interior, power, and range, aiming to create an electric SUV that is fun and enjoyable to drive. So, how good is the Yuan PLUS Champion Edition to drive? Can it meet the demands of consumers with its overall performance? To find out the answers, we conducted an in-depth test drive.

The exterior of the Yuan PLUS Champion Edition adopts BYD’s latest Dragon Face 3.0 design language, with clean and streamlined lines, and an overall youthful and sporty style. The central grille in the front features three horizontal gaps that connect with the wing-shaped daytime running lights. There is an LED light strip below the grille, and the “Yuan” logo has a luminous design, adding a touch of sophistication to the details. The front headlights use full LED light sources, and higher-end models also come with adaptive high and low beam functions for clearer visibility at night.

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The side view of the Yuan PLUS Champion Edition is particularly eye-catching with its silver “dragon scale” decoration on the C-pillar and a sharp waistline that extends from the chrome logo strip on the fender. The overall appearance adds a strong sense of depth. As for the wheels, the high-end version of the Yuan PLUS Champion Edition is equipped with 18-inch dual-color knife-shaped wheels, which have a dynamic design. At the rear, the vehicle features a through-type taillight assembly, complemented by a feather-like light cavity design, which is expected to provide a strong visual impact. The tail lights are molded using geometric multi-color injection molding technology and are paired with a new light-transmitting material, giving the feather-shaped tail lights a more textured appearance. The black air diffuser panel and dual chrome exhaust outlets at the bottom of the rear bumper add a sporty touch.

In terms of dimensions, the Yuan PLUS Champion Edition measures 4455mm in length, 1875mm in width, and 1615mm in height, with a wheelbase of 2720mm, reaching the level of a compact SUV. Compared to the previous Yuan Pro, the Yuan PLUS not only has a much larger size, but also a longer wheelbase of 185mm, essentially upgrading from a previous A0-class compact SUV to a compact SUV level.

BYD Yuan PLUS Champion Edition

In terms of interior, the interior design of the Yuan PLUS Champion Edition is created with the concept of “dynamic space”. The new car’s center console uses a dual-color layout, and the center console designed with muscle streamline has a dragon beard suspended in the middle, with dumbbell-style air vents on both sides, making the interior look very spacious. The lower central armrest area is very flat, and the new push-type electronic gear lever and air vents are designed with great features.

The Yuan PLUS Champion Edition adopts a 5-inch full LCD instrument panel with good display effect. The top configuration of the Yuan PLUS is equipped with a 15.6-inch central control screen (other models are 12.8 inches), equipped with the DiLink 4.0 intelligent network system, supporting adaptive rotation, and you can play a variety of apps freely. It is worth mentioning that there is still a row of physical buttons below the central control screen of the vehicle, which can quickly adjust the volume and air conditioning, making adjustments more convenient.

BYD Yuan PLUS Champion Edition

In terms of comfort, the top configuration 510KM Excellence version supports electric adjustment of the driver and co-driver seats, front seat ventilation and heating, PM2.5 air purification, etc. And many storage spaces are added to the vehicle’s door panels, center consoles, and rear seats. Overall, the interior design of the Yuan PLUS is eye-catching, not only with many unique design elements, but also full of technological sense, and the configuration is also very rich, not inferior to fuel vehicles of the same price.

In terms of power, the Yuan PLUS Champion Edition is built on BYD’s latest e-platform 3.0 architecture and is equipped with a 150kW single electric motor across all models, with a maximum torque of 310N·m, and an acceleration of only 7.3 seconds per hundred kilometers. The Yuan PLUS uses BYD’s self-developed blade battery, which has high energy density, safety, and stability. The vehicle offers two battery capacities of 49.92kWh and 60.48kWh, and the CLTC range is 430km and 510km, respectively.

BYD Yuan PLUS Champion Edition

In terms of driving experience, the new car uses a front MacPherson strut and rear multi-link suspension structure, with suspension tuning biased towards comfort, filtering out most of the road bumps, giving a smooth feeling. In terms of steering, the Yuan PLUS is equipped with an electric power steering system, with moderate steering effort, precise direction, and natural steering return, giving the driver confidence in controlling the vehicle. In terms of braking, the Yuan PLUS adopts a front ventilated disc and rear solid disc brake system, with reasonable brake force and travel, and the braking effect is also very good, without obvious inertia.

The YUAN PLUS is equipped with multiple driving modes, including economy, standard, and sport, which can be selected according to the driver’s preferences and road conditions. The vehicle also offers two levels of regenerative braking force, and even in standard mode, there is no significant drag when the vehicle is driving at low speeds.

BYD YUAN PLUS Champion Edition

In terms of driver assistance, although this car may not have many advanced driving assistance features, it has rich active safety configurations. The new car is equipped with the BYD DiPilot intelligent driving assistance system, reaching L2 level, integrating functions such as ACC adaptive cruise control, LKA lane keeping assist, AEB automatic emergency braking, BSD blind spot detection, RCTA reverse cross traffic alert, and FCW forward collision warning, which can relieve the driver’s burden to a certain extent.

BYD YUAN PLUS Champion Edition

Overall, the BYD YUAN PLUS can be considered as a good choice among the pure electric SUVs in its segment. According to the latest data released by BYD, the total sales of the YUAN series in November reached 42,323 units, of which the YUAN PLUS accounted for a significant portion with 40,798 units sold, ranking among the top in its segment. The preliminary test drive experience mentioned above also made me understand the reason for its good sales performance.

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