Over in China, Mercedes has partnered up with BYD to create a company known as Shenzhen Denza New Energy Automotive Co. You’ve probably never heard of them before, but they have an EV known as the Denza 400 that was built just for China. The Denza just got a facelift, and with it, comes a new name to symbolize its new range. It’s now known as the Denza 500, and while it might look like a hatchback, it’s actually a sedan with, well, no ass at all.
Yeah, it's cool news and all, but you don't really want one
All told, Daimler and BYD gave the Denza a new front fascia void of the typical grille to go with new “tiger eye” LED headlights and a new pair of LED taillights. The interior gets a new nine-inch touchscreen, and some new connectivity features to bring this near-unknown car into the modern ages. It even gets its own special phone app to help its owners find one of the various charging locations throughout the People’s Republic.
More importantly, a 70 kWh battery pack gives this funky little sedan a range of 310 miles (that’s 500 km, hence the name Denza 500) which is up from about 250 miles afforded by the Denza 400. The car delivers a total of 91 horsepower in base form or 181 horsepower in “Aurora” trim. Unlike the EVs we know here in the States, though, the Denza 500 is practically a turd, taking 10.5 seconds to get to 62.1 mph. And, that’s for the range-topping trim – the base model takes a sluggish and suicide-inducing 14 seconds. Both trim levels top out at an excessively boring 93 mph.
Don’t get your hopes up of ever seeing one here in the states. And, even if you could get one, you’d be better off going for a future electric vehicle. The Denza 500 costs 299,800 yuan or about $47,500 in base form. Go with the range-topping model, and you’ll fork out just over $52,000. Yeah, you might as well wait for one of the Volkswagen ID or Mercedes EQ models at that price. Hell, you could even go for a pair of Nissan Leafs or a Chevy Bolt.
References
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