2026 BYD Tang DM-i First Philippine Look: A Plug-In Hybrid CX-8 And Fortuner Rival
[Music] Check this out, guys. This is a brand new BD Tang DMI, and it’s set to elevate the plug-in hybrid driving experience. More on that later. For now, if you like what you’re seeing or even these kinds of reviews, why not hit subscribe and hit the bell. Woohoo! What a car. What a car this thing. So, as you’re going to be seeing here with the BYD Tang DMI, it just looks really stylish. So basically like the Tang EV, what you have is a very curvaceous look, which in this case being the DMI version or the plug-in hybrid version, you have a larger mesh grill. Now, if you get this car’s gray paint, you’re going to be seeing now this comes with a lot of gloss black surfaces, or rather gloss black trims, which really adds to the car’s very sporty looks, and that is augmented as well by these nice black 20-in wheels. Now, moving towards the side of this car, as you’re going to be seeing as well, you have these lovely swoopy curves, which for me in particular, this is my favorite design piece and kind of floating diller. And then as we move towards the rear end of the Tang DMI, so you have here your full with LED tail lights with, of course, a swooping LED turn signal design. And yeah, in terms of the overall design, I think personally for me, the BYD tank is one of their most distinct models. whether it’s this DMI version or its pure electric counterpart. But anyway, with that in mind, I think this is a good time for us to hop inside this Tang DMI to see what else this car has to offer. Being the current flagship of their DMI plug-in hybrid lineup, the interior is very luxurious. You have plenty of soft touch materials. In fact, this part here is even made out of leather compared to a 2.2 million pes ladder frame SUV and that is also augmented by plenty of nice materials all across the interior and even here in the quilted leather seats. You do have a lot of gloss black here kind of upper dash though in the grand scheme of things gloss black stuff at least in the hight touch surfaces because here the center console as you’re going to be seeing your physical controls here are finished in matte silver textures which will age much better compared to the gloss black stuff. Now as for the tech features what you have is a large 15.6 6 in touchscreen which if you’ve driven a lot of BYDs as of late this is actually a different software because home screen palang you have this nice wallpaper along with nicer graphics and a sharper display in general. Also worth mentioning is that call me weird guys, but why do we have here a day and night mirror? An auto dimming mirror, but day and night mirror aside, you also have plenty of ambient LED lighting inside the car along with a very nice 10 speakeraker dine audio system. So this car basically rivals vehicles like the Mazda CX8 to a certain degree at least or even the ladder frame body onframe vehicles like the Toyota Fortuner, the Mitsubishi Montero Sport. Though I mean they’re not rivals per se in terms of the body style. But in terms of pricing, BYD actually wants to capture some of those buyers who would usually offer a diesel truckbased SUV and instead go for this more luxurious Tang DMI. Now, as for the rear seats, admittedly, we only have one and a half hours with this car, so I won’t be able to demonstrate that for you, but rest assured the second row is very spacious. So, what you have there are two USB fast charging ports along with, of course, your own climate vents. There’s also a third row being a midsize SUV. pero again. No time to sit there at the back, but yeah, best leave those third row for kids. Anyway, with that in mind, let’s talk about the car trunk space, which is actually pretty good being a crossover SUV. Of course, you have a very flat floor, but we’re going to be reserving most of the practicality stuff full review. And so, with that in mind, let us now talk about the car’s drivetrain as well as the car’s driving experience. So, as the current flagship of the BYDMI range, what you get here for the first time is a 1.5 L turbocharged 4-cylinder gas engine. Combined with the car’s electric motor, it has a total system output of 271 horsepower and 350 Newton m of torque. That is all sent to the car’s front wheels via a planetary gear type ECVT. Of course, as with every BYD, what you get is a lithium iron phosphate battery with a 21.5 kWh battery size. That’s good for 110 km per electric range along with a massive total combined range of more than,00 km. Now, dial battery size, this is so far one of the only two BYD plug-in hybrids that supports DC fast charging capabilities. In this case, with its maximum charge rate of 40 kW, a 30 to 80% charge is good for just 30 minutes. Now, with all of these specs and details out of the way, what’s the BYD Tang DMI like on the open road? [Applause] Now, as for the driving experience of the BYD Tang DMI, well, being BYD’s most premium SUV, whether plug-in hybrid or electric, you can pretty much expect this car to be very refined, very premium the driving feel. And that is pretty much what I am feeling whenever I’m driving this car right now because in the first place, the DMI system is electric dominant. And so add to that the copious amounts of sound insulation, the very nice damping with the suspension, and the car’s highly rigid chassis, this feels much like a premium car. Compared to a body-on-frame diesel pickup based SUV refinement advantage DMI, yeah, it’s a really quiet car based on my first impressions. It’s a pleasant driving experience though, as you would expect being a car now. Well, in terms of the driving feel, N is really focused on delivering a comfortable driving experience. Well, it is not a sporty car. Don’t get me wrong, not sporty doesn’t mean not pleasant because again, if comfort is what you’re after in the first place. Well, this feels far more premium. The suspension damping is really good. The quietness is unparalleled. The steering is light as you would expect. responsive as well. Yes. But precision wise, yeah, it’s kind of precise. But yeah, it’s really a car that is mostly meant for comfort oriented cruising rather than driving this car enthusiastically in an athletic manner through the twisties. [Music] Now as for fuel efficiency, well that is something we can’t comment at the moment because what we’ve been driving this car around no valley s close section which is very small in the first place and will yield fuel economy results which isn’t reflective of real world driving naman but I am confident man as with other by DMI models this will surely be just as efficient. Oh and speaking of which there’s a long straight here. Let’s check out the power delivery of this car. One, two, three. Yeah, it took a lot of provocation from the car’s throttle pedal for the engine to kick in. Again, BYOD’s DMI system is predominantly electric in the first place. So, unlike in a Toyota system or a Honda system, the gas engine won’t kick in immediately, which perfectly suits a premium SUV like this Tang DMI. That’s it for now here with the BYD Tang DMI. We can’t wait to take this car on a full review and live with this car for about a week. And so therefore, just stick to Goof Flatout PH for more car news, car reviews, and even car culture content. [Music]
MSRP: P2,098,000
This is it, the long-awaited 2026 BYD Tang DM-i. To those who have been wishing for a seven-seater plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) from BYD, the Tang DM-i finally fulfills that role. However, as a model from BYD’s Dynasty Series as opposed to the Ocean Series, the Tang DM-i also blends premium appointments for those looking into this seven-seater SUV.
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