The BYD Shark 6 has done what very few vehicles have been able to accomplish in modern times – launch into a competitive segment, and almost instantly overtake many of the established models.
BYD’s plug-in hybrid ute caused a big splash when it arrived in Australia in late 2024, and has consistently found itself on the top-20 sales chart, making it one of the most popular choices among a sea of dual-cabs.
The Chinese automaker has expanded the Shark 6 lineup as a result, offering both a cab-chassis model for those who need something other than a tub on the back, and a Performance variant – which gets a bigger 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine and greater combined power.
We tested the Shark 6 Performance at its launch earlier this year, driving the vehicle on country roads, as well as evaluating its towing and off-road capabilities at a proving ground in regional Victoria. And while we walked away impressed, we wanted to revisit the OG – the Shark 6 Premium.
The Premium combines a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine with dual electric motors – offering owners the ability to drive using pure electric power, or a combination of petrol and electric power for low fuel consumption – while also being cheaper than the Performance.
But what’s the Shark 6 Premium like to live with in the real world, away from proving grounds? That’s exactly what we wanted to find out, so we spent the week commuting with it through Melbourne’s peak-hour city traffic and suburbia.
How much does the BYD Shark 6 cost?
The Shark 6 Premium now sits in the middle of the lineup, costing $2000 more than the Dynamic, but $5000 less than the range-topping Performance.
There's no shortage of dual-cab utes to choose from around this price range, catering for different needs – particularly if an electrified powertrain isn't a priority for you.
If having a plug-in hybrid is important to you, there's also the Ford Ranger Hybrid (PHEV), the GWM Cannon Alpha Ultra PHEV, and the JAC Hunter X PHEV. However, GWM is about to introduce the Cannon Hi4-T to the Australian market, which will be followed early next year by the Chery Stockman and Nissan Navara Pro.
To see how the BYD Shark 6 stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool
What is the BYD Shark 6 like on the inside?
The dual-cab ute has evolved quickly, from having basic cabins that were designed for tradies, to offering genuinely nice places that will please the whole family. And the BYD has one of the more impressive interiors.
For starters, build quality is exceptionally good. The materials themselves aren’t going to give Bentley a run for its money, but everything has been bolted together like a high-security prison. Except you’ll actually want to spend time in the Shark 6.
This isn’t high-luxury – but there’s a strong feeling of solidity that is hard to find outside of the likes of the Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series and Nissan Patrol. There's no any hint of hollow, scratchy slabs of plastic, with BYD seemingly adding insulation and thickness to each interior panel. The result is a feeling of quality that’s hard to place, but you know it when you experience it.
Some of the glossy metallic silver-grey plastics on the dash and steering wheel are a bit ‘meh’, but the soft-touch vinyl-stitched panels – with a grain pattern like a Louis Vuitton wallet – do a lot to elevate the space and make it feel more like an SUV. Even if the black and orange cabin is styled like a Motorola Z6 mobile phone from the 2000s.
Unlike the Motorola, you’ll have no problem making out what’s on the 15.6-inch infotainment screen. Most of everything is accessed and controlled via the screen, and it’s one of the least offensive systems to use – being quick and responsive, with a shortcut bar across the bottom.
The 12-speaker Dynaudio sound system is great – helped by the cabin insulation and the interior's solid construction.
There is still a good array of physical buttons and knobs, and they are some of the most satisfying to use – even outside of the ute segment. The thumbwheels for the volume and driving/terrain modes feel equally as good, and thankfully the Shark 6 Premium still retains the aircraft-style pushers for things like powertrain start/stop, hazard lights, and tailgate release. BYD ditched these from the Shark 6 Performance, and it’s all the worse for it.
The seats are very comfortable, too – with a good amount of adjustment and support – and we’re glad to see the Premium keep the older-style steering wheel and the T-bar shifter on the centre console, which were also dropped from the Performance.
BYD hasn’t forgotten about those relegated to the back seats, either. The second row gets a nice rake to the backrest, with decent legroom and both a household power outlet and USB ports for charging devices. Further out back is a useful tub with a liner to protect the paint from scratches.
To see how the BYD Shark 6 stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool
What's under the bonnet?
Pop the bonnet, and you'll find a turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine making 135kW of power and 260Nm of torque – but that's only one small piece of the puzzle.
The BYD Shark 6 Premium has dual electric motors – producing 170kW/310Nm at the front, and 150kW/340Nm at the rear – which add up to combined outputs of 321kW and 650Nm. It's enough to get the 2710kg ute to 100km/h from a standstill in 5.7 seconds.
When fully charged, the 30kWh battery provides up to 100km of electric-only driving range, based on the more generous NEDC test. Given the Performance has a claimed 80km of range under the more accurate WLTP standard, the truth is probably somewhere in between those numbers for the Premium.
To see how the BYD Shark 6 stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool
How does the BYD Shark 6 drive?
BYD has done many impressive things in its short time, but the company really nailed the size of the Shark 6.
It has plenty of space inside and feels substantial on the road, but never comes across as being too big, to the point where you’re especially concerned about parking space or lane placement. It may be a little overwhelming if you’re stepping out of a small car, but for those changing over from another ute or SUV, the size won’t be a concern.
Steering and pedal inputs are also really nicely weighted. BYD hasn’t followed the crowd and given the Shark steering that’s overly assisted. It has a nice weight that reflects its heft, while offering good feedback to the driver. This is helped by the Continental tyres on the Premium, which are a noticeable improvement over the Giti tyres fitted to the entry-level variant.
The suspension setup errs towards the firm side, but is never uncomfortable. The chassis is nice and stiff, and the suspension has been tuned to keep the body relatively flat, while still soaking up the inevitable potholes.
Considering the Shark 6 is edging close to three tonnes, perhaps the biggest surprise is the way it handles. For a larger plug-in hybrid dual-cab ute, it feels very predictable and assured on the road, displaying good handling characteristics. In other words, provided you approach corners at a responsible speed, the Shark will get you out the other side, and it’s not anywhere near as scary as some other off-road utes on the market can be.
The Premium doesn’t benefit from the upgraded brakes of the Performance, but it’s still able to stop, made all the better by good tyres and a strong pedal feel.
Curiously, despite having more power and torque, BYD says the Shark 6 Performance is only 0.2 seconds quicker to 100km/h from a standstill than the Premium, which perhaps says more about how good the Premium is out of the box.
It’s a relatively swift thing, and does a good job of balancing performance and economy from its plug-in hybrid powertrain. It's fast when you need it to be, but has the right amount of power for driving around every day.
BYD claims average fuel consumption of 2.0L/100km based on the battery having more than 25 per cent charge. Ours wasn’t far off that figure for the first couple of days, but we wanted to see what the Shark 6 was like on a depleted battery, as we know a lot of plug-in hybrid owners tend to use their vehicles more like traditional hybrids.
With less than 25 per cent of charge in the battery, we recorded 7.2L/100km over the week, which is slightly better than the 7.9L/100km quoted by BYD – and less than the 8.0L/100km we recorded during our drive of the Ford Ranger PHEV with a depleted battery.
Besides upgraded brakes and suspension, the main advantage the Shark 6 Performance has over the Premium is the larger petrol engine. The 1.5-litre in this Premium is a bit louder and seems to work harder when called upon, whereas the Performance is more relaxed and quieter, as I noted in my launch review. Engine noise isn’t overly egregious, but it is there.
The electronic driver aids – which can vary wildly across the industry from being dangerously invasive to not being at all noticeable – are thankfully not overwhelming in the Shark. If you’re stepping up from a vehicle with minimal ADAS features, you may feel differently, but in comparison to others in the segment, BYD has tuned the Shark's driver-assist systems well.
To see how the BYD Shark 6 stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool
What do you get?
Being the first variant to market, the Shark 6 Premium is pretty well equipped. The relatively recent addition of the entry-level Shark 6 Dynamic saw several features removed or downgraded, while the range-topping Shark 6 Performance brought predominantly chassis and powertrain upgrades.
2027 Shark 6 Dynamic Cab Chassis standard equipment highlights:
- 18-inch alloy wheels with Giti tyres
- Full-size spare wheel
- Fixed side steps
- Aluminium roof rack
- Shark fin antenna
- Adaptive LED headlights
- LED tail-lights
- Front fog lights
- Heated, power-folding side mirrors
- Auto-dimming rear-view mirror
- Synthetic leather-wrapped steering wheel
- Black faux leather seat upholstery with orange accent stitching
- 8-way power-adjustable driver’s seat
- 6-way power-adjustable front passenger seat
- Mud, Sand, Snow, Mountain terrain modes
- 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster
- 12.8-inch touchscreen infotainment system
- Voice assistant
- FM and DAB+ radio
- Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
- Satellite navigation
- 12-speaker Dynaudio sound system
- Dual-zone climate control
- 2x USB-C ports
- 2x USB-A ports
- 50W wireless phone charger
- 12V power outlet
- 10A household power outlet
- Push-button start
- Keyless entry
The Shark 6 Premium adds:
- 18-inch alloy wheels with Continental tyres
- Puddle lights
- Rear privacy glass
- Spray-on tub liner
- 15.6-inch touchscreen infotainment system
- Head-up display
- Rain-sensing wipers
- Leather-wrapped steering wheel
- 8-way power adjustable driver’s seat with 4-way lumbar
- Heated and ventilated front seats
- Front footwell lighting
The Shark 6 Performance adds:
- Synthetic leather-wrapped steering wheel
- Google Automotive Services (GAS) with Google Maps
- NFC card
Colours
A Thaumas Black interior comes standard with orange highlights and contrast stitching.
Great White is the standard exterior paint finish, with the following colours available for an additional $700:
- Tidal Black
- Deep Sea Blue
- Outback Orange
Mist Grey is also available exclusively on the Shark 6 Premium for an additional $700.
To see how the BYD Shark 6 stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool
Is the BYD Shark 6 safe?
The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) awarded the BYD Shark 6 a five-star safety rating based on testing in 2025.
The Shark 6 scored in the mid-80s for three of the four categories defined by ANCAP, and 74 per cent in the final category relating to vulnerable road users – which includes cyclists and pedestrians.
Standard safety equipment includes:
- 7 airbags, including:
- Autonomous emergency braking (AEB)
- Rear collision warning
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Front and rear cross-traffic alert
- Lane-keep assist
- Adaptive cruise control
- Intelligent Speed Limit Assist
- Hill descent control
- Trailer stability control
- Driver fatigue monitoring
- Child presence detection
- Surround-view camera
- Front and rear parking sensors
To see how the BYD Shark 6 stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool
How much does the BYD Shark 6 cost to run?
BYD provides a six-year, 150,000km factory warranty for the Shark 6, with the battery covered by an eight-year, 160,000km warranty. Buyers also get 12 months of complimentary roadside assistance.
Services are required every 12 months or 20,000km – whichever comes first – with capped-price servicing available for up to 220,000km or 11 years, at an average of $550 per visit.
To see how the BYD Shark 6 stacks up against its rivals, use our comparison tool
CarExpert's take on the BYD Shark 6 Premium
The BYD Shark 6 remains one of the most impressive dual-cabs on the market, period, and continues to be the benchmark for plug-in hybrid utes. But the forthcoming GWM Cannon Hi4-T PHEV, Chery Stockman diesel PHEV and Nissan Navara Pro PHEV show just how quickly this segment is heating up, and that title may be short-lived.
There really isn’t a lot to complain about here. While everyone is entitled to make their own minds up, to my eyes the exterior styling is starting to look a little bland compared to other, newer utes – which isn’t great, considering the Shark arrived only two years ago.
Stepping into the cabin of the BYD and pulling back the shifter into ‘drive’ immediately reveals why it’s the benchmark. This is a superbly built vehicle, with a powertrain and on-road characteristics that embarrass more than its fair share of competitors.
That powertrain isn’t quite as good as the Performance flagship's, and could be grounds to justify spending the extra for the range-topper – having said that, the Premium is still fundamentally good.
Overall, the Shark 6 has more than ample performance, some mild off-road chops, and above-average driving dynamics. It also offers the ability to be used as an electric vehicle during the week, while still being able to take it into country areas without worrying about where the next charge will come from.
It’s decently economical, even with a depleted battery, and you still have plenty of power at the wheels. And it’s still a ute.
Even with that impressive list of accomplishments, it’s the interior that makes the Shark 6 one of the best on sale. BYD has done an exceptional job, and while it’s possible we'll see it updated to match the Performance, for now the Premium still has the superior cabin treatment.
However, there are some big players entering the segment, and they have the BYD Shark 6 firmly in their sights. Whether it remains as popular amid the new crop of plug-in hybrid utes is still to be seen – but here, now, the Shark 6 remains one of the best all-round utes on the market.
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MORE: Explore the BYD Shark 6 showroom
Pros
- Powerful and economical powertrain
- Decent on-road dynamics
- One of the best ute interiors
Cons
- Petrol engine is a bit loud and whiny
- Not as capable off-road as its rivals
- Plenty of competition on the horizon